As part of Kilohearts Game Audio Week 2025, we’re inviting sound designers and composers to take part in a fun creative challenge based on a short gameplay clip from Data Man, a video game developed and released by Darkbits, which is made up of our very own Per Larsson (founder and DSP wizard) and his friends Olof Næssén and Ted Steen. For those interested (shameless plug time), the game is available on NES cartridge, Mac, and PC.

Learn more about the game at datamangame.com ›

The Challenge

We’ve taken a 12-second clip from Data Man, and your mission is simple: Rebuild the audio in your own unique way.

The clip above shows the 12 seconds of gameplay you'll be reimagining for the contest with the original audio.

Your goal is to design all the sound effects for the clip. Music is optional, but feel free to include it if it enhances the overall experience. Whether you want to go for an authentic retro vibe or a bold cinematic reimagining, it’s up to you. We’re looking for creativity, attention to detail, and exciting lasers and explosions!

We’ll be selecting one overall winner who will receive Kilohearts Ultimate, our complete collection of sound design tools, giving you everything you need to level up your next audio project.

How to Enter

1. Download and watch the contest clip via the sidebar link on this page.
2. Create your own original audio for the video, focusing on sound effects (music optional).
3. Export the result as a video file with your new sound.
4. Submit your entry by uploading or linking to your video (for example, a YouTube link) using the form on our website.

Submit your entry here ›

Entries will be accepted from October 20th through 27th, 2025. The winner will be announced about a week after we close the entries.

A Few Notes

• The game has an 8-bit look, but your sound design doesn’t have to be 8-bit. Feel free to reinterpret it in your own style.
• This contest is just for fun and practice. We won’t be using any submitted audio commercially.
• We’ll publicly share the winning video and possibly a few other favorites when we announce the results.
• While we’d love it if you used Kilohearts plugins to create your sounds, you don’t have to limit yourself to any particular software or hardware. Use whichever tools help you get the job done best.

We can’t wait to see and hear what you create.

Get ready to reimagine the sound of Data Man in your own way and maybe take home Kilohearts Ultimate as a result.