ReMix: The Revenge of Shinobi 'Consent (Make Me Dance)'

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So. Here we are. Where to begin? There's no way to avoid this reeking of being more of a blog entry than a mix write-up, so I won't even try. As I write this, our new design has been live for several hours. As to be expected, some people instantly liked it, some instantly hated it, and some had specific comments about very specific things they want changed. And all of that's to be expected. Realistically, a redesign takes some time to get used to, like any other substantive change. For most people, even regulars, it equates to a visual change that they either like or don't, plain and simple.

For me it's been a bit more personal. Essentially, I didn't want to redesign the site unless I felt I could improve it. By the same token, I didn't want to start adding features onto the old design if I knew I was gonna throw it out, so I was sort of stuck. It's taken me basically a year, going through at least six fully-developed prototypes that were eventually trashed, to make what you see today. And of course, there will be future improvements as well, things that need fixing, etc. But the code behind the site has been cleaned up, the XSLT normalized by several magnitudes, and the design is more modular, more flexible, and more standards-friendly. We've moved all site documentation - FAQ, submission standards, etc. to be database-driven as well, where we can do a better job maintaining them. Plus, you can now list the site's data in a multitude of ways, with different sorting options.

None of this was easy for me. All of it took planning. I'm not out to impress or make excuses when I say this, but doing the graphics, css, xhtml, xml, xslt, php, and sql for a site, and trying to do it as right as possible, is not easy. I've dedicated oodles of time towards providing a foundation, and this redesign is not just about a different look, but about a better codebase that I feel I can build on top of to improve things without the specter of having to do everything over. This redesign has impacted my social life, work, school, and has created the longest hiatus ever since the site began between me posting one of my own mixes.

The reason I feel that it's all worth it is, quite simply, because of you. When I get emails about people enjoying the site's free music, or see ReMixers getting better via applying themselves to ReMixing, or I see people being exposed to game music via the site and gaining appreciation and respect for it and the people that make it, that legitimates all of my efforts, tenfold. There's a reason I don't feel regret or a sense of futility when I think about the time spent working on OCR, and it's because of the people that go towards making it what it has been, what it is, and what it will become. So: thanks.

Moving out of blog mode and into mix mode - this is the Revenge of Shinobi ReMix I've always wanted to make. I've not been unhappy with my previous mixes, but this is the first time I've ReMixed the same game thrice, and it was to go back and make a mix that gave me closure with this game's soundtrack, which has always been one of my absolute favorites. It's all about the bassline, baby - this takes Koshiro's 'Make Me Dance' and covers most of the many motifs in it with an electro-funk makeover. Wah guitar, wah clav, synth lead, wah electric piano, normal electric piano, some various synths and synth effects, and one of my favorite bass synth patches ever. Actually, this patch inspired the song, sorta like with my Sonic 'Love Hurts' mix. The minimal vocoded vocals are in fact me - I always felt like that part of the song was supposed to be reciting the song's title, so that's what I did. This mix works best when played loud, preferably in a place where you can lend the title creedence and shake your thang. In closing, I can only say two things: I'm glad as hell we FINALLY have our new design online, and.... it's good to be back.

― djpretzel