Unused Spectrum Spelunker Music: Original Credits
Now it’s time for a special post – a post about the music of Spectrum Spelunker!
Everyone I know personally that has played Spectrum Spelunker has had something to say on how memorable its seven-note recurring theme is. You can hear it in every bar of the title screen music and jumbled around as the menu music and high score tune; you’ll begin to hear it as you score points in Time Attack, and if you listen close enough, you can even hear it in the background of the level 7 theme. Of course, it permeates the credits music as well.
But something nobody knows is that the first song that this tune appeared in never got used in any version of the game. When I originally enlisted the aid of Jarad of Nonplayable Records to make the soundtrack for Spectrum Spelunker, way back in 2008 when it was a contest entry in Eegra.com‘s first (and last?) annual game makin’ shindig, I asked for eight tracks – a title theme, a menu theme, five level tunes, and a credits song. Due to time constraints, the credits sequence didn’t make it into the game (since only three people worked on the game at that time, a lengthy credits sequence was not needed anyhow). When the updated version came, Jarad made a new credits song, and this one was discarded.
The original credits theme was actually one of the first to get finished (after the first and second level tunes), and Jarad made the decision later to use it as the unifying musical theme of the game, when he incorporated it heavily into the title and menu themes. He replaced this track with the credits music that’s in the final game – though the song’s almost completely different, you may notice some similarities (like the bassline). He’s not terribly proud of this composition now, but I couldn’t let such a piece of Spectrum Spelunker history go unshared.
So, here it is – the unused original Spectrum Spelunker credits theme!
Tags: development, music, spectrum spelunker, video games