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Elsewhere - Original Game Soundtrack's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Composition | #72 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| Impression | #107 | 3.816 | 3.816 |
| Overall | #138 | 3.751 | 3.751 |
| Creativity | #152 | 3.776 | 3.776 |
| Quality | #155 | 3.776 | 3.776 |
| Correlation to theme | #345 | 3.388 | 3.388 |
Ranked from 49 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Judge feedback
Judge feedback is anonymous.
- You have a good sense of development, I think-- each example seemed like it always knew where it was going, telling a coherent little mini-story in musical form. Moreover, I didn't feel like you got stuck in a rut-- I always felt engaged and interested in the new textures and melodic ideas that you were bringing to the table. Balancing variety while still keeping the whole coherent can be very difficult, and I think that this is a good example of how to do it-- variety with a core of similar elements that tie everything together. Very good choices and writing. Even with looping music, you can still writing endings for the music-- if you're really clever they won't even need post-editing to make the loop work. I think that it is worth doing because it forces you to complete the musical thought fully and can make a surprising difference on everything leading up to it. Thus I do encourage composers to write genuine endings, even if the idea is to eventually loop the music. Additionally, I think some of the tracks here are a bit too brief-- I think this submission would have been better had it had less tracks with more extended tracks like "Dream Home" which to me was extended enough that it said something substantial but didn't overstay its welcome at all. My only other comment is that the correlation to the theme strikes me as a bit stretched. For all the delightful music here, I struggled to connect it back to the theme except in a very general way. I appreciate that the text is quite open-ended and so I certainly wouldn't say that this "doesn't fit" the theme, but it didn't stand out as very obviously fitting in either. Overall, however, there is a really lovely attention to the sonic palette that really elevates the music here-- I can tell you're experienced with making these instruments and samples gel together, and overall I was very taken with the style and very human feel of the music.
Description
This is a soundtrack to a fantasy life sim with JRPG combat elements, titled "Elsewhere". It's a game rich with mechanics, including farming, fishing, crafting, relationships, and of course combat. The goal is to live peacefully in your hometown, but this cannot happen unless you defeat the Fears - monsters of the mind that spawn so long as the denizens of the world are troubled.
For the music itself, I relied on folksy and acoustic compositions for town life, soaring orchestrations for overworld exploration, and high-energy rock and metal for battles and Fear-related events. These each have leitmotifs associated with them. Woodwinds and acoustic guitar were notable pieces of the puzzle - woodwinds were present in my last OST Composing Jam submission in lesser quantities, but they're everywhere this time around, to lean heavily into the peaceful fantasy setting and provide a sense of familiarity. My previous submission did not have acoustic guitar anywhere in it, though, which I opted for this time around to capture warm homely vibes. For the most part, I also tried to avoid synths and electronic instruments outside of battle and Fear themes.
All tracks were made in Reason 12, my DAW of choice. And a note to those of you who are rating submissions - I know I've made a lot of tracks, but all of them loop, except for one! And I don't believe any loop is longer than 2:00 at most. So feel free to just listen up to the loop, then continue onto the next track. Hopefully that abates any worries with rating this soundtrack.
The tracks represent the following:
1. Utopia - Title Screen
2. Imagination - File Select
3. Past Life - Opening
4. Someplace - Town Theme
5. Dream Home - Home/Farming Theme
6. Phantasy General - Shop Theme
7. Illusion Lake - Lake/Fishing Theme
8. Cloudland Tavern - Tavern/Job Board Theme
9. Elsewhere - World Map
10. Face Your Fear - Battle Theme
11. Déjà Vu - Victory Theme
12. Eternal Sleep - Game Over
13. Fear of God - Boss Theme
14. Well of Wisdom - Ending
Message from the artist
I have been immensely busy with music work outside of this jam, and was worried going into this that I would not have the energy to last the full nine or so days. In fact, towards the beginning of the jam, I was struggling to motivate myself and get excited about my idea. I was concerned that I was just rehashing my previous jam submission, and thought my correlation to the theme would be my downfall. But as I kept pushing forward, I grew more attached to the sound I had chosen and world I was forging, and those worries slipped away. I hope people see the vision in what I've crafted and give this a chance - I really challenged myself and came away with a body of work I'm very proud of.
Theme
How does it fit the theme?
The story of the game, as briefly outlined in my description, revolves around the player's state of mind as well as the collective state of mind of the town. When that's shaken up, the Fears manifest - a physical embodiment of what's inside your mind.
