GS Challenge - Cut the Corner (MnP140)
Outline
Update: The MIDI has been created. Thanks for your patience!
Congratulations to TheVideoGamer (Me) for winning MnP Round 139! I mean it was literally one vote lol. So this means i get to choose this months source. Here's what I had to say about my pick:
"I went with this one, simply because i felt like doing an electronic piece this round. I also really liked the structure of this, it feels like a full on song, lasting 6 minutes with a lot of really funky percussion loops in this, almost semi-industrial but with a hard hitting techno beat, and a lot of trancey chords. I was initially thinking, maybe i should do a Genesis game, but then i was like "No i always do that, let's try something else". And low and behold this came about. I remembered Vatlva a game, and i tried to dabble in that, but then i saw Motohiro Kawashima in the credits and i thought, you know what? What else has he done? And that led me to this game, and to this banger of a track. It's soo god damn funky! The game is Group S Challenge (Or Circus Drive in Japan), and is a run of the mill Racing Game, that didn't get a lot of great reviews, but none were outright saying the game is bad. It's mediocre at best. It's developed by Capcom, a company everyone should know, because everyone's favourite games came from this company. I literally can't say anything else, or i would just be waffling on about a really bare basic Racing Game. There's nothing that stands out, that you haven't seen from Ridge Racer or Need for Speed or even Wipeout. I mean the tracks here are practically almost structured as an album, because of how the game is structured. This is not because i hate the game, it's literally because there's nothing else to say, it's just a Racing Game. So why this one? Well besides it being one funky monster, it has a lot of cool textures and sounds, has enough for someone to really expand upon it, like a blank canvas for you to paint your colours, and it also keeps you on your toes, to where you don't know where it goes next. This is just one hell of a catch electronic piece, that i hope you do justice for. Thanks!" - TheVideoGamer (Me)
GAME: Group S Challenge (XBOX)
SOURCE: Cut the Corner
Note: It's listed as Game Trax 03 in the video, but Motohiro Kawashima himself has provided names for the tracks on his official Soundcloud profile, which is what i went by.
Deadline: 1st June @ 1PM
Closing Date: 3rd June @ 1PM
Vote Ends: 10th June @ 1PM
MnP ARCHIVE - made by Trism 
Resources
Rules
MISSION STATEMENT
The goal of Compo: MnP is to promote that "meat and potatoes" conservative approach to remixing: this includes the mood and composition of source tunes. It is up to the remixer to create their own personalization, or to simply give it a sound upgrade. Moreover, the compo is a great opportunity to hone your remixing skills and give video game music the respect that is due. SOME reinterpretation is recommended, but not required.
MnP Instructions/Guidelines
Rules for Picking a Source:
- All video game sources are limited to the 6th generation of video game consoles and earlier. This was due to community consensus, where people preferred to remix more retro games, than newer games. 6th generation includes: GameCube, Xbox, PS2 and Dreamcast.
- I'm now restricting big name franchises (Such as Zelda and Mega-Man) to one source per year. This is to encourage more obscure games, that not many people will know about to be picked.
- Make sure you provide me both a video and a MIDI of the source in question.
- In the event that someone wins both a normal round and a special round within the span of the each other (E.G Person A wins both Round 137 and Round 138, with Round 138 being a special round.), then the win will automatically go to the runner up and or the 2nd entry (If there is less than 3 submissions). If there is only one entry, which happens to be the winner of the last round, then i will pick a source, just so we can move onto the next round. This process was designed, so everyone gets a fair chance in submitting a source/winning. Ask questions if you are unsure i am always here to help.
Guidelines:
- Modifying the Source is fine, so long as it doesn't sound completely separate from its original intent.
- If you're gonna do a genre change, at least make sure the original aspect of the source is not lost.
- Tempo changes are fine, as long as it's not a big change. I'm talking like, going from 80bpm to 140bpm.
- Submissions must be at a maximum of 20mb (keeping in step with ThaSauce's file size max), and submitted as a MP3 file.
- Only 1 entry per participant. Previous winner cannot participate but can submit a BONUS entry.
- Try to avoid making quality-based comments on submissions until after the Round is concluded. It is to avoid a Bias in Votes.
MISC/TIPS
- When picking a source tune, make sure it has a MIDI to make people's lives easier.
- In-game sound FX are permitted, so long as they don't comprise the whole track (i.e. replacing entire MIDI tracks with just sfx)
Entries (2)
Mixed lots of different things to help make this come together and sound decent. The title thus is a reflection of that mashup lol. Does it work? Sometimes!
THIS IS A BONUS DO NOT VOTE. I AM NOT JOKING THIS IS A BONUS DO NOT VOTE.
The title is true lol. This really is 10 minutes.
I think i tried too hard for this remix. I was throwing everything in, including the kitchen sink, trying to match the intensity of the original, but instead it sounds rather flat, and uneven. However, i had already spent at least 4 days on this, inbetween other projects and procrastination, so i was kind of sick of working on it some more. I felt like it was at that stage where it was more or less complete, and i was finally ready to send it off.
The original is a straight up banger, and has left me astounded as to how i didn't even find out about this OST. The game isn't even a Japan exclusive, despite it not being as popular, so it should in theory be a little more famous per say, but i guess not, since this was more of a recent discovery. This track is very interesting to me, because although it has a kind of trance like structure, the whole thing is very saturated and lo-fi and sounds more like raw Techno. It's basically Semi-Industrial techno with a science fiction like atmosphere, and acid synths. Even though it's an electronica piece that lends itself to 1-2 bar looped phrases, none of it feels very cheap, boring or repetitive. There is enough to power through, especially for 6 minutes. Not once do i feel like i've heard everything that's on offer, as something new always comes up, subverting my expectations as well as keeping me on my toes.
For my remix i've kept it to MnP specifications, by adding my own synth flairs and sounds, as well as my own Text to Speech vocal samples. The big difference is the 3 minute intro i've provided in this, and as well i made a more...long drawn out ending, instead of a more sudden end like the original follows. The rest of the sounds was more a combination of accuracy and personal flair, so while yes it's not the most original, and i did try too hard to match the original sound, it still has some of my touches to it, so it's not just a MIDI rip. I still feel it needs more mixing and some finesse, but at this point i've worked on it for more than enough, so i'm just rolling with what i have. Also this is a bonus, so i never make these with quality in mind. I'm just having fun, trying some stuff out, and just making use of my music making skills. All in all, hope you enjoy what i've done!