Gario

Pretzel, you sound like the kind of person who'd enjoy something like the g-factor in human intelligence (by Spearman) - go look it up, it's very fascinating (if completely irrelevant to this discussion here), and it would be nice to be able to have a civil discourse on it sometime. BACK ON TOPIC, THOUGH: To my understanding (and to Anika's credit), the videos seem less to be about the evils of these things in video games, per se, and more about asking the question of why these things are prevalent in gaming, in general. To people getting upset that she's either attacking gaming in general, or that she's not giving suggestions on how to fix the problem in gaming I believe are missing the point of her videos, which is to show concrete examples of how sexism in a broad sense has influenced gaming. In that context I still think she refuses to consider any fact that could provide an alternative to her feminist position (of which there are a few, including how the market stagnation prevents people from branching out), but quite a few arguments on here seem to be attacking a position that she isn't presenting, in the first place.

That SFX is fire? Yeah, it's actually fine to use it, but it needs to be clear that it's fire (moment of silence dedicated to establishing the SFX, mixing the volume so it balances with the music, etc.). You could also remove it, if you don't feel it adds all that much to the track. When it comes to being conservative, your track is very much a borderline case - I was having a hard time giving it a 'yay' or 'nay' response. What tipped that scale for me, though, is the fact that the actual arrangement plays out almost measure-by-measure, from what I was hearing, with an intro and ending. Like I mentioned before, there are some parts in it that break up the arrangement (like that moment at 1:00) that make it stand out (which helps a lot), so it isn't like it's a cover, or anything. That, in combination of the instrumentation being very similar really does make this sound more like an enhancement of the original (which the site is more or less against). Since the instrument combination is very clean on your track, changing the arrangement up a touch is what I'm suggesting for the sake of submission - don't be afraid to not only add parts, but move parts around and perhaps even omit small sections to give the track some variety against the source. I'd like to emphasize that this is a very close call, though - don't think for a second that you have to do something extreme, like rearrange the entire track. Just make it so it doesn't synch up with it as much as it does now and I'd give it my 'O.K.' to be submitted to the site.

I found this video on the first topic presentation - sorry if it was presented before, but I actually think it vocalizes a lot of what I'm thinking about the series, so far.

There's also the issue that for PC games, Darkesword, there is virtually no more physical distribution, so I don't think that it's the lack of used games that drop the prices down, but more that there is virtually no retail expenses that need to be covered (and, in turn, being able to set your own prices to cover only your game and licencing costs). While I agree that prices will go down a little across the board (a little), I doubt you're going to get anything close to the steam/gog/PC dl'ing prices that you're referencing by merely abolishing the used game market.

MOD REVIEW I like the combination of sounds in this one - piano with pads + drums + bass - it just sounds so... right. Overall I find no production issues with this one, either, other than a consistent clicking in the background that occurs throughout the song (listen for it with headphones at the beginning or end of the track, you'll be able to hear it better). I think it'd be great to get rid of that artifact. Overall, while you bump the harmonies down to it's relative minor (while holding on to the melody's original key), I don't think the arrangement takes enough liberty with the source. I thought the variation that you made was great, and does add interest to the track overall, but otherwise as far as I can tell you follow the source pretty close. The instrumentation is very similar, and the structure is almost identical (if a little extended with the instrumentation). There is potential to stray from the source a little bit more than you have, here. While very nice, and this does have some great ideas I feel it's a little too conservative. It's very close, though - there are some items at the end that do help this stand out, as well as a short section at 1:00 that give this track some real flavor. Be willing to pull away from the source a little more in this track and clean the artifact that I mentioned up and I'd give this one the okay. Keep it up, and best of luck!

Actually, I do believe she says it's because it satisfies our male power fantasy a few times (Specifically at 2:58, if you want to hear it yourself in that context), which I personally think ignores the economic complications involved with taking risks. It's like I agree on most of the examples she brings up, as well as the fact that society as a whole has an affect on it, but the conclusions she draws ignores so many other factors that I can't take it seriously. I would need to see a presentation that's better documented, as well as the studies that show her statements to be true in order to take her conclusion on that seriously. Never have I agreed with you more.

I was actually having this problem too, though. I looked up the phrase 'Male Power Fantasy' to see what she was referencing, and all I could gather were specific sexual fetishes (good ol' Google). I did find 'Power Fantasy' on it's own, but that was completely gender neutral. If someone is going to throw around something and make it central to their argument, I would like it to be a well defined term, not a buzzword to encompass what you're trying to argue against at the time. Just watched the video, by the way. I can see where she's coming from with this, and overall she is correct (as far as she wasn't saying 'I think this is because...', which she does a lot, unfortunately). Those fuzzy logic moments really do hurt the legitimacy of her position; it would've been appreciated to either keep it more neutral OR flesh out her thoughts more thoroughly (just saying 'I think it's because of male power fantasies' is too open ended - she needed to explain just what that meant, if she was going that route). Hopefully it's less than a 3-4 month wait for her next video; it will be nice to move forward from the DiD trope, as she has covered it pretty thoroughly.

