After 10 years as a commercial and videogame music house, GameBeat Studios landed its first car commercial, an animated spot for Toyota Yaris and agency Burrell Communications. It will air in mid-January.
“We went for something that was very youthful, a bit techno, a bit electronica, funk and even a little house music style,” said Darryl Duncan, GameBeat owner/composer.
This project was exciting, Duncan said, “because musically they wanted a very aggressive, high energy, hardcore, edgy sound and this is something we don’t get asked very often.”
Duncan has also recently returned to his roots in videogame scoring. He is collaborating with his 13-year-old son, Shaun Duncan, on the music and audio for Orlando-based Dreamhive Animation’s bug-crushing game “Squish Squash” for iPhone and iPod Touch.
“The music is fun and catchy and perfect for this type of game. The Dreamhive team loved it and we are certain this game is going to be an instant hit,” he commented.
Duncan worked with Dreamhive co-founder and senior CG supervisor, Wes Grandmont, on the John Madden Football game franchise for Electronic Arts in 1997.
“Wes and I kept in touch over the years and he always knew what we did at GameBeat Studios,” Duncan said.
After a very strong three years, GameBeat saw a marked drop in business in 2008, with one bright spot being the TV and radio campaign the company scored for the Illinois Lottery last summer.
