This is the best comment I have received on anything I have made, EVER.
The fact that you noticed all the effort we put into everything makes me so happy, and I really appreciate this comment. 'The Decayed.' was a track that I took the lead on - and it is super different from the stuff I usually make, so I am stoked to see how much people have been enjoying it.
Massive thank you for this comment. You made my day when I first seen this comment :)
Big shoutout to my good friend and collaborator on this submission - fearoffever. He is the one that came up with the idea for the cover and put it together. He also did majority of the work on the two tracks you noted as your favourites!
That means a TON to us! Nailing the theme was something I struggled with a bit in the last OST Comp Jam, so I really wanted to make sure that this time we had a super compeling idea that we could attach a lot of varying music styles to.
I am absolutely stoked with what we came up with, and even happier that folks like you have taken notice and are enjoying it :) Thanks for listening!
Glad you enjoyed it! We had a ton of fun making it :)
I had never heard of Dorian Concept until you commented this, and I have now been listening to them for the last couple days - and I am really liking their work! Fantastic recommendation, thanks for sharing them with me.
Appreciate you taking the time to tell us what you think!
This submission is insane. Loved the range of emotion throughout the project, and the production is great. 10/10. 'Drowning In Deep Waters' is so hard.
Your take on the theme was super clever - I really admire that!
I would love to have heard a bit more range of intensity, especially in tracks like 'The Ambush' and 'The Fight'. You could easily achieve this by adding more low end to your tracks, making certain things hit (and more importantly) feel harder and more intense.
My favourite track of the bunch was definitely 'The Fire Slowly Dying'. It progressed so beautifully, and had a great amount of variety. Loved the somber tone of it!
I also really appreciate you uploading your entire soundtrack in one video! It made it a bit easier to rate and it was super cool to see how you were able to seamlessly connect them. Really helped with the story telling element of the submission as well!
The fact that this OST was made on a phone is crazy to me, I can't imagine how much harder that made completing this submission. Really enjoyed the instrument selection in 'Memorial Day Sights'. Loved the usage of the leitmotif as well!
The range of tone in this project is awesome. From relaxing piano based pieces, uptempo happy grooves, and the incredible eeriee soundscapes, you nailed the storytelling. Loved the bleedthrough of the more haunting vibes into the end of 'The Promise'. 'The Summer Night' was awesome and the vibe switch was unexpected, but very welcomed. Switching to the more somber, mellow feeling of track 9 after the intensity of track 8 was a great touch.
As others have already stated, I do also wish some of the mixing was a bit better. But I hate to critique mixing, as it can be a very tedious task.
My biggest piece of advice for the next jam would be to try and dial back the quantity of tracks for your submission so you can nail the quality of tracks a bit better. Would have loved to see a bit more variety in the groovier aspects of the project, as the repetition of some of the sections can get a bit stale.
Sick submission overall, loved the concept. Keep it up!
Diving into the idea of doing music for a party style game is super creative. I really enjoyed the use of the 8 bit style, and your composition lends very well to the nostalgic sound. My biggest critique would be on the mixing of the tracks as a whole. Retro/8 bit sounds tend to be incredibly noisy and harsh, and at times particular sounds are a bit overwhelming in the mix - drowning out other important elements.
My favourites of the bunch are 'Cracklings' echoes' and 'Twisted Hide and seek'.
I really enjoyed the range of energy across the board. The slower, more "emotional tracks" reminded me a lot of older pokemon pieces, and the higher energy stuff was incredibly well done. I also loved the presence of the piano throughout the whole project. Well done!
I think you nailed the "watery" soundscape that you were going for in this soundtrack overall.
I wasn't the biggest fan of the addition of the drums in "Waterways". It's such a sick ambient piece, and the drums felt a bit out of place and unnecessary.
"Swimming Upstream was a very interesting track. It branches off from the overall tone of the soundtrack a bit more drastically than any of the others do, but still remains cohesive. I do wish the melodic elements were made more of a focus than the low panning noise layer - but I can see what you were going for.
"Sunken Castle" is by far the best track of this entry. Every element fits, the transitions are smooth (when the drums cut and the bass comes in, and then the drums come back - DAMN). Sound choice in this track was incredible as well.
"Plummet" is 50/50 for me. I enjoy the sound choices in this track. The addition of some more distorted sounds was great, and added a unique character to this track. The drums in this one I feel could use some work. The level of them works well in the chorus, but in the intro the are quite loud and don't feel placed in the mix well. Adding some little fills to the drum loop in the chorus would have been great too, as they get a bit stale.
Overall this entry is great. I enjoyed the cohesion of the "watery" soundscape throughout the whole thing and the sound choices were wonderful.
Solid amount of diversity in these tracks - I applaud that.
I really enjoyed your drum work, fun grooves that really helped the overall progression of the tracks. Would love to see you lean more into that! The vocal lead patch in "Frog King" is awesome (especially the little break at 0:38).
Keep up the good work dude, hope to hear your submission in the next OST jam! :)
I really enjoyed the blend between the acoustic and electronic elements of these tracks. I especially liked the turnaround in "The Earth Can't Hold Me" around the halfway mark where everything opens up and the guitar is added.
A wonderful ambient take on the theme - Well done!
I can totally see that. Was on a bit of a time crunch for these tracks as I am on vacation, but I’ll definitely try to vary my compositions more going forward. I really appreciate the feedback!
I really appreciate this, thanks so much! :) if you have Serum message me on discord (m_rph, I’m also in the OST jam server) and I’ll send you the preset pack with all these sounds and more when I get back from vacation!
Appreciate the kind words! Message me on discord (m_rph, I’m also in the OST jam server). I have a Serum preset pack I made a couple years back inspired by Hyper Light Drifter. I’ll send it to you when I get back from vacation :)
