rRPC 2016 - The ReMix Role-Playing Competition 2016

[FenixDown]

 

 

The ReMix Role-Playing Competition 2016

 

The ReMix Role-Playing Competition 2016 (rRPC 2016) is a ReMix competition in which participants assume the roles of heroes and villains from role-playing games such as Final Fantasy or Chrono Trigger, and use those characters’ themes in a series of rounds. Participants will be divided into two brackets, one for hero characters and another for villains. The Hero Bracket will represent the quest of an RPG hero as the participants arrange their character themes with sources associated with events such as visiting a town or exploring a dungeon. The Villain Bracket, however, will directly pit its participants against one another as they combine their own theme choices with their opponent’s. In the end, only one hero and one villain will remain to determine the fate of the land.

 

Quote

The sun rose on the peaceful and prosperous Kingdom of Dawn, a great realm that had served as a beacon of hope and justice to all the neighboring lands for generations. With its formidable army and vast resources, few dared to even entertain the thought of challenging the mighty kingdom. However, deep in the shadows an unholy alliance was forged. Powerful agents of darkness combined their forces and unleashed an unprecedented assault upon the Kingdom of Dawn, the likes of which they had never seen.

After giving up ground one skirmish at a time, the King of Dawn soon realized that even his great army could not stand against the encroaching wave of darkness. And so, in an act of desperation, he scattered his emissaries to the four winds with the hope that they might find anyone strong and courageous enough to come to his kingdom’s aid. And soon after, the castle fell and the once prosperous nation became a land of darkness, its populace enslaved and the fate of its king unknown. Meanwhile, the king’s emissaries continued their arduous task of searching for anyone brave (or foolish) enough to save their homeland from the villains that had claimed it as their own Realm of Dusk.

 

News:

The ReMix Role-Playing Competition 2016 has concluded.  Congratulations to our winner, Ghetto Lee Lewis, and to our runner-up, Ronald Poe!

I created a spreadsheet that contains YouTube links to all the sources that have been revealed so far. It can be viewed here.

Previous rounds:

Hero Round One

Villain Round One

Hero Round Two

Villain Round Two

Hero Round Three

Villain Round Three

Final Round

Rules:

 

- Participants may select one character theme that they will use for the duration of the competition. If your character has multiple themes associated with them, you must choose only one.

- Collaborating with others regardless of whether they are participating or not will not be allowed unless otherwise noted.

- After clearing Round One, the Party System will be unlocked, which provides participants with an additional character theme that may be used in place of the theme you signed up with. Participants may not use the party members of their current opponents in their mixes unless otherwise noted.

- The Party System is not available during the first round. It will also not be available during the finals.

- Voting will be open to everyone and will last one week per round.

- There are no restrictions regarding musical styles or genres. However, if you submit a mix with lyrics, please include the lyrics in your submission PM so they can be included with the music for that round.

- Be sure to follow the Competitions Code of Conduct, as well as the guidelines for OCR submissions.

- Have fun making awesome music!

 

Set-up:

 

- Everyone’s starting positions will be determined randomly before the beginning of the first round of their respective brackets.

- Each match-up in the Hero Bracket will be given a randomly determined source track associated with the theme of the round (i.e. town themes, dungeon themes, etc.). Each hero must make an arrangement combining their character’s theme with the provided round theme. Heroes do not use their opponent’s character theme.

- In the Villain Bracket, each participant must make an arrangement combining their character’s theme with the theme of their opponent’s character.

- Mixes will be due one week after the start of each round.

 

The Party System:

 

The characters selected by the participants are not the only heroes and villains that will appear in the rRPC 2016. After the first round has been cleared, the heroes and villains will cross paths with other characters that will join them on their quests. These character themes will be distributed randomly in the appropriate brackets and may be used in place of the participant’s character theme. Party members will not be allowed in the final round between the Hero and Villain Brackets.

