[Liontamer]

Do the jumpy transitions prevent this from sounding cohesive and/or developed enough? - LT

First and foremost, here is the piece of music:

Flashback - Memory Leak Suite - Rich Douglas

Contact Info:
Remixer Name: Beckett007
Name: Rich Douglas
Email: richfilm@hotmail.com
Website: http://www.pe-i.com
User ID: 20809

Remix Info:
Game Remixed: Flashback: The Quest For Identity
Cues Remixed: Intro / Menu / Captured
Additional Info:
Music By: Jean Baudlot and Fabrice Visserot
Systems: SNES, Genesis, PC, etc etc

Link to soundtrack: http://www.vgmusic.com/music/console.../index-af.html

Additional Comments:

Ever since I first played Flashback, it blew me away... and honestly is the reason I'm working in the game industry today. I'm an audio director for a THQ company and seeing as how we're about to wrap our current game up, Stuntman Ignition, I had a bit of spare time to put together this piece of music. It's not really a remix in the sense of the word... more like a reworking of themes composed by Baudlot and Visserot with my own spin on orchestration. I basically approached this side project like i would scoring a next gen version of Flashback, a remake ... I thought it best to utilize their themes, but at the same time not only make them my own, but take that vibe and run with it to create my own motifs but also to stay in the same place soundwise / moodwise as the original. The main motif I added and carry throughout the suite is a lonely Duduk that serves as conrads theme, that and the 3 note synth lead line utilized in the game version of "Captured" that carries itself throughout as well. The end cue is definately a departure from the original...not as happy sounding.. I hint at conrads theme once again, only to bring in some distant strings as he learns he'll be floating through space for a hell of a long time and must go into hypersleep not knowing what the future holds. So this suite of music basically goes in the same order as it would in game... here are the cues in the suite:

LT Edit: Source names are based off of the Genesis chiptune set

*Delphine Logo and Opening Theme - from 0:00 to 1:07 -the last part with the ethnic instrumentation is something I tacked on to ephasize Conrads crash into the jungle. Other than that the synth lead is dead on, and I reworked the brass a bit to heighten the action.

*Menu Theme - from 1:31 to 2:32, this is basically a dead on interpretation.. with the duduk added of course for a more in depth theme for Conrad.

*Walking - very loose interpretation of the base line from 2:32 to 3:07

*Descent into the Tunnels - from 3:07 to 3:46,this is basically a directly interpreted rip of the original. The synth lead is dead on, and I replaced the bass instrument with a french horn section. That synth lead line also appears in the end of the suite as well as the section from 2:32 on. I thought it was a really cool motif to carry throughout.

I understand this is something a bit different compared to what you guys normally get, but I figured it'd be a nice departure. The themes and motifs are definately there but I did do alot of creative re-working and interpretation. As mentioned.. the final cue is definately a bit different then the original, I thought it needed a bit more of a darker edge, so I repeated the synth string bassline from the menu theme and changed its key.

I used a ton of different Virtual Instruments to create this piece... everything from Stormdrum, to Stylus RMX, Atmosphere, FM8, EWQL Gold, String Essentials, RA... tons of stuff, I also used quite a bit of compression tools (like Izotope) and wizoo convolution verb which I can't recommend enough, good stuff for the price. Overall, I'm really happy with how it turned out and hope that you guys feel the same way. Enjoy!

Rich

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http://project2612.org/download.php?id=333 - 01 "Delphine Logo", 02 "Opening Theme", 03 Menu Theme, 04 "Waking..." & 08 "Descent into the Tunnels"

I'll be honest. I hate Flashback now. :-D After PMing Rich, I appreciated the more specific breakdown of the source tune usage he gave, for the sake of making evaluation a lot easier. Right now though, I'm pretty burnt out on trying to compare everything.

The long and short of it is, I felt the interpretations of the sources generally check out IMO, mostly on an expansive level as alluded to in the sub letter. I think Rich actually sold himself a bit short on that level, but I'll leave that to other Js to decided. Do some legwork.
The usage of "Walking..." felt way too liberal, so I simply didn't count it. Could be wrong, but I'm playing it safe. Meanwhile, the original, Flashback-style material works really well. One unfamiliar with the source material would be at a loss as to when the wholly original material starts and the VGM ends.

There were instances where the abrupt transitions worked on the whole, e.g. 1:30 & 2:33. But later there were also two jarring instances of just stopping a section and moving to a new one, 3:09 & 3:45. If all the transitions were like that, I would have went NO. Overall though, I'm ok with this. It's unorthodox relative to most of the material we receive, but at the end of the day the transitions feel like a more subjective criticism and not important enough given that the major majority of this is solid. Straddles the line a bit in terms of VGM vs. wholly original material, but they end up fusing together nicely. Looking forward to any future submissions, Rich, and good luck with the rest of the vote.

YES

[DarkeSword]

This does suffer from medlyitis. Those transitions near the end are nonexistent; things just switch gears. Fortunately the gears are shiny and well oiled, otherwise it'd be a huge problem.

I think the track flows pretty well overall, aside from the transition issues at the end. The interpretation and arrangement is right up there; feels a bit like a Metal Gear game. On the production side, I felt it was a bit heavy on the reverb, especially with the splashy bombastic brass stuff. I'd've liked to hear that a little cleaner, but to each his own in this case.

Sources check out; great arrange and nice sound. YES

[Vig]

Medleyitis, sure....at least the segments move in a good dynamic progression. No transitions. This would be more problematic, but what's here is really great. Doesn't really make much sense not to pass it.

YES

[Liontamer]

This is our new oldest track. Let's please continue the vote on this.

[Malcos]

Of all the transitions, the one at 3.09 is the most jarring. However as DS said it is more of a gear change, a deliberate setting of a new tempo - not easy to do well, but here it works (just). Top quality production here. The re-arrangement in this is on the line of slightly altered source with totally original elements, which were integrated well.

YES