alt.hn

6/19/2026 at 7:35:15 PM

Bobby Prince, composer for Doom, Wolfenstein 3D, and Duke Nukem 3D, has died

 https://www.legacy.com/legacy/robert-bobby-prince-lll

by pgrote

6/20/2026 at 9:15:54 AM

Very sad news, RIP.

Particularly enjoyed his work for Duke Nukem 3D, you could easily tell the difference between the tracks made by Bobby and the ones made by Lee Jackson, Bobby's tracks were a bit darker and more gloomy, adding a lot of atmosphere.

Beautifully written article by the way, as the legend deserves.

by Archer6621

6/20/2026 at 1:02:17 AM

Loss of an absolute legend.

One of my favorite videos (and songs) sang by Bobby: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9w3yoIOK-9U (Eat Your Vegetables)

RIP. You will be missed Bobby.

by PaulCarrack

6/19/2026 at 10:32:54 PM

NEDM, Prince.

The sound of Doom was a big part of why it was so immersive, and everyone focuses on the mobs and gunshots (there's some pretty cool positional audio for the time), but the music really played a big part of the whole atmosphere.

by bombcar

6/20/2026 at 12:35:13 AM

he had great taste in metal. most of the tracks were adapted (now classic) speed/thrash metal.

by gnarbarian

6/20/2026 at 12:59:11 AM

Ah man, hell no :( The music in DOOM was such a huge influence on me. I had the Macintosh version which IIRC had the .mid files alongside the game, so I hung onto those and listened to them outside of the game quite frequently. I was just a kid at the time, and later on when I discovered bands like Pantera, Slayer, Judas Priest etc. I suddenly "got" all the references (not previously having known they were references/iterations on those bands' songs)! Great memories. RIP \m/

by amatecha

6/20/2026 at 3:18:22 AM

If anyone's interested in what songs the Doom music was referencing, here's a good overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Y3RWlDz_AA

by ndiddy

6/20/2026 at 5:17:41 AM

It's amazing how much better all these sound to me in OPL2.

When CD-ROM soundtracks because the norm it really ruined a lot of game music for me, because all that chip music perhaps inspired by guitar and orchestral music just ended up being replaced with actual guitar and orchestral music, and then games just ended up sounding like movies and it's like what even is the point?

From my side I remember painstakingly transposing Led Zeppelin into an 8 bit tracker when I was a kid and being thrilled at how much more exciting the 3-channel square wave interpration sounded, and pretty much from that point on my guitar just became something to noodle out a riff prior to inputting to the computer.

by alisonatwork

6/20/2026 at 6:05:27 AM

When it was actual guitar and orchestral music it was one thing, but when it was "much better but still not quite there" midi renderings of orchestras and guitars, that could be a bit uncanny valley. And even when it wasn't, stuff that was really written for a 2 op FM idea of an orchestra, often sounded a bit thin on a real orchestra.

by vintermann

6/20/2026 at 5:44:36 AM

Huh? Those are the original MIDI versions of the music, which is how Bobby Prince composed them on a Roland SC-55. There is no more authentic sound.

I doubt anyone in 1993 thought the OPL2 version of the music sounded better. General MIDI was mind-blowing in comparison.

by gryson

6/20/2026 at 6:09:48 AM

Presumably most midi game composers checked that their music didn't sound like trash on the AdLib sound card most users would actually have? Good music that's actually written for AdLib can be extremely good, check out Stephane Picq (who sadly also died recently).

by vintermann

6/20/2026 at 7:28:22 AM

It sounded great on my Gravis Ultrasound with custom midi samples.

(it was also a pain when the Sound Blaster compatibility was needed, dma 1 irq 5).

by conradfr

6/20/2026 at 7:52:01 AM

OP is right. A waveform generator chip is a much more "real" musical instrument than a glorified sampler.

by otabdeveloper4

6/19/2026 at 11:12:55 PM

Wolfenstein 3D has such memorable tracks for me.. thanks for the music Bobby.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UgvFSV2xxI

by recallingmemory

6/19/2026 at 11:37:06 PM

I knew I should’ve paid extra and gotten the Sound Blaster!

by ozozozd

6/19/2026 at 11:52:08 PM

Thats Ad Lib type music no?

by saturn8601

6/20/2026 at 1:56:01 AM

Sound Blaster is an Ad Lib (Yamaha OPL2) that mixes in a PCM stream

by tadfisher

6/20/2026 at 2:52:16 AM

Today I learned that he also did (all of?) the sound effects for Doom.

RIP (and tear)

by xnx

6/20/2026 at 8:13:05 AM

I can easily recall the Duke nukem music, even though I haven't played it in about two decades

by taffydavid

6/20/2026 at 2:22:59 AM

I've been teaching my students for years about sound and music, and I always showcase Bobby Prince's work. Here's a fun clip of him playing in the early days: https://youtu.be/9w3yoIOK-9U?is=alZLs2OSL8pJ7JEQ

by MikeShah

6/20/2026 at 12:05:11 AM

At Doom's Gate has been stuck in my head for decades. RIP.

by momoraul

6/20/2026 at 12:23:48 AM

Pulled out my guitar to play the Duke Nukem theme and At Doom's Gate (...uh, minus those runs...)

by loudandskittish

6/20/2026 at 5:28:07 AM

Shame. E1M8 (Sign of Evil) is still a great metal tune

by CalRobert

6/20/2026 at 12:17:43 AM

RIP Legend.

F.

Such a good composer for all of those games I can remember those songs still.

by zitterbewegung

6/20/2026 at 6:07:59 AM

F to a Legend and titan.

by htx80nerd

6/19/2026 at 11:41:08 PM

Hell put in a special petition to heaven to at least borrow him for a bit—not to torture him, mind, but to retain him to score their official soundtrack.

by bitwize

6/19/2026 at 10:39:29 PM

RIP one of the best.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=qVn6C6uiFo0

by sublinear

6/20/2026 at 12:27:08 AM

That E1M1 song is iconic. That will be played 00s of years from now, it will stand the test of time.

by s_dev

6/20/2026 at 12:40:02 AM

still entire duke nukem theme just start running in my head each time i see that name what a classic. rest in peace

by saidnooneever

6/20/2026 at 1:06:44 AM

Alas. Loved his work on Major Stryker.

by thombles

6/19/2026 at 11:37:38 PM

mein leben!

by AznHisoka

6/20/2026 at 4:25:26 AM

Hot dog!

by khoirul

6/20/2026 at 12:17:52 AM

Guten Tag!

by scns

6/20/2026 at 12:16:40 AM

Rest in peace.

by matheusmoreira

6/19/2026 at 11:33:50 PM

[dead]

by queeshonda