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djpretzel

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Posts posted by djpretzel

    Video Advertisements

    in Site Issues & Feedback

    Posted

    I've noticed a time or two that there have been ads on OCR that are audio-enabled/video ads. These will usually show up on pages that have ad areas that are a suitable size for video-type, with the latest one showing up on an OCR Mascot page (Shantae's).

    Is this just something that happens due to the advertisement system, or can it be controlled? It hasn't happened too much, so I guess it's not a problem, but I thought that I should bring it up.

    It's supposed to be against AdSense (Google ads, i.e. what we us) terms, but somehow things seem to get through their system... if you can get us the domain name of the offending ad(s), we can block them from appearing again.

    2015 New Year Resolutions!

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    If, by the end of this year, the site redesign is not yet live, it will represent an unacceptable delay on my part as administrator & head honcho 'round these parts.

    I have other specific goals I need to think about more, but as far as OCR is concerned, V6 of the site is an absolute must. If I can't make it happen, I will personally feel that I have failed you all. Patreon resources will be used as stated to ensure that this does not occur.

    I'm focusing on the frontend stuff and should have something to show at MAG. The functional stuff will come later, as part of a forum migration. At a bare minimum, the new front-end needs to go live in 2015.

    SO IT IS!!

    2014 New Year Resolutions!

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    1. GENERAL: Be an awesome father, an awesome husband, and an awesome site admin, in that order!!
    2. FINALLY modernize the site's look & feel and functionality AND update/migrate the forums (aka "V6")
    3. Finish 5 ReMixes, aka "get back on the musical horse". Just upgraded to Cubase 7.5 after my brief experiment with Reaper; going to focus on learning it and Sylenth1 and putting together some templates so I can be 5X more productive. Been wanting to do this for years, just needed to double-down on DAW choice after playing the field a bit...
    4. Lose 10 more pounds (lost ~10 this year)
    5. Fix/update landscaping around the house

    Still thinking about 2-3 good additions to the list, but these would be great!

    1. Hope I've done this, but I can't be the judge
    2. Not yet, but soon...
    3. Well, uh... one out of five ain't... bad? Ah crap, yes it is...
    4. Funny story, here. As of last week, there was no hope in hell of this happening. Then, day after xmas, norovirus hits. Can't eat anything except toast and cereal and bananas and apple sauce. Checked weight THIS MORNING... mission accomplished! Gastrointestinal crisis to the rescue!
    5. Kinda.

    A Happy 1st Birthday to djp's Little Girl! <3

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Thanks, Bev - really appreciated.

    I know everyone out there has probably had their fair share of people telling them how life-changing and amazing and what not becoming a parent is - along with all the trials & tribulations, of course - but it really HAS been a wonderful year, made exponentially brighter by Esther Fiona Lloyd.

    This calls for some pics!!

    From January:

    me-and-ma-bebe.jpg

    Six Months Old!!

    SIX-MONTHS-OLD.jpg

    First Halloween!! Jazz Hands!!

    esthers-first-halloween.jpg

    From last week, w/ grandmom:

    esther-hat-gramom.jpg

    Celebrate 15 Years of OverClocked ReMix!!

    in Announcements

    Posted

    OC REMIX CELEBRATES ITS 15TH ANNIVERSARY!!

    15years.jpg

    Today marks 15 YEARS since djpretzel posted the very first OC ReMix!

    For our birthday, the presents are all for you!

    Celebrate with us as we post FIFTEEN new OC ReMixes arranging games from FIFTEEN different systems! Over 1 HOUR of new mixes! GET!

    We've also got a great piece up on The Onion A.V. Club today! 25 personal ReMix selections from djpretzel, Big Giant Circles, Chimpazilla, Danny Baranowsky, DarkeSword, Liontamer, Mazedude & zircon to get you combing through the archives!

    ● You smell that? It's THE ONION! http://www.avclub.com/article/staff-and-artists-overclocked-remix-make-us-list-t-212621

    For arrangers & listeners alike, whether you've been an OCR fan for 15 minutes or all 15 years, THANK YOU ALL for believing in video game music as an art form!

