Adventure Game Remix Contest!

Artropos posted on OverClocked ReMix:

Welcome to the first ever* Adventure Game Remix Contest

Do you know what King’s Quest is? How about Monkey Island? Whether you know of them or not, you could win stuff by making a remix for the competition.

This contest is open to everyone. Our goal is to give something back to the remix artists who help make this site what it is, and hopefully expose you to some adventure games in the process. Some of the classic adventure games helped shape what the gaming experience is like today, so it’s a good time to give them a little recognition. 🙂

 

This contest is organized by a group of us over on the Global Gamers network, because we have enjoyed this website so much over the years. In addition to prizes for artists, for every entry we receive, we’ll donate $5 toward OCRemix.org up to a maximum of $300.

* At least, I think it’s the first.
AT A GLANCE

Theme: Pick music from an adventure game* and create a remix!
Submissions Accepted: January 23 through February 20 (e-mail to [email protected] – see the How To Submit section)
Votes Accepted: February 21 through February 27 (PM to Atropos – see the Voting section in the next post)
Winners Announced: February 28
Prizes:

1st: 320 GB external hard drive
2nd: Metal remote control helicopter
3rd: LucasArts adventure game pack or OCRemix T-shirt

* Make sure the game you choose is approved, though!

RULES

Submissions will be accepted for four weeks, starting Saturday, January 23 at 12:00 midnight EST and ending Saturday, February 20 at 11:59 PM EST.

Entries must be new remixes created for this competition, and they must fit the adventure game theme.

Entries should be in MP3, OGG, or MIDI format, and they should not be larger than 8 MB. 

Entries must be at least 1 minute long.

Multiple entries from the same artist ARE allowed, but each entry from a single artist must be based on different music. Each artist can only win one prize.

Collaborations are acceptable but the prizes may change accordingly (see the Prizes section in the next post).

THEME

Your source can be from any video game in the adventure genre. Some examples:

Quest for Glory
Police Quest
King’s Quest
Kyrandia
Space Quest
Monkey Island
Grim Fandango
Sam & Max
Syberia
Zork

If you’re not sure if a game you want to use qualifies, make sure you get approval from me (Atropos) before you start!

HOW TO SUBMIT AN ENTRY

E-mail submissions to me at [email protected] before the deadline. In your e-mail, you must include:

1) Your name as you want it posted in the thread
2) The title of your remix
3) The game(s) you used
4) The titles of any songs you used (or if you can’t find the title, some description so we know where it was in the game)
5) Don’t forget your remix! A link to it is fine if you have it hosted somewhere, or just attach it to the e-mail.
6) Any other information you want us to know about your entry.

If you want to modify your entry before the contest deadline, that’s okay, but I have to receive your e-mail or PM with your updated entry before the deadline.

I will post links to the final entries in this thread on Sunday, February 21, for voting.

 

Mega Man X Series Project: Maverick Fight ($$$ prize!)

Bahamut posted on OverClocked ReMix:

So I have a nice little contest here for you guys – the Mega Man X Series project is in need of some boss tracks from various games of the series, and we’re letting you guys take your pick!

The style must be appropriate for the X games (i.e. no slow jazzy boss song). Medleys are allowed.

The deadline for this is March 1, 2010 – decision will be by the MMX project crew in collective voting. Entries are submitted to me via PM, email, etc.

The first place prize is $200 and a guaranteed placement in the project.
The second place prize is $50.
The third place prize is a physical copy of the OCR Final Fantasy 4 album project.

We will welcome all good tracks that comes out of this of course! May the best person win!

Week in Video Game Inspired Music 1/11 ñ 1/17

Like Jazz Zora band Indigogos by zgul-osr1113

From GM4A:

I am finally back with the first This Week in VGIM of the new year, and decade, and millenium (depending on where you start counting). Up above we have some incredible artwork by zgul-osr1113 and goes by the nameLike Jazz Zora band Indigogos.

This piece definitely has video game music written…ahem…drawn all over it! Well in site related news I have to reiterate that we have our second release. This time it’s some ambient space tunes courtesy of Doug Leinen and his new album Songs to Sing in Space (download here). I have been away for a bit due to unforeseen circumstances that were mentioned before, so there is a huge list of remixes this time around. Now let’s get down to the nitty gritty of the news.

ThaSauce Launches New Media Tab

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The media tab was the only thing not completed along with the rest of the site. I talked about my plans for it a bit at the panel at MAGFest this year, and I’ve finally gotten it to (about) where I want it to be.
The media tab now lists a bunch of really great podcasts from around the community, and has now been streamlined for Radio:ThaSauce. There’s a lot more that I want to do with it in the future, but for now I think it’s a substantial improvement over what we had. Enjoy! 😀

Crocodile Chaos – A Donkey Kong Country 2 OverLooked ReMix Album

So after 4 years of tireless effort (and 2 years of sitting around on peoples’ computers), OverLooked ReMiX is proud to present Crocodile Chaos, a Donkey Kong Country 2 ReMix Album!

http://dkc2.olremix.org
Because Dave Wise’s music is so awesome, it needs another project 😀

The Grand Robot Master Remix Battle – Round One Ends! VOTE!

ROBOT BATTLE

From OverClocked ReMix:

The year is 20XX, and the Robot Masters of the world have come together in order to fight for supremacy, but not with elemental abilities! No! They’ve decided to fight with a more potent weapon: PHAT BEATS, WAILIN’ GUITARS, and OTHER SIMILARLY EPICALLY DESCRIBED MUSICAL ELEMENTS.

So begins OCR’s Grand Robot Master Remix Battle!

Round 1 remixing is done, and all the songs are really great. Check the thread for links to the download and vote by joining the usergroup here.

The Nerdy Show podcast counts down their top 20 nerdy things of 2009

Nerdy Shoot 2009

From GM4A:

Including many of the artists which we feature here, on this very site regularly, the Nerdy Show recently counted down their favorite nerdy things of 2009. “Ladies and Gentlemen, we present to you the Final Boss of 2009! In this episode we unleash our list of the Top Twenty Nerdy THINGS of 2009, in a VERY specific order. Movies, video games, people, music, concepts – if it’s nerdy then we judged its worth.”