Many of the names of locations in this game also suggest an imaginary reality, something that can only exist inside your head.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://soundcloud.com/mediamonochrome/sets/elsewhere-original-game-soundtrack
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxqCS6LidLmvuvRYR-45ZYH45A9EX0AJy
Number of tracks14
Genre
Soundtrack use permission
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Comments
Dang the battle theme really slaps - also the sheer volume of content is so impressive to me. This submission already sounds ready to be used in a full actual game! ( and would cover all the bases). Great work.
As others already said, this amount of work and professionality deserves a well paid contract in the industry!
Really great job! Everything sounds polished and professional. The compositions are super strong. Really great work!
The tracks fit the vibe you described and the picture super well!
Excellent job!
Stunning orchestration! I was amazed by how many textures you were able to incorporate into all of the tracks. Great use of memorable melodies as well!
thank you, i've never thought myself as the best with orchestration so i'm happy to hear that!
I had yet to listen to an entry that had such a remarkable use of motifs. Great quality overall as well, the medieval feelings and JRPG aesthetic were present. Face Your Fear and Fear of God were epic and added dynamic to the whole soundtrack. Well of Wisdom was peaceful and a great ending track. Loved it!
tysm! the motif use was really important to me so i'm glad you and others appreciated that
Great use of motifs! Cool variability of moods and emotions in those tracks.
Battle theme hits really hard, great writing!
That was really great time and tracks to listen, thanks =)
If there is an idea to finish/polish this album and release it - do not delay and do not think, do it!))
i may revisit this in the future and make improvements/add more tracks; if that happens, that'll be the version i release! thank you!
I really like the soundscape you created here. Brings back memories of old school RPGs with the sounds you picked and the minimal, but effective layering. The flute in Past Life was the stand out for me. Nice job!
thank you! though i don't think i managed to get as immersive with it as you did lol
I'm impressed with how many cool tracks you were able to do in the time span! A lot of different vibes to carry out so effectively. I'm a big fan of battle themes, and I love the execution on 'Face your Fear' and 'Fear of God'! Wonderful instrumentation and impressed you pulled off such a great balance between 'farming life' and 'JRPG'. Well done on this!!
thank you, i'm glad to hear you think i struck that balance!
Reason solidarity o7 this is an incredibly well-realized soundtrack! Keep up the good work!
reason soldiers >:) thank you!
Very impressive! I can't believe you managed to compose over 30 minutes of detailed music within the time span. Altogether you had some very cool pieces with a lot of variety, and I appreciate that you kept referring to the main theme throughout the compositions. You definitely did a fantastic job with these compositions. The more high intensity tracks were an absolute pleasure to listen to. Everything had a very coherent feeling to it, though I will say I didn't exactly see how it fit the theme- but the theme is also very subjective, so you likely saw it in a different way. Very very well done, I am very impressed with the volume of music you've produced.
if we're being honest it was closer to 15 mins of music since they're almost all looped lmao. thank you!
Love the light pastoral vibes you start out on, definitely hearing some of thesounds I associate with farming sims, but I’m also getting a bit of The Sims from and the blend of those is satisfying. While the instrumentation of the first few tracks were pretty similar, each one had its own character that set it apart from the others. And those ripping rock and roll tracks near the end were really energetic and fun. Overall great job on this!
thank you! relieving that the first few tracks still managed to sound distinct from one another haha
I really easily pictured the "fantasy life sim with JRPG combat elements", I find that it match perfectly with what ambiences and situations you wanted to show us! Nice choices in the orchestration (I love acoustic guitar :D)
thanks, glad i managed to convey that to you!
Great melodies and great motifs and great use of a variety of instruments.
Feels like a perfect balance between farming sim and jrpg soundtracks, can really hear elements of both in almost every track and they complement each other very well.
Some great use of percussion as well, particularly on Phantasy General.
Lots of tracks I could highlight as a favourite but one that immediately springs to mind is Elsewhere, really loved that heroic and emotional feel you captured with that one and the little lead-ins on the melody are so cool and satisfying.
Well of Wisdom another one I really liked, beautiful central theme and the accompanying parts fit perfectly.
glad i was able to capture both game genres satisfyingly for you! thanks for listening!
Very solid string arrangement throughout the entire OST!
I value the little surprises like the harmony change at 1:25 in Dream Home and the unique mixture you've made in terms of styles. I didn't think I could find folk and metal in the same work.
Amazing work Monochrome!!
thank you so much! hopefully the folk-to-metal whiplash wasn't too sudden for you lol
It was haha That's why I love it ♥