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minute's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Creativity | #45 | 3.778 | 3.778 |
| Correlation to theme | #58 | 3.667 | 3.667 |
| Overall | #78 | 3.511 | 3.511 |
| Composition | #82 | 3.481 | 3.481 |
| Impression | #92 | 3.333 | 3.333 |
| Quality | #105 | 3.296 | 3.296 |
Ranked from 27 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
'minute' is a maze/puzzle game soundtrack that was made using a really old version of Adobe Audition, drum sampling software, and real instruments (guitar, bass, keyboards) that were played and recorded live.
Description of tracks:
1. Your Time Starts Now
This short track sets the tone for the game, and carries sense of urgency as well as danger being present. It plays as the player is told that they need to navigate the mazes before completing the puzzle in the centre in order to escape.
2. Minute Details
This track accompanies the first number of mazes which are adorned with intricate golden cogs and wheels that represent the inner mechanisms of a clock, with the mazes becoming progressively more confounding with every advancement made. The player will get a sense that the world they are have come to inhabit is incredibly large relative to their own size.
3. Second Chance
When the player reaches the end of the first series of mazes, their progress is blocked and they are taken to lower level of mazes which carry a darker tone and are clearly more of a threat with dangerous obstacles and dead ends.
4. The Watchtower
After overcoming the first two levels of mazes, the player arrives at the centrepiece of the maze – a looming tower that is known as the ‘Watchtower’. The player must complete a puzzle with a number of linked mazes situated on the outer wall of the tower, while the Clockwork Guards regularly patrol and must be avoided by the player.
5. Out of Time
After completing the Watchtower puzzle, the player must navigate one last maze – this time with a time limit of one minute that ticks down - in order to finally escape the clock maze.
Message from the artist:
Thank you for checking out my soundtrack - please leave whatever feedback you like (I would love to hear your thoughts, likes/dislikes) and rate it!
Theme:
How does it fit the theme?
The game makes use of time as a key component of gameplay (timed puzzles/mazes) as well as making use of the time motif by having the actual mazes made from the inner mechanisms of a clock. Additionally, the centre of the maze and final level - the 'Watchtower' - further draws on the theme of passing time.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://soundcloud.com/driveelizabeth/sets/minute
Soundtrack use permission
Any non-commercial project
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Comments
Intriguing mix of live recorded instruments and samples and synths. This felt original and unique, I started to li'e it more towards the end of the Ost like if you've found a style while composing. Nice job!
My favorite was definitely Out of Time :)
Thank you for listening and glad it drew you in slowly!
This was a fantastic submission! I loved the mix of modern and futuristic, and the creation of an enigmatic ambience. I listened to "The Watchtower" several times over because I found your blend of instruments in it so interesting! And that waterdrop-like beat that plays in the background sometimes ... I don't know what it is, but I'm obsessed. Well done!
From memory that beat was a synth timpani with a little descending riff that that got thrown into the mix - glad you caught it!
Your Time Starts Now: This is a nice short OST intro theme. It gives a suspenseful feeling which foreshadows the difficulty of the mazes and puzzles that lies ahead.
Minute Details: I like the simplicity of this track. The live recording of the guitars and synth gives it a very authentic feel which lets it breathe and feel more human.
Second Chance: This track gives very floaty vibes. The flat 9 of the bVII chord adds some exotic flavor to the overall atmosphere. It definitely seems to be getting darker.
The Watchtower: This track has a very serious nature to it with a suspense that accompanies the gameplay idea well with guards present around the corner at any time! I really like the high synth and mallet interjections throughout.
Out of Time: The rock elements are great, especially with the overdriven guitars. Some rock vocals (like Radiohead) would be icing on the cake for this track! This sounds like a very satisfying final level.
Overall: The chill but driven elements you create throughout these maze levels is very enjoyable to listen to and I appreciate that energy increases as you progress. Great work and thank you for sharing!
Adding Radiohead-like vocals? I dream!! (Thom Yorke - if you're reading there I'm happy to talk..) Thanks for the detailed feedback, I am always fascinated and appreciative to hear how the music that exits from my somewhere in my brain is heard by others. And to be completely honest, I have NO idea what your feedback for Second Change means, but if it sounded okay then mission accomplished!
I'd have done some mixing differently but you got down the arrangement part of how to change things up, adding in or taking out elements to make for different parts of each song. Both to keep the listener's attention and for flexibility as a dynamic soundtrack. I think there were some piercing frequencies in the guitar in the last track you could tame with an EQ. Some static pads could also benefit from sidechaining to percussions. I also really love the distorted 808 kinda sound in "Minute Details", that one was nice and crunchy.
...Wow this comment was all over the place lmao.
I wish I had the level of understanding towards mixing as you have! Thanks for the feedback and ideas, I hope to revisit these tracks and work on them a bit more with these kinds of suggestions in mind.
