Toby Fox Explained

Toby Fox
Birth Name:Robert F. Fox
Birth Date:11 October 1991
Birth Place:Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S.
Years Active:2008–present
Alma Mater:Northeastern University
Works:Undertale, Deltarune
Website: (archived)

Robert F. "Toby" Fox (born October 11, 1991) is an American video game developer and composer. He is best known for developing the role-playing video game Undertale, which garnered acclaim and has received nominations for a British Academy Game Award, three Game Awards and D.I.C.E. Awards. He is also the creator and head of the ongoing development of Deltarune, which contains many characters and features from Undertale, and has also garnered significant praise.

Fox's early work consisted primarily of composing music, notably for the webcomic Homestuck, and, following the success of Undertale, he went on to compose music for a number of other indie games. Other notable works include contributing to the soundtracks of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and the Pokémon video games.

Career

Early work and composing

Toby Fox's earliest well-known work is his "EarthBound Halloween Hack",[1] a Halloween-themed ROM hack of the 1994 SNES game EarthBound, which released in 2008. He then moved on to compose a variety of music for Andrew Hussie's 2009 webcomic Homestuck during his senior year of high school. Though he did not initially respond when Hussie started a "Music Contribution Team" in April 2009 and put up a news post asking composers to participate, Hussie took note of his work when Fox started uploading piano covers of the webcomic's music on the MS Paint Adventures forums.[2] Fox has composed music for the 2017 Homestuck video game Hiveswap, Undertale artist Temmie Chang's short narrative game Escaped Chasm,[3] and Game Freak's 2019 RPG Little Town Hero, the last of which was arranged by Pokémon composer Hitomi Sato. He also composed a track for Pokémon Sword and Shield,[4] a vocal song for Itoki Hana's PRAY album,[5] and multiple tracks for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.[6] [7]

Acclaim and breakthrough

Undertale

See main article: Undertale. Fox's most well-known work is the 2015 role-playing video game Undertale, which he also composed the soundtrack for. The game sold more than 1 million copies,[8] becoming a "breakout hit" and "pop-culture phenomenon".[9] Fox worked on the entire game independently, besides the art assets—which he asked Temmie (Tuyoki) Chang to help with—to avoid relying on others.[10] He had some experience in game development before Undertale, using RPG Maker 2000 with his three brothers to make role-playing games and EarthBound ROM hacks in high school,[11] [12] the most notable of which was Earthbound: The Halloween Hack.[13] He thought of the character designs and ideas for Undertale while in college, where he drew them in his notebook.[14]

Following its release, Undertale garnered an extensive fanbase.[15] Fox commented that he did not mind if people stated that they did not like the game, saying that it was "not for everyone". Despite Undertales awards and widespread acclaim, Fox wrote that his personal opinion was that the game was still "niche" and deserved an "8/10" review score.[16] [17]

In 2016, Fox released a number of unused musical tracks from Undertale.[18] He also became a contributor to the A Profound Waste of Time magazine.[19] Fox was then chosen to be part of the 2018 Games Forbes 30 Under 30 list for his role in creating Undertale, by then the game had sold over 2 million copies.[20]

The success of Undertale, especially in Japan, afforded Fox the opportunity to visit Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai at his home, where they discussed the series and played Super Smash Bros. Ultimate against each other, and the two reportedly had a very similar skill level, trading wins and losses equally. Sans, a character from Undertale, was later included in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a Mii costume available through downloadable content, along with an instrumental composition "Megalovania", for which Fox provided a new arrangement.[21] [22] [23]

Deltarune

See main article: Deltarune. On October 30, 2018, Fox tweeted a request for fans of Undertale to check the game's official Twitter account in 24 hours. The following day, Fox released the first chapter of the followup to Undertale, named Deltarune, (an anagram of undertale) for free under the guise of a "survey".[24] [25] On November 1, Fox shared more details regarding the game, including that the rest of the chapters were expected to release simultaneously, but work had not yet started, and there was no estimated timeframe for completion.[26] Fox also stated that he had been working on the project since 2012, and that the idea for Undertale developed from Deltarune during production.[27] On June 12, 2019, as only the first chapter of Deltarune had been playable for several months, Fox expressed on his Twitter account he had hope he would complete the rest of Deltarune, saying: "Slowly I'm writing and drawing it all out."[28] He stated that he had written "about 50 songs past Chapter 1".[29]

