# Stephen Rippy

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**Stephen A. Rippy** (born 1975) is an American composer from [Texas](/source/Texas) who is well known for his musical compositions for the soundtracks of various [video games](/source/Video_game), most notably the *[Age of Empires](/source/Age_of_Empires)* franchise by [Ensemble Studios](/source/Ensemble_Studios) and [Microsoft Games](/source/Xbox_Game_Studios).[1]

## Life and career

Rippy grew up in the [Spring](/source/Spring,_Texas) area of [Harris County, Texas](/source/Harris_County,_Texas), and now resides in [Plano, Texas](/source/Plano,_Texas), near [Dallas](/source/Dallas).[2] Making video game music was not Rippy's original career goal. He attended the [University of Texas](/source/University_of_Texas_at_Austin) in the early 1990s to study visual art, and only took a few music courses.[3]

Rippy worked for [Ensemble Studios](/source/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](/source/Age_of_Empires)* series, its spin-off *[Age of Mythology](/source/Age_of_Mythology)*,[4] and the [Xbox 360](/source/Xbox_360) strategy game *[Halo Wars](/source/Halo_Wars)*.[3]

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).[3]

## References

1. ["About"](https://www.stephenrippy.com/about.html). *Stephen Rippy's official website*. Retrieved 27 August 2023.

1. Connelly, Richard (February 25, 2009). ["The Pride Of Spring, TX, Doesn't Blow It For Halo Fans"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110524011204/http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/02/stephen_rippy_halo_wars.php). *[Houston Press](/source/Houston_Press)*. Archived from [the original](http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/02/stephen_rippy_halo_wars.php) on May 24, 2011. Retrieved February 26, 2009.

1. Wilonsky, Robert (February 26, 2009). ["Stephen Rippy Sets 'Halo Wars' High Score"](https://web.archive.org/web/20130131113059/http://www.dallasobserver.com/2009-02-26/music/stephen-rippy-set-s-halo-wars-high-schore/). *[Dallas Observer](/source/Dallas_Observer)*. pp. 1–2. Archived from [the original](http://www.dallasobserver.com/2009-02-26/music/stephen-rippy-set-s-halo-wars-high-schore/) on January 31, 2013. Retrieved November 7, 2009.

1. Staff (February 2, 2009). ["Behind the Music of Halo Wars: Interview with Composer Stephen Rippy"](https://web.archive.org/web/20090205073554/http://music4games.net/Features_Display.aspx?id=331). *[Music4Games](/source/Music4Games)*. Archived from [the original](http://www.music4games.net/Features_Display.aspx?id=331) on February 5, 2009. Retrieved November 7, 2009.

## External links

- [Interview with Rippy](https://web.archive.org/web/20080501144245/http://www.music4games.net/Features_Display.aspx?id=259), [Music4Games](/source/Music4Games)
- [Article on Age of Empires music](http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/articles/2001/02_May---Soundtracks_on_CDROM_Suciu.asp) ([archive](https://web.archive.org/web/20190727021903/http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/articles/2001/02_May---Soundtracks_on_CDROM_Suciu.asp)), [Film Score Monthly](/source/Film_Score_Monthly)
- [Scoring *Age of Mythology*](https://web.archive.org/web/20021015191641/http://pc.ign.com/articles/370/370283p1.html), [IGN](/source/IGN)
- [Official Site](http://www.stephenrippy.com/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Stephen Rippy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Rippy) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Rippy?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.