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OCR01403 - Pac-Man "Glass Cage"


djpretzel
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This is what pacman would sound like if pacman was a emo.

You can take that as good or bad

I'll take it as an inaccurate.

Good track, and in general, I love to hear different stuff on OCR. The strings are pretty painfully unrealistic in comparison to the beautiful percussion. I really like the take on the famous source material, I paused the music to see if I could hear it but it came in it's time pretty clearly. Pretty tasty stuff.

Worth showing off, fun, innovative... but nothing spectacular.

8/10

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I haven't kept up with downloading OCRemixes for years, but I had to see whether this was different from the version Israfel released on vgmix in 2002.

It's not, save for 3 extra seconds of silence at the end.

It's been on my CDR since. The "movement" beginning around the 2 minute mark -- great rhythm. I like how instruments are constantly being added in/dropped out, while the lead still does its thing. I don't suppose you'll be releasing Greater Alchemic Patchwork to OCR next?

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I haven't kept up with downloading OCRemixes for years, but I had to see whether this was different from the version Israfel released on vgmix in 2002.

It's not, save for 3 extra seconds of silence at the end.

It's been on my CDR since. The "movement" beginning around the 2 minute mark -- great rhythm. I like how instruments are constantly being added in/dropped out, while the lead still does its thing. I don't suppose you'll be releasing Greater Alchemic Patchwork to OCR next?

Have you checked the to be posted list? ;)

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Liontamer and I requested Israfel submit this and his Greater Alchemic mix when he stepped down from the panel in July. They are his older mixes from 2002, but all have withstood the test of time and definitely deserve to be part of the OCR canon.

Amen to that.

I really like this; it reminds me a lot of Philip Glass, particularly his orchestration of Aphex Twin's Icct Hedral. Philip Glass... Glass Cage... surely no coincidence.

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A lot of music that you hear posted on OCR is in-your-face music - stuff that just leaps up at you and requires an intro, outtro, and a climax. It has a melodic theme and is usually dramatic. It's stuff that you'd hear as "Main theme of ___" for a particular game.

This is not one of those pieces.

Instead of sticking with a standard, traditional concept, Israfel decided (I guess over two years ago) to do something that develops, but is quite minimalistic. Now, having tried to work with minimalistic work, I find that this is something very difficult to do - to keep a remix interesting, while at the same time building an atmosphere. What you get here is a slow buildup -- it is a looping around of the same theme, building slighty every time until a climax, and then disappearing.

It's creepy and the development and layering as the remix goes on is interesting, but the best thing to do here is really just to sit back and listen to it. It is an intelligent mix with a backing motivation (I'm tempted to whip out the ruler and see if this mix obeyed the Golden Ratio) but even if you are a casual listener, just don't think and let yourself get into this mix. It definitely has character.

This is not like normal mixes. I recommend this.

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Sure it's a bit creepy and you might think that that doesn't really fit the "feel" of pacman; but c'mon, a guy trapped in a maze while being chased by ghosts, sounds pretty freaky to me."

Hmm, so Pac Man was really the first survival horror game! And actually, I think this track would work really well for a game in that genre -- there is a definite sense of "build" to it all the way up to 4:18, where it stops without actually resolving. Creates a lot of tension. Yeah, good music for a survival horror game.

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Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

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Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

:lol:

Yep. This was actually written right after watching Glass' "Einstein on the Beach."

Glad some of you guys enjoyed this. It is rather old, and in hindsight there are quite a few things I wish I had done differently, but still, on the whole I think it worked out okay. Incidently, this and Greater Alchemic will almost certainly be the only older remixes that I submit. But you still may see some new mixes from me every once in awhile.

Thanks for the comments! :P

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Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

Definitely a fan of Philip Glass.

I truly laughed out loud(lol) when I read that. But seriously, Isarfel, this is an excellent mix. I'm just jealous I never thought of it. Still, you've inspired me. Perhaps there will be some more minimalist remixes of video games in the near future.

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I first heard this long ago, and have liked it since. (And the newly added seconds of silence at the end really add to its minimalistic feel—you can't get much more minimalistic than that, I suppose…) I remember having the file sent to me and listening to it without paying attention to the source material. I commented that it sounded strikingly similar to the PAC-MAN theme. Of course I was then informed that perhaps that was because it's a PAC-MAN remix. I guess that goes to show that Israfel stayed true to the source material while still offering a new flavor to things.

I'd agree that it drags on a bit, but on the other hand that's kind of inherent in this genre of music—and part of the point. Though the string sound leaves something to be desired, the marimba sample is really great. Overall, I think the tune is a very creative and well-done take on what is ironically challenging source material.

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Am I supposed to be annoyed that it builds for the full time, but there's this one tiny part that it still leaves out?

Because, if I am, it's perfect.

And if I'm not, that's a little annoying, but other than that I think it's perfect.

I see the point about the strings, but I think they were the correct choice for this mood.

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Why the heck has this piece taken so long to make OCR? I've had this saved as a WIP on my hardrive for ages now...almost a year and a half I'm thinking. I don't hear any changes at all, but maybe that's why I still like this. I remember listening to this when I was thirteen...(fifteen now..) Why did this wonderful piece take so long to make it? Israfel, I love this piece of music, keep 'em coming. It takes so much skill to turn that little ditty from way back when into something great like this.

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It's simply incredible was this ReMix creates out of the minimalistic pacman tune.

That dark and creepy atmosphere is amazing.

Really like the choir and strings a lot.

This might not fit the typical Pacman feel but this is way beyond Pacman.

:nicework:

Somehow it reminds me of the soundtrack of the pc game American Mc Gee's Alice.

please excuse my worse english

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