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Cinder 'Til Midnight: A Soundtrack's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Creativity | #23 | 4.031 | 4.031 |
| Overall | #27 | 3.950 | 3.950 |
| Correlation to theme | #27 | 4.031 | 4.031 |
| Composition | #32 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| Impression | #39 | 3.844 | 3.844 |
| Quality | #55 | 3.844 | 3.844 |
Ranked from 32 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
Cinder 'Til Midnight is an imaginary game concept of a fairytale-inspired platform game.
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GAME STORY:
For as long as she can remember, Cinder has been bound to servitude to the witch known as "Stepmother", thanks to the cursed glass slippers affixed to Cinder's feet.
Yet hope stirs when she hears that the Nomad Prince is coming to town! He is holding a grand ball to find a soulmate to marry ... but more importantly, he is the wielder of Sunderhex, a sword famed for breaking curses. One strike to Cinder's glass slippers, and she'll be free at last!
As Cinder prepares to sneak away to the prince's ball, she is caught by Stepmother. The enraged witch turns Cinder into a mouse and traps her in an enchanted dollhouse.
Cinder must puzzle and battle her way through this frantic platformer, navigating through the tangled maze of the dollhouse. Surprises wait behind every door and down every staircase - whether it be blessings from a certain fairy godmother, whimsical wares peddled by entrepreneurial mice, or waltz lessons taught by haunted dolls (all the better to charm the prince with)!
All the while, the clock ticks ever on. If it reaches midnight before Cinder can escape from the dollhouse, she will forever lose her chance at freedom ...
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SONG DESCRIPTIONS:
1. Our Story Begins - Title theme.
The opening of a storybook ... dramatically cascading into the urgent ticking of a clock as we start our countdown to midnight.
2. Fairy Blessings - Fairy Godmother's theme (loopable); calm with a hint of mystery.
With each encounter, Cinder gains a new spell to help her overcome the dollhouse's challenges.
3. Mouse in a Doll House - Shop theme (loopable); bold and upbeat with a beat reminiscent of a ticking clock, reminding us of our time constraint.
Friendly mice sell spools of thread, needle-swords, thimble-helmets, and other whimsical wares.
4. Charming Waltz - Dancing theme; a dreamy, romantic song fitting for the ballroom floor. The title theme motif returns, but in a cheerier key.
Cinder finds herself attending a dance lesson with haunted dolls. Perhaps some smooth waltz moves will convince the Nomad Prince to aid her when the time comes.
5. Marionette Madness - Boss battle theme; the title theme motif is used again - but this time manic, theatric, and sinister, with the sound of a quick-ticking clock weaving in and out.
Ever since they disappointed Stepmother, Cinder's stepsisters have had their souls trapped in two marionettes. Their strings manipulated by the witch, they try to bar Cinder's escape with vicious attacks. Meanwhile, midnight rapidly approaches ...
6. Happy Ever Farther - Ending theme; hopeful and happy.
Back in her human form, Cinder rushes to the ball, making it just in time. The Nomad Prince breaks the glass slippers, and Cinder is no longer beholden to the witch. The prince's grandmother recognises Cinder as Wildheart, a lost daughter of the Nomads, kidnapped by Stepmother as a baby, moons ago. With her newfound freedom, Cinder decides to join the Nomads, travelling the unseen world with the family she never knew she had.
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Genre: Instrumental/Orchestral
Runtime: Total length of the soundtrack is 0:05:16.
Software used: MuseScore 4.1
Inspirations: So many! Off the top of my head, I can think of: Hades, Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Studio Ghibli, Nier Automata, Undertale, Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk, Animal Crossing, Omori, classic Disney.
My Process: Aggressively humming to myself while mashing random notes into my score until the melody clicks and my ears are happy.
Theme:
How does it fit the theme?
The concept of the game and soundtrack involves a re-imagining of the Cinderella fairytale, where the protagonist must escape before midnight or else her curse will remain unbroken. The countdown to midnight surfaces in the game's music score through the sound of a clock ticking and chiming.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jrOQRLX0Vs
Soundtrack use permission
Any project
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Comments
This take on the Cinderella story would fit excellently into a rogue-like/roguelite game. Very nicely composed, fairy-tale esque vibes to the soundtrack. The shop theme is fun, I imagined little mice carrying around little sacks of items and coins. The boss theme really grabbed me - the constant drumbeat gives it a really intense, unforgiving sort of feel and the little stringed intro was a nice touch. The harpsichord (I assume?) being present throughout the soundtrack gives it a nice sense of cohesion, especially with the boss battle. Overall, solid soundtrack. Nice job!
Thanks so much for your thoughtful feedback! :)
Dang, I knew about Musescore's new libraries but haven't heard much from them yet. The strings in the first two tracks kind of shocked me! I really like the orchestration choices here that give the soundtrack a clear, cohesive character. The fairytale feel comes across strongly. Great entry with a lot of heart. Thanks for making and sharing!
Thank you very much!! I was pretty ecstatic when MuseScore expanded their instruments/sound library haha!
Excellent quality and delivery! Very memorable in this Jam. Fairy Blessings is my favourite, I really enjoyed this approach :)
Thank you very much! :)
The fairy tale feeling is very present in these compositions, and especially the first two tracks and the last one are really well orchestrated. The more chaotic tracks make a nice break from the others and would work great in a game. Really well done!
Thank you very much! :)
I really loved the clavecin/harpsichord in the opening theme and battle theme! I can see you did put a lot of effort in the orchestration, some of these clavecin and violins crossing melodies for example, so cool!
Overall the ost was very fun, there is a lot going on and it's well made so that it's never boring :) great job!
Thank you so much! I admit I am a fan of using violin and harpsichord sounds haha!
