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Mindwalker's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Quality | #1 | 4.634 | 4.634 |
| Overall | #2 | 4.456 | 4.456 |
| Impression | #4 | 4.463 | 4.463 |
| Creativity | #5 | 4.427 | 4.427 |
| Composition | #10 | 4.463 | 4.463 |
| Correlation to theme | #16 | 4.293 | 4.293 |
Ranked from 82 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Judge feedback
Judge feedback is anonymous.
- Thank you so much for including such expressive rubato writing here, especially on "A Mourning Sun and his Father", where the beautiful expressive guitar shines through with grace and panache. You have a talent for mixing those synth pads with the string/guitar stuff that's really beautiful. The opening of "False Sun of Shadow" definitely does some neat texture stuff. What great use of Bulgarian choir! It fits into the track in such a unique way-- I loved it. The Ligeti-esque vocal stuff here was also super-unique and effective. Also impressive are the faster little violin gestures which here are skillfully programmed and don't stick out at all-- no small feat, that. I always felt like your writing was going somewhere-- it lived, breathed, and had a sense of organic growth and life that felt deliberate while at once effortless-- each track made logical sense, note-to-note and bar-to-bar. "Guilt that Fades Away" absolutely took my breath away-- a triumph. You speak with such a unique musical voice-- hold on to that! It is so common for our musical language to collapse down into specific styles in game music, but you bring something unique to the table that I think is really wonderful, and I can't wait to hear more of your work!
Description
Cover art and concept art by NekdoNahodny
Tracks composed in Logic Pro. I heavily featured sample libraries by Cinematic Studio, Cinesamples, and Strezov Sampling. I made synths using Vital and Phase Plant. I also recorded acoustic guitar, Venezuelan cuatro, fretless bass, and some auxillary percussion. There are five tracks total: Two area themes, Two boss themes, and an ending theme.
When a god is dying the build up of guilt and the weight of sins absolved festers in their soul, their mind. Upon death all is burst outward ripping apart the known reality. It is the role of the mindwalkers to enter the mind of the dying gods to cleanse them of their guilt, preventing the collapse of reality and allowing this cycle of life to continue. Two mindwalkers are required for the ritual: One must enter from the outside, and the other is the catalyst human tasked with taking care of the god's mind's door since its birth. Together they are able to unlock the door and cleanse the god.
Track 1 - A Mourning Sun and His Father's Field: Upon entering the god's door you are met with a field. Watching over the field is a faint distant sun. The field is vast and plentiful with flowers. You and the other mindwalker explore the field. There are happy memories in this field: a shining child of a god destined to be the sun, and a loving father. But the father wished to be better...
Track 2 - False Sun of Shadow: You enter a house that breaks away upon entering. You are no longer in a field, but a dark void. In the center a skeletal figure tries taking form. A shadow of the son longing to be a bright sun of it's true potential. But he was enough. And his father, the god you entered, knew it but couldn't show it. This is the god's first guilt. You and your companion must defeat the sun.
Track 3 - Here lies a Village Not Saved: A ruined village lies before you. What's left of the wooden houses, churches, and markets are shrouded in vines and overgrowth. The luscious greens of the flora is contrasted by the crimson red flowers growing out of old broken chairs, tables, beds, and the floors of the village houses. Strange twisted trees with human features stand in a line leading you to a stone building in the center of town.
Track 4 - She Who Planted The Flowers: The interior of the stone building is larger than the size of the building from the outside would convey. Fog pours in from all sides. You are greeted by the goddess of life, mother of the sun. She reeks of the bloodlust that preyed on the village. Although merely a reflection, she shouldn't be underestimated. Can you kill death?
Track 5 - Guilt That Fades Away: The mind world melts away like candle wax. You and your companion step back into known reality. All of the gods guilt is resolved. You can leave the god and rest assured that all you know will remain intact.
Theme
How does it fit the theme?
You play as a "mindwalker" someone who has the ability to enter the mind worlds of gods. The game takes place inside the mind of a god. There are two player characters, one who enters the mind world with a more offensive play style and one who lives inside the mind world with a defensive play style who has to let you inside.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
Youtube Playlist Link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoZq5D0TNLrDwMoWjYH8pkHJgl7ytgWbp
Number of tracks5
Genre
Soundtrack use permission
Any non-commercial project
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Comments
This is just simply beautiful. The orchestration is glorious and all the background details are a real treat for the ears!
The quality is top tier, as expected! I loved hearing the guitar and was impressed by the performance. Because I admire your work so much I want to give some candid feedback. It's no question you are extremely talented at evoking moods and weaving sound effects to create believable environments (top tier, truly), but I think the compelling vibes are too abstract and need something more concrete. I found myself enjoying the journey through the different textures and moods, but i didn't feel like I was getting to know the characters or the world better. I wanted the music to say, "this is who I am!!" Under all the grand, professional, cinematic sounds, who are these people, and what is this all about? I hope this is helpful feedback. Thanks for making and sharing.
Artwork is stellar - kudos to the artist!
I think you did a great job taking those pieces and writing a suitable accompaniment to them. The prevalence of multiple stringed instruments is really neat throughout this - they're great for delivering a different flavour to each track. The guitar in A Mourning Sun and his Father's Field paints a very different picture to what you might find in Here Lies a Village Not Saved - of which there are some real Gustavo Santaolalla vibes, I think you've really tapped into a cool style in general here.
Orchestration throughout is really well done, and choice of lead instruments and voicings is super tight. Each track is arranged well and manages to be unique but still cohesive in the soundtrack as a whole. All in all this is a really solid submission, I could see this in a variety of games and would love to hear more of what you're capable of in the future!
