Play soundtrack
not on my time's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Creativity | #113 | 3.244 | 3.333 |
| Quality | #147 | 2.541 | 2.611 |
| Correlation to theme | #148 | 2.541 | 2.611 |
| Overall | #151 | 2.650 | 2.722 |
| Composition | #152 | 2.325 | 2.389 |
| Impression | #152 | 2.596 | 2.667 |
Ranked from 18 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
When I was producing these tracks, I tried to evoke the feeling of running out of time, but also coming to accept it. I was envisioning a game with a relaxed pace, but with timed puzzles or something to add slight pressure to the gameplay. These are meant to be representative samples of an interactive soundtrack where different musical sections come in based on player input.
The first track, "quartz royale," carries more anxiety and desperation, but never quite reaches a climax. This might fit during early gameplay where sudden changes that affect the player are introduced. The title track, "not on my time," is still tense, but also loose, maybe even a little playful, as if to say that time is now something we control rather than having it control us. This would accompany a more chill section later in the game when the player has some mastery over the mechanics.
Made with LMMS.
Message from the artist:
Thank you for your TIME, friends! ⏳
Theme:
How does it fit the theme?
It's hard to explain, but I tried to give a sense of the feelings I had seeing the theme image and combine that with the concept of having to face a time limit ("Tick Tock..."). The image gave off cozy, retro game vibes, so I tried to be fairly minimalist but not too obviously retro with the soundtrack. I also wanted to capture a change in one's relationship with time, starting out being nervous and challenged by it, to then overcoming the anxiety and getting into a flow state.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://soundcloud.com/nucron/sets/not-on-my-time
Soundtrack use permission
For game jams only
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Comments
Quartz Royale: There is an intensity to this song that gets my heart pumping. I like the idea of having the base track play and then having adaptive elements added on top of that to create the full track depending on the player’s choices in the game. This would be a cool track to build up to.
Not On My Time: The drums are really cool and give a strong foundation for the track. The tonal elements of this track have a sound reminiscent of Electroplankton which has a very calm vibe to it which would be a good fit for accompanying solving puzzles. Good job and thank you for sharing!
Thank you for your detailed thoughts on both tracks! It's cool you think this would work well for a puzzle game and that my idea for an interactive/adaptive soundtrack made sense.
I just checked out some gameplay footage of Electroplankton and wow! How had I not heard of this before!? Very cool game and it's an honor to have my work compared to it. Also, I read a little of the game's Wikipedia page and this part stood out to me: "Nintendo president Satoru Iwata explained that the unusual reason why director Toshio Iwai's name appears directly on the game's packaging is because he alone had created it." -- hmm, quite interesting for a DS game! As someone who likes reading about game development and experimental music and art, I'll definitely be looking up more info on Iwai and his work!
Thanks again for your review!
Nicely done! I love the surreal feeling to these tracks; It sounds great and it was a really creative choice for your entry.
Thank you! I'm still learning and experimenting when it comes to making music, but it's encouraging to know certain feelings are coming through to the listener!
"not on my time" has interesting percussive elements and is a cool atmospheric piece. But "quartz royale" took the spotlight for me. Interesting sound design and the song evolves in an entertaining way. I thought of Tempest 2000 but chill for some reason.
Also, the cover was legit very cool. The idea of a pastel-colored, low-res, puzzle game about time would be nice.
Hey, glad you enjoyed it! And thank you for mentioning the Tempest 2000 soundtrack -- I was not familiar, but listened to some of it just now and there's some banger tracks in there! Definitely a cool piece of techno music history!
Also, what you said about the cover art made me think it might indeed be interesting to work backwards by starting with music and a cover and *then* making the game 💡
I like the sort of pseudo-retro vibe you went for with this! I also like how the progression of the track mimics that of the story.
Pseudo-retro is a great way to describe what I was trying to do! Thank you so much!
good sounds especially Royal
It's interesting to learn which track people liked more! Thanks for listening!
I think the tracks do a good job evoking anxiety, so good work reaching that goal. I'm not sure I got the feeling of overcoming it and getting into a flow state though. I think there might be some clipping unless that's an intended effect. Thanks for making and sharing!
Hey, I appreciate the feedback! I agree, what I was trying to do is perhaps a bit tricky to convey musically, and I probably didn't quite hit the mark. Also, I did clip a bit intentionally to get a strained strained lo-fi-ish sound, but I might have went overboard in places. 😂