When you decide to sit down and fire up a brand-new game for whatever gaming system you might own, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? For some people, it’s how the control scheme works, or how neat the graphics are. But for some people, it’s how good the music is. Good music can make or break a game, since it’s really the first thing that gets you into it. It pulls you into the virtual world that you’re a part of, and it helps you connect with the characters that much more. It’s more than just a background track, it’s an art form, and that’s what the people at ocremix.org truly believe. Started in late 1999, OverClocked ReMix (OCRemix) was started by David Lloyd, a.k.a. “djpretzel,” because he decided that his music-making skills were getting a bit rusty. He liked rearranging older video game music, and he started the site as a place to host his creations when he found out that there were no other sites on the internet that encouraged different genres or music from multiple platforms. Once the site was made, he began taking submissions from several people, as well as submitting his own tracks, and the site has grown ever since. To date, the site has more than 1,400 remixes, and 19,000 registered people all over the world. The site is completely non-profit, and listening to the music on the site is free, as is the ability of downloading the songs. If you feel the need to, you can register yourself on the site so you can post reviews of any and all songs that you like, or just post whatever you like in the message boards. Registering yourself also lets you submit your own songs onto the site, if you so wish. Before you decide to just throw any old song online, however, you might want to take a moment and find out all of the rules and regulations that come with the submission process. As stated before, there is a set of rules and regulations that one must follow before even making your own remix. Each submission is judged by 10 people from the community, or by djpretzel himself. If the remix passes, it is made freely available on the site. The submission process is apparently very rough, and according to the site’s f.a.q., only around 15% of all submissions actually pass. Although any song from any game can be remixed, it is the more obscure titles that get the judges’ attention. There are so many remixes for SquareSoft games, it would make your head spin. So what actually qualifies as a remix? Well, according to the site, it’s more like a rearrangement. The general rule is that the song should be yours, and not just a shined up version of the original song. Changing the original song’s genre, altering instrumentation and tempo are just a few ways to make a remix your own. For example, there are 17 different remixes for the original Super Mario Brothers. Each one has its own identity and sound, from soft piano, house, jazz, and rock; each genre making its own version of the regular old music you hear when you take those first steps in World 1-1. And this is only one example of the amount of remixes a popular game might have. In fact, several site members occasionally decide to select one game’s soundtrack, and remix the entire thing, top to bottom. They’ve done it for Chrono Trigger, Street Fighter 2, and just recently, for Final Fantasy 7. OC ReMix isn’t merely a place to listen to good music (although it’s a fantastic reason to visit the site). It’s a community of people who love music in general, and the site’s mission statement says it all: “This website is dedicated to arranging video game music. Our mission is to prove that this music is not disposable or merely background, but is as intricate, innovative, and lasting as any other form.” I’d say that it’s a mission accomplished.