Stephen Rippy
{{short description|American composer (born 1975)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Stephen Rippy
| family = David Rippy (brother)
| birth_date = 1975
| birth_place = Spring, Texas, United States
| occupation = Musical composer
| website = [https://www.stephenrippy.com/ Official website]
}}
Stephen A. Rippy (born 1975) is an American composer from Texas who is well known for his musical compositions for the soundtracks of various video games, most notably the Age of Empires franchise by Ensemble Studios and Microsoft Games.{{cite web|url=https://www.stephenrippy.com/about.html|title=About|work=Stephen Rippy's official website|accessdate=27 August 2023}}
Life and career
Rippy grew up in the Spring area of Harris County, Texas, and now resides in Plano, Texas, near Dallas.{{cite news|author=Connelly, Richard|date=February 25, 2009|url=http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/02/stephen_rippy_halo_wars.php|title= The Pride Of Spring, TX, Doesn't Blow It For Halo Fans|work=Houston Press|accessdate=February 26, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524011204/http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/02/stephen_rippy_halo_wars.php|archive-date=May 24, 2011}} Making video game music was not Rippy's original career goal. He attended the University of Texas in the early 1990s to study visual art, and only took a few music courses.
Rippy worked for Ensemble Studios as the head of the Audio department with friend and collaborator Kevin McMullan. He is best known for his sound design and scores on the Age of Empires series, its spin-off Age of Mythology,{{cite web|author=Staff|date=February 2, 2009|url=http://www.music4games.net/Features_Display.aspx?id=331|title=Behind the Music of Halo Wars: Interview with Composer Stephen Rippy|website=Music4Games|access-date=November 7, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205073554/http://music4games.net/Features_Display.aspx?id=331 |archive-date=February 5, 2009 |url-status=dead}} and the Xbox 360 strategy game Halo Wars.{{cite news|author=Wilonsky, Robert|date=February 26, 2009|url=http://www.dallasobserver.com/2009-02-26/music/stephen-rippy-set-s-halo-wars-high-schore/|title=Stephen Rippy Sets 'Halo Wars' High Score|work=Dallas Observer|accessdate=November 7, 2009|pages=1–2|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130131113059/http://www.dallasobserver.com/2009-02-26/music/stephen-rippy-set-s-halo-wars-high-schore/|archive-date=January 31, 2013}}
Ensemble was closed down shortly after the release of Halo Wars. Rippy joined Zynga Dallas (then Bonfire Studios), a development studio formed from ex-Ensemble employees and led by Rippy's brother David (who is also a composer of video game soundtracks, having previously worked with Stephen for the Age of Empires series).
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20080501144245/http://www.music4games.net/Features_Display.aspx?id=259 Interview with Rippy], Music4Games
- [http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/articles/2001/02_May---Soundtracks_on_CDROM_Suciu.asp Article on Age of Empires music] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20190727021903/http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/articles/2001/02_May---Soundtracks_on_CDROM_Suciu.asp archive]), Film Score Monthly
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20021015191641/http://pc.ign.com/articles/370/370283p1.html Scoring Age of Mythology], IGN
- [http://www.stephenrippy.com/ Official Site]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rippy, Steve}}
Category:American male composers
Category:21st-century American composers
Category:American video game composers
Category:People from Spring, Texas
Category:People from Plano, Texas
Category:Ensemble Studios people
Category:21st-century American male musicians
{{US-composer-20thC-stub}}