OCR01403 - Pac-Man 'Glass Cage'

[djpretzel]

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

[Wolfimus]

Woah. Made its way onto my playlist, for sure. And it made my roommate look at me funny when I said: "Dude! Pac-Man remix! Pac-Man Remix!"

[Teh Anti Bison]

This is what pacman would sound like if pacman was a emo.
You can take that as good or bad

[Less Ashamed Of Self]

This is what pacman would sound like if pacman was a emo.
You can take that as good or bad

I'll take it as an inaccurate.

Good track, and in general, I love to hear different stuff on OCR. The strings are pretty painfully unrealistic in comparison to the beautiful percussion. I really like the take on the famous source material, I paused the music to see if I could hear it but it came in it's time pretty clearly. Pretty tasty stuff.

Worth showing off, fun, innovative... but nothing spectacular.

8/10

[Navi]

There was a time when Israfel took leave of the vgmixing community, and we were all deprived for it.


Creative take on the pac man stuffs. A BIT dragging, but nothing i would call home to complain.

The vocal samples reminded me a bit of Edward Scissorhands. Dunno why.

[tobmaps]

I haven't kept up with downloading OCRemixes for years, but I had to see whether this was different from the version Israfel released on vgmix in 2002.

It's not, save for 3 extra seconds of silence at the end.

It's been on my CDR since. The "movement" beginning around the 2 minute mark -- great rhythm. I like how instruments are constantly being added in/dropped out, while the lead still does its thing. I don't suppose you'll be releasing Greater Alchemic Patchwork to OCR next?

[Navi]

I haven't kept up with downloading OCRemixes for years, but I had to see whether this was different from the version Israfel released on vgmix in 2002.

It's not, save for 3 extra seconds of silence at the end.

It's been on my CDR since. The "movement" beginning around the 2 minute mark -- great rhythm. I like how instruments are constantly being added in/dropped out, while the lead still does its thing. I don't suppose you'll be releasing Greater Alchemic Patchwork to OCR next?

Have you checked the to be posted list? ;)

[GrayLightning]

Liontamer and I requested Israfel submit this and his Greater Alchemic mix when he stepped down from the panel in July. They are his older mixes from 2002, but all have withstood the test of time and definitely deserve to be part of the OCR canon.

[Mono]

Liontamer and I requested Israfel submit this and his Greater Alchemic mix when he stepped down from the panel in July. They are his older mixes from 2002, but all have withstood the test of time and definitely deserve to be part of the OCR canon.

Amen to that.

I really like this; it reminds me a lot of Philip Glass, particularly his orchestration of Aphex Twin's Icct Hedral. Philip Glass... Glass Cage... surely no coincidence.

[Arek the Absolute]

Pacman Prime: Revenge of Clyde

[Red Shadow]

:D

[Liontamer]

spectacular.
Fixed it. Simply awesome stuff.

[GrayLightning]

nothing spectacular.
Fixed it. Simply awesome stuff.

Fixed it back to what he said prior. The contrasting opinions of LAOS and Liontamer continue. :lol:

[Arcana]

A lot of music that you hear posted on OCR is in-your-face music - stuff that just leaps up at you and requires an intro, outtro, and a climax. It has a melodic theme and is usually dramatic. It's stuff that you'd hear as "Main theme of ___" for a particular game.

This is not one of those pieces.

Instead of sticking with a standard, traditional concept, Israfel decided (I guess over two years ago) to do something that develops, but is quite minimalistic. Now, having tried to work with minimalistic work, I find that this is something very difficult to do - to keep a remix interesting, while at the same time building an atmosphere. What you get here is a slow buildup -- it is a looping around of the same theme, building slighty every time until a climax, and then disappearing.

It's creepy and the development and layering as the remix goes on is interesting, but the best thing to do here is really just to sit back and listen to it. It is an intelligent mix with a backing motivation (I'm tempted to whip out the ruler and see if this mix obeyed the Golden Ratio) but even if you are a casual listener, just don't think and let yourself get into this mix. It definitely has character.

This is not like normal mixes. I recommend this.

[bladiator]

nothing spectacular.
Fixed it. Simply awesome stuff.

