Thank you, NYX Game Awards. I’m honored to be recognized and receive this award!

My name is Chase Bethea, and I’m a multi-award-winning video game composer and technical music designer—known in the industry as the "Swiss Army knife of video game composition." I’ve worked in the industry for over a decade and have shipped more than 30 games to date. My music blends texture and complexity, creating immersive experiences for players.

My soundtrack for Cubic Climber earned a Noteworthy on Destructoid. In 2016, I was nominated for Artist of the Year – Independent Composer for my score for I Can’t Escape: Darkness. I also scored Aztec Ride, which was also nominated for a Mobile Game award.

Over the past two and a half years, I’ve given more than 55 talks as a guest speaker at conferences including the 2022 Global Game Jam (Keynote Speaker), GDC (6x), PAX, Audiokinetic, MAGWest (4x), IGDA, GameSoundCon (2x), Berklee College of Music (2x), Game Devs of Color (4x), ADC, A2IM, Indie Game Business, and EPOS Gaming.

I was the first minority American video game composer to be featured in the Museum of Making Music’s “MIDI@40” exhibit at the NAMM Museum in San Diego (2023–2024). In 2024, I made history again as the first video game composer to join the prestigious Mogami Cable roster. That same year, I became the first minority American video game composer to publish an article on adaptive music in games for Recording Magazine—their first video game music feature in 20 years. I also served as Chair of the Interactive Audio Special Interest Group (IASIG) from 2022 to 2024.

I was born and raised in Chicago and began composing music in the 5th grade. I played in the advanced band and choir through 7th grade. I earned my AA in Audio Engineering from The Los Angeles Recording School, my AA in Music Theory and Composition from Moorpark College, and my BM in Media Composition from California State University, Northridge—all with honors.

Game music writing began for me when I unlocked a behind-the-scenes video in God of War III and watched an interview about how uniquely a game score can be written—and the “tremendous amount of freedom” that comes with it.

When I first entered the industry, my passion was overflowing. I believed that with hard work, I might be able to score a AAA game within five years. I was very wrong. Still, I stayed focused, poured my passion into the games I was fortunate to score, and kept going.

In recent years, that passion has waned. I now struggle to keep the “blue flame” alive, largely due to repeated experiences with unprofessional mindsets that have worn me down. I no longer see the maturity and sustainable growth I once believed in when I started this career 14 years ago.

I’m a solo freelancer—I design, compose, arrange, produce, mix, and master the music, and sometimes implement or consult on the score myself. My mission is to ensure it fits the art form so that players have a one-of-a-kind experience they’ll remember for decades. Sonic branding is crucial, as it contributes over 50 percent to the art form.

The programmer, David Maletz from Fancy Fish Games, came up with the idea while reminiscing about one of our first commercial projects, I Can’t Escape: Darkness (ICED), a 3D game. He really liked many aspects of that project, especially the lighting system, and even had plans for a sequel. He thought—why not make a 3D Aground spinoff? This idea came shortly before April 2021 and led to the April Fool’s joke Aground: Minecraft Edition—a farcical but partially true concept.

From there, he repurposed a voxel engine he had created for fun and incorporated several ideas originally intended for a potential colony update for Aground. The resulting game leaned more toward colony management and base-building than the original, which suited him well, as he enjoyed trying something different. He saw it as a unique spinoff with gameplay that was similar, yet distinct, from Aground.

The music score was designed entirely with the player in mind. The goal was to break the monotony often found in survival and crafting sims by composing seamless fusion transitions that create a harmonious gameplay experience.

I believe it's about brand definition and sonic identity. In a competitive field, dynamic music serves as a unique selling point for colony sims, management, and base-building games—potentially the first of its kind in this era. By offering smooth and responsive audio experiences, players can clearly distinguish the game from others in the genre, attracting both audiences and critical acclaim.

Dynamic music also allows for varied themes and transitions, enhancing replayability. Players are more likely to return if each playthrough delivers a fresh, unique, and personalized musical experience based on their choices and outcomes. It builds memorable moments, exclusive stories to share, and deep nostalgia that lasts for years.

Additionally, dynamic music systems can benefit players with disabilities by providing extra sensory cues and feedback. For example, visually impaired players may rely on auditory signals to navigate the game world, making adaptive music an important accessibility feature.

Staying motivated was a challenge. The response to the game wasn’t as strong as the original, likely due to the shift in art style from 2D to 3D. As a result, I struggled to stay inspired and generate new ideas. There was this strange expectation that the music would automatically be good—that I would just deliver. So, I had to push myself to go beyond that assumption, essentially writing against my own past work and convincing myself that it could be even better.

One tactic I used was simply giving myself more time—sometimes a month or more—to compose each piece. That approach worked well. It let the creativity emerge naturally, without forcing it. What I’ve discovered is that some of my best work has come from taking more time to complete a piece, rather than rushing it. I wouldn’t begin composing until I could clearly visualize and mentally walk through the process before actually writing the music.

I simply acknowledge the limitation and work with it. Knowing the parameters helps me understand how far I can push things. Once I hit the limit, I scale back and pivot if needed. For this project, the only technical constraint was that I couldn’t exceed a certain number of tracks for the dynamic system to function properly. Since I’m familiar with that, I compose with it in mind so I don’t have to redo anything later.

I think AI tools will boost efficiency once they are built correctly. For example, if a developer wants to create posts for their game, they could use a tool that plays the game in the engine, identifies the most engaging parts, creates timestamps, and then cuts and renders the footage tailored for each social platform.

I already see audio art assets and voice-overs being created, but I believe toolsets would be even more valuable and welcomed. I think AR and VR are more recreational, but they can still be enjoyable if developed natively and properly for each platform.

Emotional engagement was important, and I wanted the dynamic music to respond to players’ actions and impact game states. These changes can evoke a myriad of emotions, from tension during challenging moments to triumph during successful expansions or achievements. This emotional engagement can strengthen the player’s connection to the game and increase overall satisfaction.

We want players to walk away with this message: “You have a choice—think about who you're really living for.”

A dream project comes from working with a team that values my work, my time, and my talent, as well as those of other team members. They ship the game with confidence, know how to market it, and are relentless about it. They don’t hold back on resources or worry about the state of the field. They build and level up their minds, doing the hard work consistently while maintaining a mature and healthy lifestyle. That’s the dream we’ll see if it comes to fruition.

Sure, I’m shipping a game with Spritewrench called Sunken Stones in July. I’m also scoring Portal Brawlers, an adventure brawler developed by Crystal Spider, and Protostar, a Megaman X–inspired game produced by Marvin Thompson.

The biggest change I’ve seen is how the industry buys into more fear, and as a result, many suffer from it. Instead of becoming more strategic and creative in finding other resources, people panic and withdraw. I’ve adapted by exploring beyond game development and operating with a mindset of abundance.

The field may dominate other art mediums combined, but if it’s not the most sustainable, I’m keen to find where that will be, take a side quest there for a while, and come back to the main quest with more experience.

Playing lots of games and knowing how they feel. Knowing that the definition of a game is supposed to be fun is not what you think people want. Little resistance, little explanation. Hours or days of fun. It’s that simple.

A studio that values people and treats them with respect operates with good business acumen and mental maturity. They remain optimistic while maintaining a pragmatic balance. These attributes are important for long-lasting collaboration and healthy game development cycles. It builds solid trust within the team.

Morale stays steady, if not uplifted, and creativity flows more freely. It’s the people who treat themselves with respect, consistency, and reciprocity that make the studio great—not the studio that makes the people. From this, the people who are treated right produce multiple great games.

Thoroughly research the field from past to present before doing your own thing.