The gang discuss their picks, in between playing music from the releases on the list, including tracks from videogame orchestra, I Fight Dragons, The Protomen and Pixelh8. Head on over to the Nerdy Show website, and download Episode 18 :: 2009 Final Boss now!

New Interview with Alexander Brandon

While OCR was interviewing Alexander Brandon for their joint remix with BigGiantCircles, I was searching for some credit information on some of the Unreal and Unreal Tournament tracks on behalf of beyondunreal.com, and Alex graciously agreed to an interview. It got pretty in-depth at times, with questions about individual U/UT songs and Alex’s experiences composing the game.
Authorship Identification (AB’s notes in parentheses)

UNREAL 1995 TECH DEMO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlbrSfjoZgQ – “UNREAL.S3M”, also used as “Undrwrld.umx” in the Unreal 1998 beta version (myself and Michiel, first iteration)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vwr8UUFZ6Uo – “UNREALS.S3M” (me)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ED7eCGfxYc – “UNREALT.S3M” (me, yuck… not bad for the time I guess J)

UNREAL 1998 BETA VERSION

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgcD_YnP0QI
“Orchtest.it”, Commencement, has same beginning with “Escape from Na
Pali” from RTNP but gets really different (yeah this was mine, too
“happy” at first so I edited it a bit)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNmLyP0BDPg
“Orch3.it”, Vantage Point (me, this was one of my favs, but never got
in, don’t even think the level made it into Na Pali either)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR4dLfD-p1A “New3.it”, Secret Area (guessing it’s Alex from the name/style) You guessed right!

UNREAL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzUbvdaJS54 “WarLord.s3m”, Warlord Theme (Michiel)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqlOpwtoegg “Opal.it”, ALF (me, borrowing Michiel’s style liberally)

UNREAL – RETURN TO NA PALI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuMPTmz_ZpE
“Starseek.s3m”, Star Seeker (DAMN I haven’t heard this in ages! Yep,
mine… thank heavens for you people for keeping this stuff alive)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1x9HrGFWp8 “Title.it”, Return to Na Pali (Michiel and myself)

UNREAL TOURNAMENT BETA VERSION

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z4oFw3TOy4 “menu2.it”, “XYZDMenu2.it” (ugh, this was mine)

UNREAL TOURNAMENT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_iPYnVtJ24 “Cannon.s3m”, Cannonade (me again)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iI4Ljd-nn34 “Lock.s3m”, Lock (me)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTzZSY4REBU “Nether.s3m”, Nether Animal (cmon dude, this is clearly Michiel working serious electronic magic. J)

General Q&A

1. How did you first get contacted to work on Unreal? Were you noticed because of your involvement in the MOD community?

I actually approached Tim Sweeney with Michiel Van Den Bos on one of
his visits while his team was working on Age of Wonders. We said we
wanted to do the music for Unreal, it looked like it was going to be
big. He’d worked with us both before and liked our stuff, so he simply
said “ok”. Ah, the good old days.

2. Unreal had a medium-long development process, spanning 1995-1998. In
what period did you compose most of your songs? Did the development
time give you a lot of time for revision, or did it force you to wait
for developer input on what you should compose?

I’d say it was off and on throughout that period of time. Not much
revision took place at all. We just kept writing music. Around an hour
of ambient music at least, but the total including combat and other
segments probably goes well over two hours.

Sometimes we would get specific requests, but most of the time we’d look at levels and just write based on what we saw.

3. A lot of people in the community love how your style meshed with
that of Michiel van den Bos. How’d your working relationship evolve
over the development period?

Michiel had a much more solid command of clean electronic, and he also
made more grand steps into using orchestral instrumentation. I was in
between, using synths in a sort of fantasy style derived from the
graphical inspiration. Sometimes we’d write different patterns and swap
the MOD back and forth and sometimes we’d collaborate on the entire
thing, adding bits and pieces here and there. It was fun, Michiel is a
great composer to work with.

4. A lot of Unreal and UT songs draw on the same samples/soundfont, and
this gives both titles a coherent musical aesthetic. Where did those
samples come from? (It was fun seeing Andrew Sega’s Orchard Street pop
up in the samples for Jazz Jackrabbit 3’s songs!)

The samples are literally from all over God’s green earth. Some from
old Korg synths, some from my Trinity synth, some from old movie
soundtracks, some from other MOD files. We unashamedly constructed our
sample set but didn’t make a point to rip too much, just here and
there. Yeah, I’ve used plenty of Necros samples over the years. I think
he MAY have used one of mine at one point. So we’re even. Hah!

5. What was the compositional process like? Were you told by the
developers what to make, and shown the level the song would be used
for? Or was it a more general process?

As mentioned earlier some level designers would be very specific with
their ideas. Inoxx was one (Cedric Fiorentino) and Myscha (T. Eliot
Cannon) were two of the most vocal of the designers, and Inoxx’s
requests led to one of the most interesting pieces, Ghost.it I think it
was called, though I’m not at all sure what level it was for or what
the final filename is. Myscha worked very closely with Michiel on the
crashed spaceship and it’s multiple levels, and I believe he was very
happy with it.

The scene everyone seems to remember from Unreal is when the lights go
out and the Skaarj emerges. Gotta give Cliff credit for that, he wanted
to increase tension through in-game cinematic sequences, which was
pretty advanced for the time. Obviously it was shot into the
stratosphere by Half Life’s techniques, but in those cases Cliff
requested sound effects, not so much music.

In most cases though we just wrote based on inspiration from the beta
levels. I submitted a piece for the first outdoor level and its
designer, Pancho, responded with “I don’t know but the music just keeps
getting better. Dusk.it is awesome.” And that was Dusk Horizon, to this
day one of my favorites, but not so much because of the music itself.
It fits the level in a way no game music has before or since. I think
that’s the most egotistical thing I’ve ever said, but I really believe
it’s true, even with its dated sound, it generated something really
unique.

