Ken Allen

I was 11 years of age when my parents purchased the family piano, and immediately I fell in love with the idea of being a composer.

Jerry Goldsmith's underscore for the movie, Patton, ignited my passion for film music. I was convinced this would be my life's work. But even while family, friends and educational mentors encouraged me, I was never was able to break into the "Hollywood scene."

In the late '80s, and quite by accident, I found a job composing for video games - a dream come true. Before this, PC games expressed sound and music using beeps and boops from the PC speaker. But when I entered the industry, companies like Sound Blaster and Roland were manufacturing sound cards that allowed gamers to enjoy film-like musical scores.

I went on to write more than 300 pieces for over two dozen games. For Space Quest IV, the review from PC Magazine was the very first to comment on a game's music. They said the opening theme was "reminiscent of John Williams, err Gustov Holtz." They got the joke and I got the compliment!

Mixed Up Mother Goose was the first game to use red-book audio (Google it) which was produced by yours truly. Working for Sierra Online gave me the opportunity to participate in launching the modern era of game-music.

By the mid '90s, I'd composed over 900 minutes of music for games, or roughly 15 hours of scoring.

Fast forward to today, it's been over a decade since I've touched a piano keyboard or put pencil to staff paper, but I've decide to revive my love of composing.

This is the page where I hope to share my renewed obsession.