On September 17, 2021, Fox released the second chapter of Deltarune for free since "the world has been really tough for everybody recently", referring to the struggles of the COVID-19 pandemic. He plans to release the next two chapters simultaneously, with a price greater than Undertale, but without any projected release date.[30]

Personal life

Robert F. Fox[31] [32] was born on October 11, 1991,[33] in Manchester, New Hampshire. Along with his three brothers, he is the son of Robert Fox, a financial planner, and Barbara Fox, a retired paraprofessional. Fox was raised an Episcopalian. He studied environmental science at Northeastern University and graduated in 2014.

Fox is secretive and does not typically do interviews.[34] He has chronic wrist and hand pain that regularly disables him from programming and composing. In September 2020, Fox cited a flareup of this pain as a factor in the delayed development of Deltarune second chapter.[35]

Works

Gameography

YearTitleDirectorComposerWriterPlatformsRef
2008EarthBound

Halloween Hack (romhack)

Super Nintendo
2015UndertaleWindows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One
2016Rose of WinterWindows[36]
2017Hiveswap

Act 1

Windows, macOS, Linux
2018DeltaruneWindows, macOS, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch
2019Escaped ChasmWindows[37]
Little Town HeroWindows, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One
2020Dweller's Empty PathWindows[38]
Hiveswap: Act 2Windows, macOS, Linux
2022Pokémon Scarlet and VioletNintendo Switch[39]

