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Ari's Journey/Battle Theme (Extended)'s itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Creativity | #291 | 3.500 | 3.500 |
| Impression | #497 | 2.950 | 2.950 |
| Overall | #528 | 2.980 | 2.980 |
| Composition | #536 | 2.850 | 2.850 |
| Correlation to theme | #549 | 2.800 | 2.800 |
| Quality | #559 | 2.800 | 2.800 |
Ranked from 20 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
I composed this for a JRPG/RPG game. I wanted to explore the emotional narrative of feeling thrust into a journey and having to navigate through hardship, but ultimately learning that its ok, because it will lead toward a new beginning. I composed the melody (that I wanted to function as a leitmotif) and progression on Piano, then used that as a jumping-off point to create a slightly up-tempo electronic piece on Ableton.
The cover art is not my own; it is 'Journey to a New World' by DustyArtStudio on DeviantArt. It is usable under CC-BY-NC-ND
Theme
How does it fit the theme?
I imagined this as the theme for a character (Ari), whose otherwise peaceful life had been turned upside down: their home was attacked (seemingly unprovoked), by a neighbouring nation. As a result they've been force to flee, and my idea was to create a track representing their state of mind. The sense of wistful melancholy at the loss of the life they had known, but also the feeling that for they've been thrust into strife, in order to uncover the reasons for the attack. I also wanted to evoke a sense of underlying hope, the driving force that's propelling them forward.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://soundcloud.com/mark-k-20/mkellers-aris-themebattle-music-extended
Number of tracks1
Genre
Soundtrack use permission
Any project
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Comments
Really interesting music, the rhythms and the textures were especially fun to listen to! The overall atmosphere you achieve is very beautiful and immersive, the main thing for me is the presentation. I think touching up things like the mix, cleaning up the rhythm, and having a bit more development on your great leitmotif would really help elevate your work to another level. For example, I love the section that starts from 1:10 ish, with its energetic drums and new textures. However, the mix between the different elements confuses me a bit. Do you want me to listen to the piano with the leitmotif? Or the synth that pans left and right? Also, the rhythm on the piano is a bit off, which can also be confusing. If you cleared up the mix by bringing forward the elements you want the listener to focus on, and also use something like quantization to clean up the rhythm, I think that part would be way more engaging to listen to! I really like the vibe of your music, and I hope what I wrote is helpful in some way!
I love the experimental of your composition! Very fun to listen to it 😄Also really nice ending!
Great work!!
Great work! I really enjoyed the composition <3 I would've liked the drums being a bit louder in the mix, but thats just a prefrence! More of a technical question: are you slowing down the bpm at the end?
Nice work! I enjoyed the Synth choices. I think the piano playing could be tightened up a bit at the beginning. The percussion/vocals that come in later were cool, but there was some clicking. Overall good job.
I liked aspects of it but it often felt a bit empty. I think the various instruments in the 3 sections coming together at the end would make for a great climax.
the mixing was also really heavy on my right ear.
Hmm, interesting... what do you mean by 'empty'? Were there certain parts in particular where that struck you? I know that's why I added synth at the beginning, because the piano sounded like it was echoing into a void. I'd love to hear more of your thoughts! Thanks so much for the feedback :)
Really cool ideas here, and i really felt that melancholy vibe you were going for! I think the piano section at the start was definitely my favourite. Towards the middle and the end i felt like I kind of lost the beat, I think it helps a bit to help make sure you have those consistent things for the audience to listen to, but you can still be intentional with some looseness around the beat as well. Just things to think about!
I really liked the melody from the beginning and there were a lot of interesting ideas later in the track. As Kagegona mentioned, evolving the melody at the chorus would have been awesome and really feel like the song levelled up. Get everything in the right spot and it'll be an amazing track.
I'm sorry Ari(
So, this composition is divided into three emotional parts, between which there is a beautiful transition that gives a “break” and prepares for the next part of the composition
The first part is cute with an interesting piano part.
Second part - Oh, this breakbeat together with pianino and synthesizer... Nice!
Third part - drums and choir? Beautiful.)
My only complaint is the panning and the loudness of some sounds in the right ear...
It reminded me a lot of David Bowie's songs (I love him!) with its experimentation and variety (and also creativity of instrument selection).
Mind melting like I said on discord lol. Super unique take thanks for the submission, really liked it!
You've done well for this first experience! Nice use of the main melody throughout the track though I may have liked to have some variations/development on it that would lead us in an unattented place!
Hmmm ok, yeah that makes sense. I think, specifically in the vocal section at the end, I wanted a straight call-back to the piano melody. But in hindsight, I agree, I think it would have been a good opportunity to expand on it. And maybe make it more prominent in the work as a whole? Thank you! I'll definitely remember this for my next composition :)
Really creative take, with a lot of good idea ! I think some need more refining, such as the glitch to the voice that make it go crazy stereo, or the synth that go a little to loud from time to time. Overall, really cool and unique take on the theme, GG
Thank you! For the synth, especially, I was having trouble with mixing that; which may just be down to my lack of technical knowledge ( re compression ). Thanks for pointing out the glitchy bit - I wasn't sure how to deal with that effectively tbh. Which, again, could be just lack of experience with the DAW VSTs. I'm glad you liked it, tysm for taking the time 😊
I love the opening and ending to this! You're playing with some super cool sounds and synths, and your melody to kick us off is memorable and melancholy, and transitions nicely into the breakbeat section. I love what you've done with the synths and the breaks, but I think the mix on the primary synth is a bit overpowering to my ears. Other than that, I really like the journey of this song - it's very unique!
Thanks for the feedback! <3 Yeah I get what you mean about the synth, I think that section in particular I had trouble mixing so it sounded cohesive; originally I compressed it down but then I had trouble getting the levels right when mastering. So it was a big learning experience, in terms of like, how much I still have to learn :-P
Happy to be the first to rate this! I'm a sucker for piano driven pieces and this did not disappoint. Was not expecting the change of pace and tonality at the half way point but I'm all for it - I love Jungle, Liquid and Breakbeat! Compositionally it fits and adds some extra punch to drive the theme forward. Production is well done, as is the mixing. Great work!
Ahhh thank you so much!! I'm so glad you like it <3