 

Sign-up:

 

- Sign-ups for the rRPC 2016 will last for two weeks beginning on Monday, May 2nd and will end at midnight EST on Sunday, May 15th.

- You may sign up by PMing me (FenixDown) a list of 3 characters related to the bracket you wish to enter in (Hero or Villain). Character themes should be listed in order of preference with your first choice at the top of your list.

- If you are undecided at the time of signing up or have no preference which bracket you are entered in, please provide a list for each bracket. Anyone who does not make a clear choice by the time sign-ups close will be sorted randomly between the brackets assuming both brackets have available openings.

- I would also like the lists to be posted publicly in the thread to give other participants an idea of what character themes are being considered to help reduce any possible conflicts.

- Submissions should be typed as [“Game Title” - “Character’s Name” and “Theme Name” - “Hero or Villain”].

- Only RPG characters will be accepted. If you have any questions regarding a character’s eligibility, ask me.

- Based on the first rRPC’s turnout, I am aiming to have 16 participants (8 heroes and 8 villains).

 

Voting:

 

Voting will take place in the Public Voting forum. For each round, a thread will be created with a poll for each match-up. Voting will last for one week unless otherwise noted. Everyone is welcome (and encouraged!) to vote regardless of whether you are a participant or not.

 

When voting, the most important thing to consider about each mix is how well it incorporates and arranges the sources used. Production quality and your personal enjoyment of the mixes should also be considered before placing your vote. Participants are free to vote for themselves in their own match-ups. Please do not post your reviews in the voting threads, instead include them in a single post per round in the main compo thread.

 

Music Submission:

 

Please send all entries to me (FenixDown) via PM on the forums with a link to a trustworthy hosting client (like Dropbox or Soundcloud) and I will download your mixes from there. I will only accept submissions sent in WAV format. Please do not send MP3s, I will encode the MP3s myself.

 

All file names must be in the following formats:

 

For Heroes:

ReMixer - Mix Title (ReMixer’s Character Name & Round Source Name).wav  

Example: FenixDown - Tonedeaf Terra (Terra & Tone of the Town).wav

 

For Villains:

ReMixer - Mix Title (ReMixer’s Character Name & Opponent’s Character Name).wav

Example: DarkeSword - Kefka Beckons (Kefka & Lavos).wav

 

When using a party member, replace your character’s name with the name of the party member. Any mixes that use provided source themes should use the Hero Bracket’s format while any mixes that use two character themes should use the Villain Bracket’s format.

 

You are free to capitalize your name and mix title however you like, but please properly capitalize the character names and source theme titles. I will not accept files that are not named properly, repeat offenders may be disqualified if it becomes a problem.

 

FAQ:

 

What is the schedule for the rRPC 2016? How will the rounds be divided?

The first Hero round will begin on Monday, May 23 at 12PM EST and will last for a week. Then on Monday, May 30, the first Villain round will begin and the previous round’s voting will also begin. The two brackets will alternate weeks for mixing (Hero: June/6, June/20; Villain: June/13, June/27) until only one hero and one villain remain. The final round will begin on July 11.

 

The schedule may be subject to change depending on circumstances. I will try to be as flexible and accommodating to people’s needs as I can, so long as it remains fair to the other participants.

 

What games can I select my character theme from?

You may select your character theme from any RPG. They can be Japanese RPGs, Western RPGs, Tactical RPGs, Action RPGs; if it’s an RPG and it has music, it should be fine.

 

What is the criteria for what characters I may use?

You are free to pick any character you want, as long as they: 1) are a playable hero or a villain from an RPG, and 2) have a theme that is recognizably their own whether in name like Terra's Theme from Final Fantasy VI, or in association like The Red Wings for Cecil from Final Fantasy IV.

 

What if my character changes sides in their game’s story? Which bracket should I submit them in?

You should consider how often the character in question is working alongside the heroes of the game opposed to how often they act as an enemy. Characters like that could technically fit in either bracket. Magus from Chrono Trigger would be a good example.

