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Temporal Tower's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Overall | #6 | 4.332 | 4.332 |
| Composition | #6 | 4.537 | 4.537 |
| Creativity | #8 | 4.317 | 4.317 |
| Impression | #9 | 4.293 | 4.293 |
| Correlation to theme | #11 | 4.220 | 4.220 |
| Quality | #23 | 4.293 | 4.293 |
Ranked from 41 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
A soundtrack for an 8-bit platformer, created all in Ableton Live 11. Each track in the playlist is set for a certain moment in the game (levels, bosses, cutscenes, etc.). I go into more detail about each track on the official page!
Message from the artist:
PLEASE VISIT THE PROJECT PAGE!!! I've gone into detail about the setting, plot and creative process of this OST! Thanks so much for listening :)))
Theme:
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://soundcloud.com/arceusnmew/sets/temporal-tower-ost-composing?si=20196d3ca56b4fac8619539242d13c73&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
Soundtrack use permission
Any project
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Comments
Great OST! I liked how you added non-chiptune sounds to further enhance the music. The overall composition is insane, well done!
thank you friend! i really love the way non-chiptune sounds fill the space that the chiptune sounds leave in the mix, it really makes it feel very full :)
Great composition! I love how you incorporated the same motif and the I bVII vi (? I don't know, implied harmony? XD) progression which weirdly reminds me of Pokémon and also Shovel Knight. The metric mod in New Dark Ages is so well carried out. Overall super awesome stuff!
thank you! i love that bVII vi movement, it just felt right to put it in several songs throughout the soundtrack :)
This is absolutely amazing!! Such great composition and arrangement also, you absolutely nailed the adventure vibe you were going for! This might be a bit specific but your OST also reminded me a lot of the musics from Pokemon Uranium and in particular the "Elite Battle" track with those bending synths that resemble the ones I hear in your track "Chrono Fiend". You clearly know this music genre and you made it justice. Absolute banger all the way through, you did an outstanding job!!
thank you so much! i took a listen to "Elite Battle", and i can see what you mean. bending synths are super cool when done right, and i'm glad i could remind you of music from pokemon (a fan game, but still)!
we each make a same song tittle Time is money you are a good 8bit game song maker
thanks! "Time is Money" is just a perfect name for a shop theme lol
My favorite is Chrono Fiend ! So fun and fresh. I love the wavy sounds that come and go in Where Time Can't Reach. The whole playlist is very nice to listen to <3
thank you! i'm super proud of those songs for sure, they were a challenge to make '^^
Some really nice late 80s chiptune vibe here, with both a touch of more modern sound and earlier era sounds. The soundscape is kept together with slight variations among the tracks, but keeping it within bounds anyway , except for a couple of tracks that stands out (in a good way) from the rest. Good Job!
yeah, at first i wanted to go just chiptune, but it became pretty clear early on that the tracks wanted more!
Lots to love here! The Rachmaninov-esque piano lines really complemented the chip sounds. Lots of nice little touches and attention to detail throughout. I really enjoyed your playing around with tuplets and time signatures too. I wondered if Where Time Can't Reach was inspired at all by Threshold by Sungazer? Absolutely top level composition! :)
wow, thank you! comparing my work to Rachmaninov is high praise 0_o
yes, "Where Time Can't Reach" was VERY DIRECTLY inspired by "Threshold". i'd been wanting to compose something with those tuplets for a while, and this felt like a perfect opportunity!
I am impressed - everything about this soundtrack is on the mark. It's fun, fits the genre of your game and the theme of time perfectly, and every track conveys exactly what you described of them in your project page. Your use of time signatures was genius - I had a similar idea in my own submission, but tbh yours is much more fleshed out. Reminisce is a lovely track, and re-using it in the final boss battle is extremely powerful. One of the most cohesive and well thought out entries to this jam by far, excellent job!
thank you thank you!! the time signatures were definitely giving me some trouble at the start, but i'm proud of how it all came out. i'm glad you enjoyed "Reminisce", it's one of my personal favourites as well :)
This is quality!
Temporal Tower: love the Mixolydian here along with the 8-bit, it gives a sort of GB Pokemon vibe. A good title theme!
Present Plains: Using the motif from Temporal Tower, but more energetic. Strong overworld vibes.
Chrono Fiend: This is one hell of a cool battle theme. Loved the reverse piano sounding sfx.
Time is Money: knew this was a shop theme before even reading the description! Very groovy.
Where Time Can't Reach: this is one cool rhythm. Love when the pads come in for that full sound.
Reminisce: Very dreamy. The minor plagal cadence like you said adds a nostalgic feel.
New Dark Ages: Very cool final boss theme. Those reverse samples are a great touch. The meter here is dope. bVI-i section (after 3:26) really gives me that classic NES/GB final stage feel. Bells help add more of the time connection.
Great work!
you know more about my music than i do! i absolutely love minor plagal cadence (didn't know it was called that!) in "Reminisce", it just feels so powerful and nostalgic. i'm glad you're appreciating all the details :)))))
Maaan this is so fun! The mixes on all of these sound great, and I love the blend of chip and sampled sounds. Cool time signatures in Where Time Can't Reach, definitely my favorite track.
thanks!!! the time signatures in "Where Time Can't Reach" were really hard to compose on (19 notes per beat is WILDLY unorthodox), but i'm super proud of how it came together :)))
Pokemon moment on the 1st track!! ❤️ Don't get me wrong I loved that moment so much in my childhood 😅
These are very catchy and playful tracks, I want to try that game, seems fun with a soundtrack like that!
