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A jam submission

Fallen Below the StarsView project page

Submitted by Twitchywhalez — 13 hours, 55 minutes before the deadline
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Fallen Below the Stars's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Impression#14.6074.607
Quality#24.6434.643
Overall#34.4794.479
Creativity#54.2864.286
Composition#74.5004.500
Correlation to theme#114.3574.357

Ranked from 28 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

Description
I composed these tracks in Logic Pro using libraries by Orchestral Tools, Cinesamples, and Spitfire Audio. I also tried to use real live instruments when possible, I recorded some live violin (wish I got more), a rainmaker, a guitar, and a recorder. For synthesizers I used Vital and Phase Plant. There are three boss themes, one downtime/"hub" area theme, and the last track is intended for the final cutscene when your wish is being granted.

When a star falls it signifies the rejection of a god from the halls of their realm. It is believed that the stars are in fact the gods themselves, and once fallen to Earth, they would grant any wish in hopes of being worshiped again. This is a great power that the gods managed to convince the people to think is just an old legend in order to prevent the possible upheaval of their rule and might. You play as a character who brought on the wrath of the gods by daring to see if the stories you've been told are true.


Track 1 - The Herald: Upon beginning your journey you are greeted by a tall figure wrapped in dark cloth that flowed in the wind as if it were water. They wore an ornate golden helmet which covered their eyes. When they spoke, your heard their voice in your head before they opened their mouth, it filled your body with its weight and clogged your senses. The voice was all you could feel. This was the messenger god. It was ordered to warn you about your journey and to kill you if if you refused to turn back. If the gods were willing to go so far as to show one of themselves to you, the legends were true. This journey was worth the world and you won't back down. Can you kill a god?

Track 2 - The Forest Spirits: You continue on your journey by sea. Your best option is to search as many islands as you can for signs of a fallen star. You come across an island covered in forest. While searching it you begin to see flickers of blue light in the corner of your eye. You have gone into forest spirit territory. They are fox-like in appearance but could almost be mistaken for human children. Forest spirits are adept at using magic to trick you. Luckily you've only come across two, but they work great as a team.

Track 3 - Seaside Respite: Before and after exploring an island, you like to take in the ocean atmosphere and relax. The waves calm you and provide you with peace during a time when the gods all want your head.

Track 4 - Gluttonous Miasma: You encounter a castle on the next island. Upon entering it you find yourself in your own house exactly as you left it after you went on your journey. You go to reach for the door handle but it turns to sand in your hands. The whole house begins to shudder and crumble away. You're now back in the castle in what appears to be a dining hall. The room begins to fill with an unknown mist. You can faintly see a hulking figure in the room. All you can do right now is blindly fight.

Track 5 - All You Can Wish For: You found the fallen star in a small house on a rocky island. They look younger and more delicate than you expected. They smile and welcome you in, offering you a seat next to the fireplace. They listen to the stories of your journey with great interest and except your request to be granted a wish. You could have everything, what do you wish for?

Theme:

Wish upon a star
Picture theme

How does it fit the theme?
The character is going on a seafaring journey from island to island in order to get his wish granted by a fallen star.

Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoZq5D0TNLrBYW5EhPS6pNF0QYgSP8zIv

Bandcamp: https://twitchywhalez.bandcamp.com/album/fallen-below-the-stars

Soundtrack use permission

Yes (CC BY-NC)

Any non-commercial project

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Comments

Viewing comments 20 to 1 of 23 · Previous page · First page
Submitted(+1)

Great work! I love the variety of atmospheres and moods, Seaside Respite was a particular favorite of mine, great job!

Developer

Thank you!

Submitted(+1)

A great and creative story. Love it!

The music up to "All You Can Wish For" is primal. It was kind of jarring (which works for the end of a game like that) - it felt like "All You Can Wish For" was more light.

Submitted(+1)

Holy crap you nailed this. The Herald is so damn hype for the story you're setting up. The harmony and textures work so well together I got goosebumps for days. I think my favorite is The Forest Spirits for that section that goes incredibly hard. And I can't not mention the ending solo piano song. Your playing is really beautiful. The whole soundtrack is evocative and fits your story. Nice job!

Developer

Thank you so much!

Submitted(+1)

Instrument use is top notch! Excellent stuff.


I loved the flow and vibe of your first track, and it's my favourite of the bunch. Really loved the dark-ish sounds layered across it while various instruments flowed in and out

Developer(+1)

Thank you!

Submitted(+1)

As soon as I started reading, listening to the Herald, I was totally immersed in the world you describe! Very powerful and cinematic music sustaining the story. Very good start! 

Good sound design here and there to support the whole thing help in that sense too. I liked The Forest spirits, there are some very good and pleasant composition ideas in it :) 

Beautiful chords in Seaside respite, calming after the encounter of the previous track. 

Gluttonous miasma had the same effect on me the beginning did. More powerful, immersion I guess, I want to read a book of yours with the music accompanying it! 

The last track was maybe too much different and I lost a bit of that perfect immersion, still is was a good ending reflecting the star theme. 

Overall I think you have really strong abilities in telling stories musically, it felt like a real trip! Be careful with overcharging track as said below, it wasn't that annoying, but I imagine listening to the same OST with more space and man, that would be a blast by reinforcing your strengths at setting a scene! 