 

Does my villain have to be the final boss of his/her game?

While the final boss is usually the main villain of their game, you are not required to pick them if there are other villains available. For example, Sephiroth is the main villain from Final Fantasy VII, but you (or someone else) could just as easily pick Rufus Shinra or Jenova. You could even choose to run as a minor villain like Don Corneo, as long as they have their own theme.

 

How are you going to choose the round source themes for the Hero Bracket? What about party members for the Party System?

I will be using a randomizer to decide which match-ups of the Hero Bracket will receive each source track out of a diverse list I have compiled. The same applies to the Party System, I have a fairly large and diverse list of possible characters for each bracket that I will pick party members from at random.

 

What if the character I want to run is a spoiler for his/her game?

If simply running a character as a hero or villain is enough to spoil the game they are from, you should consider a different character.

 

I am not a ReMixer but would like to contribute. What can I do to help out?

I will definitely be in need of artistic people who can design the brackets and signature images for the participants. We did not have signature images for the first rRPC so that would be nice to have this time. Knowing how to use Photoshop would be a big help. If you are interested, get in touch with me or post in the thread.

 

Getting the word out and bringing in people who might be interested would also be a great way to help.

[Chernabogue]

Definitively interested to enter. I'll have more free time for music after the 9.

[TimothyWilliamProductions]

I'll be in! This sounds really fun, and I really look forward to everyone's choices and to see what everyone comes up with 

[Troyificus]

I'll be in when the sign-ups actually open

[Ronald Poe]

This sounds like an amazing competition. I'm going enter and hope to get past the preliminaries. I choose "Xehanort" (Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep) as my piece and Master Xehanort as my villain. 

The theme 

My other theme

 

[Anorax]

While I feel your post was in jest,  Mr. Poe, I just wanted to highlight some info from the OP:

On 4/27/2016 at 9:36 AM, FenixDown said:

 

Sign-up:

 

- Sign-ups for the rRPC 2016 will last for two weeks beginning on Monday, May 2nd and will end at midnight EST on Sunday, May 15th.

- You may sign up by PMing me (FenixDown) two lists of 3 characters each, one for hero themes and the other for villain themes. Character themes should be listed in order of preference with your first choice at the top of each list.

- If you have a preference regarding whether to play as a hero or villain, please include that in the PM as well. Anyone who does not will be sorted randomly between the brackets after sign-ups are closed.

- I would also like the lists to be posted publicly in the thread to give other participants an idea of what character themes are being considered to help reduce any possible conflicts.

- Submissions should be typed as [“Game Title” - “Character’s Name” and “Theme Name” - “Hero” or “Villain”].

- Only RPG characters will be accepted. If you have any questions regarding a character’s eligibility, ask me.

- Based on the first rRPC’s turnout, I am aiming to have 16 participants (8 heroes and 8 villains).

So, yeah. Signups haven't started, and you're gonna need more sources than one villain source and one cartoon soundtrack (which I highly doubt is allowed in this competition).

 

That said, I'm excited for this, and I hope to fare better this time 'round than I did last year!

[FenixDown]

It is as Anorax said, Ronald Poe. Sign-ups will begin on May 2nd at around noon Eastern time. I'll post in this thread at that time to make it official. 

Also, in case it isn't clear why I'm requesting people choose more than one character when they sign up, it is so that in the event that your first choice is already picked as a first choice by someone else, you then have another character already provided to fall back on. It was never an issue in the previous rRPC so I'm not overly worried about it, it's more of a precaution than anything. 

Poe's post did bring something to my attention I don't think I mentioned in the OP. People who are used to participating in compos on OCR would probably do this on their own anyway, but it would be a great time saver for me if everyone provided YouTube links to your sources when you sign up. 

That all said, I'm glad to see people are looking forward to this. I know I'm eager to see what characters/sources everyone picks.

