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Whoa. Happy to see an authentic chip track with next to no post production on the site. Congrats RushJet1!

FUCKING HELL YOU'RE MAKING ME ENTER AGAIN sorry about all caps but I HAVE SO MUCH TO DO

I can't say it's Christmas in July, but it is Christmas in March!! I apologize for the hold up, but I wanted to kick this thread into gear as early as I could this year, because this is the tenth anniversary of An OverClocked Christmas we're talking about. That's right, Volume 10!! Who's directing this ship this year? Well, in the last two years (volumes 8 and 9), The Coop has stepped up and stepped into the role of director, while I, for personal reasons that I won't get into here, stepped back to take a breather. Two years is a long time, but this year is special, and I couldn't stand staying away for it. So this year, I'm happy to announce that... Both The Coop, and myself (Dyne), will be directing this project. So, what's this year's theme going to be, or, what music should we be making for this project? As always, Christmasy, snowy, seasonal music is the goal, but this year, I'm asking everyone to stick to Video Game Music specifically. That means that we're not taking original music, or remixes/rearrangements of classic Christmas tunes. I will explain why this is the running theme for the year. In previous years, we've had a mix of all manner of music, from VGM, to classic Christmas music, to originals. For this year, I wanted to focus primarily on VGM has a whole, especially because of this community here at OCR. I love this community, and though I've been lurking for a long time now, I still think of this community as an extended family. So, with that in mind, let's brighten the year with amazing music!! The other reason for this focus is actually a project that has yet to be started. One that I won't be talking about, but one that is something I want to accomplish for Christmas 2017. So keep an eye out for that. What format should our tracks be in? Typically, we've accepted them as MP3s and WAVs before. We're going to do this again. The following is the format that I would like followed: 44.1 Khz, 192kbps .MP3 Who do we submit our music to? Well, to be honest, either one of us. But more specifically, I'd like to have them sent to me through my gmail account. That said, I have some guidelines for how you can send me those emails, and what I need to see so I can locate them in my email. First, my Gmail address is, as always, Dyne2057@gmail.com. Secondly, in the SUBJECT line, I'd like the following in all caps: RE: AOCC VOLUME 10 SUBMISSION Thirdly, in the body of the email message, I'd like the following: YOUR REMIXER HANDLE (what you use on OCR is fine), THE OFFICIAL TITLE OF YOUR TRACK, THE SOURCE OF THE TRACK (what game is it from? who is the composer?), ANY COMMENTS YOU WISH TO MAKE ABOUT YOUR TRACK (or tracks if you are making multiple submissions). Should we send multiple tracks in one email? The short answer is NO. The long answer is, I would like tracks in separate emails. I know this is tedious, but it will help me keep track of what information belongs to each of your tracks. What should we do if we can't send you tracks via email? If you can't send them via email, I will accept links to DropBox, web space (if that's where you can put it), or whatever method you'd like to use to get them to me. I would still like the requisite information from the email along with the link. If you are doing multiple tracks, then you can send multiple links this way. I know, this is a bit backwards from what I said about sending email to me in one of the sections above, but please hear me out. If you're sending links, you can more easily divide up your track, so what it should look like is like the following: --- <DOWNLOAD LINK FOR YOUR TRACK> --- REMIXER HANDLE --- OFFICIAL TITLE OF YOUR TRACK --- SOURCE OF YOUR TRACK --- COMMENTS ABOUT YOUR TRACK And then just repeat for as many submissions as you have. The download link will act as a divider. And remember that your SUBJECT should also be the same as above. WIP Deadlines, Final Deadline? I'd like to have at least two WIP Deadlines this time around. The deadlines will be as follows: First WIP Deadline: June 1, 2016 Second WIP Deadline: September 1, 2016 FINAL DEADLINE: December 11, 2016 at 11:59pm I would like to have everything submitted by December 11, 2016, which gives almost 2 weeks for everything to be finalized, and readied for release. This year, because of the length of time we have, I'm going to be a bit more strict on late tracks. That said, the very latest I intend to take submissions will be by: Wednesday, December 14, 2016 at 11:59pm. Questions, Comments, Suggestions? If you have any of these, feel free to drop me a line, or throw those things here in the thread. Either The Coop or myself will answer you as soon as we can. Thank you, and as always, I look forward to hearing your tracks. Track Suggestions In a response to a question about suggestions, I said I would think about some ideas and present them here in the OP. So, here are some ideas. Also, please note, your remixes don't necessarily need to be specifically snow-based level music, or what not, it can be any track you want. Super Mario Bros. Castlevania Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Earthbound Mega Man and Mega Man X (don't forget the Game Boy series!) Megaman Zero 1-4 Chrono Trigger Chrono Cross Final Fantasy series Destiny Tom Clancy series Rainbow Six series Act Raiser Final Fight Street Fighter series King of Fighters series Snatcher Sonic the Hedgehog Undertale (especially this) Super Mario RPG Tales of ... series Assassin's Creed series Metal Gear and Metal Gear Solid series Thanks for the reminder Yannic Gerts! Here's a link to all the previous albums! http://williammichael.info/aocc/index.htm

