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djpretzel

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Posts posted by djpretzel

    OCR policy on non-game game music?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Following that line of reasoning, your decision makes perfect sense. You have, indeed, changed my mind.

    I'm curious to know, now, though, what is the OCR stance on Mario Paint's status as a game and justification therefor?

    Right, I didn't really address that:

    1. Not a super-strong point, but mixes of it were accepted prior to the policy being clarified, so from a certain perspective it was KINDA grandfathered... but there's also:
    2. Its music was written by prominent game composers. By itself, this doesn't mean much, since the Mii creation theme fits the same bill, but it does help the case when combined with...
    3. Unlike Mii creation music, it was sold as software. This doesn't particularly help its case in any way, but it does mean that it can't be considered an OS-level utility... moving on:
    4. It features well-known game characters (Mario, etc.) that are strongly associated with games/gaming. Again, by itself, this would mean nothing, but it factors into the aggregate, with perhaps the most important point being:
    5. It includes mini-games (Gnat Attack, Title Screen) that DO involve a degree of challenge beyond simply creating stuff... and finally:
    6. From Wikipedia @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Paint: "Kazumi Totaka's Song is a 19-note song that appears in many Nintendo games. In Mario Paint, the song is an Easter egg, found on the front screen when a user clicks the O in "Mario Paint."[3] Although it has been referred to as the "Mario Paint song", its first appearance was in a Japanese-only Game Boy Game, X."

    The last point essentially meaning that at least one of its potential sources did actually "begin life" in a traditional game, albeit hidden in the code. This bit of trivia wasn't really a factor when we clarified the policy and decided to leave Mario Paint intact, to be honest, but it still kinda-sorta strengthens the case. I think the presence of the mini-games was the most important point. NONE of these points are persuasive by themselves, but when you look at them together, I personally feel like it makes sense. Like I said, it's still borderline, but I'm comfortable the decision can be reconciled with our definition.

    OCR policy on non-game game music?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I hear you, but I would like to see that policy re-evaluated. To include music from game systems, as well as games, would serve the spirit of OCR's mission statement.

    We did have this discussion, at length, internally. While it may seem like splitting hairs, picking nits, or being otherwise far too analytical, I do think it's actually IMPORTANT to define what video game music really IS. When you pick the term apart, we don't have too much trouble with "music" - while Doug's all-percussive CT mix made us scratch our heads as to whether melody was a requirement, which we decided wasn't the case, generally speaking we're all more or less in agreement on what constitutes music. So that's good...

    ... But what's a video game? As luck would have it, we're working on a data dictionary w/ definitions of how we're defining different terms, and we've got our first entry @ http://ocremix.org/info/Game

    OverClocked ReMix defines a game as:

    "Interactive visual entertainment software designed to execute on a specific platform, with an emphasis on challenge and goals." Each individual game in our database is described independent of the following criteria:

    • Localization (language, PAL vs. NTSC, etc.)
    • Minor revisions (e.g. collector's editions)
    • Inclusion in compilations

    For example, the following items do not meet this definition:

    • Compilations consisting primarily of previously released material
    • Compilations with a wide variety of non-gaming content (e.g. magazine discs)
    • Emulation of a game (e.g. the Wii's Virtual Console)
    • Software that is primarily educational/informative or explorative in nature (sometimes referred to as "non-games")
    • Software that is primarily a creative tool or utility, with minimal gaming elements (e.g. eJay series, Korg DS-10)

    So Mario Paint is completely relevant and I'm glad Doug mentioned it, because it sits right on the border. Based on the above definition, it has "trouble" in the tool-or-utility clause, specifically, and more generally with the overall concept of "challenge" being a factor in some way. Mario Paint was released FOR a game console, sure, but does every single piece of software released for a game console instantly become a game, by virtue of the hardware it's executing on?

