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DIRIGE's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Correlation to theme | #66 | 3.569 | 3.667 |
| Creativity | #73 | 3.515 | 3.611 |
| Quality | #100 | 3.353 | 3.444 |
| Overall | #109 | 3.288 | 3.378 |
| Impression | #124 | 3.028 | 3.111 |
| Composition | #131 | 2.974 | 3.056 |
Ranked from 18 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
This soundtrack is a blend of baroque melodies and electronic glitches. I imagined a game where a giant, ancestral clock-headed creature would wake up and hide deep down in a pit she dug. In an adventure-rpg gameplay, the player would be a knight exploring the pit, only to discover a new world inside of it, with its own rules in terms of time and space...
The first track, Dirige, is also the name of the game and the creature. It is meant to be the start menu theme.
During the game, the player will meet various clock-creatures, of different sizes, and mostly peaceful, living inside of the underground-world (which looks like an outer world, not so much like a grotto). This second track is a town theme, where all clock-creatures are asleep, and can't wake up.
The third track, "Exponential Flight", is dedicated to a gameplay mechanic : every hour of play, the player will be moved to a random place in the world as this sound plays. He or she can make the choice to re-explore, take shortcuts, or go to endgame as fast as possible thanks to this feature. The difficulty in game will not make it impossible to finish the game without exploring all areas, it's up to the player to choose. Some elements of the game change during the time/space travel.
Fourth track is the example of changing element with time travel. If you go back to the main town after time travel, the creature might have changed and be sleepless, insomniac soldiers, and this music theme would play during your visit.
Last track is the final fight against Dirige, the clock creature, in an attempt to seal her from being a threat for the surface. However, the player will be given the choice to spare her. In any case, victory or sparing, the player will be moved to the surface, far from the pit, incapable of remembering the way back to it and alone.
I composed this OST by creating small melodies and their variations, to have a coherent ensemble. I tried to evocate clock sounds in sound design by using mostly the Chromaphone synth, which is based on acoustic resonators models and achieve to create tinkling and hollow sounds reminding horlogery. I use FL Studio.
To imagine the game, I was mostly inspired by Dark Souls, Shadow of the Colossus and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. The cover art shows Dirige, and is a collage of one of the colossus in Shadow of the Colossus and Prague's astronomical clock.
Message from the artist:
This soundtrack is a blend of baroque melodies and electronic glitches. I imagined a game where a giant, ancestral clock-headed creature would wake up and hide deep down in a pit she dug. In an adventure-rpg gameplay, the player would be a knight exploring the pit, only to discover a new world inside of it, with its own rules in terms of time and space...
Hope you'll enjoy this OST :)
Theme:
How does it fit the theme?
I tried to emulate as much as possible the "tick tock" sounds of clocks in the OST, without it being too invasive. I also used a lot of reverse effects, tempo acceleration and other types of time changes to fit this imagery. The game itself implements features related to time, as time-travel, changing elements depending on time, timer in the gameplay...
The picture inspired me the world of the game, shaped as an hourglass : the pit is the small center of the hourglass, a gate to a world as big as the one up here. The character is from the upperside of the hourglass, and going in an exploration of what's below him.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://on.soundcloud.com/t2bqm
Soundtrack use permission
Any project
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Comments
Now that I call sound of clock ^_^ Very nice choice of instruments.
I really like your idea for the game! The glitchiness really suits the whole your aesthetic your going for really cool stuff. My favourite track is probably Sleepy monoliths, I love how dreamlike it sounds
Amazing ost. I don't really like this style, but it sounds really unique for me so great job!
I love your take on the theme! My favorite track is Collapsing Guard, the percussion and choir in it are lovely. But the entire OST is great. I like how minimalistic and atmospheric it is, it all feels like clocks ticking away in a mysterious cavern or something similar. Very mysterious and fitting for an adventure game like the one you're describing.
Before even the music, I really like the concept and the art, the concept reminds me a lot of hollow knight and the style of the art reminds me of the berserk manga, really cool stuff! The music also fits this in such a great way, a very ambient yet involved soundtrack, and fits the theme great!
I love how the baroque style gave a mechanical, clockwork-like feel to the tracks. Along with the time effects it was a really unique way of communicating the theme. Awesome job!
Dirige: First of all, I love your game idea! This is such a creative approach to both the text and image prompts. While it is unique, it also definitely hits dead on with the theme! This opening theme for the menu would definitely give me the feeling of “Oh! There is going to be some intense things in this game, now I’m nervous but excited to press start” feeling. The slightly dissonant bells you use definitely give the clock chime sound.
Sleepy Monoliths: I really like that you used bell tones that are reminiscent of clock chimes that sound rather melancholy to convey the sleeping clock figures. The reverb you use also really helps with the sleepy vibes. Also great use of panning in this track!
Exponential Flight: These sounds you use make me think of the Kodama characters from the movie Princess Mononoke and it made me smile. :) This is a really cool idea for a gameplay mechanic that ties in well with the time theme.
Collapsing Guard: The background instruments you use sound like voices which adds a really cool effect. You use delay effects really well in this track!
Dirige (Battle): This is a simple, yet epic theme that is perfect for a battle that may have dynamic elements to it. This would be a really cool theme to add layers to and have them fade in and out depending on where you are in the battle.
Overall: This OST took this theme in such a unique yet appropriate way that definitely earns you points in the creativity and correlation to theme categories from me! I also really think you did a fantastic job with the way your music highlights the gameplay and the sounds you use to evoke certain imagery is very well done. Great work and thank you for sharing!
I love the different textures you achieve with the chime sounds throughout. The frenetic third track took such an unexpected turn, I laughed out loud. Any game this soundtrack would fit to would be WILD :D
The description and music create a very cohesive piece. It's also very memorable. The first track could help a slight bit of more variation maybe every 6 or 12 clicks. And as VisualImpact pointed out the last pieces drum roles (I guess) contrast the clock theme quite a bit. That said I can really well imagine a game with the story and music.
This was some really nice tracks, and I can easily see a game in a style that follows the musical style (or vice and versa). The almaost always present bell-sounds not only adheres to the game jam theme, but also keeps the tracks together. I also like the progreesion in each of the tracks, and the (IMHO) more thematic style of the battle-music, breaking away a bit from the rest of the tracks. Alla in all, a very nice listen and a good job!
I like how every track has a feeling of a clock ticking relentlessly, without being too explicit about it