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OC ReMix 

OverClocked ReMix
The current OverClocked ReMix logo, sans 'headphones'.
The OverClocked ReMix homepage in late 2008.
The OverClocked ReMix homepage in late 2008. The latest ReMix arranged Yuzo Koshiro's Streets of Rage soundtrack.
URL http://www.ocremix.org
Commercial? No
Type of site Video game music tribute site
Registration Optional (required for posting on the forums)
Owner OverClocked ReMix LLC[1]
Created by David W. Lloyd (djpretzel)[2]
Launched December 11, 1999[3][4]
Revenue Not-for-Profit
Current status Active

OverClocked ReMix, also known as OC ReMix and OCR, is an non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and tribute of video game music through interpretation with new technology and software, as well as various traditional means. The primary focus of OC ReMix is its website offering hundreds of free fan arrangements, information on game music and composers, resources for aspiring artists,[5][6][7] and a community of video game music fans.[8][9]

The webmaster of OverClocked ReMix is David W. Lloyd (a.k.a. djpretzel),[2] who coined the use of the word "ReMix" to refer to interpretive arrangements, as opposed to a remix which typically involves alterations to master recordings.[10][11][12][13] Ambiguity regarding the term ReMix[14] is unintentional,[10] since the organization is dedicated to creative rearrangements of classic themes, not merely changing minor details or plagiarizing the work of others.[15][16]

Contents

History

Lloyd began DJ Pretzel's OverClocked ReMix in late 1999[3][4] as a spin-off of his gaming and emulation related 3D webcomic, OverClocked.[17][18] The format was derived from Commodore 64 arrangement website C64Audio.com (then a host for many fan arrangements), with Lloyd choosing to expand the focus to all games regardless of game system.[19][17][18][20][21] Originally coded in basic HTML and sporting an orange color scheme, the site underwent a conversion to a database-driven system in 2001, as well as visual redesigns in 2001 (blue), 2002 (purple) and its current design in 2004 (silver & orange).[1] OC ReMix was located at the subdomain remix.overclocked.org before moving to www.ocremix.org in July 2003.[1] Both domains were hosted for several years by ZTNet, with OCR eventually becoming self-funded and switching to dedicated hosting with LiquidWeb in late 2006.[1] Lloyd registered OverClocked ReMix as a limited liability company in 2007.[1]

"At the time, there was a mixing scene that focused only on Commodore 64 music, with an electronica emphasis, but I love arranging, and I wanted an outlet where I could hone my skills while encouraging others to branch out and do the same. From the very beginning, the intent was to encourage games from all platforms, arranged in as many musical genres as possible. That’s what made us different – that was the 'big idea.'"
—David W. Lloyd (djpretzel), 3D World[21]

Originally, music submissions were solely evaluated by David W. Lloyd.[22] To better accommodate the volume of music submissions and improve selection consistency, a judges panel was instituted in early 2002[1] to assist Lloyd in music selection, comprised of accomplished artists and contributors to the community.[22] Earlier in 2002, a dispute over administrative decisions, including the proposal of a judges panel, caused artists virt, prozax, and mp to leave OCR to found VGMix, and they demanded that their ReMixes be removed, which Lloyd agreed to. Others who left asked for their works to stay, although they would not submit future works. After this, however, some who removed their ReMixes from the site requested to return, and this was granted with the provision that they not remove their work from the site again. OC ReMix judge Larry Oji (a.k.a. Liontamer) became head submissions evaluator for the organization in June 2006, providing initial evaluation of all submissions[23] and freeing up Lloyd's time to develop the site.

The site's first fan convention appearance was Otakon 2006 in Baltimore, Maryland.[24] In April 2008, Lloyd and Oji joined Six Apart's Anil Dash, MetaFilter's Matt Haughey, Reddit's Alexis Ohanian and FARK.com's Drew Curtis for a panel discussion on virtual communities at Internet meme convention ROFLCon, co-sponsored by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[25]

In late 2007, Capcom U.S.A.'s Rey Jimenez enlisted the organization to provide the soundtrack for Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, a high definition remake of 1994's Super Street Fighter II Turbo, its first professional game soundtrack.[26]

Main features

There have been more than 1,700 "ReMixes" hosted on the site[27] submitted by more than 500 "ReMixers"[28] from a variety of genres. ReMixes are available individually and through bundled BitTorrent distributions,[11] and are searchable through a database of games, composers, companies, systems and ReMixers.[29]