6. What was the most frustrating thing about writing music for Unreal and Unreal Tournament?

Hm, tough one. The whole process was great really. I mean, we’d be up
against deadlines and since Epic was a newborn babe as far as product
development goes, things would get out of hand at times with
miscommunication and such. But overall I don’t remember being
frustrated. Just inspired with what everyone was doing as a team.

I was amused at one point when Cliff made a request for a piece that
was a combination of “Carmina Burana” and “White Zombie”. But that’s
part of his style. To this day he’s made bat**** crazy music requests,
but regardless he’s still one of the best designers in the business.
Jazz Jackrabbit blew the doors off the whole “find the colored key,
open the same color door” gameplay mechanic Apogee had driven into the
ground, for example, not to mention the cover tactic system in Gears of
War.

7. How did the other guys (Andrew Sega, Dan GardopÈe, and the other
Scandinavian guys on UT, plus Paul Schultz on Return to Na Pali) get
involved? And was there any buzz or anticipation in the MOD community
of your work on Unreal?

I brought just about everyone in, except Paul Schultz. Maybe I’ve
forgotten but the name is unfamiliar to me. They’re all people I know,
except Tero, who Skaven brought aboard. And oddly enough MOD composers
really didn’t react much to Unreal, at least that I’m aware of at the
time.

8. Did you ever get to play any beta builds of Unreal or Unreal Tournament as a perk?

Well, yeah! We saw builds of Unreal back when it was just a means of
displaying customized Silicon Graphics models that James Schmalz
created. From day one the window bar title said “Unreal”. It was
awesome that it never changed because we all thought it was a great
name, even if it also was the name of a PC demo.

9. Unreal has a very dark, mystical, and sometimes electronic feel to
it; it’s a very atmospheric game. Was this one of your strong-points
going in to the writing process, or did you work to build your skill in
this kind of music?

I had never written music like that before, and I guess for some reason
it came naturally, but again, the game generated most of the
inspiration, along with the concept art. Tim had books of Roger Dean
and Rodney Matthews in his office, and I’d never seen that artwork
before. It was incredible. Plans were under way to make levels that
looked like that, but design-wise it was ludicrous. Think of how far
you’d walk in quite a few Unreal levels. As something to gawk at its
great, but unless you’re planning on skiing like you do in Tribes, not
a good idea. Anyway the music was borne out of that style, which found
its way into the game.

10. Likewise, Unreal Tournament has a very sleek soundtrack; was this closer to home?

I’m not so sure UT is sleek as much as it is “appropriate”. Music
doesn’t match the levels in quite the same way. The music was more or
less designed to reflect the action packed nature of the gameplay, with
one or two exceptions by Michiel. His more trance-style Nether Animal
and Skyward Fire in the vast space-filled levels fit those environments
like a glove.

I branched out and desperately tried to make pieces with more guitar,
primarily because of how great Razorback was. It kinda worked but it
didn’t really approach that level of polish. I think Three Wheels
Turning is my favorite piece from that game that I did.

11. Did you have any new thoughts upon seeing the finished Unreal and
Unreal Tournament in action, or getting to play through the maps and
hear your music?

I didn’t expect UT to win the war with iD. Epic had thrown down the
gauntlet with those guys with Unreal vs. Quake 2, and Quake 2 still
took the top spot. Then when UT emerged somehow it bested Quake 3,
despite Quake 3’s better graphics engine. When I hear the songs I wrote
(and the other composers) I’m still pleased with how they sound.
They’re just unique. I mean nobody did that style before and really no
one’s done it since. Kind of a shame really.

12. What was your reaction when you heard that the Unreal multiplayer add-on was going to be released as a separate game, UT?

I thought it was cool and a good idea. In fact the original plan was to
have UT be like Madden, with one released every year. Problem is,
you’ve REALLY got to put a lot of people and time into that, and Epic
is more of a company that just builds something until its satisfied.
Like Valve, I suppose.

13. And how were you retained for Deus Ex?

I sent a demo to Warren Spector and started pestering him and Chris
Norden, the lead programmer. Eventually I got the gig. Bless ‘em.

14. Did you get to meet any of the Epic team, or share any good times? (Like a release celebration, maybe)

I lived close to Epic so we spent a good deal of time at the offices.
At first it was this little 6 or 7 room space in Rockville with Cliff,
Tim, Arjan (programmer for Jazz) all in one room. Cliff was a really
funny guy, a lot more humble than he is now that he’s posed for
Entertainment Weekly .
Tim was quiet and very very intelligent (well, still is of course), not
just with engineering but with business. And when he had busy time he’d
simply close his door with a sign saying “**** off”. It was
appropriate. When you’re a lead engineer as well as the head of a
business it’s hard to find time to do both.

I didn’t participate in a release party, but I did see someone at Ion
Storm wearing a leather Unreal Tournament jacket which was really,
REALLY nice. So I asked Cliff and Tim if I could have one and they said
“sure”. I got it, then at GDC that year in an elevator a woman was
looking at me suspiciously. She finally asked “where did you get that
jacket?” She might as well have had her hands on her hips scolding a
thieving teenager. When I responded it turns out the woman was Anne,
Epic’s accountant / office manager. We shared a good laugh with that
one.

15. Sort of obligatory, but if you can remember, what’s your favorite
song from Unreal? From UT? What about your favorite Michiel song from
Unreal & UT?

Hoo boy. Favorite Unreal song would be Crypt, even if it’s mine I gotta
be honest. UT would be tough. Mech 8 and / or Razorback and / or
Skyward Fire. Michiel’s best in Unreal would be the Chizra piece. I
worked on it with him but he did like 90% of it. His UT tune would be
Skyward Fire.

16. If you’re still gaming, what kind of games are you into lately?

Still gaming, but when you’ve got a wife and three kids and a full time
job (even in gaming), it gets harder to find the time. Halo 3 is still
played, along with Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3, Splosion Man. Half
Life 2 is probably my favorite game of all time, and the music is
stupidly sparse in it. Go figure.

