Play soundtrack
Home is Away's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Correlation to theme | #422 | 3.227 | 3.412 |
| Creativity | #523 | 3.005 | 3.176 |
| Overall | #581 | 2.749 | 2.906 |
| Quality | #584 | 2.671 | 2.824 |
| Impression | #605 | 2.504 | 2.647 |
| Composition | #620 | 2.337 | 2.471 |
Ranked from 17 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
The theme was based off a beautiful image by the wonderful @kawakaar._ and the phrase "inside my world" that, I admit, left me stumped when it was finally announced. After much pacing and consideration, the watery world surrounding the girl reminded me of constantly day dreaming about Pokemon when I was little so I ran with that and hoped to make it sound as dreamy and underwater-y as possible. I conceptualized the fictional game the soundtrack would be for as a mix between Pokemon and the turn-based Final Fantasy games, where different creatures and the main character would all be fighting alongside each other. The game would also use the protagonist going outside to play or having a day at school as the framing device which their imaged world lies on top of.
1. Home is Away - This track was made to be the title and main menu theme. "Home is Away" is also the name of the fictional game I made this for! Most melodic motifs used in the other two tracks originate from here and it's the first track I made for the project. I pulled some Legend of Zelda influence into this, since Twilight Princess has been on my mind since the last Jam I participated in, which I don't see as a bad thing because who doesn't love Koji Kondo?
2. Away is Free - This was designed to an overworld theme which, as a starting point, seems a bit insurmountable, but becomes rather fun once you have something going. I made this one in 3/4 because waltzes just have a constant motion to them that I thought fit the function of the song very well. Probably not the most waltzy waltz in the world, but it marches along just as I hoped it would.
3. Free is Fleeting - Cutting through the peace of the overworld theme in double time, this track is our battle theme. I wanted the track to be fast-paced as I imagined the player of this game breezing through menus and characters taking action rather quickly. I think I did a good job balancing the glockenspiel with the chugging guitars and bass, which makes me glad cause maintaining the "dreamy" feel with heavy distortion is quite a challenge. Nothing some decent mixing can't solve. The second half of the track is meant to be a low health version, the same way Pokemon battle themes will change up when your lovely little monster hits red health. Only for mine, I treated it as a half-time break down and I wanted to encourage the (imagined) player to slow down a bit and focus. This is all done alongside some added dissonance in the sound design so it hopefully still feels rather tense.
Again, I was so glad to participate in this. Watching the number of entrants increase in the time leading up to it's start was simultaneously nerve-wracking and thrilling. I'm also so glad to be presenting this music to so many composers whose work I'm familiar with and have so much respect for. I'm excited for feedback from those who I frankly consider to be experts in musical atmosphere. For the last time, thank you to Lone Rabbit. I can't wait for the next one.
Theme
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://soundcloud.com/connor-riley-97316006/sets
Number of tracks3
Genre
Soundtrack use permission
Any project
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Comments
AAAAA CREEPY OCTOPUS ON COVER ART AAAAA!!11!
Home Is Away - Cute, melancholic and underwater...
Away Is Free - So... it's still cute, but now we've added drums that seem to say, "Hey, I'm actually cool here!"
Free Is Fleeting - It sounds cool... but the volume was a little harsh at some points, heh)
Anyway, it's an interesting experiment! I liked it! Thanks)
Some neat percussion work. I think I can learn from you as I am not very comfortable with drums. Free is Fleeting was my favorite. Very powerful!
I like a lot of your conceptual ideas, but not so much the way they´re executed. The constant beat of the drums in the second track, for example, doesn´t really feel like it supports the instruments very well. It feels less like a band playing together than a beat and an instrumental section happening simultaneously, if that makes sense. The contrast between the brighter, happier textures and the harsh guitar in the third track is very cool and reminds me early to mid 2000s alternative metal.
I like the combination of the glockenspiel and the distorted guitars, those two instruments are usually used for two completely different tones/moods, but I think that conflict works well here. I also liked that you used different sounds from different styles of rock throughout. The electric guitar sound used in Home is Away fit the image theme really well.
The conflicting instrument choices didn't work as well for me on Away is free. the pitched instruments were very chillI but the drums were so energetic that it felt like the piece was missing something. Maybe replace the rock drums with a softer kick, closed hi hats, and snare rim clicks. I know this is a tiny nitpick, but I think the master volume of Free is Fleeting needed to be turned down a liiiiiitle bit to match the volume of the other two tracks.
Overall, good stuff! Thank you for sharing!
The titling of your tracks is really clever!
I think the last track got a bit grating on the ears after a bit with the distortion but in general it was a good entry!
Unfortunately I didn't enjoy the last track, I thought the bell melody was kind of awkward and the sound choices didn't really work for me
The first two tracks were greatly enjoyable though! Very cute and somewhat timid sounding in a charming way
Cracking tracks - loved the energy of them all, especially the last one. The contrast between the crunchy guitars and high pitched bells was very nice.
Excellent music - well done!
I like the guitar and bass playing on that third track a lot, it gives the battle theme a lot of energy. I think my favourite track here is the second track, it has a really nice mix of effects that definitely has an underwatery kind of vibe. Good work!
Clever progression of titles! And for what it is worth, I agree with you regarding the ever-growing entrant list. I figured there'd be approximately 1k submissions by the time it wrapped so I was a little surprised to see it hovering in the 600s but it makes sense given that some people likely weren't able to finish on time and there are groups of people submitting just a single entry.
This was a fun mix of tracks, I wasn't sure where the rock/metal influence was coming from until I heard Free is Fleeting. Definitely seems like a comfort genre, I think. Comes together pretty well and flows. Some of the synth/vibraphone(?) voicings are maybe a tad too much on the trebbly end but for a jam I can't really find any fault in that. Good work, and congrats on getting a submission in! Best of luck.