Play soundtrack
Inner Dive's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Correlation to theme | #58 | 4.068 | 4.068 |
| Impression | #112 | 3.797 | 3.797 |
| Overall | #117 | 3.814 | 3.814 |
| Quality | #118 | 3.898 | 3.898 |
| Composition | #166 | 3.746 | 3.746 |
| Creativity | #258 | 3.559 | 3.559 |
Ranked from 59 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
Inner Dive is a Semi-Orchestral OST (8') made for a 2D Platformer akin to Celeste using Ableton Live.
The main character is a little girl who has the power to generate bubbles, which she uses to explore three different levels that are representations of her negative emotions, slowly diving into obscurity : the Clouds of Doubt, the Forest of Loneliness and the Ocean of Fear. She also has an imaginary friend she "invokes" by creating a human-shaped bubble.
The Soundtrack is meant to follow those three emotions/levels, as well as an additional Final Boss Fight theme, a Title Screen / Level Select track setting the tone and a Level Complete theme.
The set of instruments used is quite consistent through the game : the Djembe as a main percussion imitates the bubbles, and the duo of Cellos used throughout the whole OST is a reference to the girl and her imaginary friend. Overall, it's meant to present a dream-like sound, achieve by having lots of delays and reverbs. A subtle leitmotiv links the tracks together.
Message from the artist
Love <3 idk
Theme
How does it fit the theme?
Inside My World : The imaginary game is about exploring the psyche of a child, so the whole game is Inside Her World.
Picture : The girl is the main character, the bubbles being her power (and her imaginary friend). Both are represented by instruments in the OST. The image served as an inspiration for the Ocean of Fear track too.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://soundcloud.com/menuresound/sets/inner-dive?si=57c292a8ab594322a4404e3a1a7e0f57&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlJbI7tMsjk&list=PLGJzbAYHhcmFTgt1ejRjEvRUxvX97uVCC&index=1
Number of tracks6
Genre
Soundtrack use permission
Any non-commercial project
Leave a comment
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Comments
Inner Dive is a strong opener, matches perfectly with the vibe you're trying to set.
Clouds of Doubt has an underwater feel to it, as if trying to pull down the bright air of the track. Really cool.
Forest of Loneliness turns a bit more mysterious, I like where this track is going.
Ocean of Fear, I like the bursts in the first half, made things quite interesting.
My Greatest Fear sounds like a nice track for conflict, definitely boss worthy, although perhaps not as a battle theme but more as an introduction to the boss theme.
I liked it overall! Inner Dive is my favourite, but Clouds of Doubt was also quite nice in how it combined things. Good job!
Thanks for your thorough review and the compliments!
For the Boss Fight, I envisionned it less like a dynamic fight but more like a tense moment. I didn't want to go on the epic side of boss fights, but I understand that it could feel a bit underwhelming.
Thanks again ! <3
Nice atmosphere, very ambient and "space". The title screen Inner Dive is my favourite, I love the little piano motif and the rythm I think the composition is nice, the re-use of the bongos on all the tracks is a nice touch to keep everything consistent. Only thing to fix is the mix being muddy most of the time, you have have lots of mid and low-mid but almost no high end, I think I like Inner Dive the most because its not only a nice composition but its well balanced compared to the others. Good job !
So chill, great atmosphere. "Ocean of Fear" is so groovy while still capturing that angsty feeling. Great submission :)
Thanks a lot! <3
I really enjoyed the ambience of your overall soundtrack! It works incredibly well and is very cohesive. Every element blends together seamlessly, creating a fantastic listening experience. Great job!
Thanks a lot!! I'm glad you liked it <3
Really nice soundtrack, I love the philosophy behind the instrument choices you explained in the description. My favourite track has to be Ocean of Fear, the cello stings are really funky! You managed to capture different emotions and settings on each song using similar instrumentation which is impressive!
Great entry!
Thanks a lot, glad you liked it ! :D
Loved the use of the strings throughout, especially in “Forest of Loneliness”. All the OST is very well produced and mixed. Great job!
Thanks a lot! :D
i really like how chill this soundtrack is. my only complaint is the seemingly lack of diversity between the first 3 tracks, as they all kinda blended together for me. doesn't mean they're bad, just means they needed more of their own identities (IMO). great job though, still very high quality work.
Thanks! You're probably right, it's a tough balance between cohrence & diversity. I tried having unique instruments for each track to differenciate them but they probably deserved a bit more.
My fav - Forest of Loneliness!
Pretty solid work, I like the concept, vibe and atmosphere. It feels like to be somewhere at the beach, distant from civilization.
