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Jiggyicarus - Freedom Wings's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Quality | #62 | 3.500 | 3.500 |
| Composition | #67 | 3.536 | 3.536 |
| Impression | #68 | 3.571 | 3.571 |
| Overall | #75 | 3.414 | 3.414 |
| Correlation to theme | #84 | 3.286 | 3.286 |
| Creativity | #111 | 3.179 | 3.179 |
Ranked from 28 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
The track comes from a section of the fictional video game "Freedom Wings", in which the protagonist Katala (player) must regain her wings in order to escape her captors and the rulers of the dystopian planet Azore, Team Cynetic. The game features sections of intense 2d platforming into a side scrolling shooter akin to cuphead or resogun, but with a synthwave, dystopian vibe.
The track plays during the finale section (aking to Celeste's final section) and goes from atmospheric introductions to Katala's inital escape, before a gentler middle piano section plays during which you must navigate all kinds of hurdles and try to figure your way out of the Team Cynetic headquarters where you're being held. Finally the track explodes as Katala sees her wings and fights against all odds to save them.
Theme
How does it fit the theme?
The track fits the theme by having a sense of wanting to escape, as in, something is being restricted. The chord progression and running bassline help reinforce the idea that there is pressure to move, and we are reaching for something. In this case, Katala is reaching for her wings to grant her freedom.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://soundcloud.com/jiggyicarus/chasing-freedom
Genre
Soundtrack use permission
Any non-commercial project
For game jams only
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Comments
Really great synthwave vibes! The whole arrangement felt huge between the juicy chords and soaring lead melody, and that bassline was delicious. Plenty of dynamics to keep the entire song fresh the whole way through, and the final chorus felt climactic and satisfying. Amazing work!
Thanks for the comments Micerama! Appreciate that the arrangement and dynamics of everything came through so well for you!
Awesome! A really enjoyable listen that kept me interested from start to finish. Not to mention the vibes being killer & a mega head-bop.
Thanks Xurai! Glad you liked it and happy the vibes are there!
Ohh... synthwave vibration time!
I definitely liked the simultaneous ease of the melody, melodic instruments and bass! Little effects = love
P.S. Rawr!
thanks VannaDelta! glad you liked all those elements together in the track.
P.S. Rawr!
Really nice work! Loved the vibes, pacing was solid, and great sound choice! Bravo!
Thanks tmayato! Appreciate the kind comments!
This is giving me heavy Styx vibes! The main chord vamp is incredibly groovy--overall the piece is a head banger. I think some more 80s-esque percussion would be the cherry on top for a track like this. Great job!
Haha nice thanks Slaw! Thought about potentially having some more 80s esque percussion but worried it might fall too obviously into that genre but I definitely hear u, i love that sounds too! Glad it was a head banger for ya
Very cool texture you created, I can feel synthwave, dystopian vibe you set!
I love the sound design on this, there's a bunch of little sounds that are really fun to listen to, and help a lot rhythmically!
I also really liked the build up to the end, where it really feels like Katala succeeds in saving everyone!
Great work!
Ahh amazing thanks Saca! Glad you enjoyed listening!
Strong features:
Nailed that Celeste feel.
The mixing quality is fantastic. Every instrument has breathing space and the stereo component is executed nicely.
All these little sounds playing from time to time keep the track engaging, and I find them funky.
Great work with different energy levels, this is definitely your strong side.
It would actually work in a game, so great job!
Some suggestions though:
As it would be a platformer, this means that the song would be played over and over and over again, so I would work with the "loopabillity" a little bit more.
I find the drums a little bit jarring, especially the snare and the hi hat (it starts at 0:37 and never seems to stop, catching the attention of my left ear. Might be just me, but I would either find a bunch of different sfx to vary it a little bit or decrease its amount, so it would not demand that much attention)
I also find the synth (at approx. 1:37) a little bit too high. I would not be able to play through several hours of that.
But that would only be a thing if it was a game, as a singular composition, you did a fantastic job, I've had fun listening to your song.
Thanks for all the comments Nuageux! Appreciate that you enjoyed the mix and feel the Celeste vibe was there. In terms of your suggestions, I agree mostly for sure, the drums could do with a bit more variation in places (I had planned to low pass them at different points but didnt get time to work on specific sections as much as id like to. The synth I agree could do with a low pass overall just to tame it. It was interesting as I thought about going for a loop type track but I felt I wanted to illustrate more of a section by section aspect to the game with it and a loop just didnt feel like the right kind of thing for that, but I agree there would have to be changes if it were looped. Thanks so much for the feedback!
