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Queen Bubblene Blast!'s itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Correlation to theme | #41 | 4.149 | 4.149 |
| Creativity | #70 | 3.986 | 3.986 |
| Overall | #151 | 3.734 | 3.734 |
| Composition | #255 | 3.527 | 3.527 |
| Impression | #258 | 3.466 | 3.466 |
| Quality | #279 | 3.541 | 3.541 |
Ranked from 148 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Judge feedback
Judge feedback is anonymous.
- What a delightful musical journey! I smiled instantly upon listening. This has a wonderfully playful tone that I found immediately charming. I really like how you’ve set up a clear set of ideas and stuck to them across a variety of different tracks— it can be so easy to allow the music to become unfocused, but I always felt like I was in good hands. It is often very difficult to achieve a sense of *variety* while still holding the entire thing together in a *coherent* way, but I definitely think you’ve achieved it here. I love the bassoon (I think that’s what it is?) in “So You’ve Been Turned Into a Bubble” (also: *killer* track name here!). Your instrumental choices really help you out, and I appreciate that you stuck to the sonic palette you set up in the menu theme. Over the course of tracks for so many different situations it can be easy to “wander”, but you stay disciplined and “on-message”, tonally, for the whole thing— this really helps hold the whole thing together! I would encourage you to write actual endings to your tracks (rather than just relying on a fade out) as this gives you one more option in implementation (you can always fade something out if you want to, but you can’t insert an ending that doesn’t exist). Overall, the word I’d use to describe my feelings here is “delight”— just a really fun, skillfully-executed set of tracks that set a clear musical goal and then achieve it brilliantly. Very, very nice work!
Description
The total length of all the music is 11:08
The style of game I imagined is a precision based fast paced 2d platformer where you die it one hit and have to restart from the start of the stage. you are a bubble so the jumps have a slow fall time allowing for really long stretches of time away from the ground
There would be 8 stages and a boss at the end kind of like a Megaman game in structure
The levels would be kind of like geometry dash but with more freedom of movement but with a constant death wall from behind so you always have to stay on the move.
The tracks in order represent a different part of the game each
Queen bubblene Blast! - Title screen music
So you've been turned into a bubble - Theme of Queen Bubblene
The H2Zone - Town/stage select theme
Nonstopped Unpopped - Level theme
Taking in some air - Pause menu theme
Octo-Popper Supreme - Final Boss Theme
Surfacing - Credits theme
I wanted to compose each track to be fun and easy to lise yourself in. I didn't want listeners to get bored so each song is only as long as necessary since I wanted to make sure people would remain engaged and have good impressions of each song.
many of the songs have intros to really set a mood for each track
I also included a leitmotif in almost every single the a series of 8 notes that goes - High Mid Low High Mid Low Mid Low - with varying tones, distances, and feelings.
I used FL studio to compose and generally started with the bassline and percussion since they were the most important part of the vibe I wanted.
Message from the artist
I'm sorry about the novel I wrote below I just had so many ideas about my music I wanted to share and I didn't want to leave anything out.
I HIGHLY RECCOMEND WATCHING THE YOUTUBE VIDEO as it has animation as well as a lot of worldbuilding for the game I made up in my head that is fun to read.
I will also describe some story elements in the "how does it fit the theme" section as well as explanations for a lot of my musical decisions.
Please enjoy!
Theme
How does it fit the theme?
My interpretation of the theme Gameplay and story wise is that the player character is the bubble seen in the picture and the little girl is the one that brought you into "her" world. As such, I thought it would be a fun twist to make her the villain of the game.
Her name is Queen Bubblene and she is the ruler of this little underwater kingdom. Using her magical bubble wand, She turns lots of people into bubbles for her own amusement since seeing them get popped and die is cathartic since humans keep fishing up all her loyal tax-paying subjects. (the fish)
She of course doesn't just instantly pop the people she brings her though, she makes them go through rigorous stages filled with her fishy minions so she can watch you struggle.
There are 8 stages to get through before she decides to stop the playing and get serious. If the player manages to beat all the stages it is revealed that the pathways leading out of the city to each stage was actually the tentacle of a huge octopus that Queen Bubblene takes control of for the final battle in which she uses all 8 tentacles in a background-foreground boss fight scenario.
The player needs to destroy each tentacle 1 at a time in order to beat the boss.
once defeated you use the Queen's bubble wand to return to the surface and unbubble yourself.
My interpretation of the theme in the music is as follows, First generally, and then each song individually.
The main thing I did to emphasize the "Inside my world" theme was to not use ANY traditional percussion. No snare drum, No bass drum or kick, and no cymbals of any kind.
