OverClocked ReMix

OverClocked ReMix, also known as OC ReMix and OCR, is a non-commercial organization dedicated to preserving and paying tribute to video game music through arranging and re-interpreting the songs with new technology and software, as well as by various traditional means. The primary focus of OC ReMix is its website which offers thousands of free fan-made video game music arrangements, information on game music and composers, resources for aspiring artists, and a community forum for video game music fans.

The webmaster of OverClocked ReMix is David W. Lloyd (a.k.a. djpretzel), who coined the word "ReMix" to refer to interpretive arrangements, as opposed to a remix which typically involves alterations to master recordings. Ambiguity regarding the term ReMix is unintentional, since the organization is dedicated to distinctive rearrangements of video game themes, not to arrangements involving changing minor details or plagiarizing the work of others.

History

Lloyd began the organization under the name of DJ Pretzel's OverClocked ReMix in December 1999 as a spin-off of OverClocked, his 3D webcomic about playing and emulating video games. The format was derived from Commodore 64 arrangement website C64Audio.com (then a host for many fan arrangements); Lloyd chose to expand the focus to all games regardless of game system. Originally coded in basic HTML and sporting an orange color scheme, the site underwent a conversion to a database-driven system in 2001, as well as visual redesigns in 2001 (blue), 2002 (purple) and its current design in 2004 (silver & orange). OC ReMix was located at the subdomain remix.overclocked.org before moving to www.ocremix.org in July 2003. Both domains were hosted for several years by ZTNet, with OCR eventually becoming self-funded and switching to dedicated hosting with LiquidWeb in late 2006. Lloyd registered OverClocked ReMix as a limited liability company in 2007.

Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy (ファイナルファンタジー, Fainaru Fantajī) is a science fiction and fantasy media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and developed and owned by Square Enix (formerly Square). The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science fantasy role-playing video games (RPGs). The eponymous first game in the series, published in 1987, was conceived by Sakaguchi as his last-ditch effort in the game industry; the title was a success and spawned sequels. The video game series has since branched into other genres such as tactical role-playing, action role-playing, massively multiplayer online role-playing, racing, third-person shooter, fighting, rhythm and anime.

Although most Final Fantasy installments are stand-alone stories with different settings and main characters, they feature identical elements that define the franchise. Recurring elements include plot themes, character names, and game mechanics. Plots center on a group of heroes battling a great evil while exploring the characters' internal struggles and relationships. Character names are frequently derived from the history, languages, pop culture, and mythologies of cultures worldwide.

Donkey Kong Country

Donkey Kong Country is a 1994 platforming video game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It was first released in November 1994, and under the name Super Donkey Kong (スーパードンキーコング, Sūpā Donkī Kongu) in Japan. The game was later re-released for the Game Boy Color (2000), Game Boy Advance (2003), Wii Virtual Console (2007), and Wii U Virtual Console (2014).

The game is set on "Donkey Kong Island" and centres around Donkey Kong and his nephew Diddy Kong, who must recover their stolen hoard of bananas from King K. Rool and the Kremlings. Development of the game first began shortly after Rare's Tim and Chris Stamper ran experiments with a Silicon Graphics workstation, rendering realistic 3D sprites. Nintendo became interested in Rare's work and soon acquired 49% of the company which culminated in the production of a new title using Alias and SGI technology for the SNES console. The Stamper brothers expressed an interest to create a standalone Donkey Kong game, and assembled a team of 12 to work on the game over an 18-month development cycle.

Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong (ドンキーコング, Donkī Kongu, [dõŋ.kiː kõŋ.ɡu͍]) is a series of video games featuring the adventures of a gorilla character called Donkey Kong, conceived by Shigeru Miyamoto in 1981. The franchise mainly comprises two different game genres, plus spin-off titles of various genres.

The games of the first genre are mostly single-screen platform/action puzzle types, featuring Donkey Kong as the opponent in an industrial construction setting. Donkey Kong first made his appearance in the 1981 arcade machine called Donkey Kong, in which he faced Mario, now Nintendo's flagship character. This game was also the first appearance of Mario, pre-dating the well-known Super Mario Bros. by four years. In 1994, the series was revived as the Donkey Kong Country series, featuring Donkey Kong and his clan as protagonists in their native jungle setting versus a variety of anthropomorphic enemies, usually against the Kremlings, a clan of crocodiles, and their leader King K. Rool. These are side-scrolling platform games.

Big Giant Circles

Big Giant Circles (also known as BGC) is the chiptune/electronic moniker of Jimmy Hinson. Originally adopting the name as a hobbyist submitting video game music remixes/rearrangements to OverClocked ReMix, Hinson is now an active composer in the video games industry. He has contributed to the soundtracks of Borderlands 2, Threes!, There Came an Echo, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 and Mass Effect 2 (the latter two under lead composer Jack Wall). Mass Effect 2 was nominated for a BAFTA Game award for Best Original Music.

Hinson additionally composes chiptune-styled music as an independent musician. His debut independent record, Impostor Nostalgia, was released for digital distribution on September 12, 2011. Hinson is credited with his work on several independent games including Pocket Mine and Extreme Roadtrip 2, and has contributed to OverClocked ReMix. His style has garnered him praise from C418 (composer for Minecraft), Daniel Floyd of Extra Credits, and Anthony and Ashly Burch of Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin'?; compliments from Danny Baranowsky (composer for Super Meat Boy and The Binding of Isaac); as well as positive press from Kotaku and GameTrailers.