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Timekeepers OST (OST Composing Jam #6)'s itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Correlation to theme | #52 | 3.728 | 3.941 |
| Composition | #90 | 3.394 | 3.588 |
| Creativity | #93 | 3.394 | 3.588 |
| Quality | #96 | 3.394 | 3.588 |
| Overall | #96 | 3.383 | 3.576 |
| Impression | #128 | 3.005 | 3.176 |
Ranked from 17 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
So it turns out that angels are responsible for keeping time in this world. They live and work above in the clouds, ensuring that the trains- well, run on time, so to speak. Enter you: freshly out of angel college, a new intern at the timekeeping office. But what happens when, on your first day, you find that everything has gone horribly wrong? The city is frozen. The clocks don't run. Yet for some reason, you alone remain mobile. And then, you discover a rumor about a magic metronome that may be able to fix everything...
Embark on a quest across land and sea to restore your home back to the way it should be. On your way, you'll discover the amazing yet complex rhythms of human Earth, and perhaps realize that time has a little room for freedom after all.
The soundtrack includes 4 pieces:
City in the Clouds: A combination of the main theme and title sequence. Strict time and plagal cadences abound.
Timeless: What an angel's home might sound like if it were frozen in time. Listen closely for various motifs and melodies shared with "City in the Clouds."
Jungle Time (1:23): The first of many regions that you, the main character, encounter on Earth. With metric modulations and strange scales, this is certainly not music for an angel. But somehow, you don't dislike it.
Ocean Time (2:13): Another region that you encounter in your journey. Soothing for the most part, yet the unorthodox time signatures keep you on your feet as you explore the waters.
Writing and composing this, I wanted to evoke a distinct sense of each region, and the emotions that you might feel as the main character. I approached the music from a loop-based foundation but with Ghibli/Genshin-inspired themes and orchestration.
Message from the artist:
Thank you for listening to my soundtrack! I've done some tracks for games before, but my background is mainly in orchestral music. This is the largest game music project I've ever done, so feedback would be much appreciated!
Theme:
How does it fit the theme?
The idea is that the angel's world relies on strict timekeeping to function, i.e. clocks and/or metronomes. This is mostly seen in "City in the Clouds," whereas the rest of the imaginary game explores what happens when all of that is lost. And it turns out that that's not necessarily a bad thing: "Jungle Time" and "Ocean Time" parallel the storyline in exemplifying how interesting meter adds to enjoyment rather than detracts from it. In restoring his own world, the main character also realizes how it needs to improve.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://soundcloud.com/cafe-euclid/sets/timekeepers-ost?si=48a2d937c58f461ba65e52373107d78b&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
Soundtrack use permission
Any project
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Comments
Timeless track's piano warmth just hits different. Very nice tracks. I like that there is variety, yet they all fit together nicely. Keep it up!
This is a very interesting soundtrack! There's a lot of unexpected variety too. I loved the reversed audio in Timeless. Those swells are quite effective. That and Ocean Time are very pleasant listens. Jungle Time has some bold composition choices that I appreciate. City in the Clouds evokes the scene nicely, though some errant notes a little later in the track are a bit distracting. Thanks for making and sharing!
City in the Clouds: I like the atmospheric quality of this track, though I do find myself desiring a stronger melody a bit sooner. You've definitely created an image of a delicate, beautiful city in the clouds with this instrumentation! There were a handful of harp notes that felt a bit out of place during the second half of the piece, though-- otherwise, not bad.
Timeless: definitely love the use of reversed audio, and the sprinkling in of gestures used in the last track.
Jungle Time: love this stately flute melody! This track has much more of a sense of directionality to it. For next time, perhaps add a countermelody during the repeat? The interplay of the clarinet and flute was great, and you can totally lean into that more.
Ocean Time: not too much to say, this is another solid track.
On the whole, you did well! I enjoyed how you were able to show the same location in multiple states, but also show us other fun, different locations! Good job, and keep writing!
Thank you for the encouragement, and especially for taking the time to comment on each track; I'll definitely keep a lot of this in mind.
I think my favorite part of this project is a more cohesive connection between the theme, game concept, and music. I feel equally guilty of doing it, but many projects come off as concepts slapped together after the fact to explain the music somebody made. Your project feels more intentional than that. I agree that some of the tracks could use a "swell," if you will, to complement the soothing main hooks. That said, I think you did well to come with something more holistic ans I can appreciate that!
Thank you! I tried to come up with a concept that could be reflected in its own way in the music, so I'm glad that came across.
Not bad at all, but if you want some critics it's some lack of intensity and richness in your tracks, and some part are getting bored without needed evolving. Anyway, you made huge work, that's great, keep going!
Thank you for the feedback!
Nice OST overall. Ocean Time was my favorite due to the usage of 5/8 and 7/8 time signatures
Thanks so much! I had a lot of fun with Ocean Time in particular because of the wacky time signatures
You really nailed the feeling of each location. I was floating on a cloud at first, then in some Ghibli-style distorted reality in timeless. Also, the concept of angels being used to even meters and finding more complex patterns on earth is interesting
Thank you! I'm glad the setting came across, that was definitely a big focus for me.