Thanks a lot! I understand what you mean, it's true it has kind of a calm beach vibe haha
The entire OST is beautiful, as is the accompanying game concept :3 I wish I had seen this jam sooner & had the time to put this much thought and effort into a submission myself! My personal favourite was the first track, Inner Dive, but they're all wonderful & fit the concept game you described perfectly.
The autoplay on YouTube decided to randomly stick on some other playlist after yours that was made with AI... I listened to it for a few minutes out of interest, and it felt like my soul shrivelled up >.< It was just so hollow. Unlike the meaningful music you made :3 The tragic thing is, the AI music had thousands of likes :(
Thank you so, so much, such a sweet comment! I know right, I'm sure you would have done wonders. <3
Yeah I really hate AI music and AI as a whole, it makes us feel so useless sometimes you know? But that's precisely why I try to inject my own emotions in my works because it's the one thing AI will never be able to replicate.
Every single song sounds amazing. The audio balance on the percussions is my favorite thing here, it's no cap spotless. Djembe is a fun choice that gives this soundtrack character and your idea of using it to represent bubbles is quite genius haha. This is a great submission! I FORESEE TOP 20 MATERIAL!!!
Thank you so much !! Getting so much validation is such a great feeling. T-T The Djembe was a fun challenge to pull off so I'm really glad it works!
Magnifique travail!
This was a really solid OST and everything was arranged super well. Awesome job!
Thank you a lot for the kind words!! <3
As a lifelong fan of strings section, I'm amazed with your voicings, work with timbers and dynamics. Enjoyed the overall vibe and bubblish sound :) Great work!
Thank you very much ! :) I myself love when strings are harmonized this way so I'm glad if I could pull this off !
I love how the instruments take a role as specific characters throughout, it makes your entry really cohesive. Good job!
I'm glad you liked it ! Thanks :D
Great work !
The various tracks convey the emotions pretty well and the instrumentation fits greatly across the different tracks (I quite liked Forest Of Loneliness & My Greatest Fear).
Très bon album !
Merci beaucoup !! :D
This is really cool! I like the relaxing tone throughout the OST, really great cohesive instrumentation. Great work!
Thank you!! <3
The use of the djembe to represent bubbles is something I never would have thought of, but it sounds great and fits the overall sound of everything very well. The consistent instrumentation did a really good job at linking all the tracks together which is great. Nice work!
Thank you!! Yeah I really wanted some instrument to imitate the bubbles but I thought a synth would be too easy so having it as almost the only percussion was a cool challenge haha
Great understanding and use of articulations throughout! I think my personal favorites are Inner Dive for its pensive drive and playful piano melodies, My Greatest Fear for how much it reminds me of oldschool battle themes and Ocean of Fear for the slow-burn tension. The Djembe is a great choice for the percussion - ever-present and moody but never overbearing.
I have to say, Ocean of Fear in particular reminds me of something I might hear in the MGS: Portable Ops on the PSP back in the day, and I mean this as a compliment as I utterly adore that soundtrack. Fantastic layers of tension with a progressive heartbeat throughout. Kept subtle and present in the background without jumping out at you and forcing your attention. Perfect backdrop, honestly. Great work!
That is such an amazing review, especially coming from you! I was actually afraid that the Djembe might be too much, especially in My Greatest Fear but I'm glad you liked it!
I don't know MGS: Portable Ops but I kinda see what you mean if it resembles the other MGS OSTs ! It's such a great compliment, genuinely thank you so much.
No, I think the Djembe fits in perfectly! It's a great choice to carry the rhythm and the consistent use of it helps sit it in the mix a little easier, I think. Really enjoyed your tracks, I hope that you get plenty of more comments!
That's fair, I think Portable Ops isn't very popular as it's a PSP title, but it is very similar to MGS3 if you're familiar with that one! Very pleasant surprise when listening to it. :)
Love the cello in Ocean Of Fear, nice punchy sounding motif! All tracks really feel like they belong to the same game, which is important. Nicely done! :)
Thank you very much! :D
Thanks for the kind words about CURRENT! I just checked this out and you definitely nailed the Celeste vibe! My favorite track is Ocean of Fear with that cello motif, and how the album gradually builds to a darker tone, utilizing the instrumentation in more imposing ways. The level clear jingle is also nice and captures the feeling of a sigh of relief.
- Chey
That's such a lovely comment, thank you so much! Ocean of Fear was actually the first one I composed for the jam, so I was really starting to find it very bland haha, so I'm glad you liked it!
Beautiful orchestration and storytelling!
Thank you!!