Liontamer

I'll weather the oncoming storm.

Yep. Malcolm X and Betty Friedan are good examples. They didn't ruin society for blacks and women due to their extreme personalities, they ultimately advanced it. No one speaking out right now is going to "ruin" things for gaming.

You've interpreted my POV fairly accurately, but yes, I'm more optimistic. I don't have an opinion, but for the sake of argument, let's assume you're 100% right in your framing of Sarkeesian's mindset (that her brand of feminism is akin to pursuing the elimination of pornography). If that was the case, I can't say I mind her feminism being the wrong wave and/or if her goals were zero-sum. I mean, I'd rather she was fully pragmatic, but is pornography going anywhere? It's not. The positive aspects of her rhetoric (i.e your tweaked version of what should be the core messaging) will ultimately be the takeaways. It's kind of like looking at the Bible, Torah or Koran; there are some fundamentalists, but most of the faithful will pick and choose the ideals they identify with and ignore what doesn't work for them. In gaming, I think that means "I just want more games that have positive women role models. I'll ignore the ones I already wasn't interested in." I just don't see writing in games undergoing a massive level of immediate change; you'd almost certainly have to see other entertainment (TV/film/music) change first before that trickled down to games. To me, the positive end result will fall somewhere below the most extremist interpretation of Sarkeesian's goals. If someone wants to interpret that as me "endorsing patriarchy", they can misrepresent me all they want. My ultimate opinion is that positive change will occur slowly but surely. I think it'll turn out fine. The 60s were a more divisive and dangerous "shit show" with bigger stakes, but American society gradually emerged as something better and more inclusive after the upheaval. Gaming will be the same way. The outcry raised against Sarkeesian's videos and women in games from GamerGate's troll segment will eventually backfire, and it will eventually lead to more women and inclusion in game development, more well-rounded depictions of women in games, and more maturity in the medium, all while the usual stuff we see in gaming also stays around for those audiences (who will also remain influential).

Well said!

YouTube subs: 165,963 Twitter followers: 159K A lot of people are already on her side. Yes, companies chase money. 10 years ago, not many companies would have done what Kraft did. Even Kraft wouldn't have done it. But now they're in a climate where chasing money and expressing decent values can intersect. If your point is that companies lag behind human beings in changing opinions, you're right. But it's not pointless to go after them. By going after a big target and aiming up, you also activate the community. The discourse doesn't exist in a vacuum, so it's incorrect to claim at whatever argument she's waging is on the wrong front. By addressing companies/developers, she's also going after the community at large as well. I'm not trying to say what she's doing is equivalent to the American Civil Rights movement with the above photo, but when she gets physically threatened, and trolls violently dig their heels in, sane people eventually start looking at what's unfolding and realize that the troll reaction is over-the-top and wrong, and that maybe there are problems that need to be addressed. What she's doing is working. It's put her in a state of anxiety no one should have to be under, but it's working. A change agent talks of changing things, some people who hate change violently react, and a greater community of people will move towards that change as a result of not wanting to be under the tent with a bunch of assholes. It's a slow process, but it's an old story. Even assuming she's wrong, and that the real level of problems with the depiction of women in games lies well between her POV and "nothing's wrong", she's promoting a worthwhile re-examination of gender in games. There's a lot of negative chatter and consequences that go along with it, but her critique's a long-run net positive for games. The tropes won't fully go away, so I don't understand why so many people feel threatened, but game storytelling can continue to broaden and serve even more audiences, all while the current style of games stay around.

Yeah, why try to get people to change things by challenging sexism, because, by your rationale, they'll just dig their heels in MORE. I'm sure American abolitionists, women's suffragists, and civil rights leaders way back would have LOVED your advice. Blacks and women can vote now and gays can get married, because the people just moved in their direction... but not because of any challenging THEY did. They just spit into the wind.

Jeez, why does it need to go to this level? More Anita Sarkeesian death threats at her public appearances. http://www.standard.net/Police/2014/10/14/Utah-State-University-student-threatens-act-of-terror-if-feminist.html

That's all no problem at all. I'd say the best thing that could be done to expedite things on my side is for me to get the WAVs so that I can begin tagging, even without a formal track order. That aspect takes a lot of time along with a website, but having the full audio content will allow me to work on FLAC/MP3 prep and getting artist & song info organized. No rush; I always have 87 other things to do myself, but anytime those files and/or artist/song info can be Dropboxed/shared to me, that would rock.

What's going on with this at the moment? Are we waiting for artwork? Artist comments? Just checking in and seeing if anything needs help.

I see what you did there! But yeah, as a fan of "Riders on the Storm", the homage was really nicely worked in. I always enjoy mixes that combine the style of another artist with VGM. See you in 2029 for #6000

Glad you're here after grabbing a CD from me at VGL! Welcome! There's plenty of electronic stuff, so this list I'm linking doesn't cover everything especially dubstep (which we do have), but for the more club-friendly style OC ReMixes, this Dance OC ReMixes list is pretty comprehensive.

