Blow Me Up
/ Heath Whitelock
Steps and Graphics designed by Taren

http://www.opsound.org/artist/heathwhitelock/
The full version of this song can be found here.

More of my simfiles (and other goodies) can be found at:
http://superwailingbonus.com

Email: tarennauxen@gmail.com
AIM: X12x300X

"Blow Me Up" is my entry for StepMania's StepMix Contest. When I read the contest rules, I was surprised by the license requirement. I was browsing the various music sites that offer Creative Commons Licenses, and noticed that it was quite challenging to find something that was actually danceable. On my second day of song-searching, I tried Opsound for good tracks. Early on, I listened to "Blow Me Up," but was looking for something with a little more energy. Every so often I would download and listen to a few other songs, but something made me come back to this one. 

I had an epiphany- if I simply edited out a majority of the mellow sections, the remaining acid-jazz "interlude" would make for a great dance. After a few edits, I got a cut I liked, which included the natural beginning and ending of the original version. 

Another reason I was pleased with this song choice is for the song features I would be able to show off. This song has two tempo changes, a stop, and a 5/4 measure. The first two are neat in-game effects, while the irregular time signature was simply a stroke of luck to help me line up the measure divisions in my step editors.

This song was edited using Acid 5.0. The Single Play stepcharts were designed in XStep 0.99.3, and the Double Play charts were designed in StepMania's built-in editor.

A note about the Challenge charts: the "Expert" charts on Single and Double are designed for extensive hand use. Most of the freezes in these charts should be held with your hands instead of your feet. Often there will be a 'run' while you are handplanting another note nearby. I was trying to simulate breakdancing of some sort here. Some of the patterns may not be as obvious as others, but I hope that they work out as well as I had planned.

Even if this entry doesn't win, I am still proud to submit my 100th simfile for the StepMix contest.

2006 January 19
Taren