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Posted on: Jan 12, 2009
The Sounds of Street Fightin'
WORDS BY: Mitch Dyer
Why did Capcom recognize that OC ReMix was the best way to create a new soundtrack for their game, rather than doing it internally?
Larry: Everything started with Shael Riley - he organized OCR's Super Street Fighter II Turbo remix album Blood on the Asphalt in 2006. Shael mapped out an album that gave most of the stage themes an urban feel, and it eventually wound up in the ears of Capcom associate producer Rey Jimenez. Based on what he heard, Rey was confident in our ability to do a knockout job - he lobbied the powers-that-be to involve us in the game's development, and the rest was history.
How helpful was Capcom when it came to the music?
djpretzel: Well, they didn't hook us up with any gear or fly us out to L.A. for studio time or anything like that - that actually would have defeated the whole point, as this is a soundtrack that really came directly from the community, without intervention or augmentation. So, I'd say it was less about Capcom being helpful, and more about them NOT being harmful - they were open to the idea, from the very beginning, that this music would be coming completely from OverClocked ReMix, and not involve excessive oversight or external assistance. In a sense, that's the most helpful thing they could have done, simply being open-minded enough to embrace an unorthodox approach to scoring a major game. We think it paid off, so to speak, and the game's reviews seem to agree.
Were they picky about what you guys did, or did they trust you to come up with killer tunes?
djpretzel: There was a lot of trust, but they also weren't shy about getting specific; they rejected certain approaches for some themes, and in other cases provided very granular, detailed feedback on modifications they wanted.
Larry: We put a lot of trust into our guys as well - OCR's high music standards are the foundation of a community of musicians that produce creative, professional music without much hand-holding.
There's a great blend of "nostalgia" and "new" in the music -- was there more of a focus on accurately recreating the music than there was on making it refreshing, or vice versa?
djpretzel: Our goal was to give each track an update but keep it immediately recognizable.
Larry: A general guideline of Capcom's was keeping the tempo of the original music, but they were enthusiastic if an outside-the-box approach clicked. Some people have a negative reaction to anything that deviates from the original music - for anyone familiar with OC ReMix, our feeling is that if you can't bear changes to the original music, listen to that instead. We're glad it's an option there, since we love it, but HD Remix has been a great opportunity to introduce more fans to creative, interpretive ReMixes of classic game themes.
Everything sounds super solid. The menu theme is bound shock you the first time you load up the game, and each stage has a near-perfect resemblance to the original tracks. But are there any regrets, or things you would have done different if you had the opportunity?
djpretzel: Well, it's important to remember we weren't working with a copy of the game in front of us, sowe couldn't see exactly how each theme fit during actual gameplay. Having that ability might have resulted in a few tweaks, tempo changes, etc., but overall - after the playing the game for awhile now - I feel like everything fits really well. We did have some late changes to Vega (Claw)'s theme that didn't make it in, but they weren't too dramatic. The only thing we might have handled better was deadlines - we gave our artists VERY short windows of time to make some of these edits, when in actuality (due to delays and schedule extensions) they could have taken more time. Some folks work better under pressure, though, so even that might have been a blessing in disguise. Even after the completed soundtrack had been delivered to Capcom, I wasn't 100% happy with our music because I couldn't hear how it worked in the actual game, so if you asked me this question a few months ago, I would have been more reserved. After playing the game and hearing all of the music in action, however, I'm absolutely satisfied and have no regrets.
PREV
Mon, 01/19/2009 - 12:17
Posted by ethanjude
Love it, Mitch. The soundtrack was fantastic, and this is a great interview.