*NO* Portal 2 'Different'

[Palpable]

Contact Information

ReMixer Name: Lorpril

Real Name: Loris Prieler

E-Mail:

Website: N/A

User-ID: 52246

Submission Information​

Game: Portal 2

Name of Arrangement: Different

Songs Arranged:

“You WIll Be Perfect" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5DgrFXPI2Y);

“The Part Where He Kills You” (

)

The main reason for making a remix was definitely the dark touch of the Soundtrack, especially these both tracks inspired me. The arrangement was created using FL Studio. The synths were created using “GMS”, a synthesizer that is included with FL Studio. The drums are samples I recorded with a friend. The voices of the turrets were extracted from the game files.

“You WIll Be Perfect" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5DgrFXPI2Y);

“The Part Where He Kills You” (

) Edited August 6, 2014 by DragonAvenger
Closed

[Chimpazilla]

My first impression of this track is that it is very quantized and robotic (most noticeable in the intro and outro with that slow pattern). It's robotic even though we are talking about robots.

I like the main lead timbre you've used, I like the way it evolves, I would have preferred to hear a different lead come in at some point but this one is working well. I love the gating when it comes in. The robot voices and sfx and bitcrushed industrial-ish drums work well here. The writing is very repetitive but there's just enough variation in the soundscape to make it work.

I think more could have been done with this mix to be honest, there's untapped potential here mainly in terms of writing, this is just bordering on too repetitive, and I can see it getting some NOs for that reason. Still, it's very cool, it conveys a story and I feel sort of sorry for Carolyn! She's... different...

edit 6/24/14: I'm revisiting this track. I initially gave it a yes, I like it, but the extreme repetition bugs me. Most of the mix relies on just a very brief section of the "Perfect" source, that is from 0:58-1:12, and while this is not a dealbreaker in and of itself, it does lend itself to repetition. The track has some really great moments where I feel like it is good enough to actually appear in a video game or movie. But by contrast, the intro and outro are extremely simple and plain and quantized and both feel quite undeveloped. The soundscape is also a bit muddy, the instruments can use an eq cleanup to separate the sounds better.

I'm torn on this one and I've listened to it so many times that it is stuck in my brain. I'm going to vote no for now, but if the intro and outro were a little more developed and interesting, and with a careful eq cleanup, it would pass.

NO (resubmit)

Edited August 4, 2014 by Chimpazilla

[Flexstyle]

This one is tough to judge, in some ways. It's catchy, energetic, and those sampled robot voices keep everything interesting.

Here are my main gripes:

- Mix is a bit muddy. Part of this could be solved easily by simply rolling off the EQ on everything but the kick and bass below about 100-200 hz. This is something you should get in a habit of doing in pretty much everything you do, actually, as it's general best practice.

I also think that there are some parts where the kick and snare get buried (mostly when the bass synth starts getting really busy), which is a bit of a shame because they're almost all the song really has to carry it, percussion-wise. This is a very simple track, instrumentation-wise, and while that's not a dealbreaker, it does mean you have to make every single part shine properly.

This brings me on to my second point, which is this:

- It's really--REALLY--sparse, with very little sonic variation. In an electronic song like this, you're not limited to what a three- or four-piece band can play. You've got an entire computer with as many tracks as you want at your disposal! Don't be afraid to let sounds make cameos, be background instrumentation, and generally fill the soundscape in ways that a regular band could never do. Specifically, like Chimpazilla said in her vote, there are some sections that just don't feel like they've got enough in them.

Finally, I have one more gripe, although again, it's not necessarily a dealbreaker by itself; your inspiration for the song seems to come entirely from the source itself. That is to say, all the sonic textures you're using are there because they sound like the original source. Don't be afraid to bring some more spice to the mix, rather than relying on the sounds that were already there. Give it some personality of its own!

Hopefully that's some good material to work with. Looking forward to hearing this back!

NO (resub!)

Edited August 5, 2014 by Flexstyle

[DragonAvenger]

The other judges have some great critique for you, and you should definitely heed their advice. The parts that I felt were in most need of fixing were the overall repetitive nature of the remix without a lot of variation, and the super mechanical feel of the parts. In terms of arrangement, I don't mind so much that it is repetitive as much as the fact that it's nearly copy-pasted in sections. Adding little variations, changing a few notes or rhythms, adding n some other parts will really add a lot more spice to the mix and keep the listener engaged. As Kris mentioned, the mechanical feel is probably intentional, but I agree that it goes a bit too far to the point of me losing a bit of interest. I'd do some fine adjustments, maybe have one section be more mechanical to showcase it, but have other parts and sections have more humanization.

As a side note, I wasn't personally feeling all of the quoting, but I didn't feel like it was a huge detraction for the mix. Might be more personal taste, but I tended to zone them out more than anything else.

There's a good start here, and it will really be little adjustments throughout that will get the track to where it needs to be to pass. I hope you add a little polish to this and send it back to us!

NO (resubmit)