Interview with Rob Hubbard

Happy Computer issue 7/86:

The best and most spectacular musics on the C64 are made by Rob Hubbard.
He gave us an exclusive interview for the readers of Happy Computer .

Rob Hubbard is one of the most famous programmers, although he has never
written a successful game. Infact he doesn't write any games. He has
specialized on computer music. Some of his famous tunes are "Commando"
and "Thing on a Spring". Critics say that sometimes, his musics are better
than the whole game. There's a real fan community which buy the games
just because of his music. An english journalist once wrote: "It's
unbelievable, how he make the C64 sound like ten voices with only three."

Happy: When did you start doing musics for computer games ?
Rob: Two years ago, i programmed a music, educational software and a
game. The latter ones were crap, so i decided to specialize on music. After
half a year of begging at software companies i got my first three jobs. I
had to do the musics for the games "Action Biker" by Mastertronic,
Gremlin Grephic's "Thing on a Spring" and "Confuzion" by Incentive.

Happy: Did you work for other companies too ?
Rob: Yeah, a whole bunch of them, including Mastertronic, Firebird, Elite,
System 3, Gremlin Graphics, Martech and Alligata.

Happy: Which tune is your best one ?
Rob: That's hard to tell. I'm proud of all my musics, but my favourites
are "Master of Magic", "Comets", "Gerry the Germ", "Spellbound" und
"Kentilla". My *absolute* favourites are "Monty on the Run" and "Zoids".

Happy: You are a real C64 specialist. Why do you work with the C64 and
not with the Schneider or Spectrum ?
Rob: When i decided to buy a computer, i heard that the C64 has the best
sound quality.

Happy: How long does it take you to create a song ?
Rob: That's specific. Normally it takes about two weeks to compose and
arrange. In some special cases where i had to do it faster, i managed to
do one in two days. That's how "Commando", "Zoids" and "One Man and his
Droid" were created. I prefer ta king my time, but i can work very fast
if i have to.

Happy: Do you like playing games ?
Rob: No, because i can't find time nowadays. But when i receive a preview
of a game i have to write the music for, i look at it very closely.

Happy: How old are you ?
Rob: I'm 30. I think i'm a bit old for this job :-)

Happy: Are you interested in the opinions of computer magazines ?
Rob: I'll better not say anything about magazines. I read "Commodore
Horizons" regularly because of the Amiga section. I also read "Commodore
Computing International" and some mags about Schneider, Sinclair, and Atari.

Happy: What is wrong with the mags you don't read ? What disturbs you
most in the computer scene ?
Rob: The way some magazines review the games and are written for
complete idiots. They often write complete bullshit, without having the
slightest knowledge about writing games. I also hate comments like "I like
this game, because it's really great " or "I don't like this game, because
it sucks". I also hate software piracy. There is a lot more that can be
done against it.

Happy: Do you want to start an own software company ?
Rob: No, never ! That's to expensive, difficult and risky.

Happy: Do you use programs like "Music Studio" ?
Rob: No. I do my music in pure machine code using an assembler. I tested
those programs, but their possibilities are limited. "Electrosound" is the
only one that i like.

Happy: Which other music-programmer do you like ?
Rob: That's easy. It's definitely Martin Galway of Ocean, thinking of his
musics from "Rambo" and "Comic Bakery".

Happy: Which normal music do you listen to ?
Rob: I love many different kinds of music: Chuck Corea, Brecker Bros,
Mozart, Ravel, Tippet, New Order, Tears for Fears, U2, Bowie, and the
good ol' rockers like The Who, the Stones and so on.

Happy: Let's talk about the future. Which games with music by you are
about to hit the market ?
Rob: I worked on "International Karate", "Kentilla", "Spellbound", "Thrust"
and "Proteus" lately.

Happy: What are your future plans ?
Rob: I will take a little break from the C64 and concentrate on the
Schneider-CPC and the Spectrum 128. I hope that the Amiga market will
grow, so that i have a chance to work with this machine.

Happy: Many thanks for the interview. We and our readers are looking
forward to your next creations.