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A jam submission

Beneath The SurfaceView project page

An ethereal videogame soundtrack
Submitted by nishathegamergirl — 24 minutes, 57 seconds before the deadline
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Beneath The Surface's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Correlation to theme#3743.3273.625
Impression#5232.8683.125
Overall#5312.9713.237
Quality#5422.8683.125
Creativity#5422.9823.250
Composition#5482.8103.063

Ranked from 16 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

Description
Electronic, Ambient, Orchestral

Game Title: "Beneath The Surface"

Beneath The Surface is a retro throwback to classics like Ecco the Dolphin and E.V.O: Search for Eden. The game is a 2D platformer/"swimmer" - think underwater levels from DK but less frustrating and more relaxing. In this game, you play as a young girl who has been submerged to the bottom of the ocean, where she is saved by a group of marine creatures. She must navigate this new world, making friends and defeating enemies such as oil spills, poachers and plastic waste. It will be a calming, slightly challenging experience focused on creating a "vibe" more than traditional aspects of gameplay. Make no mistake though, it will be a blast to play!

Track 1 - Goodbye Surface: This represents the bittersweet beginning portion of the game, where the protagonist first starts exploring the ocean after being granted the power of underwater breathing by the dolphin queen

Track 2 - Oyster Party: A slightly whimsical, relaxing tune as a backdrop for a lighter portion of the game, where the protagonist makes friends with a silly group of oysters

Track 3 - Gentle Currents: An uplifting, inspiring track to set the stage as our protagonist prepares herself for a long journey (possibly right before a boss scene, but our players don't know that!)

Track 4 - New Beginnings: After suffering a devastating defeat, our protagonist heals in a safe zone, protected by the merpeople as she gathers the broken pieces of herself and starts to see hope again

Track 5 - Whole Wide World: This track will be the exploration theme for the 1st world in the game - bright, inquisitive and bubbly

Message from the artist
We hope you enjoy this soundtrack - we have taken inspiration from a whole bunch of places - 90s ambient music, indie darlings like Celeste, retro classics like Ecco the Dolphin and melodic animation movie soundtracks! Thanks for listening and vote for us if it spoke to you - we appreciate the love <3

Theme

Inside my world
Picture theme

How does it fit the theme?
The soundtrack attempts to create a lush, underwater feel, putting the player inside a whole new world. The airy pads, synthetic bubbly textures, ethereal synths, forlorn leads and orchestral melodies weave a tapestry of wonder, solitude and a slight sense of longing, which are all themes we interpreted from the image.

Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://soundcloud.com/nisha-phatak/sets/beneath-the-surface-ost?si=58063cf3f29d4938bd55b247b7c7f299&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Number of tracks
5

Genre

Orchestral
Electronic
Ambient

Soundtrack use permission

Yes (CC BY-NC)

Any non-commercial project

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Comments

Submitted

Oyster party was my favorite one because of the fun sliding synths! They were super neat!

Submitted

LOVELY SOUNDTRACK ♥ LOVELY ART

Really nice sound design in your music. I wonder what kind of synth you went for.

Gentle Currents my favorite!!

Great work!

Submitted(+1)

You completely nailed the watery theme for me, and reminded me a lot of of older n64 platformers with water levels, like donkey kong! Watch the overall volume of the tracks, as despite being my undisputable favourite gentle currents was a chunk quieter then everything else, and i had to adjust my volume a lot to compensate, but this is a minor complaint, and doesnt change my ranking much. Also watch out for those really high rings in new beginnings, I think they have too much reverb on them so its a high pitched ring that does stand out a lot, and could be blended into the sound better. Still, excellent job!

Developer(+1)

Thanks so much for the detailed feedback and constructive criticism! We really appreciate you taking the time to enjoy and analyze our creation. We'll be sure to keep those high rings in check! <3

Submitted(+1)

this is really nice! definitely feels watery and fantastical!

Developer

thank you so much! means a lot <3

Submitted(+1)

You have no idea how much you've captured me with the blend of those "floating" but rhythmic atmospheres and the alien theremin-like sounds; they tickle my brain in the right spots! The only "flaw" (which really isn't) is that it's too short for me, I'd really like to hear more.

But don't worry, the full point score is all yours!

Developer (1 edit) (+1)

thank you so much for listening, we are so glad you enjoyed ! nothing makes us happier than delivering good vibes thanks for catching them <3

Submitted(+1)

Choice of voicings and patches in the first two tracks has me vibing so much - feels like a throwback to the 00s era of games. 

Gentle Currents feels like a departure from those two but is very welcome - thoughtful arrangement and a great progression to boot. I love how it slowly but surely builds but never quite has an explosive climax - it crescendos into a steady pulse and then slowly strips itself away as the track ends.

Could very easily imagine these in a lot of different games from that era, truth be told. Groovy when it needs to be, pensive and thoughtful during the rests. Great work!

Developer(+1)

This is such detailed feedback thank you! We are so happy that you had a good time, it's our pleasure to deliver the vibes and the nostalgia <3

Submitted(+1)

Gentle Currents is a banger! The open texture in the middle is quite soothing and I like the additions at the end to keep it fresh. The sound design throughout is really atmospheric and was an enjoyable listen. Thank you for the entry!

Developer

thank you so much, we really appreciate you taking a listen! <3

Submitted(+1)

The bubbly texture in the first track is neat and "Gentle Currents" is very dreamy. While "Whole Wide World" sounds like an early Internet Anthem haha. Making all the songs loopable's a nice touch as well.  Overall a solid entry that fits the theme well!

Developer(+1)

thank you so much for listening and saying these kind words! we really appreciate it <