17. Did you hear the reinterpretations of UT songs on Unreal Tournament III, and what did you think? (the Go Down remix is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-r3If2zwEA in case you need a refresher)

I did hear them, and nearly collaborated on it. However I ended up
getting way too busy at Midway. I do regret not being able to at least
get one song on there. But I was on the phone with Mike Larson at Epic
quite a bit. He would wax lyrical for quite some time about the goals
of the music, some of which ended up getting used. Overall I like the
soundtrack and with utmost respect to Kevin Riepl I think it’s better
than UT2003 and UT2004, but all of them since the original lack some of
that unique quality that made the originals what they were. I admire
Rom and Jespyr for taking the time to remix all those pieces and not
turn them into hash.

18. As time goes on, a lot of people feel nostalgia over their first
communities. What do you feel looking back on the MOD scene? (I get
this awesome sense sometimes when I see all the shout-outs in the
sample comments for songs…) Did most of its most competent musicians
get in to professional music-making like you did?

I’d say so. The MOD community was a great starting point for learning
to write music. It involves far more complexity with understanding
composition than using notation. What it doesn’t do is teach instrument
skill, and that’s something I’m working on now. I have a huge amount of
nostalgic thoughts often about the Amiga world, MODs, and just older
gaming in general.

20. Were there any random chance happenings or other fond memories for the Unreal/UT days?

Eh, a ton of stories but those are best told over a beer J I could go
on for quite awhile about Mark Rein. Funny stories (“I think Jazz
should be a squirrel!”) but that he can also kick ass when it comes to
protecting people. A guy was accusing Andy Sega of ripping off
Mechanism 8. He had a website that claimed he wrote it and everything.
Total fraud. Mark (professionally of course) ripped him a new one.
Great to know he had our back.

21. Have you kept up with Michiel, Andrew Sega, Dan, and the others since those days?

Yep, though more with Michiel and Andy than with Dan. Dan is at Kush
games I believe working on sports titles for 2K. Michiel is still
working with the AoW team on games like Overlord 2. Andy has his own
company, Diffusion Games, and is making Flash games for the web.

Song Q&A

22. Organic.umx — what was it originally intended for in Unreal
Tournament? Was it an influence in making “Conspiravision” for Deus Ex
and “Jack of Spades” for Jazz Jackrabbit 3?

Good ear, there. It’s influence was in all three and in all three I was
still finding footing with this style, stumbling through using similar
samples and such. And yeah Organic was written specifically for UT.

23. Who composed the Unreal Euro Dance Mix for the tech demo video/OST?

I did this with Bryan Rudge (Sirrus, in the MOD community).

1. I plan on asking Dan this, but in case you know, what was Cyrene (or
Moros – Dark Presence) going to be used for in the Unreal beta? (It’s
at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1BXL3Ya5JU)

No clue, several pieces would be submitted and then matched to a level.
Several would be custom written based on early versions of the level.

2. Dusk Horizon, the beta version, has a really upbeat combat subsong.
I’m guessing Epic asked you to make it a little more intense and
dangerous sounding, but just curious; which do you ultimately prefer?

I much prefer the ambient segment of Dusk Horizon. The action sequences
were intended for fights with Brutes that take place on approach to the
elevator to the top of the mesa.

3. Deep Chill, from the Unreal beta, is perfect for that cryogenic ship
level that was scrapped. Did you search out any new samples to try and
achieve that icy sound, or did the ones you have work well?

Good question, but unfortunately I can’t remember where I got those
samples. Makes it sound suspicious but in those days samples came from
other MODs more often than not, so technically I probably ripped ’em.
The piece was written on very specific requests from
Cedric (Inoxx).

4. What was Magnus, from the Unreal beta, going to be used for? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymR2D8ApkDM if you need a refresher)

I even remember that it went into a level, but sadly can’t remember which one.

5. Ditto for Secret Area (New3.umx).

Once again you got me on this one. I just remember I was on a kick to
write tunes like Drew Neumann (Aeon Flux composer, who I eventually
exchanged emails with and nearly collaborated with). This got used in a
secret area but I don’t remember the level or where it was.

6. And the same question for Orchtest (Commencement) and Vantage Point
(Orch3). A couple people at BeyondUnreal got really curious about this
after they heard you were the composer.

These were VERY early pieces when we were feeling out the game
stylistically. Definitely more “Neverending Story” sounding and less
edgy. They never ended up going anywhere.

7. What was Skycity going to be used for? (Can’t find a youtube link for this, so let me know if I should upload it)

There was a level that was called Sky City and Michiel started writing
for it. I think there was a level that someone started designing but it
didn’t make it into beta.

8. Same question for Starship One (StarOne.umx).

I think that Michiel and I had a sort of competition for who would
write the theme for ISV-KRAN. Michiel won over Myscha. No bitterness,
Michiel did a whole slew of pieces all related to each other in a neat
little “Kran Pack” that sounded brilliant.

9. And again for Unreal Suspense (Suspense.umx; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy-7OjdIuAU, sounds like it’s got some of the Bluff Eversmoking sound going on)

And here’s where I get mine.
Unreal Suspense was the second song ever written for Unreal. I still
like it a lot, but it was used EVERYWHERE. Cliff got so tired of
hearing it he asked for it to be replaced. Stupid in hindsight but it
kinda lived on in Bluff Eversmoking. Glad that Michiel got inspired in
that way. A lot of these samples are from my Korg Triton, so thankfully
not ripped.

10. Unbab.umx, Black Wind – Unreal ’96, shows up in RTNP as Bounds of
Foundry, but we’ve always been curious why the pitch is so much lower
for this Unreal beta version. Did you compose it with this pitch
originally?

Ho boy, wish I could answer that. No clue whatsoever why that is. Weird!

11. What was Underworld going to be used for?

I think it was used in some extremely early levels not even in any
videos or alpha versions. It got taken out because it really was kinda
random and didn’t work that well as a contiguous piece. We really
should have polished it, it had some great ideas and was a very
successful collaboration.

