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Control's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Impression | #47 | 4.025 | 4.025 |
| Composition | #69 | 4.025 | 4.025 |
| Overall | #86 | 3.885 | 3.885 |
| Quality | #138 | 3.825 | 3.825 |
| Correlation to theme | #151 | 3.825 | 3.825 |
| Creativity | #176 | 3.725 | 3.725 |
Ranked from 40 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
I imagined this track in a game with the story of Celeste and the gameplay of Risk of Rain. Being a whopping eight minutes long, ideally this would play during a longer section of the game. The two parts of the song would loop individually depending on where the player is within that section.
I started with a calm chord progression to ease the listener into the story, and slowly picked up the pace until the breaking point. With a big finish, I tried to accompany a theoretical emotional story. The first part of the track is the "wonder" stage, where the character is starting to catch onto something. The second part, "discovery", represents self-realization.
To produce the track, I used Bitwig Studio accompanied with plugins such as LABS, Decent Sampler, and BFD3. Plenty of stock plugins were used as well. More can be found on the linked YouTube video!
Message from the artist
I hope you enjoy! It's a longer track, but I hope it'll be worth it :) love feedback!
Theme
How does it fit the theme?
The jam's theme, both the image and the text prompt, reminded me of Celeste. Throughout the game, the character goes through various stages of self-realization. The picture theme especially reminded me of the chapter "Farewell", so I tried to incorporate styles seen in its soundtrack. I also brought in some playful, whimsical vibes by mixing acoustic and electronic soundscapes to match the picture.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://erora.bandcamp.com/track/control
https://soundcloud.com/eroralive/control
https://youtu.be/7j8d80m0ZRQ
Number of tracks1
Genre
Soundtrack use permission
Any project
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Comments
I love long tracks
They can contain a lot of emotions... and... you did it! The arrangement is great. The work is very emotional )
P.S: The drums towards the end are excellent! Good dynamics
Piano likes! Good Job!
Greatest 9 minutes of my life.
is this because of the bathroom trip
I had my headphones on while I went to the bathroom, lol.
If anything the tracks was so captivating it made me chew chips poorly and stab the roof of my mouth, lol.
man this is good, the bends in the lead at the end, the drums sound great, i was encapsulated the whole first half, motifs carried throughout, the bass dropping is a great touch for a transition of it, everything is just really clean
This is such a well-composed track! I don’t have much to add that other folks haven’t already said, but the pacing is on point, the ideas all work fantastically together, and it’s got a very natural and pleasant progression to listen to. Some of the mixing can get a little spotty but it’s such a small issue that doesn’t really shake my impression of this piece. Fantastic work. :D
Absolutely stellar arrangement! I love how you’re not afraid to hang onto each section, creating an extremely well paced composition! Chris Christodoulou would be proud! Well done!!
I definitely recognize Risk of Rain around 6 minutes.
A great journey you propose, I’m a bit sad you went for the same cymbal transition multiple times but otherwise this is definitely spotless! Incredible submission.
The bending at the end is heart wrenching, I love it so much!
what an odyssey you've taken the listener on with this - tracks like these require such a large capacity for vision and you certainly delivered on that, it's equal parts haunting and gorgeous. the only thing i think i can knock this track for is the drum mixing which doesn't quite match the mic placement or fidelity of the other instruments, but it's hard to let that ruin the experience especially considering the amount of time allotted for the jam.
This was a treat to listen to, I fully felt all the different inspirations you talked about here but also feel like this stands out incredibly well as its own unique work, right when i started to wonder when it was gonna change you picked everything up at the perfect time and my jaw was on the floor, super exciting to listen to! It takes work to have an 8 minute piece be captivating the whole way through and you have done a fantastic job. The different motifs make this even more enjoyable to listen to, as there is so many different ideas to latch on to, and none of them really encroach on each other! I'm not the best when it comes to mixing, but the drums to feel like they have a touch too much reverb on them and kind of drown the really excellent effects you had built up over the course of the rest of the song. Overall I was super impressed though, excellent work!!!
This is really beautiful - you could tell immediately that it was going to be really well done. As a drummer, I liked what you did with the drum production and where it sat in the mix.
I’m honored! As someone who has yet to own a drum kit, and as such cannot think as a drummer, while also loving percussion, it means a lot to hear this from someone who can think like a drummer. I put a ton of time into refining the pattern and its mix to really try and make it convincing.
def one of my favorites! I remember seeing this in the devlog chat, and it’s even better than I remember!
The emotionally most impactful submissions I have heard so far. What also strikes me is how focused the composition is and how well it kept my attention - amazing job!
That was really nice. I really liked the synth that came in near the end to really give the whole piece a high point it was working towards.
Furry
Intro feels really nostalgic and childlike which I enjoy a lot! Its a long track with a long build up which I usually dont really like but here it works really well. The theme is incorporated really well.
Drop sounds great too! Only complaint is that the lead is a bit too loud and sharp... Besides that everything sounds great.
Ill add this to my spotify/tidal playlist if its ever going to be released!
It will indeed be distributed amongst streaming services soon:tm:
I love the way this piece builds, its so patient and powerful. Definitely one of my favorite submissions I've heard so far. Every minute was deserved !
I'm astounded by how the track never got boring given it's length, very very impressive work!!
This does a great job at capturing all the feelings that you wrote about in your description. I could see it being a great soundtrack for a final portion of a game's story. The track is paced really well and takes its time to develop things while never feeling boring or drawn out. The mix of electronic and acoustic sounds also works really well and helps keep things interesting. My only critique would be that the snare at the end sounds a little overpowering compared to the rest of the drums. Great work!
I actually had the exact same inspiration as yours, but we went into very different directions. I love your submission. You expressed as much in a sole piece of music as you usually get in a whole album and it has a beautiful coherence. Also it's sooooo good when the drums kick (lol) in.
Second language doesn't let me say clearly everything I want to say, but this might be my favorite submission so far.
Thank you :) I was considering expanding on the track, targeting at least twenty minutes of song, but decided that it said all it had to say! I’m glad you enjoy the percussion, since I put a ton of effort into its “big finish” vibe, while not standing out too much.
It was the good choice, I don't think people have the time to listen to longer submissions anyway. If more means less good, better keep it short haha
You really nailed this feel for the drums!
This track is a great example of patience. The gradual introduction of layers and melodies taking their time to resolve is something that I think a lot of people, myself included, neglect to work on. I can imagine this in a game but also functioning as a rather great introspective ambient piece.
The mood is never quite set in stone; whenever it starts to lean too much toward one emotion it feels as though an accompanying layer comes in or a shift in melody, guiding you in a different direction. A lot to be said for that kind of ambiguous, constantly evolving style of composing that I don't think a lot of people are capable of. Surprised me that it was an 8 minute arrangement as it felt so natural and progressive. Great work!
thanks! It’s good to know that, despite the drawn-out nature of the track, I still managed to keep it entertaining and ever-changing. my progressive influences must’ve impacted me in ways I didn’t realize!
I can definitely hear the inspiration from Lena Raine's music, the melodies and progression of the song do a great job capturing what make her music great. It's got everything I like in a song like Resurrections with that little Risk of Rain twist over it near the end. It being 8 minutes is good, it gives it plenty of time to develop its ideas, and with it being somewhat segmented in two I'd say it expresses the split between wonder and discovery well. Good stuff!
thank you! I considered splitting the track in two, in fear that the length would be daunting, but decided that it’d be detrimental towards what the song is trying to say. I’m so happy to hear that I made the right decision :)