    Enjoy our anniversary tracks representing games from 15 different systems!!

    1. Mega Man Battle Network 1-2 & 4-6 'Let's Bust Some Viruses!' by timaeus222

    [*]Pokémon Red Version 'Dream Eater Mix' by Solkrieg

    [*]Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & 2 'SZRC Anthem (Busiest Days of My Life)' by Flexstyle & OverClocked University

    [*]Puella Magi Madoka Magica Portable 'Meus Caligo Hora' by urdailywater

    [*]Xenophobe 'Audiophobe' by Showroom Dummy

    [*]Kirby 64 'Aqua Tides' by jdaster64

    [*]Akumajo Dracula X: Nocturne in the Moonlight 'Bloody Mayhem' by BONKERS

    [*]Demon's Souls 'Epitaph for Boletaria' by RoeTaKa

    [*]3-D Ultra Pinball: Creep Night 'Welcome to Our Castle' by Chernabogue

    [*]Super Mario Sunshine 'Tutti I Frutti: The Ballad of Piantee Joe' by MC Final Sigma & Sir Jordanius

    [*]Supremacy 'Pixel Storm in the Planetary System' by Sir_NutS

    [*]Kingdom Hearts 'Simply Be-groove-ed' by Tetrimino

    [*]Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess 'Wistful' by Chimpazilla

    • http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03048 (Wii) - Meditation, contemplation, introspection, reflection -- if you've got any of these on your agenda, here's your perfect mood music!

    [*]Detana!! TwinBee 'BUTTS' by prozax

    [*]Chrono Trigger 'Cosmic Whispers' by DrumUltimA

    •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

    Thanks to our super-baller sponsors on Patreon for their heavy lifting to help OC ReMix keep on chugging! (http://patreon.com/ocremix)

    As fellow game music superfans, please show these folks your love & support! We're 15 years strong thanks to everyone helping us on Patreon!

    • Bart Verbeek

    • Cynicalbrit (http://youtube.com/cynicalbrit)

    • Dave Oshry (http://bloggalog.com)

    • From the Mind of Klink (http://youtube.com/fromthemindofklink)

    • Matt (aka Antidragon)

    • Michael Beauchamp

    • TFBgaming (http://twitch.tv/tfbgaming)

    • VinnyMac (http://vinnymacradio.com)

    • Wesley Cho (Bahamut)

    OverClocked ReMix

    http://ocremix.org • http://patreon.com/ocremix • http://twitter.com/ocremix • http://facebook.com/ocremix • http://youtube.com/ocremix

    P.S. https://twitter.com/ocremix/status/542938268246233089

    @ocremix Video game music IS real music. :-) RT @bug_deal "video game music is better than real music"

    *NO* Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney 'Tranquil Turnabout'

    in Judges Decisions

    Posted

    This is the type of straightforward arrangement that almost REQUIRES humanized, emotive performances on real instruments to really sell it & make it work. Unfortunately, this is the opposite - both the acoustic guitar and the wind lead are a little static and also feel a little robotic. The quantizing isn't helping, but the dynamics are also a little flat. It's a shame, because it's a nice melody & I could really see this resonating if it were produced more like Jay's Secret of Evermore mix (http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02377), for example.

    NO

    OCR03041 - *YES* Kirby 64 'Aqua Tides'

    in Judges Decisions

    Posted

    Can we do a "YES CONDITIONAL"???

    Shariq & I are both down with this, interpretation is there, sounds great... but Kris is right, it SHOULD be a bit louder.

    I'm hoping we can get a louder master OR a WAV with permission to increase volume.

