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A jam submission

A Good Night's RaftView project page

Soundtrack of 4 short songs for an imaginary game about rafting.
Submitted by Nick Schuitemaker — 1 day, 19 hours before the deadline
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A Good Night's Raft's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Creativity#673.3573.467
Quality#853.0983.200
Correlation to theme#863.4213.533
Composition#863.0983.200
Overall#923.1633.267
Impression#962.8402.933

Ranked from 15 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

Description
DAW:
MuseScore. With copyright-free sound effects added over it.
GENRE:
uhh... not sure. Gaming soundtrack I suppose, loopable.
GAME:
It is for a rafting-journey kind of game. Each song represents a different aspect: from casually lying on the water at day and night, to meeting pirates and even an underwater city.

Message from the artist:
I hope you enjoy my 4 short songs about a rafting journey! I am very proud of them.

Theme:

Picture theme

How does it fit the theme?
The songs are all about a rafting-journey.
1. Casually lying on the water [original];
2. Oh no, pirates! [pirates];
3. Lying under the stars... [night]
4. What's this? An underwater city?! [underwater]

Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://soundcloud.com/nick-schuitemaker-189902296/sets/a-good-nights-raft

Soundtrack use permission

Yes (CC BY)

Any project

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Comments

Submitted

This was great!  I like how varied you made that main theme - each song felt like it had a distinct rhythmic quality to it, with differences in tempo and background instrumentation.

Developer(+1)

Thank you so much! I'm glad you like the main theme and the different ways I incorporated them <3

Submitted(+1)

Nice take on the pictorial theme! You captured it nicely with different layers of scenarios. I enjoy the pirate part particularly! XD

Developer(+1)

Thank you, hearing positive commentary from you means a lot <3

Submitted(+1)

Original: I think that starting out with big open perfect 4ths in the synth give your track a celestial quality right out of the gate, while the seashore sound effects immediately set the scene of gently floating on the water. I think you have great harmonic variation between the A and B sections which make this song loopable without feeling too repetitive.

Pirates: With the last song being in D major, my ears were tricked into thinking that the first chord was also a D major even though there isn’t a D present. I am impressed how you were able to subvert my expectations many times in this piece just like the sneaky pirates. I really like the use of chromatic chord transitions. The use of accordion also works very well for a pirate theme!

Night: This is such a peaceful theme. The use of only high-register instruments makes me think of twinkling stars. I really like the introduction of the ii chord in the B section. It adds an extra layer of questioning before moving back to V for a nice perfect cadence.

Underwater: I agree with you that I think this is also my favorite of your 4 themes! The use of the chromatic mediant in the B section adds some really interesting uplifting colors to this piece. I love the IV-I-V ending! The synth swells and underwater sound effects are also nice touches that really make this feel like an underwater theme. This is a very nice submission - thank you for sharing!

Developer

I always love to get your in-depth feedback <3

I've read your feedback twice, looked up words I didn't know (chromatic mediant mostly) and I thank you for taking the time to write this, with your clearly superior music knowledge. It still baffles me how you can even notice such things such as the chromatic mediant or the IV-I-V... presumably without even looking at the sheet music!

I hope to see you back again sometime, in some other jam. Until then, good luck with your own submission :)

Submitted(+1)

Haha, I definitely was looking at your sheet music. :) Thank you for sharing that as well! And I think that says a lot about your ear as a composer if you employ specific musical tools because they fit what you are trying to convey even if you aren't necessarily completely aware of exactly why they work. See you in future music jams, for sure!

Submitted

This music is so cute and cozy. Each track (and the instruments chosen) fits its theme well. Good entry!

Developer(+1)

Thank you so much! A few years back I could only have dreamt of people saying stuff like this to my music, and now it is slowly becoming reality. I appreciate it a lot <3

Submitted(+1)

Nice work! I enjoyed the way the tracks you made where tailored to the story.

Developer

Thank you! I am glad my songs give off the right vibe :D

Submitted(+1)

Nice cute soundtrack! I like the water sound present on the 4 tracks, it enforces the consistency of the tracks. keep up the good work!

Developer

Thanks! This is my first time adding sound-effects, so I am glad you like it <3

Submitted(+1)

The tracks fit together well, I really like the first one. I'd maybe make the ambient sounds a bit quieter, they're a bit overpowering for my taste. Nice work!

Developer

Yes, I'm glad you like them! :D
I agree that the ambient is a bit loud (especially for the Pirates) - my mother found it fitting, but I understand it is a bit overpowering. Thanks for your opinion, I appreciate it!

Submitted(+1)

The instrumentation is well selected, and the themes are sound. The style is cohesive, as well. 

One thing to maybe take a look at is that the first couple of tracks are populated with instruments that are suitable for nuance in softer dynamics, but the overpowering diegetic sounds of the rolling wave splashes make it seem like they're all getting their dynamics cranked to make up for it. I'd recommend dialing down the wave sound effects overall. If you are worried they would be too quiet or unnoticeable under different circumstances, you can introduce them before the instruments begin playing, and taper off their volume as instruments make their entrances; that way, the listener is more likely to remain aware of them as something felt more than heard. 

Perhaps the current volume was your intention, but either way, it's something worth experimenting with.

I enjoyed this!

Developer

Thanks for the elaborate explanation! I agree completely with your words too, this was the first time I tried adding background sounds. Thanks a lot <3

Submitted(+1)

Feel like cute songs for a cute game! Cool entry!

Developer

Thank you! :D

Submitted(+1)

Very pretty and soothing with the wave backdrop. I really like the Night theme, and the Pirates theme is very fun and whimsical, made me smile!

Developer

Thank you! I loved the wave backdrop as well, I will use backdrops like these more often. I'm glad you like them <3

Submitted(+1)

Good to hear what you made with the theme going on a rafting adventure ! I really liked the night theme, it gives the same feeling as the day theme but with comfort and calming atmosphere of the night! 

Great little funny game with it's well fitting soundtrack :) 

Developer

Thank you so much! I am glad you get the same 'feeling' with the different songs. Appreciate the love <3