It has been announced that Stan LePard, the renowned video games composer who is credited on titles like Age of Mythology, Microsoft Flight Simulator X and a handful of the Halo games, passed away last week.
The news was broken on Twitter by his friend and fellow Guild Wars 2 composer, Maclaine Diemer, who is heartbroken by his death. "Knowing him helped shape and change the course of my life and my music," said Diemer, and he reflected on the lessons that LePard imparted to him when he was starting his collaboration with ArenaNet. "He was a big part of my work for @GuildWars2, in addition to his own musical contributions to the game... His passing is a tremendous loss to his family, friends, and the Seattle game audio community."
In response, fans of the games that he worked on have shared their sympathies and celebrated his life and his endless talent with their favourite pieces from LePard. If you've not heard of his name, you've likely heard his contributions to games over the past twenty years. His career took off with Crimson Skies, the dieselpunk arcade flight simulator released in 2000, and after it reviewed very well for its unity between audio, narrative and gameplay elements, Microsoft Game Studios asked LePard to return to score the sequel High Road to Revenge. Microsoft and LePard's professional relationship was only solidified with the soundtracks that he composed for Age of Mythology and Rise of Nations, and he was selected to orchestrate the soundtrack to Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo Wars, Halo 3: ODST, and Halo: Reach.
Furthermore, his orchestrations were featured in Fable 2, Destiny and The Taken King, The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-earth, BattleTech, and even the themes for UNO on the Xbox Live Arcade and the Windows XP installation music. Planet Fly, the soul-funk band that LePard was a part of, described their friend as "a beast on the keys, but more than that, a kind gentle soul." Last but not least, the official Guild Wars 2 Twitter account paid tribute to the composer. "We are so saddened to hear of Stan's passing, and thankful for everything his music brought to the world of Tyria. Thank you, @stanlepard," it said.
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Diemer will share the details of a donation fund for LePard's family in due course. Our thoughts are with them during this difficult time.
Featured Image Credit: Maclaine Diemer, Bungie