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Savior of the Sea - A Rhythmic Ocean Adventure Soundtrack - OST Composing Jam #5's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Correlation to theme | #37 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| Overall | #53 | 3.553 | 3.553 |
| Creativity | #53 | 3.588 | 3.588 |
| Quality | #60 | 3.529 | 3.529 |
| Composition | #61 | 3.294 | 3.294 |
| Impression | #63 | 3.353 | 3.353 |
Ranked from 17 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
Mechanics of the this fictional game are; it is part rhythm game, part adventure/story telling. The slower songs are menu and cut-scene type music where the story is told. Tracks are designed so most any given part can be looped as much as needed. The upbeat faster songs are during areas the player must move side to side, jump, or duck to avoid oncoming objects or attacks from enemies and collect power ups.
All music was created in Ableton Live Suite, with launchkey and Akai MIDI controllers.
Electronic and Orchestral
———Story———
Track 1 - Our Story starts with the main character setting sail from his home land. An outcast who never belonged there, he wishes to find a new and magical place. Somewhere he can call home and be accepted. A meteor appears streaking across the sky, he makes a wish, and suddenly the sky lights up(queue track 2), the sea is dancing with bioluminescent creatures. Did someone or something her his wish?
But not so fast... as track 3 comes on an ancient monster bursts from the sea. The waves start crashing against his small vessel. As the main character fights for his life... eventually he loses and his boat is sunk to the depths.(Track4) However, this uncharted sea seems.. enchanted. As he is sinking, a painful transformation begins. Can he survive the transformation while avoiding the dangers of the deep sea?
Into Track 5, our main character has come to the bottom of the sea. He is weak, and notices he has changed. Gills have appeared on his neck, and his feet have turned into fins. Some strange beings who look much the same approach from the direction of large structure in the distance? is this a castle, no a settlement? who are they? They tell him it is okay, like him they had no home, but have made their own. He is safe now. Main character blacks out as the carry him back towards the settlement. He startles awake in an unknown house and rushes to the window only to fully awaken and realize he is still a fish person and is still at the bottom of the sea.
Track 6 kicks in - He's at the bottom of the ocean and there are hundreds of these fish people swimming around with a multitude of other sea life. The main character rushes outside and explores the town, vibin' with all the fish beings and local lifeforms. He continues to explore outside the town. Track 6 begins to fade into 7 as he notices a strange dark lair. The eldest of the fish beings explains the ancient monster deep in the lair has not been seen for over 100 years. However, once he tells them of the attack on his boat, they warn the monster has returned and it will soon destroy the main characters new home, leaving him yet again an outcast, alone.. He decides he needs to take care of this creature. Track 7 fades into 8 as he enters the lair and begins the final boss fight. This is chaotic and crazy as he fights for his life and the place he finally belongs. The monster has two forms through the fight, which you can pick out in the song.
The final track is after the monster has been defeated, our character returns a hero! He celebrates not only being alive, but finally having found the home he wished for, as unexpected as it seems.
Message from the artist:
Thank you for listening, hope you enjoy!
Theme:
How does it fit the theme?
The main character wishes upon a star to find a place he belongs, but it is unexpected the way it was granted. Themed on and in the ocean based on the image.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://soundcloud.com/cheekychinchilla/sets/wish-upon-a-star-ost-composing-jam-5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0piW7dWvVk
Soundtrack use permission
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Comments
An interesting take on the themes with electronic beats! I think you pick up the story and mood you intend to create nicely. The rhythmic nature of this OST reminds me of the gameplay reminiscent of Child of Eden. Thank you for sharing! :)
Setting Sail: This is a great piece to signal embarking on an adventure. I think you have good pacing with the adding of the different layers, though I really like that final synth instrument and I think it would have been cool to introduce that earlier! I really like how you ended with it though.
Wish Upon a Star: This is such a peaceful rhythmic track that is great for the first level of the game you describe. I like that it uses the same chord progression as the track before and would be able to seamlessly transition at the right point in the game.
Boat vs. Sea Monster: My favorite part of this track are the mysterious arpeggios that emerge at 1:55. I also really like the slow build-in to the next song at the end. So far you have such seamless transitions.
Transformation in the Depths: The low bass drone is reminiscent of deep sea noises while the main ostinato is like many bubbles rising up around the player. This track is perfect to accompany sinking to the bottom of the ocean as it captures the despair and the anxiety of what has happened and what is to come.
Home at the Bottom of the Sea: Interesting choice to go back to string pads since that is what you started the OST with, though starting with the low bass does feel more ominous. I think the choir also gives an other-worldliness to the piece so I think that was a great addition. The siren transition at the end was super cool!
