ReMix: Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure 'Mayan Malfunction'
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- Game: Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure (Activision, 1995, WIN)
- ReMixer(s): Phonetic Hero
- Composer(s): David Kneuper, Lee Scott, Robert Higgins
- Song(s): 'Lakamul Rain Forest', 'Tikal Ruins', 'Tomb of Palenque'
- Posted: 2012-08-28, evaluated by the judges
It's 2012, so I suppose posting a mix titled "Mayan Malfunction" is either topical... or tempting the apocalypse. Given that datekeeping was probably pretty crap in those early centuries, and the fact that the earth has failed to spontaneously combust in 100% of previous faith-based predictions, I'm gonna go with "topical" - don't make me look bad, armageddon. Newcomer Pete Lepley, aka "Phonetic Hero" (hold the "Hooked on Phonics" wisecracks until AFTER the mix, please) gives us our first arrangement of Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure, also our first from ANY Pitfall game. The "franchise" was just reincarnated as an iOS/mobile game that's supposedly pretty decent, so the timing is nice. He writes:
"First of all, when I saw that Pitfall wasn't in the OCR database, I was disappointed but also really excited to start my own mix, since the game had a freaking AWESOME OST. The game also took up a very good portion of my childhood, along with Earthworm Jim, Tekken 2, and Mega Man 8. Now, onto business. So, you guys forgot about that pathetic first sub from me right? Ok, good. Time to start over. I got FL Studio in May, and started the remix halfway through the month. I discovered the Gross Beat demo plug-in for glitch effects pretty early on, and decided to buy it and take the mix out back for a good ol' fashioned Gross Beatin', and I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. The title is a pretty obvious nod to Mazedude's "Wily Malfunction," which is super kick ass. I drew a lot of inspiration from that and "K-Pax for Evermore," and I guess just Mazedude's stuff in general. I also think it's worth mentioning that I learned pretty much everything about production that I now know from the people on the WIP forum, so I'd like to give a huge shout-out to all the people who helped me, you guys are the greatest! I hope this track catches you as off-guard as it did Emunator, and I hope you like it as much as Level 99 did. Until next time, blokes (and ladehz)!"
Each of the other games he mentioned above already have mixes on the site, so I linked them. You can click on those links, to get to those mixes. It's hypertext.
You can't really do any wrong looking to Mazedude for inspiration, as he himself suffers from a chronic surplus of the stuff; doctors don't have answers. He perspires inspiration and inspires perspiration, and it has always been thus. There are definitely a lot of glitchy, quirky percussive snips & pips, a willingness to match up some disparate components & experiment with sound design, and the chromatic percussion has direct resonance with 'K-Pax,' so the influences are apparent even if this mostly electronica sonic journey is ultimately distinct from MZD's style. Cars-style osc-sync'd lead synth gets a lot of playtime, which I wasn't 100% sold on, and Emunator correctly identified the piano patch as being a little anemic, but there are a LOT of sounds packed into this bad boy, and the overall execution is solid. It feels kinda like something that crawled out of the 80s and was then subjected to a battery of modern DSP tropes... but in a good way. I admire the sheer "arrangement cajones" for pairing some of these instruments and textures together in the first place; adding the processing could EASILY have turned into a trainwreck the size of the Chrysler Building, and there were some "teetering on the brink" seconds, but pH pulls it off in the end. Vinnie adds:
"I'm feeling Jesse's criticisms that this is heavy on the compressor but it was pretty easy to listen to IMO and not a whole lot louder than what we normally pass. Lots of fun glitchage to make some jittery electronica. You've got some funky and unusual sounds in this and I like the package."
Roger that; intriguing, creative & solid debut from Phonetic Hero that employs some unorthodox techniques with just enough restraint to let the arrangement shine.
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the - Mikeaudio on November 26, 2012
As to the mix, I dig it! I appreciate the variety of sounds all used within the same track, and I also dig that OCR is finally getting some Pitfall love. :) Keep it coming!
- Mazedude on September 1, 2012
Congratulations man! You deserve all dat praise and fame and glory and "OC ReMix Artist Profile" link! Can't wait to see more of your stuff hit the front page! ;)
- DaMonz on August 31, 2012
- Magellanic on August 30, 2012
I'm thrilled that this game has gotten such a great response, and just as thrilled about all the support y'all guys are showing; it's what makes me love this community. I deeply love the whole OST, and as I've said time and time again, it's had such a huge impact on me as a musician that I didn't even realize it at first. Don't hold your breath on more Pitfall remixes though...
You might die before I get them finished
- Phonetic Hero on August 29, 2012
- Crulex on August 29, 2012
Looking forward to your next posted mix. ;)
*makes the Pitfall jump noise*
- Jakesnke17 on August 29, 2012
Fantastic job of course, I love everything about it!
- Kuolema on August 28, 2012
Oh yeah, I can hear the Mazedude influences in there. It's funny because I always thought the soundtrack to this game was pretty minimalistic, but this arrangement is the complete opposite, with lots of glitching, jarring (in a good way) sounds and a clever mixture of electronic and orchestral elements. Deft use of sound effects, and excellent drum work for a remix that incidentally reminds me of The Glitch Mob at times.
In any case, great job on the arrangement and congrats on the mixpost! :grin:
- Dj Mokram on August 28, 2012
hope to see more glitchy, unorthodox tunage!
- Electric-Chai on August 28, 2012
The glitching is done very well here, I can see how this sort of nods to Mazedudes track. The glitching on the drums is especially cool.
The best part about this track IMO is the sound design. I super dig all the synth and drum choices. The arrangement is great too. Not familiar with the source, but everything sounds fine here, and each section melds together pretty well. I like the way this song develops, too.
Very nice drum breakdown after the middle section, by the way. I'm a super big fan of well done drum sections. : D
Check this one out!
- urdailywater on August 28, 2012
- SuperiorX on August 28, 2012