12. Unreal2.umx turned into the action subsong for Bounds of Foundry in RTNP, but was it always planned for this?

Yep, I’m pretty sure it was.

UNREAL

1. For Flightcastle, did they show you that beautiful introduction flyby and say, “compose something for this”?

Yep! Took a lot of cues from Michiel’s Age of Wonder comping style, but I timed it out fairly roughly.

2. IIRC, Nightvision was an original tracker scene composition of
yours, so was it easy to cut up the relevant parts for inclusion in
Unreal?

Yes. Inoxx liked it and it went well into one of his spaceship interior levels.

3. Did you compose Surfacing after getting to see the skybox used for
those sky levels? (Those amazing purple skies, the other Nali floating
islands in the distance…) Like Dusk Horizon, it’s one of Unreal’s
most awesome feelings to step out of the lift and see that atmosphere.

I’d say so but again this is a case where I wish I could remember what the inspiration was.

4. How did you and Michiel work together to make the main title?

I did that entirely, except as mentioned I remember taking a few
samples and stylistic cues from Michiel’s Age of Wonders title theme,
which was sweeeeet.

RETURN TO NA PALI

1. Twilight Horizon has a subsong called “Aftermath” that’s new. Did
you originally compose that with Dusk Horizon, and did you have to come
back and make it for RTNP? (it must have been cool adding something new
to one of your favorites)

David Kelvin, the designer on Na Pali, asked for this. It took several
revisions but I finally got it where he wanted it, and it worked out
great I think.

2. In my experiences discussing these soundtracks, a few people have
agreed that Foundry, and Bounds of Foundry sound the most like “new”
Alexander Brandon, ca. 1999 or 2000, compared to your other work on the
games. Is it true that these were composed later than most of your
work, or are we just sort of assuming they’re new since there are a few
similarities with the Deus Ex style?

Kind of. Foundry, which I believe is Black Wind, was written after
Andrew Sega (Necros) wrote Babylon, a piece that I took some samples
from to form the basis of this piece.

3. Interlude II and Intermission always come up in “favorite songs from the Unreal series” polls; any notes on these?

For Interlude II, I did this one and had no idea they put it in. At the
end of it you can hear a tribute to the Wing Commander theme (by Dave
Govett at Team Fat).

UNREAL TOURNAMENT

1. Credits.umx (Trophy, Room of Champions) was left unused; instead the
trophy sequence gets Ending.umx (Into the Darkness). Was this an
accident or just style change by Epic, who left in Credits.umx in the
music folder?

Good question, it was probably one of the designers. We just sent the songs in and they used ’em or didn’t.

2. Ending.umx is perfect for the trophy sequence; did you compose it
after first seeing that beautiful, dark trophy map, or before?

Cliff sent a lot of requests for this and it was a lot of back and
forth until they got something they liked. So no, we didn’t see the
trophy map as far as I can remember, it was written beforehand.

3. Go Down is one of the most enduring UT songs; did you compose it
with any map in mind, like DM-Hyperblast? And how did the hook come to
you?

Cliff again specifically requested a song like the one in The Matrix
where Neo and Trinity bust in and rescue Morpheus. I wrote Go Down, and
Michiel wrote something that sounded SO MUCH like the Propellerhead
song that people laughed and said “BOY are we gonna get sued!”.

4. Lock and Phantom both have a sort of tribal feel from the samples; was this based on the maps or your own inspiration?

Own inspiration.

5. I plan on asking Andrew Sega a few questions about Mechanism Eight,
but damn, what a fantastic track; what was your reaction when you first
heard it?

“This ****ing rocks”.

6. Phantom.umx has been exposed to most players through its use in
CTF-Thornsv2, a really popular fan-made CTF map. What did you
originally compose it for, and what did you and Michiel have in mind?

Michiel threw it out there, we collaborated as we had before. People
compared it to the Macarena a lot, but really it stands well on its
own.

7. In Phantom, at 3:55, the song breaks to this different part, with
that airy sample going in the background. Just curious; was this part
of Michiel’s basic track or your suggestion?

Michiel and I collaborated on that one. I believe he started it off and
I added the insane cacophony that starts at :50 or so, then he brings
it back to reality later in the piece J

8. The music folder has Save Me (used in DM-Morpheus) and Save Me G,
which has a different intro and doesn’t appear in the game. What was
Save Me G originally composed for?

Hah. Another stumper. Can’t remember.

9. Underworld II, your Egyptian track for UT, has a really awesome
transition when it’s looped. What kind of considerations go in to
deciding whether and how to loop certain songs, especially with tracker?

I did a lot of work to loop things in certain ways by using varied
pattern lengths as well as instruments that would continue playing in
an open channel when the song loops. You learn a lot of tricks in the
tracker trade.

10. UT Menu has probably been heard more than any other track in the game; what did you have in mind while composing it?

Just the visuals, the gameplay, the same kind of feel as the original
Unreal because originally it was written for something called the
Unreal Bot Pack, a glorified multiplayer version of the original game.
When it broke into UT, the music style just went with it.

11. How did you and Michiel mesh for the Unreal intro flyby?

The UT flyby? We just wrote it together before seeing anything, and the song was meshed into it fairly well timing-wise.

12. Three Wheels Turning was used in, IIRC, a volcano map in the
ChaosUT map, and it sounded perfect given that voice sample that sounds
like a Polynesian tribal yell. What did you have in mind while
composing it?

Can’t remember, but the breath was that of an ex-girlfriend’s. This remains one of my favorites.

13. This is more a question for Teque and Nitro, but it might be hard
to track them down and ask. Their original version of FireBr.umx has
this high-pitched synth going over the “chorus”, but this is missing in
the UT version. A few fans are just wondering if that was just a
judgment call by Epic.

It was. And Tero was rightfully very upset about it, but unfortunately
that’s the nature of the game biz. Your tunes go through revisions. The
difference here was that I took the synth out and told him after the
fact. I feel bad about it but lesson learned. He’s a great musician and
I hope he isn’t still fuming about it.