The site approves ReMixes based on standards and guidelines encouraging arrangement creativity and capable production quality.[30] Though more than 1,700 ReMixes have been hosted at different points in time, 165 works have been removed, generally due to stricter enforcement of the site's standards.[31] A common violation is a "MIDI rip", which involves obtaining a MIDI transcription of the source material, making minor modifications to it, and passing it off as one's own work. Other violations include "stolen" or unoriginal recordings, cover versions, overly liberal arrangements, and obvious sub-par execution.[31][32]

The website currently hosts several digital albums tributing entire game soundtracks created through community collaboration,[33] with new albums added periodically. The site also possesses a skills database of its community to encourage artist collaboration.[5] Lloyd and other staff also conduct interviews with prolific ReMixers, video game music composers and celebrities on video game music creation and fandom.[34]

OverClocked ReMix's discussion forums and IRC channel are where the majority of community interaction occurs.[35] Areas of discussion include:[36]

  • Community, for video games, music, and other contemporary topics;
  • Politics, Philosophy & Religion and Off Topic, for serious and lighter topics;
  • Help & Newbies, for site support and general technical assistance;
  • Judges Decisions, for publicized judges panel decisions on submitted arrangements;
  • Requests, for requesting particular pieces to be arranged;
  • Reviews, for commentary on individual ReMixes;
  • Competitions, for various competitions, unrestricted to music;
  • ReMixing, for tutorials and discussion of composition and production techniques;
  • Site Projects, for organizing community projects and collaborative efforts; and
  • Works-in-Progress & Releases, for artist feedback.

Subsites and other projects

A trend among ReMixers has been the creation of collaborative arrangement albums of entire game soundtracks, published as subsites. The current list of completed site projects, in order of release, are:[33]

Other projects have been undertaken by the OverClocked ReMix community in efforts to enhance or promote its main website. Some, such as an official Winamp skin and download manager (called "OverClocked ReCollections"), were abandoned after long periods of inactivity. Among the successful projects are:

Reception

Alongside word of mouth, mention of the website in several publications and on several websites has led to the community's growth.[39] The most influential early coverage of the site came in a mid-2002 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly.[24]

Industry reaction

The organization has never received criticism from a game composer or game publisher, with Lloyd stating "Like all communities surrounding fan works, we're out, first and foremost, to honor that which we love, and I think the concept and goals have been well received all around".[40]

In late 2002, the first OC ReMix by a veteran professional game composer was released, The 7th Guest "Fat Dance" by "The Fat Man" George Sanger.[41] In early 2004, this was followed by the second ReMix of its kind, Final Fantasy VI "Squaresoft Variation" by Jeremy Soule, who dedicated the arrangement to both OC ReMix founder David W. Lloyd and Final Fantasy series composer Nobuo Uematsu.[42] In 2005, Sanger provided another ReMix performed alongside Team Fat colleagues and game composers, Dave Govett, Joe McDermott and K. Weston Phelan, entitled Wing Commander "Wing Theme Surf."[43] Tommy Tallarico Studios' Earthworm Jim Anthology marked the first release of OC ReMixes on a commercial video game music album in late 2006.[44][45][46]

"I just wanted to let you know that I support what you're doing with game music. [I completed this] in both your honor and Nobuo Uematsu's."
—Jeremy Soule to David W. Lloyd (djpretzel), submitting Final Fantasy VI "Squaresoft Variation" to OverClocked ReMix[42]

Several video game industry professionals have praised specific OC ReMixes tributing their compositions, including Alexander Brandon (Tyrian/Unreal Tournament), Barry Leitch (Top Gear), Nicholas Varley (Syberia), and Dave Wise (Donkey Kong Country).[47] OverClocked ReMix itself has been praised for its work by several highly recognized figures including Doom lead designer John Romero, Tommy Tallarico, George "The Fat Man" Sanger, and Jeremy Soule.[47] Contra 4 associate producer Tomm Hulett stated he hoped the game's music, scored by Jake "virt" Kaufman, would end up arranged for OC ReMix.[48]

Several amateur artists, many directly drawn to video game music arrangement by OC ReMix, have seen their interest in video game music catalyze into professional music opportunities, including Dain "Beatdrop" Olsen (Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA 2),[49] Jillian "pixietricks" Goldin (Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword)[50] and Andrew "zircon" Aversa (Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix).

At the invitation of Tommy Tallarico, beginning in 2008, OC ReMix promotional CDs are given away as contest prizes at every performance of orchestral game music concert series Video Games Live.

