The Hidden Secrets of the BloodRayne: Betrayal Soundtrack

Soundtracks for games can often be hit-or-miss affairs – some can be awful, some can be brilliant. You’ll be happy to know that BloodRayne: Betrayal (available on Xbox Live Arcade and the Playstation Network) falls in the latter camp thanks to the amazing efforts of Jake Kaufman, better known to some chip fans as virt.

While BloodRayne: Betrayal is not a new release, Kaufman is in the spotlight for his Double Dragon Neon soundtrack, and it’s an excellent time to revisit one of his earlier soundtracks: one that hides a treasure trove of secrets.

BloodRayne: Betrayal features some of Kaufman’s most ambitious work to date, with layered orchestration and compositions seemingly miles from his previous chip work. But don’t think he’d leave his longtime fans in the dust: Kaufman convinced the game’s director, Sean Velasco, and the programmers to include a chiptune version of the soundtrack that could be unlocked. Dubbed the “8 Fingers, 8 Bits” mode, the unlock code appears in the end credits once you’ve completed the game.

Not only was this inventive, but it was clearly something that Kaufman was passionate about getting right. He took the time to manually transcribe each note he’d composed into Famitracker, a program used to produce non-emulated, machine-code-compatible chiptune music. This entire soundtrack (including the chiptune version) is available for purchase here.

As if all of this effort was not enough, Kaufman has also made the FMT source available for download. For those unaware, this is the file type utilized by Famitracker, and loading this file in the program will allow you to play the songs as they were originally laid out in the Famitracker program. Loading these files lets you not only hear the songs, but if you know how to use Famitracker it also allows you to see what notes were programmed, what effects were used, how it was sequenced – it’s all there!

In an industry rife with secrets and veils of PR nonsense, this kind of peek behind the curtain is refreshing and inspiring. Whether you are a hobbyist looking to decode every single note you can or you’re just someone who loves good soundtracks, Jake Kaufman seems to have you covered.