Guest composer only

Other credits

YearMedia typeMedia titleRoleNotesRef
2009–2016WebcomicHomestuckComposer
2010AlbumThe Baby is YouWriter, composer, vocalistAlbum made for Homestuck[48]
2012AlbumI Miss You - EarthBound 2012Composer[49]
2012Websitetane.usGuest ArrangementMetronomy - Black Eye Burnt Thumb (Toby "Radiation" Fox CHIP MIX)[50]
2018AlbumPRAYGuest composer, lyricist and vocalist
Video gameBlack BirdGame testing[51]
2020ComicHobonichi Mother Project "Pollyanna" comicContributor[52]
Music videoChip Tanaka/Hammerhead Shark SongDirector/Animator (music video)[53]
2021Video gameGet in the Car, Loser!Credited for providing Guest Items and Stories[54]
Song"Myths You Forgot"Featured artist[55]
2022Album"Skies Forever Blue"Composer, writerIn collaboration with Itoki Hana[56]
2023Song"The Greatest Living Show"Composer, writer[57] [58]
Song"Prelude"ComposerIn collaboration with bo en[59]
Animated television seriesWe Baby BearsVoice actor (2 episodes)[60]
Animated television seriesPokémon HorizonsOriginal Composer
2024Song"Fallen Wing"ComposerAs a guest composer for Hololive VTuber Amane Kanata's Unknown DIVA album[61]
Song"Dead Ma’am’s Chest"ComposerIn collaboration with Hololive VTuber Houshou Marine[62]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: EarthBound Halloween Hack! « EarthBound Central. 2021-12-14. earthboundcentral.com. December 14, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211214011040/https://earthboundcentral.com/2009/10/earthbound-halloween-hack/. dead.
  2. Web site: Land of Memes and Trolls: The Epic and Ridiculous Self-Aware World of Homestuck . . . Funk . John . October 15, 2012 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160520212927/http://www.polygon.com/2013/1/24/3780850/land-of-memes-and-trolls-the-epic-and-ridiculous-self-aware-world-of . May 20, 2016 . mdy-all.
  3. Web site: Escaped Chasm is a short, sad, free story by Undertale's artist . Rock Paper Shotgun . Tarason . Dominic . 2019-04-02 . 2019-05-02 . mdy-all . https://web.archive.org/web/20190405232954/https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2019/04/02/escaped-chasm-is-a-free-short-from-undertales-temie-chang/ . April 5, 2019 . live.
  4. Web site: Goslin . Austen . Undertale developer is composing a song for Pokémon Sword and Shield . . November 1, 2019 . October 10, 2020 . en . March 28, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210328084339/https://www.polygon.com/2019/11/1/20943435/undertale-developer-music-toby-fox-pokemon-sword-and-shield . live.
  5. Fox . Toby . tobyfox . 1026500164217962498 . August 6, 2018 . I composed a vocal song for my friend @1t0lc1 (Itoki Hana's) new album, PRAY..
  6. 1532038920183205888. tobyfox. I had the honor of composing the field music for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet! After creating a concept sketch, Game Freak arranged it into many versions that you'll hear throughout the game. You can hear a bit of it in this trailer.... June 1, 2022.
  7. 1532039019634229248. tobyfox. A few more Toby Fox tracks will appear in the game, too, so please look forward to those! This time, my music is not optional!!!. June 1, 2022.
  8. Web site: Stardew Valley is one of the best-selling PC games of the year as it surpasses 1M copies sold . Grubb . Jeff . . . April 13, 2016 . April 22, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160420121945/http://venturebeat.com/2016/04/13/stardew-valley-is-one-of-the-best-selling-pc-games-of-the-year-as-it-surpasses-1m-copies-sold/ . April 20, 2016 . live . mdy-all.
  9. Multiple sources:
  10. GI Show – Yoshi's Woolly World, Star Wars: Battlefront, Undertale's Toby Fox . Turi . Tim . . . October 15, 2015 . January 20, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160130192250/http://www.gameinformer.com/b/podcasts/archive/2015/10/15/gi-show-_1320_-yoshis-woolly-world_2c00_-star-wars_3a00_-battlefront_2c00_-undertale-toby-fox.aspx . January 30, 2016 . dead . mdy-all.
  11. Toby Fox's Undertale – DEV 2 DEV INTERVIEW #1 . Han-Tani . Melos . ambient-melodic . May 25, 2013 . January 20, 2016 . August 8, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200808085010/https://meloshantani.wordpress.com/2013/05/25/toby-foxs-undertale-dev-2-dev-interview-1/ . live.
  12. The making of Undertale . May 5, 2018 . October 12, 2020 . . Schilling . Chris . March 27, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190327090348/https://www.pcgamer.com/the-making-of-undertale/ . live.
  13. Web site: Earthbound (The Halloween Hack) – Hardcore Gaming 101 . www.hardcoregaming101.net . en-US . 2018-11-04 . November 5, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181105061806/http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/earthbound-the-halloween-hack/ . live.
  14. News: Undertale Creator Shares Notebook Full Of Early Concepts And Art . Alexandra . Heather . Kotaku . 2017-08-02 . en-US . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170803085421/http://kotaku.com/undertale-creator-shares-notebook-full-of-early-concept-1790978697 . August 3, 2017 . mdy-all.