    If we can't, or the artist insists on keeping it at this level, we HAVE posted stuff this quiet, so the answer would still be:

    YES

    OCR03715 - *YES* Sega Rally Championship, Hybrid Front, Thunder Blade & Marvel vs. Capcom "Autos, Arps & Minimoogs" *PROJECT*

    in Judges Decisions

    Posted

    I somewhat agree with most of the production crits but:

    • Damn tough source tune to mix - great to begin with, but difficult to take in a different direction...
    • Txai's done just that, slowed it down & funked it out, but still recognizable... very smart approach, big props for that
    • Nothing struck me as super-super problematic, and I was nodding my head & tapping my toes the whole time

    I'm not saying I think the mix can't be improved on the production front, but I also don't hear anything that would give me serious pause, and now that we've sorted out some of the source usage issues, I'mma gonna go:

    YES

    *NO* Star Fox 'Saving This City'

    in Judges Decisions

    Posted

    OA & Beatdrop's judgments sum things up pretty well - I love this theme, and I think this is a creative take on it, but the execution isn't quite matching the concept at the moment.

    What type of reverb is applied? It sounds like a room, and when applied to the orchestral components in particular, it has the effect of making it sound like an orchestra has been crammed into a cafeteria. A hall verb, or just something with a longer tail, might widen things up a bit & help things blend. Most of the issues are production related, I'd say - even the decision to use the in-game vocal FX is more of a production issue than an arrangement issue; I think it can work, and I think it comes close to working here, but just needs to be a little slicker/edgier.

    Like I said, I love this theme, this is an unexpected take on it, and I'd love to see some revisions to fully realize the vision.

    NO (RESUB)

    *NO* Pokémon Gold Version 'Goldenrod Game Center'

    in Judges Decisions

    Posted

    Lack of bass didn't bother me, actually.... BUT... I do think it could make things better :)

    Shariq's comment above regarding repetition holds true - it starts hitting up against that threshold where it's getting noticeably repetitive without anything else changing to differentiate.

    Another close call; I think this mix ultimately belongs on OCR with a few minor tweaks and perhaps even a reduction in length, if there aren't any other ways to give the repeating sections a bit more life. I think there should be though, and I hope the artist explores all the options!

    NO (RESUB)

    *NO* Pokémon Red Version 'Cruisin Kanto'

    in Judges Decisions

    Posted

    The Lavender theme didn't fit in too well, imo; feels like a big non-sequitir to me and kinda brings up the specter of medleyitis.

    The rest of the mix, though... really interesting groove. The timing feels all sorts of odd, almost like some of the super-quick & tight stuff Nase has done. I think it MOSTLY works and comes off sounding controlled & intentional, but there are some moments where it feels like stuff just got quantized weird or something. Hopefully that makes sense.

    At any rate, very close... some excellent ideas, whole lotta swagger... I think a little clean-up on aisle 3 & some more focus, with perhaps a rethinking of how Lavender fits in (if at all) is needed.

    NO (plllllease RESUB)

    *NO* Donkey Kong Country 2 'Asking Lockjaw'

    in Judges Decisions

    Posted

    I almost always tiebreak into a yes/approval, but in this case I'm going to have to side with the NO's.

    It's not that this is an absolutely verbatim cover, but it's VERY conservative, and when you couple that WITH the brevity of the piece, it makes it worse.

    Crunchy sound, good concept, but just needs to do a little... bit... more. Seems like this should be REALLY straightforward to expand a bit & add some original material to, or extend with a variation.

    NO

    Tropes vs. Women / #GamerGate Conspiracies

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Don't labels like "SJW" just contribute to the identity war that you've decried several times in this thread? It's not so different from calling someone a racist or sexist, which I think you've also said was too vague earlier on. So other than for convenience--i.e. laziness--why would you ever use a vague label when you can attack specific ideas?

    Labels can describe. How & where & when they are applied, and by whom, contributes to an identity war. If you call an action racist, you've got an obligation to explain why it is racist. If you call a person racist, you've got a much larger obligation to show a pattern of behavior. "SJW" can't really describe an individual action, per se, as it is almost always applied to people, not actions/statements. This is bad news, because it makes it less likely to be employed specifically, as you've pointed out. The obligation is larger; you'd need to show a pattern of hypersensitivity & knee-jerk reactions & going from 0 to 60 on myriad issues and conflating someone's worth with how much they agree with you & characterizing all of your opponents as biased, backward bigots without arguing the points.

