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Where the Stars Touch the Water's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Impression | #8 | 4.196 | 4.333 |
| Quality | #8 | 4.454 | 4.600 |
| Composition | #9 | 4.454 | 4.600 |
| Overall | #13 | 4.092 | 4.227 |
| Correlation to theme | #49 | 3.873 | 4.000 |
| Creativity | #59 | 3.486 | 3.600 |
Ranked from 15 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
A cinematic soundtrack to an open world seafaring exploration game. I composed in logic, and mixed/mastered in pro-tools.
Message from the artist:
Please enjoy the music:)
Theme:
Wish upon a star
Picture theme
How does it fit the theme?
Follows a fictional story that is based on the prompts, and tonally conveys both themes.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://youtu.be/2llLozQWmow
Soundtrack use permission
No
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Comments
A fellow connoisseur of the dramatic intro stab, you love to see it lol. Are all of those strings VST's?? they sound way too realistic to not be but also the time constraints means that surely at least some of them are fake lol. Regardless, I think that your mixing here does a lot of the work in making the ones that (presumably) aren't real sound real. The mix here is both balanced and super dynamic, and even in the sections with huge layered instruments everything feels like it has a physical position that it slots into to contribute to the larger whole. Your songs here are varied yet cohesive, which I am a big fan of, and your compositions are dynamic and driving, in a way that I feel like a lot of indie orchestral compositions lack. great work overall!
all my instruments were VST’s! I can send a list of which kontakt libraries I’m using if you’re interested👍
Damn dude! The relaxing intro is the perfect setup for the awesome energetic song that starts at 2:12. This whole soundtrack is really beautiful. The part that grabs me the most are your melodies. They're full of whimsy and emotion at the same time. It's a nice balance to the ambient pieces that are less melodic and more immersive. I hope you keep making music like this :)
I love that smooth intro with the cello, then the ascending fifths in Gates of Desire, very cool. Seafaring has an instant nautical vibe with these percussive elements, very effective swells in there, too. Troubled Waters is creepy and menacing with the short string vamp in the background and the deep notes. Great buildup, like a storm or something worse is approaching. Where the Stars touch the Water: Probably the most cinematic track of all. How very nice to hear the intro theme again here (the fact that I recognized it again means it is a catchy theme!), wraps it up nicely.
This is awesome work for a week, very professional quality. Thanks for sharing!
Wow the audio quality you came up with blew my mind!! Having trying a bit of orchestration myself with newly acquired Spitfire BBC orchestra plugin, I felt embarrassed with my sounding haha. Honestly it must have been taking strong mixing/Mastering skills, amazing!
So this helped me going through your audio story effortlessly, you do have great compositions going in this superb Ost and I felt like watching a sensational movie all along ! Thank you for this amazing job :)
Under a Blanket of Stars: This is so spacey right from the start. The vibraphone sounds so distant yet also feels close at the same time. The strings feel so serene when they enter. I really like the motif you use. 5 -> 1 as your opening interval gives so much context in itself since it is a warm interval, but also has so much space. The choice to move down the fifth also feels like a falling star. Such great melodic writing!
The Gates of Desire: Walking up the fifths is another great way to evoke the spacey feel. I also really like your separation of the high register violins and viola with the mallet from the low rumbly bass drum. Again this gives a sense of distance but this time in an acoustic sense.
Seafaring: I absolutely love this track. The cello you use sounds so real and I love the interplay with the french horn. Both of these instruments feel so warm to me. The string swells mimic the sea and make this a perfect sea exploration theme. This is my favorite of your tracks!
Troubled Waters: This is great musical story-telling in that you brought back the melody of the previous track, but made it minor, indicating that we are still on the water, but something is not right. The build up in the song gives a sense of danger, but not necessarily one of imminency. One of my favorite parts of this track is the opening metallic sound- was that some sort of cymbal or a string instrument or a combination?
Where the Stars Touch the Water: The ambience at the beginning of this piece finds a great balance between sky and sea in the picture it paints in my mind. I love the return of the main theme in the distant bells. This song works really well as a summary/concluding piece as you incorporate elements from the entire soundtrack. I love that it ends with a peaceful ending. Even though you didn’t write any text story, your musical story-telling is so refined that it was like I was watching the story as I was listening and the emotions were palpable. Fantastic work, and thank you so much for sharing!
I'm really happy you enjoyed listening. Your submissions are always fantastic! Means a lot:) Thank you for listening!
I remember your 'Observatory' from the Town Music Jam #1. I loved that song as well (and the criticism I had then no longer held after I listened to it for a while and imagined a game with it)! But this, I could not have imagined :O
'Seafaring' just starts off beautifully, as an adventure! Unlike my boring same-structure songs, this song feels like a journey, constantly moving. And on top of that, it is beautiful!
I wished the 'Gates of Desire' was longer, as it has practically ended at 0:32 already! It has so much potential (but I do agree it must have already been tough making 5 songs in a reasonably short time).
'Under a blanket of stars' holds a special meaning for me, as I made a night-theme of my own. The first note already enchanted me. Though some of the 'false' piano chords 0:26 and 0:28 weren't my cup of tea (but might have given you goosebumps, who knows :), the orchestration that followed blew my expectations and myself away.
'Where the stars touch the water' is just beautiful, what more can I say... Damn, these songs should be in a movie or something, not in a game!
Normally, I would say I am glad you kept your songs short, but this time I just want more! Great job!
Thank you for both the compliments and the criticism! Although I'm not 100% sure what you mean by the "false" piano chords, I still appreciate the honest criticism!:) You'll have to elaborate what you mean. Thanks for listening!
Ah yes, maybe 'false' is a bit extreme. I don't know whether they are sus-chords, or add-2, add-4 or some other chords, but I am reasonably simple when it comes to sounds and often find such chords a bit off, e.g. a chord like C-D-F sounds false to me because of the C-D. I suggest you use chords like those for the piano, and that is fine (keep doing it!) but it just isn't my cup of tea :)
Not so much criticism as personal preference, but I thought I'd elaborate!
This was absolutely lovely, I enjoyed every second of it! That extended Cmaj chord at the beginning of "The Gates of Desire" is so beautiful, the excitement of the journey in "Seafaring", followed by the ominous chords in "Troubled waters", everything has been though off carefully and you can sense it in the listening experience. Amazing job, will be listening to this again!
Very nice orchestral work! It brings a lot of feeling in the first track with the big swells. The second track really begins to set up for something epic about to coming in the story, then seafaring delivers with excitement and an upbeat tune. Trouble waters brings a nice obstacle to overcome, and where the stars touch the water is a beautiful conclusion. Amazing work and really good story telling through music!
Twitchy said it, gorgeous! You have a knack for delivering emotion. Love the cello that just hops in there in the first track, carrying you along with it. Your music is very warm, and gives off a great sense of wonder.
Very well done I'd say, makes me think of a game like Journey, where the atmosphere is half the enjoyment. :) Now we just need some beautiful art and relaxing gameplay, and we have a nice memorable experience at our hands.
That's a huge compliment! I love Journey. thanks:)
Great job! I like the way your tracks reflected the story you created for your game. Nice!
This is gorgeous! The build up in the first minute almost made me fall out of my seat
I was already hooked from reading the first three words of your description. *proceeds to stand up and clap* A wonderful submission, especially in terms of music quality!
thank you!:)