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Cry of the Undersea's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Correlation to theme | #86 | 3.963 | 3.963 |
| Creativity | #122 | 3.815 | 3.815 |
| Overall | #126 | 3.778 | 3.778 |
| Impression | #147 | 3.704 | 3.704 |
| Quality | #186 | 3.704 | 3.704 |
| Composition | #188 | 3.704 | 3.704 |
Ranked from 27 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
The Kingdom of Cnidaria has been isolated from the outside world and the greater Sea Kingdoms for several millennia. Recently, however, a strange, mournful cry reverberates through the streets and seabanks of the principality. Princess Pearlscale, newly named Guardian of Cnidaria after the death of her mother the Queen, must venture forth into tides unknown to seek the trouble that lies within The Undersea…
Cry of the Undersea is conceived as an underwater platformer fantasy, focusing heavily on exploration, interaction with the creatures of the ocean, and epic battles with giant corrupted sea monsters. The soundtrack takes the listener through the first part of the game, with each track transitioning to a new area to explore as Princess Pearlscale takes her initial journey into the sprawling Undersea. After the title screen, players will take their first steps from Cnidaria into the gentle Kelp Forest. Soon, however, lush greens, pinks, and oranges give way to the desolation of the dying Reef, a sprawling wasteland with desperate denizens. The sparseness of this area, however, pales in comparison to the darkness of The Undersea, where terror lurks behind every current. Suddenly, Princess Pearlscale finds herself stumbling into the Angler’s Den, and face to face with her first significant foe, a massively mutated anglerfish who uses his light to find his prey and then obscure his deadly attacks.
Composed on Cubase Pro 13 using primarily software VSTs (including a lot of Serum!), as well as some Kontakt 7 instruments and a few sounds from the Roland SC-880 synthesizer.
Message from the artist
Thank you so much for checking out my composition! I hope you enjoy imagining this underwater fantasy as much as I did composing it!
Theme
How does it fit the theme?
The theme & the picture together told me immediately that we were going to be heading into an underwater adventure for this one, and as soon as I started working with dreamy, crunchy synths the idea fully solidified itself. Wavy underwater drift is, in fact, the primary sonic motif of the soundtrack, as the soundscapes shift more and more towards dreamy and drowning as the tracks progress before crashing back into the hard reality and clean synths of finding the first boss. I use an eighth-note-quarter rhythmic motif to represent the Princess on her journey, which is changed and manipulated melodically as she progresses along her initial pathway. The offbeat repeated wholestep motif first introduced in The Reef is used to represent a sense of impending danger, and is developed and continued through the final three tracks, where it's also melded with the dotted quarter motif in the final boss fight to represent the culmination of this part of the journey.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://soundcloud.com/konbanmiao/sets/cry-of-the-undersea
Number of tracks5
Genre
Soundtrack use permission
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Comments
It's been said many times – and rightfully so – but Angler's Den is such a BANGER! All are amazing, but gosh dang do I love such powerful and evocative music!
Great inspirations from below the see, really like your choices in term of constructing the ambiences!
I liked anglers den a lot it was so distinct from all the other tracks so it left an impression.
Kelp Forest is such a pretty piece. I really zoned of a bit and dreamed of this place you have discribet with this song. Also with the other tracks you did such a great job. Really loved the atmosphere and your sounddesigne.
Amazing music! Loved the somewhat retro sound of it, and the composition was incredible! Every song was a treat to the ears, and I had great jolly fun listening!
Of the compositions I’ve heard today, this is currently one of the best! The most striking point is, I think, the correlation between the music and the story... I can vividly imagine the game from what you’ve musically described. The ambiance is very well done, with meticulous attention to detail (from the felt piano to the synthetic drones). Another plus is not overwhelming the listener with too much sound material: such music leaves space for exploration and wouldn’t bore the player, I’m sure of it. Each track, even though different from the others, features the same melodic cells from the main theme. I think "Angler’s Den" is the best-developed track: a more challenging composition that still retains the characteristics of the Title Screen, developing them without altering them too much. Great job! The only thing I’d suggest is to look for some additional variation in the longer tracks without affecting your minimalism.
Really a great submission, well done!
I just thought that the soundtrack lacks some action and then Angler's Den started playing. Nice!
I vibe with the soundtrack heavy, anything to do with underwater sounds is a winner to me!
I love how you use some really crunchy sounds but still keep the tone gentle and calm, it's a great mix. Angler's den is a good experimental track which moves away from the general tone of the ost, but if it's intentionally a very different scenario like a boss battle then it works very well.
Jellyfish!?
Title Screen - mesmerizing
Kelp Forest - aaah... This synthesizer is so cute!
The Reef - Tin. Tun. Tin. Tun. A very memorable composition
The Undersea - am I... drowning?
Angler's Den - oh... A cool contrast to the background of the previous tracks. I was very pleasantly surprised.
You've got a very good and memorable ambient! It correlates well with the jam theme and...
...can I have more of your work?)
Super unique entry with some nice sounds! Kelp Forest is a highlight to me as well as Angler's Den! So chaotic with beautiful pitches i love it! Great work!
This is a super unique and creative entry. I struggle a lot with writing ambient/atmospheric pieces so it always blows my mind when I find people who manage to pull it off. My personal favorite is probably Angler's Den, but all these tracks are really solid. Great submission!
I love Kelp Forest, it reminds me of the Baba is You soundtrack with its mesmerising synth parts. All of the songs have a really good atmosphere, sort of ethereal, which fits really nicely with the image theme.
One thing that may or may not make some of the songs even better would be to add a bit of background ambience, similar to what you did on The Undersea, to hammer home the feeling of being underwater and to fill out the mix a bit more. This is just my opinion though, overall this is a really good entry!
Very cool atmosphere and sounds chosen! Also love the overall musicality of the last tune with the time signature changes and extended harmonies!
Huge fan of the pads straight off the bat, they’re beautiful! Some absolutely fantastic sound design in all of your synths. You’re nailing the underwater vibe! Lovely laidback compositions and Angler’s Den is a very hard-hitting finisher! You gotta tell me how you get those opening synth tones for Title Screen and Kelp Forest!
Great soundtrack !
Very atmospheric overall (the instrumentation is really nice and each track is pleasant to listen to), and the last track stands out a lot in a good way (so much that maybe I would have liked to hear another track in a similar style in the album because it works quite well, although maybe it stands out partly due to its uniqueness among the rest).
Nice job !
Cool submission. All of the tracks each sounded interesting in their own way while still sounding like they could be from the same game. One critique I have is that the mechanical piano sounds from "The Undersea" sounded a little too loud. I really enjoyed the change in style in "Angler's Den". It still sounds similar to previous tracks while upping the intensity to highlight the conflict in the story.
It reminds me subnautica. Really nice job!
This is brain melting music. Such amazing vibes to chill to. I like how simple the tracks are, and the added distortion really just wraps the whole thing in a nice bowl. I could zone out with some of this music! Super solid tracks! Also Anglers Den is absolutely FIRE. This sounds like a Sonic Mania boss! I really like the odd tempo as well! Overall, this soundtrack is great!
I give it 8 Cods out of 10 Salmons!
Cool vibes, great submission. I love the experimental electronic feel of the title screen. Good change in style for the Angler's Den, i liked this track a lot!