Cool track, nice vibes.
Oh and who drew the used picture?
Thanks very much trippy! The art is actually AI - I used Copilot to do it. Ideally if I knew any artists I'd love to get them involved (I'm terrible) but for now I had to settle with what I could do alone. Appreciate the good vibes!
Very cool track !
Transitions beetween sections are flawless, and the groove and quality of the mix is very good also.
I really like how track evolves as the escape becomes more intense, and you nailed the dystopian scifi ambience you were going for.
Great job !
Thanks Mekto! happy that the quality of the mix was good for you and the groove came through, its always a worry in tracks like these that that sense of groove and feel doesnt hit. Appreciate the comments!
I really like what've you done here! The groove you've set up with the various percussions and bass is especially nice! I saw someone mentioned disliking the piano's addition to chiptune, but I wanted to say I think it's a really great edition here, especially due to the specific timbre of the piano you chose (although I could be biased also, piano does happen to be my absolute favorite instrument). But overall very nicely done submission!
Awesome Toss glad you enjoy the piano addition, I actually started with the piano idea so it was always going to be in there as a main motif,i felt like it really had a sense of excited yet eerie anticipation which helped out the vibe. Thanks for the kind comments!
this is well-arranged, i love the way this piece continuously evolves to represent the various stages of the ending that you were envisioning for your videogame concept! i'd love for the piano to not be competing for space in the sections before the piano bridge; perhaps some panning might help it out? :0
i'm a sucker for synths, so this really captivates me in the way you prioritized synthetic instruments while also giving the chance for the piano to breathe. you did well making a track that is intense but gives a lot of breathing room for any intense sound effects of the game!
Thanks Sootbonnie! Appreciate you complimenting the arrangement, I struggled with it for a while until like 4 hours before it was due i realised how i wanted it to all come together. Yeah the piano was a struggle, I mentioned in previous comment i dont think the mix is perfect in any way as i ran out of time. I think panning may be useful but the bigger thing would be to put some dynamic eq, ideally i'd have liked to use trackspacer to carve out that space, but i hear u on that comment for sure. Glad you enjoyed!
getting a mix done well within 48 hrs takes a heck ton of experience that i've seen a few miraculously do — so, hey! means we know what to work on as we keep making stuff!! ^^
Yeah definitely, always space to learn and grow!
This is heat!
I like that there's a lot of different sections to keep the listeners attention and the chiptune parts are fantastic!
Thanks Jofes! I tried to create different sections to make it feel like a level flow so glad those sections are keeping you in!
Could really feel you captured the theme and the vibe you were going for. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Nicely done!
Thanks very much Solcat! Glad you enjoyed listening
There's some really nice sound design at play throughout this as a whole, and it is nestled so well into the mix. Some really nice lead lines and melodies throughout this, with quite a variety of patches to carry said lines. I'm a sucker for glitchy stuff, so those stutters and panned "rips" are sick - loosely reminds me of some of the elements you'd hear on the early Tekken soundtracks.
I like how the track borders into the 8/16 bit territory but then swings back around with some of the more traditional instruments like the keys. The building crescendo right up to the end is fantastic, and those outro patches for those chords is so deliciously 80s sounding. Great work, this was fun to listen to. Best of luck! :)
Thanks a lot Synlyfe! really glad you enjoyed the sound design and elements in the track, especially as my main concern was it not being a great mix! The funny part is those big outro chords are actually the doubled up leads just played polyphonically and it created this huge sound, crazy what just messing around can deliver sometimes haha. Thanks a bunch for the comments!
Nice job! I love the vibe. I'm only not sure about the intro and the piano sound, which takes me out from the chiptune world a bit. But after the intro when the bass came in I got hooked right away!
Thanks Wojtek! Glad you enjoyed the vibe a lot. I get you - for me, I like to have a strong mix of everything in my tracks so as not to get too into a specific sound (especially chiptune which i usually dont enjoy). I think partly the issue is with the mix, it's not the best and I think had i blended the piano in a bit more by taking out its low end and adding more space it may have fit better. But thanks for the comment, I'll think more next time about how i can make sure the world is cohesive!
I liked this a lot - the transition in pace and energy really let me visualize what the MC was doing to leave the planet. Very good job!
Thanks Starsickle! Glad that the journey of the character came across, appreciate it!