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Laren. - OST Composing Jam #7's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Impression | #27 | 4.147 | 4.147 |
| Creativity | #33 | 4.147 | 4.147 |
| Overall | #36 | 4.074 | 4.074 |
| Quality | #56 | 4.132 | 4.132 |
| Composition | #72 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| Correlation to theme | #101 | 3.941 | 3.941 |
Ranked from 68 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Judge feedback
Judge feedback is anonymous.
- I appreciate the restraint you've brought to this submission-- you're doing a lot of cool stuff, but with subtlety and a more minimal approach which I really like. You have a good sense on how to take retro-inspired sounds and place them in a more contemporary style of production with lush reverbs and things of that nature, which I find quite charming. At first I wasn't sold on what you had written about how this connects to the theme, but after listening, you totally convinced me on your approach as well, which I was pleasantly surprised by. As for critique, I think that perhaps at times there could be a bit more variation in the tracks-- more stuff like the material in "Nobody Hears You Pray", which I thought stood out as a nice bit of variety. Having said that, I like all of the material here, so I guess my request is just for more of your writing! "Goodbye Lauren" is very affecting and emotional, and I thought it was the perfect kind of music to round out the soundtrack. Very good work, unique and inspiring!
Description
Ambient, Atmospheric, Electronic, VGM, Old Survival Horror Games!
Message from the artist
Thanks for stopping by! Hope you enjoy dah music.
Theme
How does it fit the theme?
I interpreted "Inside my world" to refer to a lucid dream.
Upon close inspection of the picture, I saw a bubble that had a humanoid shape. Instead of thinking of a wholesome meaning, I saw that as some kind of entity...and Eldtritch all-powerful entity...trapping the girl inside her own dream world.
A bit of brainstorming and it turned into...
"I'm stuck in my own dream...with something else." - Laren Fields
Laren's concept is an action horror game with low-poly graphics and a partially-fixed top-down perspective camera. (With the option to play with modern or tank control since tank control is quite mid-)
The story is about a woman named Laren stuck in her lucid dream under the influence of an Eldritch entity. With no concept of time and what's happening to her physical body, Laren must survive and navigate a cryptic dream world that was realized using her subconsciousness. Will Laren be able to regain control of her world? Or will she succumb to its cruelty?
Venture deep, reveal the truth, and fight your way back to reality.
During the process, I was heavily inspired by games like Alisa, SIGNALIS, Early Resident Evils, and Crow Country.
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1.) Blessed Beginning:
A song for the cutscene riiight at the start of a New Game! Starts calm and nice but then suddenly the world around Laren becomes twisted, slowly devolving into a nightmarish hellscape. The walls talk...and the ceiling intently watches... When the song ends, the player gets to play right away. A nod to the good ol' trick of "Throwing Players in the middle of something with no explanation".
2.) A Chill Track to find Keys, Medallions, Crank Handles, and Solve Puzzles to:
The name says it all! Although most puzzle scenarios only require atmospheric sound with minimal music. Since this is more of an "action" horror, this plays for some puzzles that are solved inside safe spaces. To cut down on the tension and get the player occasionally jamming. In addition, the song name can be longer to include Rubies, Gears, Humanoid Busts, Golden Eggs, 3 Differently-Colored Plants...
3.) Theme of Laren:
How can a main character not have a theme? Laren's theme conveys feelings of uneasiness but still has the sobriety and determination to continue her journey and make it through. I personally also see the mood fitting to a "self-sacrificial" ending of the game similar to the DEEP SLEEP Trilogy where Laren chooses to be stuck in her dream forever, trapping herself along with the entity so that it may not harm others ever again.
4.) Save Room:
Action/Survival Horror staple! Certain games in the genre still want the Save Room to not feel comfortable, SIGNALIS's Save Room theme is a good example of that. However, I want the Save Room here to represent a small fragment of Laren's dream world that she still has control over, making it a safe space for her to plan and for players to relax.
5.) Reprieve:
Played at the section where Laren is discovering the true nature of the entity and the cause of all the events happening to her. Conveying that the truth is dark and uncomfortable. That sometimes, the universe isn't kind, choices are illusions, and you're nothing but a speck of dust inside the macro weavings of something incomprehensible. (That got dark real quick there.)
6.) obligatory shooting minigame:
Laren is also a fanatic of the survival horror genre. Thus, her subconsciousness created a good chunk of locations like they were designed by George Trevor. A case display made with glass that Laren conveniently can't break contains a powerful weapon. She must shoot some wooden standees to unlock it.
7.) Nobody hears you pray:
Bossfight music for Laren's final showdown with the entity. HEAVILY inspired by SIGNALIS. Making use of metallic percussions and lack of melodies until the final phase. A stark contrast to previous songs to show the weight of the situation.
8.) Goodbye Laren:
A bittersweet credit theme. A happy ending? For folks like us? Wrong dreams, wrong people.
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Thank you so much for dropping by and listening to my music. Once again, huge kudos to Lone Rabbit for hosting this amazing jam.
Laren: "In my restless dreams, I see that town-"
We can't say that, Laren.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re1Ednf8Mos
https://soundcloud.com/neat_neet/sets/laren
Number of tracks8
Genre
Soundtrack use permission
Any non-commercial project
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Comments
"Nobody hears you pray" is real banger, I like the fat sound. And "Goodbye Laren" nicely conterweights the heaviness of boss fight. Good work.
Thank you!
I kept seeing this one pop up, just hadn't got the time to go through the submissions I wanted to. I finally did & I'm definitely not disappointed. This submission gave me the largest nostalgia feeling for a game that doesn't exist. Really loved the distortion, you did so well with that. Great work :D
Glad to hear!!!