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix

The musicians of OverClocked ReMix were chosen to handle the remixed soundtrack for Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix after Capcom U.S.A. producer Rey Jimenez heard the organization's 2006 Super Street Fighter II Turbo tribute album Blood on the Asphalt.[26] OC ReMix founder David "djpretzel" Lloyd directed the soundtrack and served as the organization's contact with Capcom[51][52] "to ensure that working with a large fan community was as close as possible for Capcom to working with a single composer."[53]

Along with several new arrangements, edited versions of Blood on the Asphalt tracks and OC ReMixes comprise the soundtrack.[26] OC ReMixers arranged the music based on knowledge of the Street Fighter II series, not requiring access to visuals or gameplay.[54]

Capcom's Vice-President of Strategic Planning & Business Development, Christian Svensson, described the soundtrack as "impactful" after guests he demoed the game with praised the remixed music before UDON's high definition artwork.[55]


See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f Site History - OCRWiki
  2. ^ a b Lloyd, graf. 2
  3. ^ a b Lloyd 1999
  4. ^ a b retrogames.com 1999, item 7
  5. ^ a b ReMixing - OverClocked ReMix
  6. ^ Sargent 2001
  7. ^ Sargent 2002
  8. ^ About Us - OCRWiki
  9. ^ Lucas & Tallarico 2004
  10. ^ a b Lloyd (in Z. 2006), q. 1
  11. ^ a b Frequently Asked Questions - OCRWiki
  12. ^ Lloyd (in Dasgupta 2003), q. 7
  13. ^ Lloyd (in Van Buskirk 2005), q. 1
  14. ^ Lloyd (in Mieszkowski 2002)
  15. ^ Lloyd (in Maragos 2005), p. 2
  16. ^ Lloyd (in Z. 2006), q. 4
  17. ^ a b Maragos 2005, p. 2
  18. ^ a b Lloyd (in Ondrey 2006), p. 1
  19. ^ Lloyd (in Van Buskirk 2005), q. 2
  20. ^ Lloyd (in Wallis 2006), q. 4
  21. ^ a b Lloyd (in King 2007)
  22. ^ a b Judges Panel - OCRWiki
  23. ^ OverClocked ReMix Forums - View Profile: Liontamer
  24. ^ a b Press - OCRWiki
  25. ^ Chiu 2008
  26. ^ a b c Oji (in Galway 2008), q. 9
  27. ^ Browsing: ReMixes - OverClocked ReMix
  28. ^ Browsing: ReMixers - OverClocked ReMix
  29. ^ Browse Index - OverClocked ReMix
  30. ^ Submission Standards and Instructions - OCRWiki
  31. ^ a b ReMix Changelog - OCRWiki
  32. ^ Lloyd (in Van Buskirk 2005), q. 6
  33. ^ a b Browsing: Albums - OverClocked ReMix
  34. ^ Category:Interviews - OCRWiki
  35. ^ Forum Rules and Posting Policy - OCRWiki
  36. ^ OverClocked ReMix Forums
  37. ^ Lloyd 2005 (Apr.)
  38. ^ Lloyd 2007 (Apr.)
  39. ^ Lloyd (in Van Buskirk 2005), q. 3
  40. ^ Lloyd (in Van Buskirk 2005), q. 7
  41. ^ Lloyd 2002 (Aug.)
  42. ^ a b Lloyd 2004 (Feb.)
  43. ^ Lloyd 2005 (Jan.)
  44. ^ Lloyd 2004 (Nov.)
  45. ^ Lloyd 2002 (Sep.)
  46. ^ N/A: Earthworm Jim Anthology - VGMdb
  47. ^ a b Industry Recognition - OCRWiki
  48. ^ Hulett (in Hoffman 2007), p. 57
  49. ^ Olsen (in Lloyd 2008), q. 4
  50. ^ Goldin (in Strassel 2008), q. 3 & 9
  51. ^ Oji (in Cook 2008), q. 6
  52. ^ Lloyd (in Davies 2008), part 1, q. 4
  53. ^ Lloyd (in Kuchera 2008), p. 2, q. 1
  54. ^ Aversa (in Kuchera 2008), p. 2, q. 2
  55. ^ Svensson 2008

References

Primary works

Press and interviews

Other references

  • Hoffman, Chris (2007-06-21), "Run-'n'-Gun Revival: Interview: The Contra-versy Continues", Nintendo Power (Nintendo) (218): 56-57, August 2007 

External links
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