  15. News: Undertale Creator: It's OK If People Dislike The Game . Grayson . Nathan . Steamed . 2017-08-02 . en-US . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170803085710/http://steamed.kotaku.com/undertale-creator-its-ok-if-people-dislike-the-game-1751013241 . August 3, 2017 . mdy-all.
  16. Web site: 8/10: Undertale Dev Reflects On Unexpected Popularity . O'Connor . Alice . 2016-09-15 . Rock, Paper, Shotgun . en-US . 2017-08-02 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170803045451/https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/09/15/undertale-launched-a-year-ago-today/ . August 3, 2017 . mdy-all.
  17. Web site: Fox . Toby . 2016 . Retrospective on UNDERTALE’s Popularity . 2024-03-20 . Tumblr . en-US . It’s about an 8/10, niche RPG game..
  18. Web site: Undertale Creator Releases Unused Music to Celebrate 1-Year Anniversary . O'Brien . Lucy . 2016-09-15 . IGN . en-US . 2017-08-02 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170803051641/http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/09/16/undertale-creator-releases-unused-music-to-celebrate-1-year-anniversary . August 3, 2017 . mdy-all.
  19. Web site: Ashly Burch, Toby Fox and Mike Z join the Profound Waste of Time team . Destructoid . December 15, 2016 . en . 2017-08-02 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170527074841/https://www.destructoid.com/ashly-burch-toby-fox-and-mike-z-join-the-profound-waste-of-time-team-404852.phtml . May 27, 2017 . mdy-all.
  20. Web site: Toby Fox . . en . 2017-12-03 . mdy-all . December 3, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171203153955/https://www.forbes.com/profile/toby-fox/ . live.
  21. Web site: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – Mr. Sakurai Presents "Banjo & Kazooie" . YouTube . 2019-09-14 . en . September 1, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200901173651/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPh3HM6ofWU&t=21m16s . live.
  22. Web site: Undertale's Sans Joins Smash Bros. As A Mii Fighter Costume . Walker . Ian . September 4, 2019 . 2019-09-04 . September 5, 2019 . https://archive.today/20190905050610/https://kotaku.com/undertales-sans-joins-smash-bros-as-a-mii-fighter-cost-1837885342 . live.
  23. Web site: tobyfox on Twitter . Twitter . 2019-09-14 . en . September 18, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190918084327/https://twitter.com/tobyfox/status/1169387070529429504 . live.
  24. News: Undertale creator's new game is Deltarune, a mysterious surprise . Polygon . 2018-11-01 . November 1, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181101015346/https://www.polygon.com/2018/10/31/18044640/deltarune-free-download-undertale-game . live.
  25. News: Deltarune Chapter 1 is the free and surprising start of a new Undertale saga . Rock Paper Shotgun . 2018-11-01 . en-US . May 2, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190502154830/https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2018/11/01/deltarune-chapter-1-undertale-sequel/ . live.
  26. News: Deltarune creator Toby Fox talks full release plans, upscaling . 2018-11-01 . App Trigger . 2018-11-13 . en-US . November 13, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181113165754/https://apptrigger.com/2018/11/01/deltarune-toby-fox-full-release-plans/ . live.
  27. News: tobyfox on Twitter . Twitter . 2018-11-13 . en . December 27, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181227034243/https://twitter.com/tobyfox/status/1058382742260498433 . live.
  28. News: Deltarune update from creator's Twitter counter . Twitter . 2019-06-12 . December 14, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191214183924/https://twitter.com/tobyfox/status/1138835212425682945 . live.
  29. News: Deltarune update from creator's Twitter counter . Twitter . 2019-06-12 . June 15, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190615031127/https://twitter.com/tobyfox/status/1138825844728709123 . live.
  30. Web site: Lyles . Taylor . 2023-10-31 . Deltarune Will Be Released Once Chapter 4 Is Done, Toby Fox Confirms . 2023-11-20 . IGN . en.
  31. Web site: Hayward . Mark . December 6, 2020 . City Matters: Secretive NH game designer created Undertale video game . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210622105128/https://www.unionleader.com/voices/city_matters/city-matters-secretive-nh-game-designer-created-undertale-video-game/article_ef527592-4b1a-5402-8393-944173180028.html . June 22, 2021 . June 22, 2021 . New Hampshire Union Leader.
  32. Web site: WebVoyage Titles . 2022-01-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220108145429/https://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v1=2&ti=1%2C2&Search_Arg=undertale&Search_Code=TALL&CNT=25&PID=2GBPDlE9V8lZU7vODNZ89kFfz&SEQ=20220108095355&SID=1 . 2022-01-08 . cocatalog.loc.gov.