    I think that demographic phenomenon does exist, just as I think real, actual, 110% certified racists and misogynists exist. I'm not really speaking to the productivity or counter-productivity of employing the label in conversation, I'm saying I think it DOES describe a certain cross-section of the population. Its usage is often every bit as lazy, if not moreso, than the overuse of identifying anything & everything as misogynist or patriarchal. I think we basically agree; these are charged, difficult words that are often counter-productive and applied without due diligence. The only difference is that, while almost everyone seems to agree that hardcore racists & misogynists exist, some folks seem to think that the construction of the "SJW" identity is completely fabricated. I do not.

    I don't think it's possible to attack someone's ideas without attacking their identity

    It depends on both parties - it depends on the "attacker" keeping things on topic and refraining from ad hominem attacks, and the defender being fair & not conflating their own identity with the topic. It's difficult but not impossible; I think we've seen it happen on this thread, which is something to be reasonably proud of.

    Tropes vs. Women / #GamerGate Conspiracies

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I'm not moving goalposts. Rush Limbaugh has a deal DIRECTLY with Cumulus and NOT a subsidiary.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/23/rush-limbaugh-cumulus-deal_n_3805674.html

    Email carpet bombing advertisers on Gamasutra is not the same scenario as boycotting Rush's advertisers in terms of scale, scope, etc.

    It feels a bit like splitting hairs, still, though... my only point was to be wary of situations where you're making value judgments about methods/tactics that either side of an ideological schism might ultimately employ.

    What's interesting to me is that motivating a collective response to these occurrences seems difficult... once an advertiser has become convinced that it should distance itself from a publisher due to their ideological stance on a topic, how do members of a competing ideology attempt to dissuade them of this notion? Has anyone organized an outreach to Intel to try and make a case?

    Are we to believe that all women, simply by being women, are full of virtue, honesty, and credibility? That would just be stupid. (And super-patronizing.) At the same time, I think the GG crowd has been overly vicious in implying the opposite. Basically, we need to treat whatever comes out of someone's mouth with appropriate skepticism, man or woman. And remember we're humans all: flawed.

    I don't have anything to add/ask, I'm just quoting this to say: VERY well said.

    I just got into it a bit w/ Star Salzman on Facebook over whether "SJW" is EVER a valid insult/label....

    He thinks that it isn't; I think that it is. I think there ARE people who fetishize the taking of offense, whose skins are phyllo dough-thin, who white knight at the drop of a hat, and who define themselves too much by what they can object to on any given day of the week. I think that as both a label and an insult, it CAN be accurate/descriptive of a certain personality type that the Internet has encouraged & emboldened, semi-legitimized by the pseudo-academics of bad sociology.

    That being said, as with almost any label, it CAN also be abused & applied far too widely. In other words:

    • If you think that EVERYONE arguing for equality or social change can be dismissed as an SJW, you're full of shit.
    • If you think that EVERYONE arguing for equality or social change is being reasonable, honest, and not making hypocritical and/or bad faith assumptions, you're ALSO full of shit.

    Thus the need for, you know, like, analysis. And stuff. "For a brighter, less-full-of-shit tomorrow!!"™

    Tropes vs. Women / #GamerGate Conspiracies

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    To put it in perspective, one of the designers behind Call of Duty reported that he received "death threats and promises of violence against his family" because of a patch that tweaked some weapons in-game. You can find this sort of insane reaction in any playerbase. Blizzard games have it especially bad. Their forums are notorious for being full of players who complain relentlessly about anything Blizzard does.

    Just pointing out something interesting, to me at least - you CAN find this sort of insane reaction in the more enthusiast gaming communities, and you're kinda dismissing it as being par for the course, but on the other hand, (some of) the same people making (some of) the same threats against Zoe, Anita, etc. are taken deathly seriously & given the full weight of their potential implications.

    If the same sorry lot that send death threats over CoD patches also send them to Anita, is it the different audience/context that dictates the legitimacy & publicity?