Wassup guys! So I did a club remix to the invincibility theme from Sonic Mania! This has Sonic vocals in it! Jam on and enjoy!! Ill attach the original and my version MY VERSION: ORIGINAL:

This is a kinda future funky style remix of Jazzy NYC '99.

Alright! This is one of my favorite from FRLG. Going to make something for sure!

yeah I just dropped off a Remix in the Workshop of Lavender Town and was thinking the same thing.

Figured I'd share all the extended track teasers and behind-the-scenes stories that have been released so far, since there are a lot and it's quite possible that folks have missed some... and it'll save you having to dig through the "updates" tab on the campaign: "The Dragonborn Concerto" (Skyrim), original theme by Jeremy Soule, featuring our own David "dhsu" Hsu on piano - http://www.americanpixels.com/dragonborn-concerto.php "Liquid Tribes" (Puzzlejuice), original theme by our very own Jimmy "Big Giant Circles" Hinson - http://www.americanpixels.com/liquid-tribes.php "Agent Sprawl" (Dead Space 2), original theme by Jason Graves, featuring our own Kunal Majmudar on keys - http://www.americanpixels.com/agent-sprawl.php "Tristram in Flames" (Diablo), original theme by Matt Uelmen, featuring our own Ailsean on guitar - http://www.americanpixels.com/tristram-in-flames.php "Transponder Mission" (Mass Effect 2), original theme by Jack Wall - http://www.americanpixels.com/transponder-mission.php "Tribal Clayface" (Batman Arkham City), original theme by Ron Fish - http://www.americanpixels.com/tribal-clayface.php "Angelhenge" (Brutal Legend), original theme by Peter McConnell, featuring our own zyko on guitar - http://www.americanpixels.com/angelhenge.php "Switch Force Ballad" (Mighty Switch Force 2), original theme by our friend Jake Kaufman - http://www.americanpixels.com/switch-force-ballad.php "Metropolis for Guitar" (DC Universe Online), original theme by Gerard Marino, featuring William Reyes of The OneUps on guitar - http://www.americanpixels.com/metropolis-for-guitar.php "Purple Streets" (Sam and Max Season One), original theme by Jared Emerson-Johnson - http://www.americanpixels.com/purple-streets.php So... yeah. Enjoy. There are still a few days left in the campaign, and I do have a few more teasers and stories on the way... but that's the bulk of them right there!

Is it cheating if I enter something that I've been working on for years already?

I've always thought Tamriel would be a better fantasy land to live in than most others. Is isn't as depressing as some others, I really like the races, (mostly the Argonians,) and it seems like the kind of place where any peasant could go out and have an adventure. The downside is that there's a lot of things that could kill me; the world is overrun with bandits.

I don't know... being a NPC could be good. No one expects you to stop the evil wizard when you're just selling apples from a cart. Or restarting a reactor to get the defense shields up before the aliens attack. Nope, just sweeping this corridor. Depending on the game, it might be the safest situation there is. The world can't end if the hero doesn't start the game... Damn it! Now I'm torn between blowing up the world and waiting for someone else to do it!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wtwyug5gp14j2zi/butterbuilding_tri.mp3?dl=0 I did not make this; it was on the FamiTracker forums. It is a single channel with one bit volume control and manages to sound great.

I'm probably finished, but I'll sit on it for a little while incase I change my mind before the deadline.

We have to go deeper. 1-Bit single channel chiptunes.