Fixed it back to what he said prior. The contrasting opinions of LAOS and Liontamer continue. :lol:

I'll bet they're the same guy, just posting under different monikers and arguing against himself. LAOS = Carmella? Hmm.

[Malkalypse]

Sure it's a bit creepy and you might think that that doesn't really fit the "feel" of pacman; but c'mon, a guy trapped in a maze while being chased by ghosts, sounds pretty freaky to me."

Hmm, so Pac Man was really the first survival horror game! And actually, I think this track would work really well for a game in that genre -- there is a definite sense of "build" to it all the way up to 4:18, where it stops without actually resolving. Creates a lot of tension. Yeah, good music for a survival horror game.

[damathacus]

Thank you.

[Infinity's End]

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

[Israfel]

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

:lol:

Yep. This was actually written right after watching Glass' "Einstein on the Beach."

Glad some of you guys enjoyed this. It is rather old, and in hindsight there are quite a few things I wish I had done differently, but still, on the whole I think it worked out okay. Incidently, this and Greater Alchemic will almost certainly be the only older remixes that I submit. But you still may see some new mixes from me every once in awhile.

Thanks for the comments! :P

[ubernym]

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.
Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

I truly laughed out loud(lol) when I read that. But seriously, Isarfel, this is an excellent mix. I'm just jealous I never thought of it. Still, you've inspired me. Perhaps there will be some more minimalist remixes of video games in the near future.

[Poga]

I first heard this long ago, and have liked it since. (And the newly added seconds of silence at the end really add to its minimalistic feel—you can't get much more minimalistic than that, I suppose…) I remember having the file sent to me and listening to it without paying attention to the source material. I commented that it sounded strikingly similar to the PAC-MAN theme. Of course I was then informed that perhaps that was because it's a PAC-MAN remix. I guess that goes to show that Israfel stayed true to the source material while still offering a new flavor to things.

I'd agree that it drags on a bit, but on the other hand that's kind of inherent in this genre of music—and part of the point. Though the string sound leaves something to be desired, the marimba sample is really great. Overall, I think the tune is a very creative and well-done take on what is ironically challenging source material.

[Upthorn]

Am I supposed to be annoyed that it builds for the full time, but there's this one tiny part that it still leaves out?

Because, if I am, it's perfect.

And if I'm not, that's a little annoying, but other than that I think it's perfect.

I see the point about the strings, but I think they were the correct choice for this mood.

[nodspaw51]

Why the heck has this piece taken so long to make OCR? I've had this saved as a WIP on my hardrive for ages now...almost a year and a half I'm thinking. I don't hear any changes at all, but maybe that's why I still like this. I remember listening to this when I was thirteen...(fifteen now..) Why did this wonderful piece take so long to make it? Israfel, I love this piece of music, keep 'em coming. It takes so much skill to turn that little ditty from way back when into something great like this.

[InitiAteScan]

It's simply incredible was this ReMix creates out of the minimalistic pacman tune.
That dark and creepy atmosphere is amazing.
Really like the choir and strings a lot.
This might not fit the typical Pacman feel but this is way beyond Pacman.

:nicework:


Somehow it reminds me of the soundtrack of the pc game American Mc Gee's Alice.



please excuse my worse english

[HylianLink]

Genius, pure genius. can we have a remix of the cut scene tune next? :)

[LightFantastic]

Reminds _me_ of Steve Reich, particularly Tehillim... looping percussion hit by vocals and strings, although without the repeated phase shifts. I just love the backing provided by the perc, providing the solid base for all the other voices to chime in.

I give it an A/A+ :D

[Shael Riley]

Finally, some inovation.

[metaphist]

I'm glad to see this on ocr for a number of reasons, which have all already been mentioned here.

Brooding stuff, Israfel.

[RimFrost the Tourianist]

I'm thinking of Magneto in X-Men ,imprisoned in a cage made of clear plastic. Close enough.

As for the song .. i liked it 8)

8/10

[Creepy]

3 seconds of silence? Could that be a John Cage reference? The first thing I thought of upon seeing the name was him and the aforementioned Philip Glass. Heh.

Uh, I don't really have experience on commenting on music, but I liked it. Par for the course for Israfel's stuff, it seems.

[joltmans]

This mix reminded me of Metroid music, from the more recent games, with its choir samples and atmospheric strings and percussion surrounding a vague background tune.