The only percussion used are things like cowbells, tambourines, cabasas, guiros, claves, Vibraslaps and etc.
I did this to make it seem a bit more alien and a bit more like unfamiliar territory to really drive home the feeling that this isn't your own world anymore.
Most if not all of the instruments have a filter on to sound a tad muffled since everything is taking place underwater and a lot of the instruments I used have connotations to being underwater.
The xylophone and marimba both made of wood already give an underwater vibe especially the marimba with its deep timbre.
The harp is reminiscent of Banjo-Kazooie with how that game uses a harp solo for underwater sections.
The steel drum is heavily associated with the beach and the ocean in general.
The bass has a deep timbre like the marimba and the tubas are also a very muffly but also regal instrument so they fit the underwater vibe as well as the royalty of the villain Queen Bubblene
The high strings give a lot of the songs a great ambience
The bassoon is another low timbre and muffly instrument to provide something a bit more ear catching than the tubas for variety
and the high horns for one song are there muffled to be a climactic new instrument for the climactic finishing part of the game.
now for each song individually
Queen Bubblene Blast! - I wanted a strong and captivating opening song to grab and hold peoples attention and the first verse after the intro prominently uses the leitmotif of the game.
So you've been turned into a bubble - This was the first track I made and it represents Queen Bubblene herself. I wanted it to be royal and naughty at the same time hence the heavy use of tubas and bassoon
The H2Zone - I wanted the town theme to be simple and catchy. bouncy enough to get stuck in your head and simple enough that it feels like a town theme.
Nonstopped Unpopped - I wanted it to be fast but not too fast since it's not meant to be a super speedy game its more like a precision platformer that forces you to not take your time that much.
Taking in some air - Since this is the pause menu theme I wanted it to be simple and short. The bass and strings are the only instruments besides the percussion. and the percussion is meant to sort of mimic menu noises which is why they sort of take the melody.
Octo-Popper Supreme - This song starts at 100 BPM and ramps up to 188 BPM since it is an octopus so I thought that would be a fun use of the tempo to further tie everything together. The song stays at 188 BPM for the remainder but it is played as though it is in half time so it doesn't actually feel that fast since the boss fight plays more like a waiting game of dodging the many attacks of Queen Bubblene before you get a turn to strike so having a to fast paced song would not be as fitting. It is the only song to have the horns since they are regal like the tubas but a lot more leading which fits a final battle as Jazzy as this one.
The rising intro is there as the scene where the boss reveals itself and then does a big scream before commencing the gameplay.
Surfacing - It starts with the leitmotif as a nice sendoff to the game. the harps play upward chords representing your ascent back to the human world. the song is also quite short since the credits would be rather short too for this small little game that I made up.
If you read all of this then thank you! I put a lot of work into making this as good as I possibly could and it means a lot to me that people care about why I made my music the way I did.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
LINKS
YOUTUBE:
FULL OST - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSxOonm2tT0
Queen Bubblene Blast! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZC6signojA
So You've Been Turned Into A Bubble - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo5jz7JjfoE
The H2Zone - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaCi1rxrIHg
Nonstopped Unpopped - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXKACnKocDQ
Taking In Some Air - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Mm6wrjzsOc
Octo-Popper Supreme - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMx-A2RMiJQ
Surfacing - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMw7_ZeuN9Y
SOUNDCLOUD:
Queen Bubblene Blast! - https://soundcloud.com/joseph-black-16953843/queen-bubblene-blast
So You've Been Turned Into A Bubble - https://soundcloud.com/joseph-black-16953843/so-youve-been-turned-into-a-bubble
The H2Zone - https://soundcloud.com/joseph-black-16953843/the-h2zone
Nonstopped Unpopped - https://soundcloud.com/joseph-black-16953843/nonstopped-unpopped
Taking In Some Air - https://soundcloud.com/joseph-black-16953843/taking-in-some-air
Octo-Popper Supreme - https://soundcloud.com/joseph-black-16953843/octo-popper-supreme
Surfacing - https://soundcloud.com/joseph-black-16953843/surfacing
Number of tracks7
Genre
Soundtrack use permission
Any project
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Comments
Nice playful soundtrack and animations are funny! Looks like very fun game, hope you make it one day ^_^.
IDK how to make games 😩
I love making music but I have no interest in learning things like code and whatnot. I just want to make the music for other people.
I enjoy the intrument choice and layering very much. "Queen Blubblene Blast!" gave me some kind of Mario & Luigi beach theme vibes :)
Thank You!
Very fun soundtrack that gave me Stardew Valley vibes. Great stuff!
