The Music and Gaming Festival occurred the first week of January at the Gaylord National Resort in Maryland. Over 20,000 music fans came to the Gaylord National Resort in Maryland to celebrate video game music. G.A.N.G. hosted a special competition for remix enthusiasts that featured over $8,000 in plug-in prizes from Music Marketing. Nearly 100 entries were narrowed down to a top 5 in 9 different categories. A panel of well-renowned judges selected winners of each category.
Winners of each category are bolded.
Best Chiptunes/Retro – Judged by – Dale North, Gerard Marino, David Wise
“Spider Dance” | Benny Blue
“Legendary Princess” | VeraFX
“Forest Follies” | dannymusic
“Treetop Trouble” | dannymusic
“Bowsette’s Theme” | String Player Gamer
Best Electronic/Hybrid – Judged by – Gareth Coker, Gerard Marino, Wilbert Roget II
“Funktanic Monarch Zone” | Nautilus T Party
“RAGE AT THE ARCADE” | Ronin Op F
“The Future is Primitive” | dannymusic, GameLark
“Dismember the Disobedient” | Ronin Op F.
“Secret of the Forest” | Eric L.
Best Rock/Metal – Judged by – Grant Kirkhope, Gerard Marino, David Wise
“Field of Hopes and Dreams (Bollywood Version) | Ro Panuganti
“Shall Never Surrender” | Little V
“Field of Hopes and Dreams” | VidaZen
“Lifelight (Feat. Casey Lee Williams)” | Tournament Arc
“Ikana’s Wrath” | Nautilus T Party
Best Jazz – Judged by – Gina Zdanowicz, Dale North, Wilbert Roget II
“Beneath the Mask” | Tournament Arc
“Christmas in Nightopia” | The Game Brass
“Swing Indigo” | Sean Schafianski
“The Indigo-gos (Demo Version)” | Daniel Romberger, Materia Collective
“Mt. Moon” | dannymusic feat. insaneintherainmusic
Best Vocal – Judged by – Gina Zdanowicz, Dale North, Grant Kirkhope
“Lifelight ft. JayHan” | String Player Gamer
“ARMS Main Theme (ft. Stringees)” | String Player Gamer
“SNOWFLAKES” | The Game Brass (Feat. Helen Planchet)
“Wormsong” | Daniel Romberger, Multiplayer Charity
“Link vs. Darmani at the Races” | Daniel Romberger, Materia Collective
Best Acoustic/Chamber – Judged by – Gina Zdanowicz, Gareth Coker, David Wise
“Tressa, the Merchant” | Bassonify
“Home Termina” | Medllix
“Theme of Winters” | The Game Brass
“Celeste – Resurrections” | DS
“Protoss Two” | Michael Hoffman
Best Symphonic/Orchestral – Judged by – Gareth Coker, Grant Kirkhope, Wilbert Roget II
“Final Hours” | Michael Hoffman
“The Voice of the Mountain” | John Robert Matz
“Xion” | Project Destati
“Marching Orders from the Dreams of the Strong” | Daniel Romberger, Materia Collective
“Snowdin Town” | The Game Brass
Best Live Performance – All Judges –
“Super Mario Bros. Jam” | ConSoul
“Simple & Clean (Hikari)” | DS & the RIT GSO Jazz Combo
“Balls.mp3” | Viking Guitar Live
“Final Fantasy Main Theme” | The Game Brass
“Inside the Castle Walls” | The Game Brass
Best Remix Album – All Judges –
“Project Destati: DARKNESS” | Project Destati
“Women of the Crystal: Themes from Final Fantasy for Cello and Piano” | IsrafelCello and PurpleSchala
“The Temples (Music from THe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” | Ro Panuganti
“Pluckhead” | String Player Gamer
“Snowtopia: A Video Game Holiday Tribute” | The Game Brass
Special thanks to Music Marketing – as well as their co-sponsors Polyverse Music, KResearch, Acon Digital, Xhun Audio, D16, FabFilter, and Sugar-Bytes – Materia Collective, John Robert Matz, Emily McMillan, Spencer Bambrick, Emmanuel Lagumbay, Alexander Brandon, Bonnie Bogovich, and the Triforce Quartet for your help and contributions to this year’s competition.
Also at MAGFest was a composer round-table, moderated by Alexander Brandon. On the panel were Frank Klepacki, Will Roget, Lena Raine, and Kris Maddigan. The panel talked about their careers and practices, and where inspiration for some of their themes were found (SPOILER: the shower wins again).
For more information about MAGFest and their various festivals, visit https://www.magfest.org/