Jeff van Dyck
Encyclopedia
Jeff van Dyck is a Canadian video game music composer
. Born in 1969 and raised in Vancouver
, Canada
, van Dyck is the Audio Director of The Creative Assembly
's offices in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane
, Australia
.
He started to become known in the video game music industry in 1992, when he was working with Electronic Arts
(EA) for several sports game franchises, such as the Need for Speed series.
After his stint in EA, van Dyck became the composer for the popular Total War franchise of The Creative Assembly. During his collaboration with the video game developer, van Dyck won a British Academy of Film and Television Arts
Award (in 2001) and garnered a nomination (in 2005).
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
. Born in 1969 and raised in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, van Dyck is the Audio Director of The Creative Assembly
Creative Assembly
The Creative Assembly is a British video game developer established in 1987 by Tim Ansell and based in the West Sussex town of Horsham. An Australian branch is also operated from Fortitude Valley, Queensland...
's offices in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
He started to become known in the video game music industry in 1992, when he was working with Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
(EA) for several sports game franchises, such as the Need for Speed series.
After his stint in EA, van Dyck became the composer for the popular Total War franchise of The Creative Assembly. During his collaboration with the video game developer, van Dyck won a British Academy of Film and Television Arts
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
Award (in 2001) and garnered a nomination (in 2005).
Prominent works
- Rome: Total WarRome: Total WarRome: Total War is a PC strategy game developed by The Creative Assembly and released on by Activision...
and its expansions, Barbarian Invasion, Alexander - Medieval: Total WarMedieval: Total WarMedieval: Total War is a turn-based strategy and real-time tactics computer game developed by The Creative Assembly and published by Activision. Set in the Middle Ages, it is the second game in the Total War series, following on from the 2000 title Shogun: Total War...
and its expansion, Viking Invasion - Medieval 2: Total WarMedieval 2: Total WarMedieval II: Total War, the indirect sequel to 2002's Medieval: Total War and the fourth game in the Total War series from The Creative Assembly, is a game of turn-based strategic rounds and real-time tactically-oriented battles. The game is set between the years 1080 and 1530...
and its expansion, Kingdoms - Shogun: Total WarShogun: Total WarShogun: Total War is a turn-based strategy and real-time tactics computer game developed by The Creative Assembly and published by Electronic Arts. Released in June 2000, the game is the debut title in The Creative Assembly's Total War series...
and its expansion, Mongol Invasion - Spartan: Total WarriorSpartan: Total WarriorSpartan: Total Warrior is a spin-off action game of the Total War series, developed by The Creative Assembly and published by Sega. It was released on Xbox, PlayStation 2 and GameCube...
- Emperor: Rise of the Middle KingdomEmperor: Rise of the Middle KingdomEmperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom is the sixth title in the City Building Series. BreakAway Games was contracted for Emperor after having previously worked on Queen of the Nile...
- Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 is a golf video game published by EA Sports. It was released for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, Game Boy Advance, and the N-Gage. It was the first to feature the Game Face feature, in which the player can create his or her own player...
- The Need for SpeedThe Need for Speed (video game)Road & Track Presents: The Need for Speed, released in Japan as Road & Track Presents: Over Drivin', is a 1994 racing video game first released on the 3DO and ported to other systems, developed by Electronic Arts Canada and published by Electronic Arts. It is the first title released in the Need...
and Need for Speed IINeed for Speed IINeed for Speed II, released in Japan as Over Drivin' II, is a 1997 racing video game, developed by Electronic Arts Canada and published by Electronic Arts... - FIFA SoccerFIFA SeriesFIFA, also known as FIFA Football or FIFA Soccer, is a series of association football video games, released annually by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label...
- NHL HockeyNHL seriesNHL is a series of professional ice hockey simulation video games developed by EA Canada and published yearly by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports brand...
- Sled StormSled StormSled Storm is a series of snowmobile racing video games published and developed by Electronic Arts and released in North America on July 31, 1999 and in Europe on August 11, 1999. It gained critical acclaim due to its original concept of being one of the first snowmobile racing titles...
- Total War: Shogun 2
Awards
- BAFTA 2001 Award for Video Game Original Soundtrack, Shogun: Total War - Warlord Edition
- BAFTA 2005 Nomination for Video Game Original Soundtrack, Rome: Total War
Family
- Jeff van Dyck's wife is Angela van Dyck, who sometimes features in the vocals of his composition, such as in the soundtrack of Rome: Total War
- Jeff van Dyck's father, Ralph Dyck, is also a composer and technology specialist who worked in the research and development department of Roland CorporationRoland Corporationis a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on April 18, 1972, with ¥33 million in capital. In 2005 Roland's headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. Today it has factories in Japan,...
.
External links
- Official Jeff van Dyck website, with music downloads.