Very cool sound here - it has an aura of mystery and intrigue to it that definitely fits a puzzle game. Your choice of instruments is spot on - it glues the soundtrack together as a whole hearing the guitar or bass sounds return, even as the synths are changing. My biggest critique here would be that for the last track, Out of Time, seems to be a bit of a disconnect from your description. For a timed puzzle that is the climax of the game, the mood doesn't click. It feels almost happy or accomplished; as if this song should be playing after the puzzle has been completed and victory has been achieved. It would have fit perfectly there and still felt like it really jived with the rest of the soundtrack. Overall though, the soundtrack was an enjoyable listen and solid effort!
You're completely right - after some time to reflect after the submission, I'd see the last track/segment of the game much more as a 'winding down' and resolution than a climax (which would be the 'boss fight' Clocktower part). Good call!
God this OST is so mysterious, love it!
That's such an appreciated and welcoming response, thank you!
"Minute Details" is such lovely and cool track! and "Out of Time" rocks!
good work!
Thank you, I appreciate it!
Interesting concept, and I loved how much effort you put thinking on which scenario each song would play out, and it's even cool you recorded a lot of instruments live. I like the vibe, but based on the descriptions you gave for each track, I'd suggest trying to use the minor scale or adding another synth layer to add some "darkness" to help bringing the mystery to the song a bit more, and I'd be careful with the volume of some instruments (at least, hearing with phones, it felt like some instruments were louder than they should, unless that's a creative choice, then my bad). "The Watchover" is my favorite, and knowing the idea for it added even more to the track. Good job :D
I appreciate you taking the time to give feedback and happily admit there is still a lot for me to learn - I'm always wanting to build on and improve my skills, and opportunities such as itch.io Jams to get feedback from truly talented people is always a way to inspire to push ahead. Thanks!
you're welcome, I also can relate to feeling I have a lot to learn as well, but I guess that's just how music making is (the more we're aware of what we still have to learn, the more we're allowing ourselves to become better artists)
As someone who also struggles with getting individual instrument volume levels to line up at times, I'd recommend using a spectrum analyzer to see if anything sticks out (you would look for something like your low-end peaks being way higher than your mid peaks.) Turning all of your instruments down and then turning them all up one by one (starting with the lead and ending with the supporting parts) can also be a good strategy.
I'm digging those suggestions and they make complete sense - thank you.
What a cool blend of synths and guitars! The Watchtower is my personal favorite, I like the ambience!
Thank you!
Awesome soundtracks. I really enjoyed listening. The only change I would suggest is in the last piece, while the individual loops are very groovy and the structure with the repetitions of the guitar part are fitting nicely, reducing the time each loop plays could help the overall progression. Alternatively adding more variation could be done too, but it already stands out on its own as it is.
Thank you, that is a really interesting suggestion!
There's only one thing I want to point out, and that's that in "Minute Details" (the 2nd track), I feel like those kick drums used don't fit that well. The rest is nice!
Appreciate the feedback, thank you for listening!
The combination of live instruments and synthy sounds creates a really unique style! I like how the songs aren’t too stressful either, I don’t know if that was your intention but to me it makes the ost more environmentally immersive (like I can imagine myself in the setting) than other songs I’ve heard that aim for a more narrative immersion. Great work!
Thank you - I'm glad that what I was trying to convey seems to have come across!
Pretty rare to have analog performances being captured like this in VGM jams. I love a chiptune, but this was a nice mix 'er up. Thanks for including your work and point of view.
Thanks - one of the major attractions for me joining in on the composing jams is it gives me a chance (excuse?) to be creative and hopefully be surprised by what kind of tracks happen to arrive!
Oh, what a great feeling when listening, buzz
Thanks!
The first track really sets the mood for me - it makes me anxious to get going and curious of what may lie ahead. The end track is also standing out from the rest by having IMHO a bit different instrumentation and feels like a nice "break" from the rest of the soundtrack and marks an ending kind of. The music would work good in the setting You describe, so well done!
Thanks, you're right that the tracks seem to have their own distinct 'personalities' and the last track is more optimistic and liberating.
The combination of digital drums and analog instruments delivers a good result! Out of time really felt like an ending, a good closure
Thanks! For what it's worth, I wanted the title of the last track to allude to either running out of time (failure) or escaping the time maze completely (success) so it could be seen as closure from two very different viewpoints.
I love the sound! Really nice blend of acoustic with synth instruments :)
Definitelly having maze feeling from these tracks, especially The Watchtower.
Thanks. That track coming together was one of those defining moments which really helped to consolidate the game idea of a maze with a 'final level' clock tower in the centre. For me, it's the heart of the game AND soundtrack.
Watchtower is definitely my favorite, the sidestick gives a clock vibe, and the track is chill and mysterious. I second the Metroid vibes to it. Great work!
Thanks
Love your track, awesome how you record all these instruments. The watchtower took me to a metroid kinda of game, but it is really confortable to hear and imagining the puzzle
Thanks, I like that you got Metroid vibes!
Nice music at all! Great guitar sound in the last track! If you want some critics, second track is getting kind a bored about near the end, and the third too near the middle, but maybe there shouldn't be great dynamic changes in such kind of game.
Thank you - I had mixed thoughts too on how long was good for the tracks given that they are meant to be playing in the background in the game and I was avoiding just having them loop around.