Help Identifying Game Music

[Andy Chalk]

Okay, time for you guys to make yourselves useful.

I dig game music. I've got a lot of it here. I'm listening to the Uru soundtrack as I write this, in fact. Most of the stuff I have comes from games I own, but I also now and then pick up tunes elsewhere, for one reason or another. And this is where the trouble begins.

Ages ago, I scored two tracks from Another World, known to North American audiences as Out Of This World, one of the finest side-scrollers ever produced. Ever. One is named Another_World_LatexEnding_OC_Remix; it's 1708kb in size, 1:49 long, and the artist is listed as Kada. The other is simply anotherworld end sequence remix, which is 4230kb, 3:36 long, with the artist listed as Thomas Detert. Cool tracks, both have that old-school MIDI feel to them (even though they're both MP3s), and I'd always assumed they were tracks taken from the old Another World (OOTW) game. (It's been way too many years since I've played it to actually remember.)

But a few days ago, I scored myself a copy of the Another World 15th Anniversary Edition, which included among other goodies a full soundtrack. And as cool as this soundtrack is, there is absolutely nothing in it that sounds even remotely like the two tracks I just mentioned.

This is where you guys come in. Are the two tracks I've had for years actually from a different game, perhaps another game with a similar title? The soundtrack in the anniversary edition does sound vaguely "updated," but it could be just my imagination, and even if that was the case, I'd expect there'd still be sufficient similarity for me to recognize the old tracks. I've googled all over looking for more information on the two older tracks, with no luck at all; even the OC Remix site, where the first track originated, doesn't seem to have any information about it. So now I'm turning to you guys. Does anything about either of these tracks strike anyone as familiar?

 

[Sorcerer Arcane]

Any file with OC Remix in the name is from OC Remix(www.ocremix.org), a community dedicated to remixing and reinterpretating video game music. Take a look there, it has some nice remixes that are well worth listening to. The other one is beyond me.

 

[Andy Chalk]

I've googled all over looking for more information on the two older tracks, with no luck at all; even the OC Remix site, where the first track originated, doesn't seem to have any information about it.

I'm guessing you didn't read the whole post.

Since you seem familiar with the site, a question: does OC Remix delete tracks after they get to a certain age, or fall below a certain popularity?

 

[Bongo Bill]

OC Remix periodically re-evaluates songs it accepted in the past to find out if they adhere to its current submission standards (which are apparently constantly rising), and songs have also been removed at the artist's request. I seem to remember there being a site that archived the removed OCR tracks, but can't find it at the moment. If you want information about the song, you might try tracking down the artist.

The reason that your tracks don't sound like the ones in the anniversary soundtrack may include:

-The original track was not included in the anniversary edition soundtrack due to space limitations
-The OCR tracks are based on something there, but due to OCR's submission policies (which require that a song not be too similar to the original) the melody was extensively modified
-You're deaf and haven't realized it yet

 

[Sorcerer Arcane]

I'm guessing you didn't read the whole post.

My apologies, I fear I was careless in my reading. However Bongo Bill is right, OC Remix does cull songs periodically. I can't seem to find that site he was talking about either(though I could find overlooked remix(www.olremix.org), a site that is more or less a parody of ocremix with ridiculous interpretations of video game music(again, I apologize)). Perhaps after some searching later I may find said site that escapes everyone's memories.

 

[Andy Chalk]

Nah, that's cool. Upon re-reading, it strikes me that I may have come off sounding like a dick, which really wasn't my intention.

Anyway, status update. The "Another World LatexEnding OC Remix" is definitely a remix of the game's finale track; it's different, but there's no question that's the source of the remix. The reason I didn't pick up on it is that the included soundtrack, for some reason, doesn't actually include that particular piece of in-game music. It wasn't until I wrapped up the game a few minutes ago and heard the music play that I realized my mistake.

Anotherworld end sequence remix remains a mystery. I haven't heard anything that sounds even remotely similar, and the tune is distinctive enough that it'd be hard to miss a connection. It's a really cool track, I just wish I knew where it came from, and if it was somehow AW-related, in what way. (Yes, I am anal about my game music.)

I'm going to do some more digging tonight, I'll let you know how it goes.

*edit* - As promised, here's what I found. The "anotherworld end sequence remix" belongs to a C64 shooter that went by the same name but was otherwise completely unrelated.

This is it: http://www.c64.com/?type=1&id=832

So, mystery solved. I was planning on deleting the file if it turned out not to be from the "real" Another World, but I rather like it, so I've just renamed the thing. And as anal and petty and utterly insignificant as it may seem, I actually feel a lot better now.

 

[TomBeraha]

I'd laugh and make fun of you Malygris if I wasn't so completely in the same boat. I have actually gone and deleted things I liked because they didn't fit with my pattern or ordering structure. It's kind of sad really. I am a slave to my (suspected) OCD. I totally get feeling better about something like that.

 

[Landslide]

On another note, that game rocked. Sure, it was insanely difficult and frustrating - but it was actually a title that helped define my desire to work in digital graphics. The lightning sequence was so smooth and well done, it made me want to be able to make stuff like that. In fact, a lot of the animation it had is still better than a lot of what we see in top tier games these days.

This actually ties into what one of my 3d instructors said about animation. He noted that these days, fewer and fewer people are learning how to properly animate first. Instead, they focus on 3D modeling and texturing (Photoshoppery), because they are slightly less arcane sciences, and have quicker results. So you tend to end up having a multi-million dollar mo-cap price tag added to a game, or a bunch of awkward animations that lack the fluidity and weight of realism. I can't tell you how many character animations I see, which are 'Ok', but have the character feel like they weigh nothing. Or move like robots.

Does anyone know good games that have good, hand-crafted animation? I think the first Prince of Persia remake sported character animation done the old fashioned way. Which startled me, as it was so good. So, thoughts?

 

[Andy Chalk]

I'm finding it a bit distressing that absolutely nothing is coming to mind, but it's also not my field of expertise, so there may be examples I'm overlooking.

I may be way off-base here, but I don't think you'll see any sort of resurgence in skillful hand-crafted animation in games until and unless the market for games reaches a critical mass wherein "boutique game design" - which is probably an entirely inappropriate term, but the closest thing to what I'm getting at that comes to mind at the moment - becomes a viable field.

Check out the credits for Another World: Eric Chahi and Jean-Francois Freitas. Excluding ports to other platforms, that's it. Sure, gaming and gamers were a hell of a lot different back then, but the fact remains that two guys (really, one guy plus a musician) created a game that, 15 years later, is still recognized as one of the finest pieces of gaming art (yes, art) ever produced. These days, creating a game like that on a scale that gives it anything even remotely resembling relevance is virtually impossible, and I think we can expect to spend a lot more time eating shit every day before we start to collectively clue in that maybe we'd be better off with steak once a week.

What about Shadowgrounds?

I almost forgot: if you're an "Another World" fan (and let's face it, who isn't?) you really should check out this Anniversary Edition. Cool documentary video, some interesting behind-the-scenes stuff like concept art and design docs, remastered soundtrack, and of course, that awesome retro-gameplay. For the price, it's a screaming good deal.