    I'm sorry, but I'm going with an emphatic NO. Traveling dictionaries for the DS are not games. Multimedia Encyclopedias for earlier CD-ROM systems were not games. If you expand out a bit and look not just at gaming-specific platforms, but at generalist platforms like Windows, you wouldn't have to think twice - the Windows startup sound is not a game, nor is the music that plays during the introduction/tour on first installation. So where does the Mii Music fit in? It's more or less an OS-level utility... it doesn't meaningfully involve challenge, it's a generalist application at the OS level that is used to create avatars that can then be employed in other games. If the same thing existed on Windows, and those same avatars could be used in Word, Excel, etc., what then? The definition of a game, for us, is more specific than utilities offered by the OS, even if that OS was specifically tailored for gaming-oriented hardware.

    I don't even know what gaming-oriented hardware is anymore, for one - with Netflix running on everything, web browsers becoming common even on handhelds, etc., while the hardware we buy for gaming is marketed primarily for that purpose, it really achieves quite a bit more. That line is only going to keep on blurring, and the argument that utilities for avatar creation are "games" will only keep weakening as that occurs.

    It's not really in our interest to exclude software or music from eligibility - the more great tunes out there for artists to interpret, the better - but we're also pouring our blood, sweat & tears, and other bodily substances as well, into OC ReMix because of a specific love for VGM, and that love needs some sort of a definition, and in our opinion that definition should acknowledge the difference between writing music for a utility, OS-menu, etc., versus writing music for a game.

    Did that change anyone's mind, or explain our stance more persuasively? We can keep talking about this, I'm all ears, but like I said, we did think it through internally, at length, and I remain convinced we made an appropriate decision and have an appropriate definition.

    UPDATED! YouTube Account RESTORED!

    in Announcements

    Posted

    Would you mind if I wrote them instead of tweeting?

    Please go ahead; part of the reason we're having users tweet is that the Internet is full of horror stories of people waiting 10+ days for a response, or never getting one, so anything that is legal, civil, and likely to have some sort of effect is worth pursuing.

    UPDATED! YouTube Account RESTORED!

    in Announcements

    Posted

    UPDATED 11/21/2011 @ 6:00PM EST - WE'RE BACK @ http://www.youtube.com/user/ocremix, THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!

    1. Our YouTube account has been suspended without warning for “spam, scams, and commercially deceptive content”.
    2. We don’t spam, we don’t scam, and since we’re not selling music but giving it away for free, it’s pretty much impossible for us to be commercially deceptive.
    3. Hundreds of hours of unpaid labor went into uploading thousands of videos to help spread a love & appreciation for video game music - without any warning or explanation, Google/YouTube have removed that work, possibly due to the actions of a few individuals - we can only guess, since they provide no details!
    4. Basically, the same thing happened to Darren Rowse (@Problogger): http://bit.ly/kbkQnj - we agree & echo everything he says, and we couldn’t have said it better ourselves. We love YouTube. Why did they break up with us? :-D
    5. We NEED YOUR HELP in letting YouTube know that OC ReMix’s account, used for ReMix previews, album trailers, and more, doesn’t spam, scam, or “commercially deceive” anyone.
    6. HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO: Tweet at YouTube: This is one of the things Darren said could help. We need EVERYONE who supports OCR to send the tweet at YouTube so they’ll realize we’re legit and will restore the account.
    7. CLICK THIS LINK to tweet at YouTube: http://bit.ly/RestoreOCRsYouTube

    Steve Jobs voted most influential game developer of our time...

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Semantic nightmare... I always thought that in order to be a game developer, you had to be a game developer.

    Thing is, even when I think Miyamoto, I think more game DESIGNER than developer... developer as an individual role, with regards to gaming, would I suppose be more about coding than actual game design? I would have thought "Best Game Developer" as a title would be more appropriately given to a team/company, not an individual... but maybe I just smokin' cracks.

    Sonic CD on XBL, PSN

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Is it me or am I the only one who enjoyed Spencer Nilsen's work on the NA version? I'm hoping this is selectable, it's just not Sonic CD without:

    Sonic Boom! Sonic Boom! Sonic BOOOOOM!

    You're definitely not the only one; I love the NA version, I think it got a bad rap because people didn't like not having the Japanese version accessible/selectable, not because it was a bad soundtrack. Now it seems perhaps they've made the opposite mistake :cry:

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