~

Huge, massive thanks to AB! As you can see, I asked a ton of questions, and it’s great Alex got to them (while doing an interview for another site at the same time, even!).

Looking Back at Old WIPs [Final]

Abandoned in 2006, this feature’s now finished. If someone wants to post it on OCR, hit up my e-mail and I’ll send you the BBCode version.

I’ve got a treasure trove of ancient works in progress, dating back to
late 2002 all the way to early 2004. They’re sort of like b-sides and
outtakes—some are learning moments for established remixers, while
others are one-shots by unknowns who have faded into history. If you
want some remixing curiosities probably unavailable anywhere on the
net, check it out.
I’ve got a WIP folder with a lot of selections in it, including several songs taken at random from and many from the OCRemix WIP forum. These date back to late 2002, 2003, and early 2004. Most would be impossible to find these days, considering they were placed on temporary hosting. And most did not make it to remix status on VGMix or OCRemix. Nonetheless, these are interesting pieces — some are from established remixers, others are actually good arrangements, and some are simply curiosities and enigmas. I hope you’ll enjoy digging through the sands of time and finding some of the lost WIPs of yesteryear. I’ll list songs (click to download) and offer a short writeup on each.

In case you’d like to just grab a torrent of my old WIP folder (there are a few uncovered pieces in there), check here.

Unknown Remixer – Sonic 3 – Credits

This is the earliest dated piece in my collection, downloaded October 12, 2002. It’s a pretty simple arrangement, arguably a MIDI rip, and the identity of its author is a persistent mystery. Still, the song stands out for using the TS404 in FruityLoops — the artist actually managed to not make it sound like default crap. The other fun quality is that for a remix of the credits theme, it’s a simple, straightforward arrangement. Okay, so the song doesn’t stand out that much, but if you have any idea of who made it, let me know.

Suzumebachi – Chrono Trigger – Forever (First Version)

The Chrono Trigger remix ‘Forever’ went through an awful lot of itinerations, and Suzumebachi would post each after making it in . I’m pretty sure this is the first version; it’s sort of like an unabridged edition of the final product. It was interesting to listen to the development of the song, but more fun is to compare this version and the final. This one’s arrangement may be unforgivingly simple, but it formed the basic blueprint of a decent OCRemix. It dates November 14, 2002.

Suzumebachi – Radical Dreamers – Placid Shores

This remix of Epilogue ~ Dream Shore (Radical Dreamers) is a rare breed, as no one has really attempted this song. The original piece has a dreamlike quality to it, fitting to wrap things up as the book closes on an imaginative adventure. Suzumebachi preserved that well; the airy background and the shore sounds are a faithful aural enhancement of the original. The arrangement was simple, as Suzu was still maturing his skills, but it still sounded decent and recreated the feel of the original piece. I acquired this on January 4, 2003 (Suzumebachi issued the first 25 seconds or so as a preview the previous day). Though I think this was lost to his massive hard drive failure, he did attempt it again to produce the b5 reconstruct version, the most complete itineration of the song.

DJ Metazero – Mega Man X – Zero the Red Demon

DJ Metazero released around five or six MMX series songs in 2003. This was one of his initial tries, and covers the first Zero theme ever. The result was a kicking beat and a sexy lead (try cranking up the bass for the first three seconds of the song). Metazero is able to stretch it out to over 5 minutes without compromising freshness. In a world without much MMX coverage (at least not on the level of Final Fantasy games), this is a surprisingly solid entry for a lost WIP. If submitted when OCR first formed, it would have been one of the better songs of the bunch. I acquired this remix on January 19 of 2003.

Joseph Tek Fox – Sonic 2 – Tides Turned in Aqua Lake

JTK came out of nowhere and returned thereafter, leaving us this Sonic 2 remix. The soundfont is a little artificial, but aural quality is clear and the groove of the song doesn’t let up. If I were to get synesthesiatic, I’d say this long is sort of like a tasty treat. You can make an easy comparison to Mazedude’s ‘Reich Lake’ and see that Tides Turned in Aqua lake manages to hold up with its own funk. The arrangement can get slightly repetitive if you leave the song on in the background for a while, but knowing what comes next won’t diminish this song’s upbeat nature. It could be plugged right in to some kind of Sonic 2 port. The file dates January 27, 2003.

k-wix – Sim City – My Beautiful SimCity (Remastered)

A lot of points in my remixing book go for augmenting or heightening the original feel of the source tune. If the dungeon theme of SMW2: Yoshi’s Island made you feel a little dark and edgy, then Rexy and Prophet’s Dream an Eastern Peace is a coup. This entry by k-wix, while not being the most complex or gigasamply SimCity remix on the market, still manages to evoke that wonderful, tingling feeling of the SNES SimCity title screen. Don’t be put off by the MIDI-sounding intro at the beginning, or the high strings thereafter. Let it ride and you’ll find a one-way ticket to nostalgia. This file dates January 28, 2003.

DJ Orange – Super Mario RPG – Barrel Volcano

DJ Orange approximates fire. He starts it off with that twangy bass guitar, then turns up the heat with some DnB. If you were a bit put off by the simple instrumentation and soundfonts used in k-wix’s remix above, then you might not like this one, either. The sound is not complex or aurally exquisite; instead, the fun of the song lies in the beat DJ Orange lays down. I’m not even sure who he was; I have some other CT ones he made that I’ll post. At any rate, he seemed to like injecting a little funk in his remixes, and it shows here. In a world of sparse Super Mario RPG remixes (let alone cool Volcano stage efforts), this is an enjoyable piece. I nabbed it from the WIP board on February 1, 2003.

Ge-Off – Super Mario 64 NightCap

I have no idea who Ge-Off is, and I doubt there’s any relation to Taucer. This WIP wormed its way to OCR’s forums, and I’m not sure it was ever heard from again (along with its author). Ge-Off’s laid back atmosphere and instrumentation paints a picture of lazily sinking off to sleep at night in the castle. Perhaps this is what the castle theme sounds like to Mario when you leave the controller idle for too long. It’s nothing groundbreaking, explosive, new, or technically complex. But like its source tune, it works as lazy background music. I found this on February 1, 2003.