Mmm, Megalovania metaaaaaal, and it's absolutely solid metal, to boot. I'm quite surprised it didn't get any love the first time around, as it's pretty damn good... Might be Undertale burnout, as that soundtrack gets a lot of attention on here, lately. There are a few things that catch my ear on this, most prominent is that the volume levels on this are quite low, especially in comparison to other metal tracks that are produced on here. I'd normally import this into the Audacity (or similar) program and check on how you can raise levels without causing other issues in the production, but the WMA format limits what I can do with it to nearly nothing. Thus, all I can say on that front is that the levels need to be higher on it, and that you should probably either use WAV or Mp3 with VBR or 192 encoding rates in order to allow others to have an easier time opening the file. Some of the instruments are mixed in such a way that they don't quite punch through as they should. 0:42 uses a lead that gets lost behind the rhythm guitars, for example. The leads at 0:59 are another great example of this - they sound like background elements, not something that's carrying the leads. Overall, I like how rich and heavy the rhythm is, but sometimes the leads need the spotlight at the front of the mix, too - it gives the listener something to grab hold to. Overall though, I don't have much else to say on it, as the performances are pretty tight. It's a really fun cover of the source. Do pay attention to the format of the file you offer to the internets, and pay attention to your mixing and your upcoming music should be pretty solid. Hope it helps, and sorry the track didn't get much attention the first go around with it.

Big update everyone... today we hit 100%!!! The project is now officially funded. Huge, huge thanks to OCR for the help. That said, we have 7 days to go, and to celebrate, today I added a new stretch goal. Help me get to the next level, and the next remix I do as a post-launch bonus track will be... "Baba Yetu" By Christopher Tin, from Civilization IV: It's been requested a lot over the years actually, but man... a hard one to do justice to. But let's keep this funding momentum going over the next few days, and I'll make it happen. Thanks again!!!

Yeah, I did personally think that the arrangement for the track was enough to pass the bar. That was my own opinion. But as I said, this mix is where the standards got clarified, with Dave making it clear in the last post that this wasn't enough. An example of a mostly chip mix passing would be Dueling Consoles.

OK, let's clear some things up here. They've been well-established for years, and yea, they are treated like any other minimal ensemble. If you're going to intentionally limit yourself then we believe you need to make up for it proportionally with arrangement. We're not making an exception for chiptunes. GrayLightning made a compelling argument for this; paraphrased, he said "What if someone were to make a remix entirely using wind chimes? Would we make an exception because of the limitations the artist placed on himself? Or would we say that there is only one kind of very basic tone used, which severely limits the remix, and judge it accordingly?" We're not "against" chiptune production (see below). What does this have to do with consistency, and why would that be an argument in favor of us changing the standards? Gregorian chant hasn't changed in 700+ years, does that mean we should give Gregorian chant remixes special attention or make exceptions for them? It's a silly point. That's like saying "How can you celebrate vgm as an art form while not allowing people to submit covers?" We're not claiming to be the be-all end-all of video game music remixing. This is Dave's site. He believes, and many of us agree, that doing fleshed out arrangements with NEW material, variation, and varied production is more meaningful as tribute/homage than simple covers, or downgrading the original instrumentation to a set of just a few chiptune tones. That doesn't mean we don't like or enjoy chiptunes, it just means that in the majority of cases, a pure chiptune mix is not in line with the goals of the site (much like straight covers, or tracks that use extensive direct sampling, etc.) As with the rest of our standards, these things are highly subjective and we don't quantify them. Everything has to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Even things like the famous "50% rule" (at least 50% of the remix should have an overt connection to the source material) is just something a few judges do, NOT something codified into the standards. Sure, but by that same reasoning it takes some interpretation to take an NES track and arrange it for guitar, bass and drums for a simple cover. Lastly I encourage EVERYONE to read the decision thread for Espergirl 2a03 which pretty much defined/clarified our standards: http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=4024&highlight=espergirl

in 70 years or so, when chiptunes are regarded as a medium on the same level as other relatively minimal forms such as a string quartet.... if OCR is still around then, they will accept chiptunes. So given the current length of the queue you might as well submit one now

It's ironic that the site is against chiptune production when chiptune production is just about the only type of production that is fairly consistent over time. Recording quality of organic instruments degrades the farther back you go, and even people who remix on OCR can make huge strides in recording quality over the course of a year or two. I'd point at myself as an example. z_z And Guifrog's recent mixpost is great but is lacking in a lot of sample/production areas. Whereas Espergirl 2A03. Still sounds incredible. Stands the test of time. Also how can you celebrate vgm as an art form while barring the format it is derived from? This thread is now about OCR Standards.

Halc / Ben Briggs / ProtoDome = YES Normal chiptune = NO Normal chiptune combined with solo piano = N... wait, what? YES? OCR has yet to really establish chiptune standards.