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The Sorcerer's Isle's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Correlation to theme | #40 | 3.941 | 3.941 |
| Composition | #43 | 3.765 | 3.765 |
| Impression | #44 | 3.588 | 3.588 |
| Overall | #55 | 3.541 | 3.541 |
| Creativity | #76 | 3.235 | 3.235 |
| Quality | #81 | 3.176 | 3.176 |
Ranked from 17 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
The soundtrack was composed for a Zelda-like game. The orchestration is minimal and classical: a violin, a cello, a piano (and a viola, very briefly). The tracks were composed in Studio One, using VSTs.
Theme:
How does it fit the theme?
The soundtrack portrays the life of a fishing village before and after a disastrous event occurs. The theme inspired the overall setting, with the first track directly depicting the theme, and the rest drawing from this setting.
The first track depicts a peaceful night at sea, a trio sung by the sea, the stars, and the moon. The second one is a short theme portraying the atmosphere of a fishing village before ensuing events change the lives of the inhabitants. The third track represents the villager's fear as a mysterious island emerging from the fog off the coast where there used to be nothing but the sea. The last track depicts an unnatural storm raised by the sorcerer inhabiting the island.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://soundcloud.com/utherpenpusher/sets/the-sorcerers-isle-ost
Soundtrack use permission
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Comments
Really cool minimal aesthetic! My favorite track was The Island in the Fog
Really love how you only used a few instruments, and yet were able to keep it unique in each track, with how they played out. Super cool orchestral tracks!
The Sea, the Moon, the Stars: I was trying to figure out which instrument represented which character: I think the piano is the sea underlying the moon (cello) and stars (violin) as they dance overhead in the sky together. Was that what was intended? I really like the B section you wrote- it pairs veery nicely with your main theme.
The Fishing Village: The viola (violin?) is produced very well and sounds great as a solo! This fun melody conveys the joyful nature of the village while also allowing space (exemplified between the piano left hand) that may represent the happy waiting that makes up a bulk of the activity of fishing. This is a short theme, but I think it’s very well-written!
The Island in the Fog: The quiet strings are quite ominous over the sustained piano. The comparison and transition from the previous track to this one is my favorite part of your soundtrack because of the stark shift in emotion and the clear musical description of the story.
The Gathering Storm: It’s impressive how you are able to create quite a large sound with only 4 instruments. I think you weave them all together very well to create the feel of a storm that feels destructive, but also carries a feeling of melancholy possibly for the despair that follows in its wake. It would have been nice to hear some sort of resolution, but I really like what you have completed here! Great work overall and thank you for sharing!
Very sad intro. I shed a tear. :') Great use of that violin to evoke a nostalgic feel throughout. Island and the Fog was my favorite. I love that deep piano. Calm and both menacing. Nice work!
Thank you!
Nice work! Great to hear how you could fit the music only using mostly piano trio into video game music while accompanying the evolving story. My favorite is the 3rd track, thank you for sharing!
Thank you!
I loved this submission! First track has a really cinematic feeling, I definitely imagine it in a game or rather in a romantic, emotional movie. The island of the Fog has a great harmonic display and voicings, and overall all the tracks are great. Congrats!
Thank you!
The cool I-iv right off the bat! Really works magic for this theme. First track was definitely my favorite, so beautiful. Great work!
Thanks!
I loved it! Especially the first piece has such a lovely melody. Good job man.
Thanks!
Great work! I can hear the Zelda inspiration in your tracks. You made some nice melodies. Good job!
Thanks!
I love how you used a few simple and mellow instruments, strings and piano to me is always the best classical combo! I love the first track the best I think, it’s so tranquil but also carries a sense of melancholy, sort of like it’s foreshadowing the events to come. Love how you phrased it as being “a trio sung by the sea, the stars, and the moon,” that kind of personification is something I really enjoy hearing in music.
Ah, as I was typing this, “The Island in the Fog” started to play and that one is now also my favorite! I love the mysterious piano :)
The last track, I love when the other strings join around 30 seconds in, but I feel like it could feel more climactic if something about the track had gotten louder at that part too. I’m no expert in mixing/mastering so I don’t know if that would’ve been like, raising the volume of certain instruments, or just adding a louder sounding one. I had to turn my volume up just for those parts to get the full effect. Still a wonderful track though, nice composition!
Overall, really great work!
Thanks for the feedback!
I was really struggling with mixing that last one, for some reason it just wouldn't come together the way I imagined it.
That’s okay, I’ve been there before! (During this jam, actually 😭)
Thank you! I'm useless at mixing, it's a dark art to me. :D Also, I'm working on cheap Sennheisers, so that doesn't help at all.
I like how minimalistic the orchestration is! The first track is my favorite and fits the theme very well. In The Finishing Village, I feel like the leading instrument's articulation is a bit too forceful, so to day, particularly on headphones; it would probably benefit from a bit of extra mixing work. Tracks 3 and 4 fit their titles and intended purposes very well. A solid entry!
Thanks!
Wow, great job! Really wonderful minimalist OST, with just a few instruments that really pack a punch. The writing is great, the mix is well done, and it could easily be in a video game!
Thanks a lot! :D