[Ronald Poe]

I'm sorry, the cartoon track was merely a joke (because my avatar is King Ramses from Courage the Cowardly Dog) and the theme I chose "Xehanort" theme. Kingdom Hearts BBS is a JRPG and thus said theme is eligible. Please sign me up on the 2nd.

[FenixDown]

3 hours ago, Ronald Poe said:

I'm sorry, the cartoon track was merely a joke (because my avatar is King Ramses from Courage the Cowardly Dog) and the theme I chose "Xehanort" theme. Kingdom Hearts BBS is a JRPG and thus said theme is eligible. Please sign me up on the 2nd.

Signing up will be up to you. The issue isn't about Xehanort's theme or even about the joke. It's just that you weren't following instructions. You are more than welcome to join and Xehanort can be your top choice, but please follow the rules of the compo, not just for signing up, but for the compo as a whole.

[Ronald Poe]

Okay so do I have to pick 3 themes? For the hero, could I use Elizabeth from Persona 3 (she's not a party member but she actively assists the main protagonist)? Why do I have to pick a hero, if I'm playing as a villain? Does that mean I can do both? I'll try to PM you my choices.

 

Elizabeth's theme 

Also I hope someone picks a Persona/SMT character in the contest ...

[FenixDown]

As much as I would like to allow it, I cannot accept Elizabeth as she is not a playable hero. The pool of possible hero choices is already extremely large so there is no need to include NPCs into the mix there. I do agree with your sentiment that it'd be great to have some Persona representation this year.

You do bring up a good point I've been wrestling with as I was finalizing the rules for signing up. Should people who want to be in a specific bracket that has room for them have to provide a list for the opposing bracket? Honestly, in that kind of situation, it does feel unnecessary. For anyone who either does not care or hasn't decided at the time of signing up which bracket they want to be in should still provide both lists.

I do not mind amending the rules with this change if no one has any issues with that. I'll leave it open for discussion and act accordingly before the sign-ups open.

[Chernabogue]

Lists sent!

[FenixDown]

Sign-ups for the rRPC 2016 are now open! I have modified the rules so that if you already know what bracket you want to be in, you only have to submit a list for that bracket as long as the eight available slots are not filled. For anyone undecided or indifferent, please submit lists for both sides. Here are the modified rules:

Quote

Sign-up:

 

- Sign-ups for the rRPC 2016 will last for two weeks beginning on Monday, May 2nd and will end at midnight EST on Sunday, May 15th.

- You may sign up by PMing me (FenixDown) a list of 3 characters related to the bracket you wish to enter in (Hero or Villain). Character themes should be listed in order of preference with your first choice at the top of your list.

- If you are undecided at the time of signing up or have no preference which bracket you are entered in, please provide a list for each bracket. Anyone who does not make a clear choice by the time sign-ups close will be sorted randomly between the brackets assuming both brackets have available openings.

- I would also like the lists to be posted publicly in the thread to give other participants an idea of what character themes are being considered to help reduce any possible conflicts.

- Submissions should be typed as [“Game Title” - “Character’s Name” and “Theme Name” - “Hero or Villain”].

- Only RPG characters will be accepted. If you have any questions regarding a character’s eligibility, ask me.

- Based on the first rRPC’s turnout, I am aiming to have 16 participants (8 heroes and 8 villains).

Thank you to everyone who has taken an interest in the rRPC 2016 and I look forward to seeing what you all sign up with.

[Chernabogue]

Let's gooooooo! Will edit when I pick a side. #TeamCap #TeamIronMan

Heroes

1 [“Golden Sun” - “Isaac” and “Battle! Isaac” - “Hero”].

2 [“Final Fantasy VII” - “Cid” and “Cid's Theme” - “Hero”].

3 [“Final Fantasy VI” - “Gogo” and “Gogo's Theme” - “Hero”].

