TheHands

I greatly enjoy this, it's not something I hear normally. I agree that the drums need to get mixed up a little, they're far too repetitive and detract from the awesome. Keep going with this, I want to see this judged and accepted.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith. A Practical Guide to Racism, by C. H. Dalton. MAUS I, by Art Spiegelman. Usually do more at once, but class and work have been killing my time. Instead, the DSi fills in the gaps. Oh, how I wish 100 Classic Book Collection would come to NA...

I'll be getting this. I haven't played Pokemon since Crystal, was going to get Platinum to make up for it. Why bother when I can get the best generation with some updates that make it relevant again? This bodes well.

Muto's considered obscure? In that case, this one too. While we're at it, Psychonauts?

Crock probably isn't obscure, but it was fun. I do miss it so.

Fuck. Why does this have to start looking playable now that it's not going to happen? I didn't give a shit about DNF, but now I'm a little sad to see it go.

Biggest problem is that the original source pretty much drones on two chords for the chorus (arpeggiated, making up the main melody used in the intro/etc) and four very minor changes in two root chords for the verse (the one with the piano as lead, rather than the synth). Usually when I start to go further with it, I end up going too far to the point where I don't even recognize it. I'll see what I can do to shake it up a bit though.

It needs more source. I couldn't tell which stage it was from until 2/3 into the song, which isn't good for one of the best songs in the game's soundtrack. This mix is catchy, and I did enjoy it, I just wish there was more of the original source in there.

Well, what's happening to the DN franchise now, and who owns the title? Depending on circumstances, something like this could still be done under a different publisher.

No loss, only a ten year tease (plus).

Skindred, a metal/punk/regee/rap thing from Europe. http://www.myspace.com/skindred Swashbuckle, a folk-pirate-metal band. http://www.myspace.com/swashbuckle Scratch Track, a two person acoustic-rap-soul-blues band. These guys are awesome live. http://www.myspace.com/scratchtrack

Quite the "fucking metal" there. I'm gonna be a dick and say Rock Band.

Gex, now and forever. Global Gladiators, the bastard brother of McKids.

I don't care if the judges like your work. I care if I do, as a listener. Right now you're down one. You don't need money for samples, you don't even need amazing samples. Playing with them can yield some interesting effects and sounds, some of the coolest things I've found by accident were made with playing with wavelengths and release times. Also, as I'd mentioned in my previous post, you need to make the lead stand out, otherwise I just hear the same stuff over and over, get bored, and listen to the original or Nobuo's rock version. If the thing that makes the piece move isn't noticeable, then it isn't moving. As of right now it fades into the background and is consumed by everything else. MIDI samples are fine, if you play with them. If you don't, then they just sound like bad video game music. The sound is just as important as the music, because the sound is the way we take in the music. If you have the Zelda theme being played through nails on a black board, are you going to listen to the melody, or the grating sound? We're not saying these things to be douche bags to you, we want you to succeed just as much as you do (well, some of us, by the time this thread is finished). You don't have to listen to us, but you need to understand that we aren't attacking you.

I'm not sure how I feel about this piece, it loses most of the feel of the original. I think it's an interesting adaptation, and during the second verse it starts to take on more of the slightly off-beat, happy-go-lucky feel of the original. I like the inclusion of the instrumental/horn/latin version from the game, it adds a lot of flavour. It's a quirky piece that I'd have trouble not enjoying, and admittedly it does grow on me as a listener as it goes on. I think it's just the HUGE drop in tempo from the original that throws me, as someone that's listened to the original hundreds of times (sang it instead of Happy Birthday at my birthday). It's a good arrangement, just unexpectedly so.

When you can't play a game, you practice and get better. Can't hit a ball? Do you throw the bat and storm off like a little bitch? Not saying that cheats don't have a place, but they don't matter in the overall design of a game. Why do I give a shit about the final video if I could've just put in a code to skip to it? There's no payoff. Sure, godmode is fun and will always have a place in my heart, but what's the fucking point of buying a game if you're just going to skip through most of it anyway? It's great for kids, but for people that've been playing games for as long as most of this board, it's really just an added feature that doesn't get used.

I enjoy this midi. I'll see what I can do to help, but I can't promise I'll be able to do much as I'm still learning the software.

I like the ambient feel for it. I'd soften the synth in the background though, the one that's showing the main chord changes. Could just be my speakers, but it hits a little harder than the rest of the instruments and is somewhat distracting. This is a cool piece, I like it so far. Floating Docks?

The arrangement sounds pretty spot on as a solo transition from the original song, but the piano sounds very midi. I'd like to hear more from the left hand, greater dynamics in playing, and more use of the breadth of the piano's sonic offerings. Light reverb is awesome for something like this too. The build to octave change seems weird, very out of place. Once it starts it isn't bad, but it comes out and clobbers the listener in the face if they aren't expecting it. Also, the intro doesn't hold it's own just yet (choice of samples effects how well it keeps as a single note). This has some potential, and for a start it's really not bad. Keep with it.

I'm not diggin' the drum samples. They seem to really clash with the piano, especially the toms (I think that's what I'm hearing, not sure). I'd suggest more hat and ride action with rim hits for the lower punctuation and some (very) light snare to balance it out for the places where you don't want it to feel more intense. In the "heavier" parts the other stuff is more fitting, but right now it doesn't really go with what you've got. I actually really like the approach you're taking in it, as the near honky-tonk piano style isn't common, and still holds my interest. The organ part at the end makes me think too much of Dancing Mad from teh FF6 soundtrack. It's not the arrangement, it's just the way it's used. I like the improvement, and I think this piece is worth continuing on. The next version seems like it's going to be pretty cool.

I very thoroughly enjoyed this mix, but it's too short. Granted, I had it on loop and didn't realize it ended 4 times over, but you know what I mean. It feels like it needs more meat to it, I'm half expecting it to get heavier, and break into a near industrial backing with a heavy lead. That's just my own musical tendencies coming out though. I wish I could offer more constructive criticism, but this kind of music is mostly mixing precision, and I am very lacking in that dept. I'm looking forward to the finished product though.

Awesome. In that case, for the drums, I want you to think like the guy from Avenged Sevenfold. The drum lines fluctuate from a straight beat into an elongated breakdown of fills (for example, the main drumline in Bat Country). Don't be afraid to sequence a lot of different ideas and see what works best. The energy from the drumming can be more important in some ways than the rest of the piece. This isn't always the case, but it can turn what would be a relatively straight forward piece (the chord progression Zero Wing harped on) into something more powerful. Then again, this is your mix, not mine. That just seems to me like it'd be most fitting.

Dig the intro, seems muddy though. This one seems more in time with itself, which is a huge improvement. I'd like to hear the rhythm instrumentation get a little more gritty without feeling muddy (mixing should help this). What kind of music do you normally listen to? This one seems like it'd be awesome with heavy beats, the kind of blast beat stuff you hear in punk and metal (some aggressive techno too). The other issue is that right now I don't hear much variation from the original. Granted, this still a very early WiP, but it's something to look at down the line.

Your mixing is weird. It sounds very washed out, and the main melody is really, really low. It's almost like there is no melody with it as low as it is. The drums bore me. I'm not sure why. Far too repeatitive as it is, unless the lead guitar goes up in volume. It sounds like it needs someone singing over it, or some balls somehow. Reminds me of disco with heavier drums. Wouldn't really call it rock just yet. Needs work still. I know you won't listen, but now I feel better as a human being for trying to help.

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=7540822 Finally found the time to do some more work on this piece. Now it's got the crash in the beginning and more work done for the EQ. Otherwise, there isn't too much changed. Just updating for the sake of keeping this song alive.