Jeff van Dyck

Developer BIO

Respected composer, Jeff van Dyck was born and raised in Vancouver Canada. He was mentored by a childhood spent in studios with his father Ralph Dyck, also a composer and technology specialist. 

"My Dad worked in R & D for Roland and was pivotal in designing the modern sequencer as we know it today. I got to hang around when he worked with artists from Toto and Michael Jackson to Oscar Peterson and Paul Horn. I was constantly surrounded by professional musicians and the creative process. It was inevitable that creating music would become my life too."

Since then, Jeff has made it his life's work to evolve as a composer and technology specialist. In 1992, at the age of 23, Jeff began to make his mark as a composer/sound designer at Electronic Arts, working on classic computer game franchises including FIFA Soccer, NHL Hockey and the dynamic Need for Speed series.

After 5 years of sports games, Jeff was ready to take on more cinematic styles of composing. He relocated to Australia and began contracting to companies around the world creating orchestral, electronic and ethnic/historical soundtracks.

During this time, he started a decade long collaboration with one of the most successful RTS franchises in gaming - Total War. In 2001 he was rewarded for their first project with a BAFTA (British Academy Award) for the Japanese themed soundtrack to Shogun: Total War Warlord Edition. 

Jeff was once again nominated for a BAFTA in 2005 for his original soundtrack for Rome: Total War. The top-selling game garnered a string of awards which culminated in a cover feature in December's issue of Time Magazine. The soundtrack is still hailed by the gaming community as one of their all time favorite soundtracks and has been used for several documentary series on The History Channel and the BBC. 

Jeff continues to work in the game industry, as the Audio Director for The Creative Assembly. During a brief hiatus from Total War, Jeff worked on the innovative game Stormrise. He also scored his first feature film, Crooked Business. The independent Australian film was written and directed by AFI award winner Chris Nyst.

Jeff is currently in pre-production for the next game in the Total War series. 

Also Known As

• Jeff Dyck

Websites

• JeffvanDyck.com/ -- The official website of Jeff van Dyck

Games Credited

Stormrise (2009), SEGA Europe Ltd.
Medieval II: Total War - Kingdoms (2007), SEGA of America, Inc.
Medieval II: Total War (2006), SEGA Europe Ltd.
Rome: Total War - Barbarian Invasion (2005), SEGA of America, Inc.
Spartan: Total Warrior (2005), SEGA Europe Ltd.
Rome: Total War (2004), Activision Publishing, Inc.
Medieval: Total War - Viking Invasion (2003), Activision Publishing, Inc.
Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom (2002), Sierra Entertainment, Inc.
Rugby (2001), Electronic Arts, Inc.
Shogun: Total War - The Mongol Invasion (2001), Electronic Arts, Inc.
Battleship: Surface Thunder (2000), Hasbro Interactive, Inc.
Cricket 2000 (2000), Electronic Arts, Inc.
Shogun: Total War (2000), Electronic Arts, Inc.
Cricket World Cup 99 (1999), Electronic Arts, Inc.
Missile Command (1999), Hasbro Interactive, Inc.
NHL 99 (1998), Electronic Arts, Inc.
Need for Speed II (1997), Electronic Arts, Inc.
NHL 98 (1997), Electronic Arts, Inc.
NBA Live 96 (1996), Electronic Arts, Inc.
The Need for Speed: Special Edition (1996), Electronic Arts, Inc.
The Need for Speed (1996), Electronic Arts, Inc.
NHL 97 (1996), Electronic Arts, Inc.
Coach K College Basketball (1995), Electronic Arts, Inc.
FIFA Soccer 96 (1995), Electronic Arts, Inc.
NBA Live 95 (1995), Electronic Arts, Inc.
NHL 96 (1995), Electronic Arts, Inc.
FIFA Soccer 95 (1994), Electronic Arts, Inc.
Skitchin' (1994), Electronic Arts, Inc.
FIFA International Soccer (1993), Electronic Arts Ltd.
NHL '94 (1993), Electronic Arts, Inc.