Villains

1 [“Digimon World” - “Machinedramon” and “Machinedramon Battle” - “Villain”].

2 [“Kingdom Hearts II” - “Xemnas” and “Darkness of the Unknown” - “Villain”].

3 [“Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories” - “Marluxia” and “Graceful Assassin” - “Villain”].

[Drawn by Dai]

I probably don't have a say since I'm not going to be remixing but I would suggest NPC heroes be allowed on 2 points: One is that NPCs often have awesome themes, and the other is that they often hold back the end boss and/or sacrifice themselves so the playable hero can have a window to execute the coup de grace, rendering them martyrs/essential to the whole finality of the plot. I guess you could include the caveat that NPCs are ONLY allowed if they fulfil this scenario...

[FenixDown]

How often does that actually happen? All the characters who come to mind for me off the top of my head are either the main characters themselves, or are so minor that they don't really have a theme. That could possibly fall into spoiler territory as well, depending on the game and the situation, particularly regarding sacrificing themselves.

At any rate, the reason I stress hero characters be playable is that the pool of options under that criteria is already huge. Many RPGs I've played or seen played to completion on YouTube have fairly sizable casts and many of those playable characters have their own theme music. However, there usually aren't as many villains and in a lot of cases, those villains actually share the same theme music. Take Final Fantasy VI for example, that game has a cast of 14 playable characters (excluding guests like Banon, though I am willing to accept guests if they are important enough to have their own theme) with at least 13 themes between them (Edgar and Sabin share theirs). But on the villains' side, you basically have Kefka, Emperor Gestahl, and Ultros and that's pretty much it, maybe the Statues/Warring Triad but they don't even have dialogue.

My point is that there are already far more hero options than villain ones without adding in NPCs that aid them along the way. I will make a note of that though as that does sound like an interesting idea to implement in a future rRPC, replace the Party System with something that gives characters an assisting NPC like Elizabeth from Persona 3. It probably wasn't your intention there but thank you for giving me that idea Odai. And I do appreciate your suggestions, I hope I didn't come off as condescending or anything. I want this compo to be as enjoyable for everyone involved as possible, and I will answer anyone's questions regarding character eligibility to the best of my ability.

[Garpocalypse]

Seems like it has been ages since i last entered a compo and this one seems interesting. I'm in. 

Hero Bracket: (would be preferred)

1 [“Final Fantasy Tactics” -Ramza “Theme of Ramza” - “Hero”].

2 [“Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core” - Zack “The Price of Freedom” - “Hero”].

3 [“Wild Arms” - Rudy "Theme of Rudy” - “Hero”].

Will update with youtube links. 

[Touchstone]

Hey, I'll join in. After all, it should be fun.

Hero Bracket (Preferred):

1. ["Ib" - "Ib" and "Memory" - "Hero"]

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pebi2O4uL7E

2. ["Final Fantasy VI" - "Terra" and "Terra's Theme" - "Hero"] (Bit unimaginative, I know...)

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6t_uyg_pF8&index=26&list=PL834FCA340E5D20DB

3. ["Paper Mario" - "Mario" and "Mario's Theme" - "Hero"] (Does this count? It is technically an RPG.)

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9c133Yr2Q8&list=PLD767FE328147BD8D&index=8

Villains Bracket:

1. ["Ib" - "Mary" and "Puppet" - "Villain"]

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxYtrDFqVrI

2. ["Ys I" - "Dark Fact" and "The Last Moment of the Dark" - "Villain"]

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IO_PKb-4qFM&index=12&list=PL044D7ABC2B744027

3. ["Bastion" - "Zulf" and "Mother, I'm Here" - "Villain]

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y9FQUzCZPg&list=PLC26D4FE16FA60595&index=17

 

[FenixDown]

Thanks a lot for signing up guys. So far we've got five people out of hopefully 16 signed up officially, with two heroes and two villains and one undecided at present. Sign ups are open for another week yet so if you're interested, pick out some heroes or villains and send me your lists. 