Figaro – Chrono Trigger – Underwater Palace Glitchy

Glitchy stuff can be humorous. Ever accidentally bump your cartridge a little out of the slot and witness the game go crazy? Sounds like Figaro got too excited upon reaching the Ocean Palace. This is one of those “throwaway” pieces like Leis Miller’s “Pure Crap” Super Mario RPG take or BEERmix. It’s somewhat of a joke tune, and you’d probably never burn it to CD or put it on your mp3 player. This came around on February 8, 2003.

Steve Schardein – Donkey Kong Country Blue Oblivion

I think Steve is still out there somewhere. He posted a new version of this on VGMix under the nick OtherSteve; the one above is the original OCR WIP forum entry. Faithfully recreating the watery, dreamy sound of the original, Steve lays a minimalist beat on top while twinkling pianos fade into the distance. I can already hear the objection—yes, this might as well be a MIDI rip with updated sounds and a drumloop laid on top. But if you listen closely, Steve applies touches of magic here and there to create a heavenly, ambient experience. The arrangement gets thicker after the two-minute mark, but the song never loses its chill effect. If I’m not mistaken, this is the most remixed theme from the original Donkey Kong Country. Dave Wise even remixed it in his new soundtrack for the GBA port of Donkey Kong Country 3, and put its leitmotif into a couple other songs. It’s a dreamy track, and Steve Schardein did it adequate justice with this work in progress. I grabbed it on March 2, 2003.

IMC12 – Sonic 2 – Metropolis Zone

This was a fun Iron Mix competition that attracted a lot of attention and remixes. Space Cowboy and Suzumebachi made strong entries; “Blue Metro” was cited as having a Van Halen synth feel to it. There are a lot of “before they were famous” remixers on here, like Analoq, djcubez, Prophecy, Rellik, Overcoat, and maybe a couple others. Check it out and relive the competition; I’ve included some WIPs in there. All of it dates from March 3, 2003, when I downloaded the final archive.

Darkesword – Mega Man X – Beamsabre Beat ZERO (WIP)

Darkesword was kind of still new around this time, so that explains the default samples. I think the finished version is up on OCR, so feel free to compare them. I grabbed this March 5, 2003.

Steve Schardein – Mega Man X – Boomer Kuwanger

Here’s Steve again. Boomer Kuwanger’s Tower is sort of an underremixed theme; the source tune is very unique and intense. Instead of blatantly playing the first few high-pitched notes, Steve starts low and slowly builds things up. Things don’t get very far, though, and we’re left with one less Boomer Kuwanger stage remix. I grabbed this March 8, 2003. If you’re craving Mega Man X remixes, check the [url=http://vgmdb.net/album/1685]Rockman X – ALPH-LYLA doujin[/url] released in 1994 in Japan.

Nex – Tetris – Russian Roulette

And now it’s time for something you might actually keep. Nex does the timeworn and still-cool thing of starting with a chiptune and building it up into an asskicking remix. It’s still a WIP, so the beat / instrumentation are minimal and the song doesn’t go very many places. It degenerates into a FOUR ON THE FLOOR LET’S DANCE “E” GLOWSTICKS HOORAY at one point, but overall it retains some attitude as a Tetris remix. I used to leave WIPs on in the background as I played Unreal Tournament to cover some ground, and I can remember hearing this starting March 11, 2003.

DJOrange – Chrono Trigger – Factory

I grabbed this March 11, 2003. It’s pretty simple, and in a world without factory remixes, it can pass. There’s a minimalist funk going on here. He later put out a WIP called Factory 2. I have no idea what became of DJOrange, as he might have been an alias to begin with..

MC_Radical Dreamers_dream-shore-sonata2

Here’s the rough edition of MC’s Dream Shore Sonata-Fantasy, found March 15, 2003. The aural quality is a bit low along with the bitrate, but even in this primitive state it shows the quality that eventually earned it status as an OCRemix.

Beatdrop – Raiden Beta

You’ve heard Beatdrop’s Raiden remix; now hear the WIP. It’s less of an assault on the ears than the final product, utilizing a snappier and softer tone. All the basic arrangement is there, just waiting for the final production value increase to make it presentable and edgy. But you might find that the WIP has its own flair and appeal. This was a strong remix even in its infancy. I found it March 20, 2003.

Strider Yoko – Unreal Tournament – Foregone Destruction unreal mix (later version)

The final version (with two WIPs behind it) debuted on VGMix with a driving rhythm and some samples courtesy of Xan Kriegor, the boss of Unreal Tournament’s single player mode. The first WIP is less in-your-face, and as a result has an attitude closer to the source tune’s. There’s some simple and effective DnB here, and the light, airy synth that kicks things off never gets annoying. This is a good addition to the playlists of Unreal game players. It found its way to my hard drive on March 20, 2003. I recall an exchange on the OCR forums in which someone had heard of Strider Yoko’s other work and DJing, and then had a fangasm to find out that this Strider was the same guy. Alexander Brandon, Michiel van den Bos, Andrew Sega, and Dan GardopÈe made one of the best VGM soundtracks with Unreal Tournament, and it definitely needs more attention. Search around sometime in the Japanese doujin community for more remixes. The second version dates from June 2004.

DJ Ikronix – Super Mario Land – Cloud 9 (second version from 2004 here)

This is the version unavailable anywhere else (which…I guess isn’t saying much, since only one other later WIP is available on VGMix anyway). A remix of Super Mario Land’s ending theme, it maintains an airy and heavenly texture with a simple, little rhythm to take you away. This earns it high marks in staying faithful to and expanding upon the intent and mood of the source tune. Super Mario Land was probably the first video game I ever beat, and the ending theme blew me away. So I suppose I’m a little biased here. Ikronix did release a second WIP on VGMix with a louder and more upfront synth sound. I was happy to find this remix on March 20, 2003.