Thanks!
Great job! I really loved the world you built with you laid out in your music and art.
Thank you!
Queen Bubblene Blast!: I really like the tropical flavor right off the bat! I really like your instrument choice with the use of mallets and steel drums. This certainly feels like the start of an arcade-type game. Great energy!
So you’ve been turned into a bubble: The underwater Peach’s Castle vibe seems to fit this track really well. Waltzes always feel very watery to me. Nice job conveying anxiety and uncertainty in the B section!
The H2Zone: The instrumentation once again is on point - the mallets/marimba and percussion give this such a cozy feeling. The nice bassoon melody gives an intimate and soothing vibe, perfect for a town theme.
Nonstopped Unpopped: There is some tension in this track - like we are racing against time (I read your description after and I like that you imagined a death wall following you). My favorite part in this track are the triplets in the fast mallet runs - so smooth!
Taking in some air: This feels like a deep watery respite. When I first heard this track, I immediately thought it could be a dungeon theme from Pokemon Mystery Dungeon.
Octo-Popper Supreme: That accelerando at the beginning is really fun! The percussion (in particular the guiro and wood blocks) helps keep the energy light. I really love the brass you use - especially the shake effect on the trumpets. Keeping the bassoon adds some nice consistency to your OST. This track was my favorite from your OST!
Surfacing: The synth swells feel like waves - this is a really nice effect!
Overall: I really like the early-era style video game idea and approach that you took to this. You have a great variety of tracks and in my own personal sixth rating category, game readiness, you would score very high! Great work and thank you for sharing! Thank you also for your dedication to listen to every submission! I am so impressed and am grateful that you, of everyone, are equipped to give a fair rating to all submissions!
Thank you so much for the great review!
Game readiness is something I think about when listening to entries too! Like, is this something that goes with a game? Sort of vibe
I appreciate the effort you put in to understand what each track was going for and I am so happy they all seem to work to achieve the effect I wanted them to.
Really just grateful that you liked them!
Nice work! This really does a great job of building the world that it belongs to! I also appreciate how there's variance in the themes to really separate the stages while maintaining an overall cohesiveness. Great job!
Thank you so much!
Love the jovial feel of the overall ost! Put a smile on my face almost right away, great job!
thank you!
What a cute little soundtrack and game concept. I loved the story. I really liked the use of call and response with different instruments in some tracks. Nonstopped Unpopped was great and I really liked Octo-Popper Supreme, but I think it could be a bit more dynamic and intense for final boss theme. Actually the beginning of this track was really good and just the right amount of intensity, and I wish it was kept like that or at least returned later in the track to a similar level of intensity
Thank you for the compliments!
Yeah Octo-Poppers intensity seems to be the most contentious part of the OST. I tried to go for a low-key intensity which worked for some and not for others.
Reading all the dialogue as if it were a real game on the youtube video was a blast! Great job and the amount of work you put in with all the cute animations and the bouncy bass was very cool to see!
Thank you!
Very cool instrument choices, I like how much thought was put into everyone of them. The low pass filter to simulate the underwater instruments was a great idea. I feel you could have used the low pass filter more aggressively to further emphasize the underwater aspect, but it's just a stylistic choice in the end, what you did made sense too. Overall a very well crafted sound track, nice job!
Thanks so much!
I didn't want to overuse the low pass filter too much and instead tried to evoke the watery feel more with the instrument choice and composition.
After thinking about it more, I think I like your choice better, aggressively using the low pass filter constantly is a little gimmicky.
You put some serious thought into your choice of instruments, and it paid off. This soundtrack really sells the underwater theme well. Great job!
Thank you so much!
This is a really cute soundtrack! I love how bubbly (pun intended) the tracks are, very catchy :D
Thank you!
The whole soundtrack is cozy and cute, I love the funny sound design and would love to play a game with this OST :)
The tracks that are the most captivating for me are: Queen Bubblene Blast (the melody is so catchy, I keep on humming it after listening, the vibe of this track is cool), So You've Been Turned Into A Bubble (the bright sound of the piano here is so nice) and Octo-Popper Supreme (absolutely love the jazzy vibe) :)
thank you so much!
Making songs I could hum/whistle to was my goal so I’m glad you liked them!
Queen Bubblene Blast!: Steel drum! Vibes.
So You've Been Turned Into A Bubble: I absolutely love the opening of this track.
The H2Zone: I like the temporary Lydian feel over the IV chord. Definitely town theme vibes!
Nonstopped Unpopped: Great percussion to match the likes of Secret of Mana! Exciting level theme.