Vibin’ with the Fish People: What a groovy track! There are a couple instruments you use that I think were a particularly good selection. There is a warbly underwater type synth that adds to the environmental sound design which is a great addition. I also really like the panning you did in this song as it feels like instruments are swaying back and forth in the gentle ocean floor currents.
Lair of the Beast: From a compositional standpoint, this captures a very creepy and ominous tone. The piano arpeggio makes perfect sense, but I think that having heavy reverb on the piano would probably add a lot to the aesthetic. Same with the flute. They both sound dry in front of the echoing drones. Otherwise this is a great cut-scene track that conveys detailed emotion.
Showdown with the Sea Monster: The second phase is where the chaos really kicks in! You can tell this would be an intense boss fight for sure. I wonder if use of cymbals in the percussion part would allow you to pick up the intensity even more? My favorite part of this track is the pulsing bass triplets - they add to the chaos subtly and also make the sea monster feel even more powerful!
Home at Last: This is a nice and peaceful track to end on. I like the melodic ostinato while the percussion is allowed to take center stage for this track. Overall this sounds like it would be a really fun game with lots of great musical and story moments. Thank you for sharing!
Really cool battle theme Boat vs Sea monster. The retro is strong with this one. Lair of the Beast is also one of my favorites. Very unsettling, perfect mood! Thanks for sharing
Thank you! Despite how simple and short Lair of the Beast was it was fun to write. I think next OST I may try to focus more on using simple sounds and instruments and see if I can still manage to tell a story. Thanks for your feedback!
Track one - The strings make it feel emotional, definitely pulled me into the story! Nice use of panning for the higher strings. When the drum beat comes in it feels like the main character getting their sense of direction back.
Track two - The synth bass at the start hits very hard! The beats give the song just what it needs and matches the story really well. I think the strength of the song’s second half definitely lies in those arpeggios though, they serve well to lead the song forward.
Track three - I love the fusion of like, retro-game-ish synthy sounds and the other sounds you used. Once again, the beats are really strong and admittedly I bobbed my head to this song quite a bit! Love the odd chord with the higher synth thing that joins around 1:56 (I don’t know any technical music terms so hopefully that references it well enough 😂)
Track four - This song feels dangerous! I think it does a great job communicating the peril of the main character’s sudden transformation. Once again, your composition is very strong, the harmonies of the bass alongside the main repeating melody and the beat, and just how full this song feels, it’s really good :D
Track five - The deep strings are a really nice intro, I can easily imagine playing this game and how the previous track would fade into this one. Ah, and then once the higher strings join in it feels so climactic and emotional! I love the melody panned to the left that joins around 1:19, and then when the drums join and the song starts to feel more grounded, it feels so epic and suspenseful! I found myself eager to hear how the track was going to evolve next while I was listening. This track might be my favorite! (Though admittedly it’s hard to choose lol)
Track six - This might be the dance-iest one. Vibin’ indeed!
Track seven - The beginning of the song made me “Oh no!” hard! The eerie ambience you created mixed with how into the OST I already was put me on edge. Then once that piano joined in it was like I knew something bad was going to happen 😂 The way the synth joins in at the end and then how it leads to the next track is extremely well done and very climactic! This is maybe also my favorite!
Track eight - I’m running out of ways to say how awesome this OST is! I like how this song is intense but also really dance-y and also kind of quirky too (that sliding sound at 1:44 felt quirky to me). Best part starts around 1:53 though, (the second form of the monster?) the synthy blips that make a descending sort of melody. Very nice! The end of the song feels like finally taking a breath (exactly how I’d feel after the end of that hard level)!
Track nine - A nice lighthearted track, definitely feels like an ending or a credits roll, the blippy melody in the second half gave me “Robots FTW” from Portal 2 vibes.
I love how the tracks flow into each other, gives the game/OST a good continuity and in my opinion makes the songs a lot more interesting and definitely memorable! Also I love the different art you used for each of the tracks, I know that’s not part of the rating but did you make those covers yourself??? They’re gorgeous!
I saw a lot of other people pointed out how the tracks are a bit repetitive, I heard that too, in general that’s fine for music like this since it adds to the dance-y feel (kind of like the music they use in club songs and stuff) but yeah probably for the game itself some of the tracks could be shortened to make different parts loop less. But not tracks five or seven, those ones are perfect!