Bing. Bang. Boom. http://overclockedrecords.com/release/zone-runners/

I like wishful thinking. Feel free to pitch ideas whenever, we're always willing to entertain 'em.

We don't get enough submissions that are spooky/eerie/creepy to do a flood month dedicated to that one theme, but that works more as a last week of October thing, when Halloween is on everyone's minds the most. I hope that by next September when we do another flood month that we're more caught up with the submissions queue, which inherently limits theme potential (but for a good reason). Even when you broaden it to anything from a horror/Gothic game or villainous, I don't see us having 31 mixes ready for this kind of month-long theme, even if we asked for them. But 3-5 is usually something that can be rustled up.

This track is the hottest fire known to man. FIRE!

I'm pretty far below 50% on source usage for this so far, so anyone who can help me with what I'm potentially missing is appreciated. :00-:15.5 - 1:01-1:26 of source :45.5-1:18 - :04-:33 of source 1:21-1:51 - 33:-1:00 of source 2:06.5-2:07.75 - :04-:06 of source 3:12.5-3:44 - 1:01-1:26 of source EDIT (11/4): Time for a fuller vote. Timing on the string pad and the e-piano was rigid to start, but we'll see how it goes. The brass lead at :47 was SNES-erific; cool throwback, but also SUPER dry and exposed, so it didn't sound good, IMO. 1:20 moved away from that into a swankier, brass-less chorus. The groove there until 1:49 was pretty static and bland, but there were enough changeups in the beats and instrumentation to not make some static grooves here and there a big problem. It's certainly a laid back vibe and achieves that well. Ever since hearing some of your Mega Man compo stuff, Txai, I thought your name on the front page was an eventuality, even if you don't submit often. Aside from some minor crits that didn't amount to much IMO, this was very smart stuff throughout with this composition. It's very chill and Very fun. Unfortunately, I'm not hearing the Sega Rally source tune used throughout most of the arrangement. 110.75 seconds of a 5:03-long arrangement or 36.55% I'm going to vote NO at least for now, but if we're mistaken on the level of source usage, let us know. If not, this possibly could be posted in some form as long as more source usage is involved to make it the dominant component of this arrangement. EDIT (12/2): Thanks to Txai for the added breakdown. And yeah, YOU GOTTA TELL US ALL THE SOURCE CONNECTIONS. The Sega Rally section was one thing; I shouldn't have missed 3:52-4:22. But not pointing out 4:22-4:54 arranging something from an entirely different game... We were never going to get that one without you telling us! Anyway, the added minute of VGM usage pushed this way over the top. I get the criticisms on production and shared some of them, but the overall package was strong and the arrangement (and later production) carried this past an underwhelming start. Count me in. YES

Texturally, the opening layerered claps were a lil' thin, but serviceable. I really appreciated Justin's arrangement breakdown, which made it easy to clarify and co-sign on the source usage. Writing-wise, the dynamics were subtle but solid. The overall energy here was pretty understated, but the elements that were there glued together nicely for a reasonably full soundscape. Nice job, Ben! YES

We can close this out. I'm just coming in quickly to co-sign on the production criticisms and reaffirm the source tune usage was absolutely no problem. The arrangement's awesome, but the mixing's just too indistinct, so I agreed with Kris, Justin & Will; clean it up and rebalance it, and let's see how you do. Some changes in the dynamic contrast would be a good thing, BUT if only the mixing was fixed, I'd still pass this, no problem. NO (resubmit)

I did a very rough breakdown, but this came out way over 50% overt source usage. 00.5-22, 36.5-1:22, 1:25-1:36 (FF battle!), 1:36-1:59 (loose), 2:00.5-2:12.25, 2:13.5-2:17, 2:36.5-2:53 (loose to 3:00), 3:02.5-3:17 It's a relatively short theme with 2 distinct sections, so it wasn't difficult to make out. The opening piano sounding so similar to the source tune's piano had my alarm bells going off to start, but there were lead changes and much more interpretive ideas later, so it was a non-issue. Smart lead change at 1:02 to keep the piece fresh. The bowed string sequencing/articulations lacked some realism, but sounded serviceable. Other than that, the arrangement was well-developed and on point, short and sweet! YES

Man, this was cool to start, but too underdeveloped. The filtering, original writing additions from 1:43-1:58 and percussion tweaks were all good things that took this in the right direction, but it's not enough yet. At 1:58, I was definitely wondering when meaningfully more or different ideas would get introduced into the picture. By 2:30, it was definitely too repetitive. There was a little more intensity with the beats, but you need to provide some more substantial development or variations, whether that's dynamics or instrumental changes. Right now, the dynamic curve is too flat after you peak at :44 after the initial build-up. 2:30's peak is exactly the same as :44's, except with the bubbly pattern added in. Develop this further, however you want to go about it, and it would have a chance at passing. The treatment of the theme is creative, Roope, but this is just too static and repetitive at the moment. NO (resubmit)

