Sue Kasper, it's a name you might know by memory but if you grew up PC gaming in the 90s you're definitely familiar with her work. Sue was the lead composer on SimFarm and the international sensation SimCity 2000! Both games were developed by Maxis, a studio known for producing simulation games since the 80s including SimCity, The Sims, Spore and many others.

Sue's eclectic tunes have been ingrained in the hearts and minds of simulation game players the world over, and there's no doubt that her work on SimCity 2000 inspired a great many other composers trying to capture that iconic simulation game sound. She's a lifelong musician and guitarist that's been playing gigs in a number of bands around California since the 70s. While we weren't able to speak to Sue directly on mic, we had an excellent conversation with Michelle sitting in as proxy for Sue to answer our collective questions about her work on SimCity 2K and SimFarm. It was a ton of fun hearing her experiences rocking out, and her work with companies like Maxis, Guitar Player magazine, and Avid/Digidesign.

Music composed by Sue Kasper unless otherwise stated

0:00:00 Dawn of City (Sim City 2000)

0:06:44 Dancing Megalopolis

0:11:06 The SIM Magic: Experience Mode

0:15:04 Skyscrapers

0:22:00 Tax & Money

0:28:35 (Excerpts) Tax & Money, Work Work Work! [with MIDI transcription issues]

0:31:18 Title Theme (Sim Farm)

0:34:13 Dead Farm / Debt Farm

0:39:15 Home Improvement (aka COWMAN)

0:41:53 Work Work Work (Sim City 2000)

0:48:25 Ultimate City

0:52:50 Key of Success

1:01:35 (Bedding) General Farm

1:04:12 Work Work Work!

Composed by Sue Kasper

Arranged by Ryuichi Katsumata for Sim-Melody from SimCity 2000

Other things mentioned:

MAGWest 2024 (Sep 27-29)

MAGWest 2023 - George Sanger Pool Party set

ROCKRGRL Magazine wiki

Bonus link: Small World - Juliet Slip tribute video

All songs using Roland SC-55, thank you to Valley Bell for providing the stellar recordings!