Hey... I remember you! Killin' it as usual. None pseudo melancholic peaces or anything. Trakcks are straight to the point and I love it. Also none of like underwater themes or anything which is refreshing.
People are right,.It really gives Silent Hill vibes, and mixed with Industrial drums... Remainds me of Terraria a bit. One of the easiest entries I got thru, you know how to create identity to your work. Easly one of Top 20 on this Jam :3
Ayy thank you! Getting the top 20 would be awesome haha!
Very nice. You really nailed the vibes on this one. Great job with a creative concept! It's very cohesive but each of the tracks has its own identity.
THX!
Ooooh this was spooky! Not just creative, but also well made!
You aimed for a theme, and you absolutely nailed it! Great job and I was super immersed! The beat in Theme of Laren was definitely a BOP as well!
We now need a 3d rendition of Laren breakdancing.
Dance the fear away
I can imagine that this is a story about a girl who, in order to pursue her true self, ultimately breaks through her nightmares. The music conveys feelings of emptiness, confusion, and fear... It reminds me of Silent Hill
IN YOUR MIND'S EYE LIVES A MEMORY-
This is one of the most creative interpretations of the theme that I've encountered so far. I grew up watching my cousins play horror games and this soundtrack just took me right back to those days. I think writing some more chilled out and relaxing tracks was a good call- it definitely works within the context of your game. You should be really proud of this! Everything from the excellent cover art, to the game concept, to the soundtrack itself exudes quality. Great submission!
Thank you! I'm super stoked to here you like my songs. The cover art was made by my amazing friend Loeber Animations!
First of all, such a well conceived piece of cover art. Super interesting image composition and great artwork!
This is giving major haunted PS1 vibes, but with modern twists when it comes to the percussion. The noise layer and broadly your use of noisy sfx captures the vibe you're going for in such a genius way. The soundtrack is concise and so incredible. The composition throughout is just nuts.
Not enough words to say about it: truly the most skillfully crafted submission out of the whole bunch. This soundtrack is a masterpiece :O
Glad you liked it. I loved the haunted ps1 demo disc and I should get back into them.
This might be my favourite submission of the whole jam. "Blessed Beginning" really succeeds in taking you off guard and making you feel like something's wrong. REALLY enjoyed that. The second track i also enjoy: it somehow reminds me of Terraria music. I am definitely hearing the Signalis inspiration in the boss theme, and not just from "Become whole again" (falke's fight) but basically all of the fight themes . Though you still managed to make yours sound original. I can feel the passion you have for survival horrors just from these few tracks alone. Great, great work. I wish i could say more but i'm not too good at giving criticism...I hope my comment managed to convey just how much i like this.
Truly means a lot to hear!
I'm a big fan of music that makes you feel uneasy, question reality (and sanity), and fills you with dread... this OST did all that and more :D Truly epic!
I adore the entire thing, but Blessed Beginning is exceptionally beautiful in the way it lures you in and then gets super creepy, haha.
A Chill Track... to get all the gubbins is just the right amount of chill while also being pretty funky and worming its way into your brain. I could see it being one that I would wind up swaying to while playing xD
And Nobody Hears You Pray is pure terror and I love it!! It's one of those sorts of tracks that would elevate the gameplay sooo much just because the atmosphere is so perfectly on point. I can feel it in my bones, and I'm pretty sure it's gonna live in and haunt my brain for a while too xD
Overall, an absolutely incredible OST! Definitely one of my favourites that I've managed to listen to :3
Thank you! Nobody Hears You Pray was super fun to make.
This is really great, its very enjoyable and perfectly captures the vibe its going for! And more importantly, it gives an instant urge to play some oldschool survival horror.
Go play SIGNALIS rn. 😤
Fantastic work, great soundscape, super well mixed and produced, super pleasant to listen, Well done !
TY SIR!
this is probably one of my favorite concepts that i've seen so far! the music is so distorted but maintains both an engaging but spooky vibe. i expected a lot of ambience in your tracks, but i was presently surprised by the retro soundtrack presented.
i'm in love with the way you executed this, great production quality! great work!
Tysm! Although ambient music is cool, I enjoy making tracks that are a bit more in your face haha!
Really cool work!!
"Blessed Beginning" - right away when I heard the first notes of the sequencer I was drawn to the FFVII theme!! LOL
Theme of Laren - It really reminds me of someone having a distressing dream of a tormented mind, but it has a cute background. It works really well!!
Nobody Hear your pray - I loved how you used the different layers of sounds, I really liked it.
Congratulations on your work
Hell yeah, I dig the analog vibe a LOT!!! I think my personal favorite is the save room. I like that overall the tracks don't have too much going on and sit in the background, yet have so much ambience and atmosphere packed into them. This really stands out to me too since your submission is one of the few horror themed tracks in this jam, so big props to you!! Great work!!
Really nice mix of chilled and chilling, and quite murderously scary in "Nobody Hears You Pray"! Really great, congrats!
thanks!
Simple yet varied chilling and effective. Worth more than one listen.
ayyy thank you!
very FiRe!
Ayyy
This is the kind of horror writing I like! There's a clear melody but it is still empty and creepy!
I think it shows a lot of skill to be able to make something upbeat and also creepy so props!
My favorites were theme of Laren and The shooting minigame one because it was goofy and I like goofy!
The whole game was actually just a mask for the real game...the shooting minigame...
This is a very immersive soundtrack! Almost minimal but it totally fits with an horror/action game genre despite not having the adrenaline you will expect for the "action" part I think it can bring a very nice balance when shooting stuff lol. Solid prod, sound choices and compo!