Very good job and thank you for making me have this experience :) 

Submitted (1 edit) (+1)

Ugh I LOVE your work, it's so wonderful, I don't know how to describe it but its all just so 🌟💫💥
Even in the last jam I participated in your work blew me away
Wonderful job!!

Developer

Thank you so much!

Submitted(+1)

I cannot describe the level of emotions I was feeling when listening to your soundtrack, especially when the choir started coming in on Gluttonous Miasma, incredible!!! This is seriously like movie quality stuff and I agree with the comment below stating that you should be doing this for a living because you are insanely talented! There is no reason you should not be raking in the dough at this point my friend haha

Submitted(+1)

top notch production !!!!!! omg what a great soundtrack!!!

Developer

Thank you!

Submitted(+1)

The Herald was a lovely opening! I must know what library you used for the guitar. The cello melody got a bit buried by the other instruments when they all came in. I also felt like there was a lot happening all at once, but it was hard to discern the piano runs from the guitar and the strings-- it was all a bit muddled. Be careful with overloading your tracks!

The Forest Spirits is interesting-- the combination of organic, close-mic flutes and synth flutes was cool in the beginning.

Good use of wave sounds in Seaside Respite, though they did linger for a long time before the piano came in. Beautiful piano improvisation here, it was certainly soothing and reminiscent of the flowing waves.

Gluttonous Miasma had a really cool opening! All of these synth sounds are really epic and help to build the mood! Again, the cello melody here is hard to pick out amidst all the synths. Super innovative use of what I think was coughing sounds? There is a huge variety of timbres at play in all of these tracks, which I think keeps the drone-like harmonies from getting repetitive or feeling too slow.

All you could wish for had a really interesting quality to it! The fuzziness of the piano gave it a homey vibe which aligned with the idea of being in a small house with a star. The intense arpeggios were the only thing that didn't quite work for me in this piece: it was a little too intense for the mood the story implies.

In all, this soundtrack is very well-done--you have a knack for making epic, sweeping tracks, as well as wonderful keyboard skills. I applaud you for using real recordings too-- not an easy feat to make them sound this high-quality!

Developer

Thank you for your in-depth response! The guitars in The Herald were all recorded live by me, so no sample libraries there.

Looking back on it I probably should have used side chain compression to help bring out the cello in The Herald and Gluttonous Miasma to help reduce the frequency masking issues, that's a very valid point you bring up about it being hard to pick up.

As for All You Could Wish For, I always pictured that playing during a cutscene that shows the effects of the wish the player makes at the end of the game so the intense arpeggios made sense to me then, but I definitely should have made that much more clear in my description.

Thanks again for your feedback and response! It was very insightful

Submitted(+1)

My favorite OST yet ! So original and creative.

Developer(+1)

Thank you, I'm glad you like it!

Submitted(+1)

Ambience at its finest! You paint a strong, unique picture in each track, and exceptionally well finished. I love the little details. Bird voices in The Forest Spirits, the Waves in Seaside Respite. That one reminds me of Debussy, very beautiful. Gluttonous Miasma is both terrifying and captivating, that disturbing drone with the ethereal voices in the background.

It really shows that you know your way around a wide variety of tools. These tracks sound really professional. Any recommendation where I can learn more about improving quality and finish for orchestral tracks?

Developer

Thank you! A lot of learning how to improve comes from experience but Alex Moukala, Austin Wintory, Venus Theory, and Andrew Huang are some youtube channels that have helped me a lot. They aren't all orchestral but a lot of the things they talk about still apply.

Submitted(+1)

Thanks a lot for the pointers. Will definitely check these out!

Submitted(+1)

Goodness, these tracks...just incredible. They all feel so alive. They all tell a story. The instrument choices are fanstastic, and you can really tell when live recordings are used. Amazing work. If you aren't already doing this for a living, you definitely should be. I especially enjoyed the guitar pieces in the first two tracks. Thank you for this submission.

Developer

Wow, thank you! I don't currently do this for a living but that's certainly a goal of mine, thanks again for listening

Submitted(+1)

Fantastic work as always! The Forest Spirits is my favorite, love the rhythms and the woodwinds. 

Developer

Thank you! It was a lot of fun messing around with the woodwinds

Submitted(+1)

W O W

Submitted(+1)

Wow, the entire soundtrack made me imagine frame by frame of this game! Congratulations, loved it!

Developer

Thank you!

Submitted(+1)

Wow simply incredible, I absolutely love it. Favourite track is Gluttonous Miasma. Amazing!

Developer

Thank you! That was a fun track to work on

Submitted(+1)

Wow, this is so cool! Probably one of my favorites of your submissions! So much emotion and energy throughout! Great job!

Developer

Thank you! That means a lot :)

Submitted(+1)

Stunning, absolutely beautiful. It's a gorgeous soundtrack that I can imagine right at home in the world you described in your description. It paints such a gorgeous picture. Well done!!

Developer(+1)

Thank you so much!

Submitted(+1)

The organic sounds here sound absolutely incredible, and the dark, synthetic sounds used sparingly contrast beautifully. Truly a certified hood classic

Developer

Thank you good sir

Submitted(+1)

Awesome soundtrack! My favorite tracks are 2 and 3, the energy in them is so intense. Nice use of strings as well, adds an emotional edge to things.

Developer

Thank you!

Viewing comments 20 to 1 of 23 · Previous page · First page