Our Story Begins: The solo strings in MuseScore sound so good, especially when put to such a beautiful melody such as this! I love the transition of slow 3/4 time into the harpsichord arpeggio into the fast 3/4. I can hear Cinder’s despair at the beginning and this turns into a fervent anxiety to escape in the latter half.
Fairy Blessings: I can hear the Kingdom Hearts inspiration in this piece as it turns the Disney sound into a game soundtrack. This piece works very well for a happy spell-granting session with the whimsical bells and gentle high instrumentation.
Mouse in a Dollhouse: This is a very fun track and conveys a sense of slyness and goofiness for these mice who are trying to make a living selling common household items as weapons. That constant wood block clock keeps reminding us that midnight is not far away!
Charming Waltz: A perfect waltz to dance to! The way the bass note moves down and then back up by step seems to mirror the dance of a waltz on its own and is a great way that the music is providing extra imagery for the story.
Marionette Madness: Great intro with the guitars. The madness is apparent in this track particularly in the rapidly moving bassline. The kick drum and the wood blocks drive the momentum forward and make it seem like you have to keep moving unless you want to be attacked. The string tremolos are a nice touch to indicate danger is imminent!
Happily Ever Farther: Here is the classic Disney sound! My favorite moment is the large leaps in the cello line. I think having many of the instruments play in unison is an interesting choice, but serves to tie together all of the chaotic pieces in a happy ending for Cinder!
Overall: This is a very nicely crafted OST with a clear storyline that is consistent and definitely meets the theme of the jam. Your inspirations shine through clearly and have culminated in your own unique voice that was very fun to listen to. Excellent work and thank you for sharing!
Wow, thank you for the detailed song-by-song feedback! I appreciate the time and effort you've taken, and also for the kind comments. :)
I love the story here! The instruments you chose definitely fit the vibe of a fairytale, and I liked the melodies throughout. My only suggestion is that you could incorporate more counterpoint into your moving lines to make the music sound more dance-like. Great work!
Oooh that's a great suggestion, I'll try to experiment with counterpoint more in my future compositions! Thanks so much for your lovely feedback and comments.
Interesting motives and overall very coherent tracks while each of them being still original. Good work! :)
I love the Charming Waltz, it's soft and dance evoking (and I am a sucker for 3/4 :D )
Thank you very much! Charming Waltz was one of my faves to compose, so I'm glad you liked it. :)
This is so beautifully composed! It fits the story you laid out and it'd definitely work in a game that I'd enjoy playing! Well done!
Thank you so much for the kind words!
This is an actual freaking OST! The cover and story were legit convincing. All the songs felt like if Alisa (by Casper Croes, this game doesn't come up for some reason) Soundtrack were made with a modern aesthetic in mind.
Thanks so much! I just looked up Alisa and it does have a bit of the vibe I was going for! :)
You nailed the fantasy vibe in the entire soundtrack!! Loved it!! It's cool that you wrote all this in Musescore, it means there's a not-zero chance that you can have it performed by an ensemble :)
Aww thanks so much for your kind words! Having it performed would be a dream! (Although I think I've made some notes impossibly high or low for some of the instruments to play in real life, haha whoops.)
That's very well done soundtrack! Everything is on it's place and makes complete picture. The only disadvantage I noticed is the stings are too muddy (don't quiet remember what moment it was). You'we done a great work! Well done!
Thanks so much for the feedback! :)
This is a really pretty OST.
First track is a really cool motif, and the clock like ticks and the bell help connect it to the theme more.
I like the twist on the Cinderella story! Really like that swung feel in the third track.
Love the fast 3/4 waltz in the 5th track, and the reuse of the first motif. Really gives a "waltz turned boss battle" vibe.
The closing track sounds magical and gives me Disney vibes. Great work!
Thank you for the thoughtful feedback! :) That last track was indeed inspired by classic Disney, especially Sleeping Beauty's "Once Upon a Dream" - good pick up! ;)
A nice little entry that I thought got better with every track. Some of the instruments could have sounded a little nicer, but I really like the compositions and the story is cute, too. Nice job!
Thanks so much for your feedback!
Incredible! The soundtrack itself is already beautiful, very well composed and really sells the fairytale theme, but the amount of effort for everything else is amazing! I really like the cute story, the art is very nice, and overall this just seems like an indie game begging to be made!
I absolutely love it (and kinda wish it was real)!
Thank you so much! I hope I do get to make the full game one day!
That would be awesome! Fingers crossed!
Such a cute and cozy soundtrack! It put a smile on my face all the way through. Despite its short length, each track is packed with charm and personality—I feel like I'm escaping into a childlike fantasy upon hearing them. Nice work!
Aww thank you for the kind feedback!
This is absolutely precious! Your compositional work is so good and I love the way you incorporated the theme. Also the boss theme breaking off from the standard instrumentation hits so well! The pieces overall have so much character and I would love to hear live musicians play them (you should definitely see if you could make that happen)! Overall, so so good! Great work!!
Thank you so much for the kind words! Really appreciate it! :)
I love the slight tempo change in the main theme, it makes it feel like you're being thrown into something you weren't prepared for. Great job!
Thank you! :)
Oh waw this was absolutely lovely and fun to listen to! The story, the instruments that go with it, you really managed to build an entire atmosphere and world around your game. I will be coming back to listen to this, this is so unique! Amazing job!!
Thanks so much, makes me happy to hear!
This is awesome! I can easily imagine this OST used in a dark and mysterious, but still family-friendly, video game. The music does an excellent job of telling a story, and it feels really well-paced. The album art is great, too; It helps me imagine what art style the game might use for its sprites and backgrounds.
Thank you for your detailed and lovely feedback, it means a lot! 😄