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3. ["Paper Mario" - "Mario" and "Mario's Theme" - "Hero"] (Does this count? It is technically an RPG.)

It does not count because Mario's Theme originated from a game that's not an RPG. Given the unlikelihood of anyone else picking your first choice, I won't ask you to submit a replacement third choice.

[Ghetto Lee Lewis]

Last time I did this compo as a villain.  I'll play as a goody-do-gooder hero this time.  Here's my list:

 

“Dragon Age Origins” - “Leliana” and “Leliana's Song” - “Hero”

“Tales of Phantasia” - “Mint” and “Mint's Theme” - “Hero”

“Final Fantasy IV” - “Rydia” and “Rydia's Theme” - “Hero”

[FenixDown]

I just finished looking at some WIP signature images for the compo provided by Odai. I like the direction he's going with them and I think you will too. 

We're presently at six people on board with ten open spots remaining. I'm doing what I can to find more people to join in. If any of you know anyone you think would want to participate, feel free to reach out to them about it. At the present rate, we might not make it to 16 people, so the options as I see them are to either extend the sign ups deadline by another week (the most likely option), or to go with everyone we manage to have and make some changes to adjust for the lower turnout. Maybe drop the brackets in favor of a point-based system with the highest scoring hero and villain after round 3 advancing to the finals?

[MindWanderer]

Could do round-robin heroes vs. villains (a la B4C2).  That would make it 3 rounds, which seems to be about the stamina limit these days.  Or round-robin within a bracket (A vs. B, B vs. C, C vs. A), which would be predictable but would be closer to your original vision.

[orlouge82]

Someone who likes Kamen Rider-style music should do Red's/Alkaiser's theme from SaGa Frontier (and here's an awesome Japanese doujin version)

 

[Chernabogue]

We need more people entering! Summoning @Jorito @evktalo @Tuberz McGee @HoboKa @WarMachine @Gario @Sir_NutS @wildfire! (Summoning, RPG, get it? :D)

[Sir_NutS]

54 minutes ago, Chernabogue said:

We need more people entering! Summoning @Jorito @evktalo @Tuberz McGee @HoboKa @WarMachine @Gario @Sir_NutS @wildfire! (Summoning, RPG, get it? :D)

 

 

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It was complete.  The hooded figures stood motionless, hands raised, while the echoes of the final chants reverberated through the halls for what seemed to be an eternity.  Alexandre wondered... had it worked?  It must.  For eternity is what is at stake.

The figures didn't seem to notice the sudden drop in temperature inside the candle-lit hall.  After all, their blood was already reaching freezing point.  Slowly, those present lowered their trembling arms, and looked at each other, waiting for confirmation, a signal, anything.  

They started to feel it.  Through their whole body, a rumble that shook them to their bones.  Soon enough, the walls were being torn apart by an unseen force not unlike an earthquake, while the air started to gain velocity, lifting every object in the room from their place and throwing it around in what seemed to be a tornado.  

Panic started to settle in, some of the hooded men fell to the floor, while others who tried to run were being thrown around by the increasing wind speeds.  The floor started to crack, swallowing others into pits that seemed to lead to the very center of the earth.  Time didn't seem to matter in this place anymore, the men who weren't already dead could see their future, their past, and the endless of the void all at the same time.  Alexandre felt as if he was descending into madness, existence stopped to matter.  Matter and time didn't make sense anymore.

Suddenly, it stopped.  Those few who remained alive and sane looked up, only to see the halls and everything in it intact.  Everything was exactly as it was before the ritual, except for one thing:  the man in the middle of the candle-lit hall, looking casually at the dead bodies around him.  This mysterious man looked at Alexandre, who was watching in awe, and uttered:

"Yo, sup, I heard you called"

I'll probably give this a shot, I need to think about what songs could be interesting to remix.