(Oops sorry for the essay lol)
thank you so much!! I know it's a long one so I appreciate everyone taking the time to listen to my OST and provide feedback. for a lot of the panning, i just use an effects subtle stereo and around the head and adjust to my needs, super handy when used alongside automation. I'm not good at mastering and all that so still playing with a lot of those things :p as for the cover art, it is all AI generated. I know a lot of people have their issues with that... How I use it is I will make a really terrible sketch of what I generally want (cause I'm not that great of an artist) and then I'll feed my sketch into it and keep re-rendering until it looks kinda like how I want. Sometimes I'll just give it an abstract color mash up as well like the 5th and 9th track images. as an example this was my original sketch of boat vs sea monster if you want a chuckle:
That sketch is a masterpiece 🤯😂
It's lovely isn't it?! LMAO I should have just used my sketches for the cover art that would have been great.
Cool stuff! Track 5 is def my favorite, that choir and strings combo is beautiful. Home at Last is a nice, upbeat conclusion with the modal progression and bouncy vibe. Great work!
Thank you so much for taking the time to listen :)
Terrific job combining the theme and the genre of the rhythm game!! It's so refreshing to see this unexpected combination. I also love how your story develops creatively, covering many different atmospheres. congrats for this huge amount of work!
When it comes to the repetitive nature as some others said, I think it can still depend on the type of the rhythm game. While it would be a bit too repetitive indeed for games in competitive nature(like bemani series), something with a more emphasis on the story telling(like rhythm doctor?) could work in my opinion. You could even use the repetitions to your advantage, developing the story so the player don't have to be uber concentrated on the gameplay all the time while missing what's happening. And your story deserve that attention!
I appreciate the feedback and the taking the time to listen through! This is great insight, and it makes me happy to hear someone sees the story telling side of things how I envisioned :) I do still agree with others some is a bit repetitive, but attempting on mashing a story telling adventure with a non competitive rhythm element was the goal. Where the bosses, environments, and player movement more or less must sync up with rhythms and beats to get through each level, that leans heavily into the story telling element. Thank you!!
Good electronic vibe all along! I really enjoyed Transformation in the depth, musically it is a very well crafted track and plus, story wise, you can feel something important happens there! It wonderfully works in the playlist :)
I agree that for a rythm based game some tracks might seem a bit repetitive but overall you had a coherent universe build up. It helps with immersion and the audio quality you provided reinforce that feeling. I don't know how you treated your sounds but what I find very cool is that they may not instinctively sound waterish but each time I felt like evolving underwater, so good job on that!
Thank you for that OST with some bangers :)
Thank you for taking the time to give it a listen! This comment means a lot, especially after hearing your submission (A+ work, each of your tracks are beautiful!) Being a novice, I truly appreciate all the feedback I can get. I'm already excited for the next jam to hear more killer tracks from everyone, and continue to improve the areas I fall short :)
These are all great songs. On their own they all work really well. #2 - Search for a New Home - I enjoyed the progression - how it kicked in at 2:00. I'm less clear how they all fit together-- I sometimes picture a 16bit type play and others very cartoony. It's clear that #7 Lair of the Beast and #8 Showdown with the Sea Monster fit together and ease from one to the other.
Thank you for listening! I agree some of the songs are a bit all over. I tried to write up the story well enough to follow the plot I had sketched out, but some of the songs ventured away from original intentions for sure :p
Oh man! "Boat vs Sea monster" is a masterpiece *_* And all the OST are executed well :) Well done :D
Thank you so much! :D
Wow congrats on writing 32 minutes of soundtrack! The themes are all really catchy and capture that rhythm game feel. The visualizer is really mesmerizing.
I think my only complaint with this is that sometimes the music felt a little loopy and repetitive which isn't something you always want for a rhythm game since the player would just be making similar movements repeatedly. For rhythm games you want the player to always be on their toes and adapting to dynamic and rhythmic changes and shifts.
Great job with this though, your descriptions were detailed and really helped tie the story and the music together, this is really cool!
thank you for listening and honest feedback! I did feel it was a bit repetitive as well in a lot of parts(and probably should have trimmed my final submission a bit LOL) Maybe one day I’ll go through and make a version 2 :p
Ok this is actually really cool, I especially love Lair of the Beast and how it leads into Showdown with the Sea Monster. Definitely could see this in a rhythm game, very cool!
thank you this means a lot! I wasn’t sure if people would understand the elements of the game play I was trying to convey through the music 😅
I love the idea of basing your music off the idea of a rhythm game. I like the rhythmic elements in your music that would attribute to that sort of gameplay. I also like how the rhythms in the tracks build up which helps me imagine how the gameplay would get more difficult as you add more rhythmic content. Great work!
Thank you! I know being a rhythm base it's a bit repetitive, but I had a lot of fun making this one :D