The speedup section was a small part of this, and it was super-fast for only about 10 seconds from 4:12-4:21; no big deal to me (and a perfectly fine idea). The only thing I had a problem with per se was crowding/mud in the densest sections, particularly 5:36-6:29. The track had the same lead from 5:37-6:53 and was melodically conservative, which is where the perception that it was too similar for much of this hit it; it was a weak way to close it, because it did drag out, and 6:28 would have been a perfect spot to at least change the lead, if not also vary the melody somehow. That said, there were so many other things working in this track's favor as far as the creativity of the arrangement that there's no way I'd NO it off just those relatively minor issues. The arrangement was (overall) well varied in both textures and dynamics, and definitely stood apart from the original. Good ideas overall, Thomas, and I hope we hear more from you, bro. YES

Redg articulated the level of interpretation well here, and I agree with him all the way. This is short, and relatively conservative with the structure, but the genre adaptation, original additive writing, constant dynamic shifts, and different buildup here relative to the source all added up to something that stood enough apart from the original song to be a unique interpretation. I would have LIKED another 30-60 seconds of further ideas, but due to the constant subtle textural changes, you NEVER hear anything wholesale repeat at any time here, and that's VERY important for such a short piece. We have room for approaches like this. I also didn't agree with criticizing the "long build." Builds comes in all shapes, and I don't have a problem with how it was done here. I felt the NOs had an inadvertent bias/expectation toward needing to hear the main Lockjaw melody come in much sooner. I'm fine with Cory NOT doing that, and going with this non-conventional structure, as there was creative arrangement of the first part of the source that had great dynamics and variation until finally getting to the main melody. He thought outside the box, and it worked. YES

Strange ambient opening, but we'll see where it goes. Light pops at :02, :04, :06, :12 & :14, possibly from the vox triggers; needs to be fixed. Digging the popping-style percussion st00fs at :31; nice touch. The timing of the lead from :53-1:03 felt rigid and slightly behind the beat, which was unfortunate. 1:31 was an odd transition, and I didn't think the textures were fully clicking up to 2:02. Compositionally, there were subtle additions and subtractions as that bassline pattern repeated until 2:32, but that whole minute (seemingly) had very little purpose or direction, and felt like aimless filler until the main verse returned/repeated at 2:32. I thought there was rigid, awkward timing of the lead as well from 2:03-2:18 that sounded its worst/most obvious around 2:10. However, at 3:02, I WASN'T getting that robotic/stilted vibe from the sequencing... until the 3-note patterns from 3:33-4:03. The closing section from 4:03-4:29 also felt aimless and didn't even sound like it was all in the same key. Minor thing, but the ending faded to 0 at 4:27, then came back up again in volume before cutting off at 4:29; fix'er up, and don't miss details like that. IMO, you could do any or all of these things as potential ways to improve the flow and keep it fresh: 1. Smooth out some of the rigid sequencing mentioned earlier, 2. Add some other ideas or dynamic contrast for the 1:31-2:33 section it doesn't seem so relatively aimless; and 3. Do something different/varied with the core pattern at 2:32 that's stands apart from 1:01 to prevent the track from feeling too repetitive over the long run. This definitely had some creative, interpretive ideas that carried the arrangement in a good direction. However, the timing needs to stay smooth, and the arrangement can't coast/wander so much. Hopefully some other Js can better articulate what's holding this back. NO (resubmit)

The soundscape sounded pretty lossy/muddy from the jump. The piano timing also sounded stiff to start, but that was mitigated when more elements were added at :32. Not the strongest intro in that respect. I liked the sound of things after :45's transition more. Still not sure why the soundscape was murky like this, but I wasn't digging that. "Zelda's Theme" also didn't fit comfortably in here alongside "Midna's Theme," but the other theme cameos clicked fine IMO. Good conclusion, though the final note tailing off longer may have been a good idea. Every idea for the arrangement from 2:09-on was fun, and I enjoyed the subtle additions and subtractions throughout. Overall, the production issues I had weren't nearly enough to consider not taking it, when the arrangement was so strong. YES

"Too cramped" was the first thought I had listening to the intro until :31. Although the mixing of the verses was OK, the densest parts during the choruses with vocals and some extra guitar layering (1:11-1:41, 2:11-2:50, 3:02-3:13) didn't sound great either due to both the crowding and the lyrics sounding too hot. It's not clipping, and the arrangement and performances were fine, so I hate to sound like a grandpa, Dustin, but I felt like this needed more breathing room for the busiest sections. I know Phantasy Star II 'Take Turns' was loud & squished, but even there I felt like I could make out more than I could at times here. Not quite there yet close, IMO, but hopefully wouldn't be hard to address if this didn't make it as is. NO (refine/resubmit)