Know Your Enemy was a introspective series on GameXplain focusing individual baddies in various video games. Only five episodes released, with the last concluding in 2015. Before the series clearly slipped into indefinite hiatus, I started writing a theme in 2016 with hopes that it would be used in future episodes. It was first shown to the team at E3 2016, where I autistically blasted it from my handheld speaker while hanging out with them in the west lobby.

From the very start, it was a playful jazz noir, reflecting the idea of a detective gathering information for a file on a suspect. This naturally was inspired by the imagery of the record on the enemy of focus. The composition started with the whole Pink Panther vibe with the acoustic bass and triangle, which evolved as a separate loop into a richer groove with moody saxophone, arpeggiated square waves, piano, acoustic bass, and brush kit. Square lead and vibraphone layers was tested soon after, and they since have been applied officially. Nine years later, I decided to complete this unfinished piece, even though the series is unlikely to return. In the finished piece, I included mute trumpet, a transition from the minimalist approach to the more complex concept, concluding it with new content that ends on a minor major ninth chord, a variation of the Hitchcock chord or James Bond chord. While this may forever remain unused, I hope you enjoy the piece that is a look into GameXplain's past and my own.

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Disclaimer:
All graphics and audio represented here are copyright of GameXplain.
Know Your Enemy art assets were created by Tom Arnold. (https://x.com/RaginTombo)

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