ResidntEvilFreak – Chrono Trigger – Glenn’s Awakening

ResidntEvilFreak had an incredible work ethic. He came onto the remixing scene as a frequent flyer of the WIP board, outputting a big catalogue while constantly improving. Then he completely disappeared, leaving behind these unfinished and unpolished works. Check out the interesting string sample and the bouncy little arrangement; it’s in a different vein than most remixes of Longing of the Wind. It goes into Frog’s Theme thereafter and maintains a heroic little musical journey for the next couple of minutes. It’s nothing impressive or musically strong, but as a WIP, it gets an A grade. I downloaded it on April 8, 2003.

McVaffe – Remix Preview

The great irony of this release is that, to my knowledge, most of the songs never materialized. It still makes great listening. This file dates April 12, 2003.

Trance Canada – Sonic 3 – Ice Age

Many Ice Cap Zone remixes are differentiated by how their synths approximate a cold aesthetic. Trance Canada gets frigid with their unique choices, and the main melody’s pluck even sounds like a Genesis sample. This file dates April 18, 2003.

Spacepony – Super Mario – Peachie’s Got It!

It’s infectiously cheery! And trancey. This one also came to roost on April 18, 2003.

Trance Canada – Tetris – Russian Revolt

The interesting part of this song comes at 1:39, when overlaying chiptuney synths navigate the bridge. It’s another song from April 18, 2003.

DJ Orange – Chrono Trigger – factory2

Orange slowed down the tempo of his earlier WIP and lengthened the song for a chill effect. This one dates April 27, 2003.

ResidentEvilFreak – Super Medley Bros

This is Peachie’s Got It’s alter-ego! Another one from April 27, 2003.

DJ Metazero – Mega Man X4 – Zero The Ultimate Warrior Part 2

Metazero wants to break your bass with this. It’s four on the floor, but in a world without enough MMX franchise remixes, it’s got some value. Dated May 3, 2003.

DJ Metazero – Mega Man X3 – X Forever

This is a remix of the opening stage theme. It’s kind of “moe as fuck” trance, so it’d fit the look of the Mega Man Zero series more, no? You can see Metazero developing his skills; there’s a great remix of his yet to come. This one dates from May 7, 2003.

SnappleMan – Mega Man X – Spark Mandrill

This isn’t a bad WIP, so it’s not like you can say SnappleMan used to suck, or anything like that. It’s pretty faithful to the original, and dates from May 18, 2003.

Suzumebachi – Chrono Trigger – Homeward Journey 4cRM1

I think this was Suzu’s last attempt at To Faraway Times, sounding much more polished than the earlier WIPs. The intro of the remix builds up the same massive euphoria that song does. This one dates June 1, 2003.

Chthonic – Kirby’s Dreamland – Nemesis (second version here)

Dedede’s theme needs more love. Chthonic’s take retains the dark, neurotic feel of the original. This file dates from June 3, 2003.

DJ Metazero – Zero the Immortal One

Dating June 6, 2003, this is probably the peak of Metazero’s efforts in 2003. His samples are more polished, and the arrangement is more tight, perhaps benefiting from the choice to a do a medley. Zero has numerous awesome themes, and it’s great to hear them all in a single remix.

S|r NutS – Donkey Kong Country – Undersea Rave

S|r NutS had an awesome Mary Tyler Moore sig. This file dates from July 22, 2003.

Sine – Super Mario RPG – Seeking Heat

Another Barrel Volcano remix; this one’s more laid back than the previous. It dates August 4, 2003.

mv – Chrono Trigger – Time Chill 4

This is the fourth WIP that mv saved of this song, but IIRC, it may have been the first he released on the forums. It dates August 23, 2003.

Strike – Super Mario RPG – Booster’s Tower

I’m not sure if this is Strike911; if so, you can see how his similar trance style evolved as he continued contributing to VGMix 2. This is an interesting song choice! The remix dates September 23, 2003.

RainyAida – Chrono Trigger – Lonely Mountain

I’m not sure if this quiet piece ever made it to the judge forum. It dates from September 23, 2003.

Darkesword – Sonic 2 – Dream Pipe

IIRC, Darkesword had just released the feel-good remix “The Starlight Traveler” covering Schala’s theme, so this definitely fits the period. It’s pleasant and dreamy, and it dates January 9, 2004.

atrox22 – Super Mario RPG – Thimsy Battle

The first Smithy song is an ambitious piece to remix. It’s up to you whether atrox22 succeeded; the attempt is worth a listen! This dates March 6, 2004.

Mike – Perfect Dark – pd stew

Perfect Dark has a lot of remixable pieces (especially the X versions of the stage themes). Mike blends a minimalist dataDyne number with sound effects from the game, then goes into Chicago. This dates March 6, 2004.

bLiNd – Donkey Kong Country – Aerofunknamics (Beta 1)

Yeah, this is the first revision of bLiNd’s contribution to DKCProject. Even in this early stage, it was already the best attempt at Funky’s theme to be unleashed yet. It dates June 1, 2004.

DJ Metazero – Mega Man X – Stage Remix

A couple other nascent remixers attempted this piece on VGMix 2, but DJ Metazero had the most success with it. This would have been great as Vile’s stage select music for Irregular Hunter X! It dates June 4, 2004.

MusiclyInspired – Sonic 3 – All Good Things Must Come to an End

Something about the original Sonic 3 ending theme screams feel-good nostalgia, and MusiclyInspired adequately captured that here. Now that it’s honest truth that Michael Jackson had a hand in Sonic 3, I wonder if the magician himself touched the source tune. This one’s dated August 30, 2004.

Midiman – F-Zero – mute shitty

Mute City is an awesome piece of VGM, but a lot of approaches to it (official and unofficial) don’t bring out its latent energy enough; compare the Melee and Brawl versions of the song, and you’ll see that Brawl feels like it’s trying harder. Midiman also accomplished that in his tragically short WIP. There was definitely work to be done, but what little we have still feels fresh among the sea of other Mute City remixes.

Thanks for reading! As a special gift, have a lossless version of Rexy, Prophecy – SMW2: Yoshi’s Island – Dream an Eastern Peace, one of VGMix 2’s greatest submissions.