    That being said... I agree that to some extent it's not that meaningful to compare the two and maybe I'm just getting sidetracked. I don't think writing to advertisers should be illegal even if I do think it skews things.

    I just think that you might see similar campaigns against advertisers coming from the other "side" at some point, objecting to sexism, racism, etc., and the justification will be similar, so damning the method now is probably setting yourself up for disappointment when it is employed by those you otherwise might agree with.

    Tropes vs. Women / #GamerGate Conspiracies

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Third, let's say that some small fraction of people see a controversy on Twitter, agree with the points made, and decide not to buy the game. Isn't that like.. free speech at work? I can't find anything unethical or immoral about this whatsoever. If some people really DO find something offensive, it's their prerogative to tell other people and/or not buy the game.

    Well, you're keeping this fiscal, whereas I was pointing out that some developers may simply avoid certain design decisions entirely due to not wanting to have to engage or deal with mob mentality... you kinda dodged my question, or I suppose your answer is that, in terms of the potential chilling effects on speech, things only matter if they can be clearly traced to $$$?

    If the concern is that developers will have hurt feelings from this... I don't know. As you and I well know, artists and creators of all kinds receive criticism every day, ranging from constructive and helpful to vitriolic. It comes with the territory of being a creator and putting your work in public.

    Sure, sure. There's a difference between individual free speech and coordinated, incited free speech though, and so-called "social justice" mob attacks are a thing, and do happen. When dozens to hundreds of people are simultaneously shouting at you, yes, it's still free speech... but it's more about a contest of wills than the conveying of information & discourse. I agree that thick skins are necessary for artists.... but hell, if everyone had thick skins.... this entire thread would be unnecessary :)

    Going after advertisers is simply an entirely different beast. It's bypassing the public sphere entirely. It has a much more chilling effect on free speech because it's disproportional to the number of people that actually care about the topic at hand. If 5000 people total theoretically would not buy a game because of an offensive character, then at most, Twitter shaming can only expedite the process of informing those people.

    I'm confused as to why the mob attacks on individual devs aren't also disproportionate, then?

    But there isn't really a limit to the damage that can be done by email carpet bombing advertisers & sponsors. 10 million people can read a site and all but 500 might have no problem with the content. 500 out of 10 million don't approve of a viewpoint, that means 9,999,500 DO approve (or don't care) - and normally we would expect that those 500 people would simply not visit the site, which would have a negligible effect. On the other hand, if those 500 people carpet bomb advertisers they can cause damage FAR far exceeding the normal impact that 500 visitors/readers would have.

    I'm again confused... 100 people can attack a dev for boobies in his/her game, and 100,000 can be completely okay with it, but say nothing. Your entire point here seems to be that it's worse because it's harder to detect, i.e. not public, and that it's more explicitly fiscal? It's fiscally worse, I agree; as far as its potential effect on speech, I'm not sure you've made that case. I'm pretty sure you haven't, actually.

    At any rate, words matter. Scaring advertisers semi-publicly vs. scaring devs publicly... not sure I know how to properly compare the two other than to say that I don't like either. With regards to $$$, the former might be more effective, but I'm not really buying your argument that it's far worse ("an entirely different beast") ethically... to me it just seems like if the roles/actions were reversed, you'd argue the opposite. It almost just seems like you're criticizing the approach due to its comparative efficacy...

    Tropes vs. Women / #GamerGate Conspiracies

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    You don't need to read the entire thread to get a sense of what one person's stance is. The guy took one line from one post and decided that DJP was pro-GG. If he had read back a few posts, much less a few pages, it would have seen that this is incorrect.

    Right.

    And yes, it's a long thread.

    At any rate, I looked for the Jack Thompson stuff, and apparently this is the most relevant video (??):

    And, you know... okay, whatever. I don't think it proves much of a point; he still comes closer to advocating what I'd call censorship, in the form of age restrictions, than anything I've heard Anita *directly* advocate. Indirectly, the implications of her statements might suggest otherwise, but that level of indirectness is relatively important.

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