The 3rd song for the boss with time based powers worked really well, I mean this is the moment when I felt the Time Theme quite literally and that was good!
I loved Time is money, so funny and light hearted :D perfect shop theme.
Where time can't reach is amazing, I need to give it more listens! (I mean technique and vibe are so cool!)
Hell, the more I advance in this ost the more I am seduced, Reminiscence is magnificent..
I enjoy reading your creative choices. Cheers, I had a great time listening to this! (galloping on New Dark Ages right now). Thank you for this unsuspected gem!
thank you for the kind words!!!!! i'm glad that you got to take time to enjoy each track in full, and be seduced (?) by my work. i'd love to compose more for this project if anybody ever wants to create a full game with me :)))
I would never expect 8bit to contain so much musical content. Really nice job!
5th and 7th tracks are my favourites :)
thank you! i really wanted to see how far i could go with 8-bit compositions, and i think it went well! the other elements definitely allowed it to be pushed further tho.
Classic RPG 8-bit music. Wisely designed, but I have difficulty correlating it with the theme.
thanks! i did my best explaining my thought process, and how the tracks correlate with the theme on my itch page if you haven't checked it out. it definitely was a challenge tho, so i see where you're coming from!
I read the descriptions again today and the OST makes more sense. I will be honest, the first time I read the descriptions quickly because there is little time to rate all submissions. I now see the odd time signatures and reverse sounds. I believe it's my turn to fully explain how I rated the correlation.
When I saw the theme "Tick Tock..." I expected to either feel a sense of urgency or a sense of time passing slowly. Since I couldn't really find that element in the OST "Temporal Tower" without the description, I was confused with the correlation.
I spotted OSTs that correlated very well to the theme thanks to the sense of urgency or slow pace, the orchestration fitted the idea presented and the genre of game fitted the theme tick tock too. Notable types of imaginary games are bomb disarming, shooter, speedrunning, puzzles.
The OST "Temporal Tower" is orchestrated beautifully, it fits the RPG theme. However, in my opinion, the RPG genre must be the hardest one to correlate with the theme "Tick Tock...". RPGs have relaxing and tense moments, just like Temporal Tower. They have more variety and thus it's harder to stay consistent with the theme. In contrary, for example the shooter genre is never relaxing, the player always maintains a state of situational awareness and sense of urgency.
I am interested to know how you rate the theme.
P.S. Reminisce for example is perfect! It's exactly what I would expect.
Just because it's chiptune doesn't mean it can't be great music. You've made some great music in 10 days.
I loved listening to it from start to finish.
You've taken the liberty of adding other sounds, which adds depth (you've put inverted sounds at certain points, haven't you?).
Congratulations!
You should sell your services for indie games
thank you so much! yes i do have a lot of reversed sounds throughout (mostly impacts and pianos) 'cause i thought it fit with the theme.
i'm definitely trying to sell my services to indie game devs! looking for work as we speak lol :)))
This soundtrack reminds me of classic JRPGs in the BEST way possible. Memorable, attention-grabbing tunes with professional quality and world-building depth. Love love loved this entry.
thanks, you're too kind! it was pretty intentional to try to make catchy melodies and memorable songs, so i'm glad to hear i succeeded!
How amazing is that you composed seven great track in just nine days? This is so awesome, and the melody for "Time is Money" took me back to my aunt's living room with her big old clock. It was so cool of you to use that reference. Amazing job!
aw i'm so glad i could give you some good memories with my music :))) it was really tough making the music in the time frame, but i'm proud of how it turned out!!
I find Present Plains to be one of the catchiest tracks in this entire jam. I could listen to it loop endlessly and not get sick of it.
thank you! i intentionally tried to make it really catchy, so i'm glad to hear it worked :)
I'm really loving the clever use of the traditional bell chimes in the melody for "Time is Money". While you kept it at 60 bpm I enjoyed that you used it in a swing tempo.
Fantastic chiptune OST! \(^o^)/
thank you!!! i don't think i'll ever write a song as thematically appropriate as "Time is Money" ever again lol, it was a lot of fun to write :)))
You never know! lol I'm looking forward to seeing what you make in the future!
The rest of the tracks are excellent, but Chrono Fiend is 100% the breakout track of this set. Organizers, if you're reading this, this is the track that needs to open the compilation. Sharp, sonically literate, and a flawless interpretation of the theme without getting too literal. So far this is the best track of the whole compo for me.
thank you so much for the kind words!!! i would be absolutely honoured to be the opener of the compilation album, i'm glad that you enjoyed it so much :))))
Chrono Fiend slaps so hard, I couldn't stop my head from boping. And that piano in Reminisce... It touched my heart. I legit got emotional on that one. The mix of old chiptune with a beautiful piano was an amazing choice.
ngl i get kind of emotional at "Reminisce" too '^^ i tried my best to make it feel nostalgic, and i'm glad that i was able to do that for you :)
I also noticed something. When rehearing it. I noticed that reminisce shares notes with the final boss theme of dark souls. Is that a coincidence or an inspiration. Either way is really cool!
definitely a coincidence lol. i've never played dark souls :/