A place for people on Gamejolt to discuss and create chiptune and tracker music!
// WE ARE WAVE 3. //
Welcome to the Gamejolt Chiptuners community! We hope to revive the chiptune scene here on this website by introducing new people to this old-school style of music.
Rules:
Please no spam!
Posts must be related to the channels they are posted in.
Content should be PG-13+. If you have a question, ask a moderator.
Be supportive and give tips, but don’t be rude. If someone shares something, be sure to give constructive criticism, but don’t be mean to beginners, and be sure to encourage them.
FAQ:
What is chiptune, anyway? Glad you asked! Chiptune is music made using sound hardware or sampled audio from old computers, video game consoles, and sound systems (called Programmable Sound Generators, or PSGs). While the definition of chiptune is pretty broad and not well defined, it usually refers to nostalgic, old-school video game-sounding music.
What’s a tracker? Trackers are the primary method of creating chiptune music and are an old-school style of program which originated from The Ultimate Soundtracker on the Commodore Amiga. Trackers most commonly use samples and effects to create music, such as FastTracker II, Impulse Tracker, and OpenMPT, but some emulate the sounds of old game systems and chips, such as Famitracker and Furnace.
How can I make chiptune? By using a tracker or program of your choice!
If you’re wanting to make chiptune using, say, the NES, DN-Famitracker is the modern standard and a very user-friendly program. Alternatively, if you aren’t super familiar with trackers, FamiStudio may be a good option.
If you’d like to make music using samples on classic module formats like XM and IT, check out OpenMPT or MilkyTracker.
Not sure what you want to make, or aren’t concerned about hardware-accurate export? Try out Furnace, a popular tracker which emulates a plethora of sound systems.
For a more comprehensive list of trackers, check out https://battleofthebits.com/lyceum/View/List%20of%20Trackers
Where can I meet new chiptune friends? All over! We recommend searching and finding music to your liking on Youtube or wherever you find your music. Another great site to learn chiptune and meet new people is Battle of the Bits (https://battleofthebits.com), a compo-hosting site with a diverse community. If you like, you can also connect to our IRC channel on Espernet, #musiciants (stylized as The Musician’ts).
I feel like I’m not good at chiptune, how do I get better? Lots of practice! Chiptune skills take time to get better at, and learning how to make music and the little tricks of how to create beautiful sounds is an acquired skill. Ask around in comments or message the artists! 9 times out of 10, the people making the music will be happy to share their tips and tricks with you and give you pointers! This community is widely known as one of the most accepting and supportive communities for new artists.
Happy tracking!