Taking In Some Air: Love the inclusion of a menu theme.
Octo-Popper Supreme: Can never have enough blue notes. Groovy!
Surfacing: Short and sweet credits.
Great work! And also amazing work rating all the submissions.
thanks a ton!
I’m glad you enjoyed all the tracks!
Very nice soundtrack !
I really liked the instrumentation on it, especially the xylophone/marimba (it reminds me of Monkey Island a bit, which is great), which also bring a beach-vibe very fitting for the theme you were going for.
The tracks I liked the most were the first two tracks (they have a very nice vibe) and Octo-Popper Supreme (which had a great energy and rhythm).
Overall great job so congrats (the Youtube animations were also very nice, and congrats also for being able to rate all the projects, I can't begin to imagine how long it was) !
thank you so much!
Rating the did take a very long time but I’m glad I did it because I feel so accomplished and I got to find some incredibly great songs!
The title theme is bright and... bubbly, and does a good job of outlining the world you've created. Queen Bubblene is actually mildly terrifying, and I love how you had that bit of text on the video explaining how she was basically taking revenge on humans come out right as "So You've Been Turned Into A Bubble" picks up.
Apparently Queen Bubblene is also not so great of a queen? It sounds like it kind of sucks to live in the ocean kingdom, ngl. "Nonstopped Unpopped" has a pretty cool vibe to it, love the bass progression in this one.
Thanks for turning the brightness up on the ocean floor, that was very kind of you.
The build up on "Octo-Popper Supreme" is SO hype. The main portion of the song is a slower vibe that's pretty cool, but I really missed that bassline from the very beginning, and I feel like the strength and weight that started out the track really dropped off after the opening build-up.
Overall, a very cute soundtrack that did a good job with keeping a consistent sound throughout. "So You've Been Turned Into A Bubble" and "Nonstopped Unpopped" were definitely my favorites for the tension, change-ups in key, etc. The bass was also pretty groovy throughout. The idea of the percussion being abnormal to drive home the idea of a different world was unique, and I wasn't sure if I was on board with it at first. The more I listened, the more it grew on me, and it was certainly an interesting method from a composition standpoint. The animations in your videos have a certain charm to them that went really well with the music, and the text was pretty entertaining throughout (I'm glad the octopus made it.)
Great job overall, you definitely put WAY more effort into this jam than was required. If no-one else tells you this, I just wanted to say that I see you, I appreciate the effort you put into this, and thank you for that, I'm glad I wasn't the only one lmao
Thank you so much for the wonderful comment!
I am really glad people enjoy the effort I put into it and I had so much fun putting that effort in so it feels good when others show they enjoyed it!
Funny whacky vibe all along! Some songs could have use some more variations, but I guess it makes a great bgm while dodging those ennemies.
What I like the most is the sound palette you've come with, it definitely set a muffed tone and whackiness that fits your game with a unique color. And the effort put on video made this a very enjoyable experience :)
Thank you so much!
Something I did before starting a song was make a full array of instruments I wanted to use. That way I wouldn’t have to think about it on future songs.
I still made sure to keep some instruments unused until important points though such as the horns for Octo-Popper supreme!
Great building :) some songs are actually reaaally fun :D
I kinda did the same, one big template with every sound I wanted and then goooo :)
Awesome submission! The music was great, right from the get go we have the tropical vibes, but also some slightly unsettling off key non chord tones that kind of convey the "uh oh I'm in trouble" feeling of being toyed with by the Queen.
I totally agree with a lot of the other comments here, and just have to say that the animations, song titles, and even music made me laugh. The composition and quality was enough to make this memorable, but I really appreciated the creativity and humor that also went into this submission!
thank you so much!
I am so happy that my music and presentation could make you laugh!
Wow, what a cool idea!! I liked how you thought of the theme!! I loved it!! I found the songs in the style of Stardew Valley!! I really liked it!! I love this style!! Congratulations on the work!!
Thanks a ton!
Well thought out and with a lot of interesting ideas scattered throughout. The thought and care put into the write-up alone had me certain that the music would be the same, and I was not wrong!
Some really nice arrangements in here and with some choice instrumentation. I liked how consistent and congruent everything is - each track fits in the album as a whole but works independently also. I think my favorite of the bunch is Octo-Popper Supreme - Final Boss Theme - the brass work in this is great.
Production is great all around and I think there's a lot to be said for how thoughtfully orchestrated all of this is. Major kudos for the video as well - above and beyond in terms of presentation. Great work, best of luck! :)
Thank you so much!
I had a lot of fun with the brass in Octo-Popper Supreme! It was probably my favorite one to compose!