Yeah, that'll probably be the case - the fact that they're hinging their sales on that fact is a little silly. That's where they're getting their numbers, though, and in theory it could work. So far people seem to be seeing it for what it is - bloatware - so... yeah, not a good strategy on their part.

The article said they were looking at this generation of consoles breaching the 30% increase level that most other generations have achieved, and specifically due to the fact that the XBox One is going to be a multimedia device like none other, they see the possibility of breaching about a billion units sold by all of the consoles combined... which is still quite a lofty number, even with those considerations. The funny part of the article is that the representative brought that number up specifically because it's going to be an all-in-one box - the thinking is that a multimedia device will bring in consumers that are not gamers. Perhaps it will, but at the same time it looks as if they're also dropping nearly their entire player base, too, as things stand, so those numbers just aren't lining up, yet. Again, though, if they build units in anticipation of all these sales, then I hope they have a nice plot of land in New Mexico ready to accept all those units. They probably won't, but with the string of mistakes they're making right now it wouldn't surprise me...

It's rare in this day and age, but I smell a failure of Atari E.T. proportions. If they actually make a billion units in anticipation of all of these sales then all I gotta say is that I hope they've found a nice piece of land in New Mexico to bury them all in...

Damn, I just finished a Bionic Commando dance remix, but it's for an album. Alas... 'S good, though. Have you gotten everything from Jewbie and bLiNd (ESPECIALLY his Top Gear 2 remix) yet? I mean, they're just staple dance music for us geeks.

PsyNES! Man, I've been waiting for a mixpost from you for ages - love your stuff. Very tight, very well mixed and just full of awesomeness, in general.

We're not late! We're just... um, late. Happy birthday, you guys!

Mmm, bass - the hardest thing to EQ. This is a great article - wish I'd have read it years back. Interesting fact about any instrument in the bass region is that it'll produce powerful harmonics in other audible frequencies, so it's the kind of thing that can affect an entire mix, if you're not careful, not just the bass drum underneath. Most notes produce strong harmonics, actually, but for the regular 440Hz+ range the harmonics get too high to be much of a problem. Good stuff.

MOD REVIEW Mmm, well I'll make this mod review official. Giving it a good solid listen, this DOES sound a little on the conservative side. Again, though, the real juicy atmosphere, theremin, crunchy gramophone-like effect in the background (which I'm a big fan of, myself), etc., will likely take you outside of the conservative territory; you've added quite a creative flair to this track, so don't worry about the conservative aspect too much. I honestly can't say much more than that. Submit it if you haven't already, you'll pass with this one, I suspect.

For OCR judging, the atmosphere alone takes it out of too conservative territory. Jesus, this is sexy.

Okay, my track is a go, everyone. Let's see this thing get published!

It's just that at that small section, the source plays that theme twice (listen , at 0:15 and 0:28 - that's the repeat that I'm talking about). Don't repeat that whole song; it's just that one little blurb that helps balance the song better.Still an awesome remix, though.

This really is an incredible remix. The only complaint that I have is the lack of repetition of the theme at 3:38 - it makes that part sound a little unbalanced (more length on one half of that section than the other). In all seriousness, though, once you have this thing finished, I'd recommend shooting it over to the WIP forums for a Mod review. I could do it myself here, but... well, I want more people to hear it over there, 'cause it's awesome.

Even if a copyright could hold on the name of something (I don't think it can, for most fan works like remixes, but don't quote me on that), the copyright means that someone can't use the title unless they had your permission. Since the original use of that title was yours in the first place, all you need to do is give yourself permission to use it elsewhere...? Yeah, you're fine, any way you cut it. Use it wherever you want.

Mmm, I like this remix. So gentle.

I really want to do this one. I thought I'd be able to, too, if it were in June, but at this moment with school + projects that I'm finishing I don't think I can do this (six weeks of raw remixing? Yeah, I don't think I can muster the time for that). Might still join, but... urgh, I know I won't get more than two or three of my remixes done...

Wait, this doesn't have a remix yet? Huh, I will get this someday. Trust me, I will, as soon as I'm less busy (don't cross your fingers on that happening for a while, though).

AvP Facehuggers. If you think that's a good shock moment, just imagine not seeing the blinking motion detector, having NO CLUE they're in the room and suddenly having... that... pop on your screen out of nowhere. I can't beat this game. Ever. At least, not without the unpleasant feeling of shit in my pants.

Whenever I start playing Zelda (NES), I don't get the sword. Ever. Can't seem to beat Ganon, though, so... eh, I can't beat the game that way, but whatever. Also, I blow in my cartridges. My DS cartridges.