  33. Fox . Toby . tobyfox . 918137771595829250 . October 11, 2017 . It's my 26th birthday. . https://web.archive.org/web/20180831161836/https://twitter.com/tobyfox/status/918137771595829250 . 2018-08-31 . live.
  34. Web site: INTERVIEW: TOBY FOX OF UNDERTALE . Feeld . Julian . Existential Gamer . Feeld . October 9, 2015 . January 20, 2016 . https://archive.today/20151117161517/http://existentialgamer.com/interview-toby-fox-of-undertale . November 17, 2015 . dead.
  35. Web site: DELTARUNE Status Update – September 2020 . September 15, 2020 . January 20, 2021 . January 20, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210120033544/https://undertale.com/deltarune-update-092020/ . live.
  36. Web site: Rose of Winter on Steam . Steam . 30 January 2024 . en.
  37. Brown . Fraser . 2019-04-03 . Escaped Chasm is a free game about loneliness from Undertale's artist . live . PC Gamer . en-US . https://web.archive.org/web/20200605013503/https://www.pcgamer.com/escaped-chasm-is-a-free-game-about-loneliness-from-undertales-artist/ . June 5, 2020 . 2020-05-18.
  38. Web site: Lada . Jenni . Undertale Artist Temmie Chang Releases Dweller’s Empty Path . Siliconera . 30 January 2024 . 11 July 2020.
  39. News: Carpenter . Nicole . June 1, 2022 . Undertale's Toby Fox composed music for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet . . June 1, 2022 . July 6, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220706000736/https://www.polygon.com/pokemon/23150300/undertale-toby-fox-pokemon-scarlet-violet-music-composer . live .
  40. Web site: Hiveswap Friendsim, by James Roach . Bandcamp . 30 January 2024 . en.
  41. Web site: Boudreau . Ian . New games: YIIK is a weird JRPG set in the postmodern ‘90s, built on loss . PCGamesN . 30 January 2024 . 13 January 2019.
  42. Web site: 'yeah, it is' . . the title is meant to answer the question you ask while listening 'is this... megalovania?' then you go and check the track in the credits and it gives you your answer. . Roach . James . 2023-08-20 . 2019-12-04 . 2023-08-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230820165253/https://jamesroachmusic.tumblr.com/post/189479481402/yeah-it-is-the-title-is-meant-to-answer-the . live .
  43. OMORI GINO'S JUKEBOX . Liner notes . OMOCAT.
  44. Web site: Beatmania IIDX 30 Resident Will Come With a New Toby Fox Song . Siliconera . 30 January 2024 . 5 August 2022.
  45. Web site: Macgregor . Jody . This single-serving Ghibli-esque adventure about work and worms will warm your heart . PC Gamer . 30 January 2024 . en . 22 March 2023.
  46. Web site: Romano . Sal . Touhou Danmaku Kagura: Phantasia Lost for PC launches February 8, 2024 . Gematsu . 30 January 2024 . 7 August 2023.
  47. News: Fields of Mistria - Official Trailer . 16 August 2024 . . June 10, 2023.
  48. Web site: Lee . Julia . Undertale creator Toby Fox’s Pokémon Sword and Shield song sounds like a Homestuck fan tune . Polygon . 30 January 2024 . 13 November 2019.
  49. Web site: I Miss You - EarthBound 2012, by Various Artists . Bandcamp . 30 January 2024 . en.
  50. Web site: Brian Lee . ABOUT TANE . tane.us . 19 September 2023 . en.
  51. Black Bird . Onion Games . April 20, 2018 . Credits . ja.
  52. Web site: Pollyanna - Hobonichi MOTHER Project - Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun . Hobonichi MOTHER Project . 30 January 2024.
  53. Web site: Chip Tanaka / Hammerhead Shark Song from 2nd album "Domingo" (Release: July 15th, 2020) . YouTube . 30 January 2024 . en.
  54. Get in the Car, Loser! . Love Conquers All Games . September 21, 2021 . Credits . en.
  55. Web site: かめりあ(Camellia) . Myths You Forgot (feat. Toby Fox), by かめりあ(Camellia) . Bandcamp . 8 September 2023 . en.
  56. Web site: Liu . Stephanie . Toby Fox Collaborated With Omocat on the Song ‘Skies Forever Blue’ . Siliconera . 30 January 2024 . 2 November 2022.
  57. Web site: Nguyen . Jasmine . 2023-03-31 . The Greatest Living Show, A Music Collaboration ft. Itoki Hana & Toby Fox . 2023-04-21 . KeenGamer . en-US.
  58. Web site: 2023-03-31 . The Greatest Living Show . 2023-04-21 . Toby Fox . en.
  59. Web site: prelude, by bo en . Bandcamp . 30 January 2024 . en.
  60. Web site: Perine . Aaron . We Baby Bears Returns to Cartoon Network with Special Guests Anderson Paak and Willow Smith . Comicbook . 30 January 2024 . en.
  61. Web site: 猫塚きてぃ . 武藤先輩 . 2024-03-15 . 【ホロライブ】天音かなた1stアルバム『Unknown DIVA』インタビュー。『片羽』はトビー・フォックスからの逆オファー！ 自身が作詞した曲への想いや裏話を語る ゲーム・エンタメ最新情報のファミ通.com . 【hololive】Kanata Amane's 1st album "Unknown DIVA" interview. "Kataha" is a counteroffer from Toby Fox! He talks about his thoughts on the songs he wrote and the story behind them. . 2024-03-15 . famitsu.com . ja.
  62. Web site: Lada . Jenni . 2024-07-30 . New Hololive Vtuber Houshou Marine Song Written by Toby Fox . 2024-08-01 . Siliconera . en-US.

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