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OST - Pray We Win's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Mixing Quality | #15 | 3.430 | 3.529 |
| Listenability | #17 | 3.601 | 3.706 |
| Overall Uniqueness | #18 | 3.430 | 3.529 |
| Overall | #18 | 3.444 | 3.544 |
| Composing Quality | #19 | 3.316 | 3.412 |
Ranked from 17 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Link to Streaming Service
https://soundcloud.com/frib-364015074/pray-we-win
Description
This track is using a lot of EastWest VSTs, as I got their subscription 2 days ago for another jam. There's so much stuff in there and I need to get more proficient in fantasy music so this is my attempt at creating a choir-heavy track that escalates into heaven. Or something.
The track itself represents a few phases before (or during?) a big battle. Things are looking dire but there is still hope, and the people are rallied.
I wanted to create something that starts with a dark and dreadful feeling, and then halfway through something great and positive takes over the track and drives out the darkness. The track itself doesn't really match this idea, and it's a little rough around the edges, but I learned a bunch of stuff when using these new sounds so I'm quite happy :D
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Comments
So interesting! I love it! Dramatic choir vocals, intense drum thumps. Really creates a scene in my head... Pretty neat!
So cool that I don't even know what I can say.....
Honestly! You've made a very cinematic theme that works well for the sweeping climax of the story...
Zag zag
Thank you! :D
great vocals!! (wow, a lot of ppl are utilizing vocals this jam)
very intense and dark. really feels like you're approaching a significant turning point in the journey. a constructive critique i have is introducing the level of movement you added in the second half of the song earlier when you have the male choir singing, and later on after the middle portion. i noticed some comments about the chord progression feeling repetitive, but i think it's because the vocals are droning quarter notes alongside the bass drum and adding some rhythmic movement could add so much to the song. overall, i love the intensity of the world you've crafted with this song and your choices in instrumentation is super smart! i love the abundance of vocals in this track and i love the main motif that pops in occasionally throughout the song. great work!!!
Thank you! :D
It's quite interesting to see the variety of comments saying how and why the track is repetitive and how to potentially fix it, because they're all true and all of them would work :D
I think the main idea I had was for the dark opening to be very droning in a fixed pattern for that oppressive feeling that just keeps growing, and then break that up once the light breaks through. But honestly I failed to capitalize on that :D as the light portion is essentially structured the same way but just a few octaves higher. While it is a little bit more stabby, it has the same slow buildup and the rest just goes on as if nothing changed. More variety in chords, rhythm, textures, and an actual climax that contrasts the main buildup would all help fix this track, so I also agree with your points :D
Amazing vocal sounds, indeed! Really piqued my interest and will check out the VST you used, because those choirs were absolutely epic. I think you did a great job with the development of the track. I really digged the intro and the bridge and reprisal from around 2:40. There is some overcrowding at times when the percussion frequencies clash with the brass at the low end, but with some polishing this has a lot of potential. Great job!
Thank you! :D
I got the choirs from a few packs from them. The main choirs are from hollywood choirs diamond. There's also voices of opera but I didn't use them here even though I did start out with those, lol. I'm also using some from hollywood fantasy voices and voices of passion, both are interesting in their own way, but I found it hard to make proper use of them
Thanks a lot for your answer! I will go and give a listen to those packs.
I really love the ideas you have going here, and the development of the choir was really cool, I think the nature of the repeated chord structure is fine but I will echo what twitchey said and encourage you to try adding a bit more happening in between the lines to help develop it more, running string lines or piano countermelodies, I actually think a good example of this is Lusamines Final Theme in pokemon sun and moon, as well as Insaneintherains interpretation of it, specifically the part around 1:15, but overall his piano parts are very good at staying active and I think you could apply that to writing for strings in more shot heavy works as well. Good stuff though, this was a super enjoyable listen to me.
Thank you! And I'll try to do that in the future :D
Great work! I like the dark, imposing feeling.
Constructive critique: I think the chord pattern gets a little repetitive. I used to kind of run into this problem with my own stuff more until I started just improvising more music with piano and other instruments. A microphone and singing is a good way to do some of this as well. Composing straight up in midi is kind of hard. It's like you lose the raw inspiration because it goes too slowly, whereas if you're playing it, you can record it (badly) and then put it back together from memory and what you played.
It's like being in that moment is where you interface with what the music is *actually* saying, like the spontaneity of the music becomes present in the playing.
Great work! I like the dark, imposing feeling.
Constructive critique: I think the chord pattern gets a little repetitive. I used to kind of run into this problem with my own stuff more until I started just improvising more music with piano and other instruments. A microphone and singing is a good way to do some of this as well. Composing straight up in midi is kind of hard. It's like you lose the raw inspiration because it goes too slowly, whereas if you're playing it, you can record it (badly) and then put it back together from memory and what you played.
It's like being in that moment is where you interface with what the music is *actually* saying, like the spontaneity of the music becomes present in the playing.
Thank you! Agreed on the repetitiveness :D I also agree with your process, but in this case it was caused mostly by a time management issue :')
Great stuff! One thing that stuck out to me immediately on listening, was that the bass drum was much too loud in the first half off the track (either lowering the dynamic or maybe cutting a bit off the low low end might help).
Really liked the tension in the first half building up to the second part, really give's me image of armies marching towards each other.
For just 8 hours of work to make this... wow!
Thank you! I haven't played my track with a proper subwoofer yet :D It's always a gamble getting the balance right on a first try, so I may have overdone it lol
nicely done, the arrangement fit very well you got the nice build up at around 2:10 I was expecting to go even bigger and bigger. I think putting the solo voice at the climax would've make a nice difference instead of straight at the end.
Thank you :D Sadly I couldn't get the solo voice to sound fluid and natural enough, but I didn't want to remove it completely, so I kept it at the very end as a compromise
Excellent work, in a short time too! Sounds like you're learning quick. I'm really impressed with the build, 2:00 is such a nice part. I do agree with joves on energy later, but not needing huge changes, the vibe's so strong, mostly adding more of what you already have. Also the chord changes around 2:30 is great.
Thank you! I agree with the sudden drop of energy, I just couldn't get that sorted in time :D
Oh yea I forgot to say 8 hours is crazy for this ^^' yea keep it up!
Cool choir. Overall a very serious and dire mood. Nice contrast between the darker chant-like male vocals and the brighter, more sung female vocals. Cool percussion. Great work!
Thank you! :D
The buildup to the second half of the song was great! I think it could have used even greater energy after that to really capitalize on it more.
Thank you! And I completely agree :D
Really cool hearing you try something more orchestral! The composition and sound choices are solid! Some advice, I think there could be more going on in the arrangement 2:50 onward just to give it more momentum and texture like some string ostinatos or runs
Sounds great though, awesome job!
Thank you! Agreed on the 2:50 part, to me that part feels the weakest right now and it would be the next one to get some extra love if I had the time for it :D