This is background music at its finest; it's like the subtle and changing lighting, the perfect acoustics, and moody backdrop of a play that laughs at the actors in the spotlight that believe they're the reason the audience is enthralled.

Excellent work. :D

[Bummerdude]

How very creepy. It's like your watching a Pacman horrormovie where he shares his inner thoughts. He's walking the lonely corridor. He's following a track of cheese pieces, mostly to try to still his never-ending hunger he got when he was trapped inside this cursed maze. He continues to walk. And arrives at a fork. Will he take the left? Or the right?
Pearls of sweat begins to roll down his circular body, confused as much as you can be. He takes the left, NO, the right, NO again, he takes the left.
He feels the prescense of something else. His company has so far only been his thoughts, the weird cheeseballs and the monumental walls surrounding him. He continues his walk, only to realize that he's followed by a green quilt! He quickly starts running, but the green chaser comes closer. He races through the empty halls only to find more cheese but also new forks in the road, and somehow the creepy habitants behind him manages to gather in their pursuit of our round hero. He starts to grow weak, and the haunting but yet colored creatures draws closer.
He starts to lose faith, but then he sees one lonely cheeseball at the far end of the corridor. Why it's there he doesn't know, but he wants to find out before this weirdos surrounds him and puts him at the bottom of the high score list. His heart beats drums fast like it's been drinking several mugs of coffee, and when he finally reaches it, everything fades away, and a big glowing sign descends from he roof. It says ”Stage Clear”.

At least what I think of when I hears this, the marimba israfel has chosen sounds almost exactly like if your drumming on glass bowls, and it really contributes to the title. The strings makes a fenomenal work to enhance the fear this remix gives off, never thought that Pacman could be changed into something like this. Excellent work Israfel, excellent indeed. :D

[SoulinEther]

Ooooooh (though not to be proceeded by "ahhhh").

This one is real creepy. Eerie. Disturbing. Haunting. And simple.

I'd actually like to hear this mix played live... some parts might have to be a little tailored, but I think if I were in a packed concert hall and the lights went out and that marimba started playing, I'd soil myself (well, I might soil myself even before the marimba starts :/).

[OA]

Wow, pretty epic stuff for Pac Man. Like ridiculously so. The theme is totally present, but it's not a terribly compelling theme. As an academic excercise, this is really interesting stuff, though as a piece of music i'd regularly listen to, I think it gets too caught up in patterns and not enough legato melodies (choir aside) to keep my extended interest.

Super props for pulling it off though, it made the source track sound like something huge.

[duskvstweak]

Very cool. I can't believe this came from Pacman! It's ridiculous what you can do with so little. This is such an epic track from such a little theme. Very nice work.

[MechaFone]

A little Foggy Woods, and a little Haunted House. Mix these two and you'll come up with Glass Cage, a mysterious Foggy Haunted house sounding mix. I like it.

[EmpyClaw]

I decided to do some ReMix reviewing and decided to start here. I never read djpretzel's blurb before, but I thought it was quite funny that he starts out talking about how this could be used in interpretive dance or a performance art piece, 'cause that's precisely what I did last year.

As part of a group presentation in my 3rd year Movement Class, we used this piece of music at my request. We actually didn't incorporate the music until the end stages of the project, and we were amazed that the project perfectly fit the length of the music.

The movement piece was an abstract representation of descent. We each chose our own decent: the decent into madness, decent into drug abuse, decent into depression, etc. It concluded with a collapse into a sort of "black hole" where everything became fragmented and broken.

The music fit perfectly, and I thoroughly enjoy this piece. The way that the layers grow and build throughout the piece, the contrast between the sharp percussion and the smooth strings, it all works together so well. It's a real delight to listen to, and has such an eerie feel to it. At the same time, nothing stands out so much that it overpowers the music, and in the same way it didn't overpower the movement piece. We did not have to "dance" to the music, rather the music worked with us.

Glass Cage is a solid and powerful piece. Simply wonderful.

[Crulex]

Wow, this blows my mind right here. The idea that a five second tune can create something as dark, creepy and suspenseful as this is fantastic. It says with that tense feeling the whole way through and doesn't get overly frantic, so this ReMix definitely works for me.