the Guitar Center "drum-off" competition after winning two store challenges in Las Vegas but was eliminated. His solo album Infiltrator was released in April 2009. According to Klepacki, the album was inspired by his recent work on the Red Alert series. Klepacki enjoys Las Vegas thanks to its diversity of musical talent and prolific number of shows and attractions. He attributes his showmanship to being raised in the city, noting that one has to "stand out" to be noticed among the entertainment atmosphere of Vegas. The city's Las Vegas Weekly honored him as a "badass composer" in its mid-April 2009 issue, highlighting his prolific fan-base and work as producer for various local bands. Work and beliefs When composing for video games, Klepacki spends a few days to compose and master one song on average. He feels writing music for games is somewhat difficult as only early software builds are available to play; he sometimes must compose songs based on vague descriptions. Composing for cut scenes is easier by comparison, and Klepacki enjoys drawing inspiration and direction from game design art. Nonetheless, he prefers to compose for a game throughout its development rather than write songs for a finished product. He feels that game music has been harder to compose than film or solo music as he must compose for all situations a player may discover or engineer. Klepacki maintains templates with a base of common instruments prepared for sudden bursts of inspiration, as he resents "having technical issues...as an obstacle." When asked how the composing process begins, Klepacki related: Klepacki has said that the most rewarding part of composing video game music is working with a team—which he compares to chemistry between band members—and knowing he is part of a greater cause. He believes that game music could improve if artists focused on quality and derived inspiration from playing games. He has expressed interest in having Electronic Arts sell his soundtracks in retail stores, preferably next to video games in electronic departments. He advises those wishing to get in the video game business to attend conventions and investigate developer companies. He also noted in 2008 that "composition and engineering skills are now required," advising upstart composers to ensure their work is film-quality. Klepacki is happy to see older games offered on the Wii, hoping that gamers are "recognizing once again that simple, short fun experiences are just as good as...long,