The sound and atmosphere in these is really fantastic. Track 4 - She Who Planted the Flowers really blew me away - the wall of sound with strong melodic and harmonic content was a pleasure to listen to - it almost reminded me a bit of some souls/bloodbourne stuff. Great job!
First off- holy crap the artwork.
Man, this score is fantastic. The blending of orchestral and synth and ambience... it's difficult to pinpoint what game scores this reminds me of, but regardless you nailed it. Great sounds, excellent scoring. Beautiful, beautiful work mate.
Do you know how I want to rate this soundtrack, which I've been going to for a long time? It's great... no, wait...
IT'S AWESOME!
Absolutely every track is a completely individual pure emotion. One big emotion that is perfectly conveyed from the composer to the listener. An emotion that, with the help of magic, an incredible variety of musical instruments, amazing sets of effects and general work with sound on a professional level, conveys to me, as a listener, the most vivid impressions of this jam
You definitely have to get into the top 20. It's not up for discussion. You've done an incredible job! Thanks!
Sorry I'm late so here we go:
Mindwalker is one of those works where music, art and story not only complement each other but also each one of them adds another layer of depth to such an interesting concept.
You can notice variety of influences but combined with an incredible sound design, they result in a unique and very beautiful sound.
ps: knowing all the effort you have made to complete this project, it makes me happy that you were able to publish it on time.
Also I'm very glad that you've had a mixed approach and not only electronic since I believe that the use of acoustic instruments helps to portray the more "human" quality of the god. And on the other hand, the use you've made of reverb makes us not forget that we are in the mind of a god.
I kept this submission for near the end of the voting session, I wanted it to be one of the last ones I rate. It didn't disappoint. The production on this is absolutely crazy, each song feels so professional, cinematic and full. If this isn't a 5/5 for Quality, I don't know what is.
I'm honestly lost for words. I don't know how but it just keeps getting better and better.
I've been there since your first submission to the first OST Composing Jam, I remembered listening to it and think: huh, this is very weird, I've never listened to anything like this before, it's just so... otherworldly. I didn't like it. I didn't understand it. But as years passed, submission after submission, I started to understand the beauty of your sound design. It's not always about the melody, it's not always about being nice and pleasant to listen to. It's about conveying emotion and telling a story, which I feel like you've perfected here. You've opened the world of sound design for me, thank you, and well done :)
This means a lot to me! These jams have been a significant part of my growth as a composer/sound designer/musician and I really owe you a lot for this platform of expression.
I've been thinking about pushing that "otherworldly, broken but beautiful" sound design philosophy into something more abstract in a jam sometime, the competition nature of the jam has always kept me from going too weird and inaccessible but I think it'd be fun to try maybe.
Thanks for listening, and thanks for hosting!
The music's sick but DEM ARTS THO DAYUM.
So, so good... I love how you incorporated a live instrument in the music with all the effects and libraries, it really gives the entire thing so much life. It's hard to choose a favorite track out of this one because each one is crafted with so much care!! I think it's between "Here Lies a Village Not Saved" and "Guilt That Fades Away" for me. Definitely one of my favorites for this jam, incredible work as always!!!
Edit: I forgot to comment on the art, holy crap. It's eerily beautiful. It goes so well with the music you created.
this is a sick submission! you truly earned the creativity points with this one (quick round of applause for the artwork...). you've mixed genres so beautifully to shape the world you intended to create. you've made some VERY smart choices when it comes to instrumentation! very clearly the work of a professional. i LOVE how you recorded some of these instruments yourself, too! you're insanely skilled and i soooo wish i had your talent.
literally my only critique is that some of your tracks throw a wall of energy at you, which isn't necessarily a bad thing! i enjoyed sitting and having a listen. i especially noticed this in your last track (likely due to mixing (i feel you bro i had the same issue)). however, it doesn't draw too much away from the composition and it was still an incredibly awesome listen!
i would love to see your content in an actual game someday! you have such a great range of musical abilities that i WISH i had and i can't wait to hear more from you in future jams. great work!!!!!
Thank you so much! I still feel like I'm at the start of of my music/audio journey so hearing that people think my work sounds professional means a lot to me!
Your criticism about the mix is valid, I blame the reverb, I think I could improve with how I integrate reverb into bigger and higher energy sections.
Thanks for listening!
Apocalyptic, esoteric, and whatnot! Very impressive!
Lush and clean orchestration with an intriguing mix of different sounds and noises. Really appreciate the chamber orchestra for the emotional effect and closeness especially in combination with the very good arrangement and mix. I got nothing to say but to tip my head and linger and to listen more. Excelent work!
Also short nerdy question, if you'd allow. What was the Vocal library you where using on "False sun of shadow"? I am really looking for that hungarian choire. Additionally what is the library in the beginning of "Guilt That Fades Away"? Really loved the wavyness of the strings. Kind of had something of a minimalism piece
Thanks for listening! The vocal libraries I used in False Sun of Shadow are the Quartet in the Balkan Ethnic Orchestra by Strezov Sampling and Requiem Pro by 8dio. The one you are probably looking for is the Balkan Ethnic Orchestra. The string library in the beginning of Guilt That Fades Away are from Albion Solstice by Spitfire Audio
I don't get it...honestly. Maybe the writeup isn't very clear, maybe the concrete narrative of this god's guilt and anxieties and history are not very clear, but that's what I got, so I bravely went into the music.
The OST is very interesting and has a lot going on, with musical variety sprinkled around like the various elements of this subject's mind and origins. I think this works, although there are moments where I think the music would be overpowering to the game experience.
Still - the images, the writeup, and the music form the gesamtkunstwerk that the game would ought to be, and I think even though I don't get it - I can definitely see the effort and the results. Well done!
Thank you so much for listening! Is there any part in particular you don't get? I thought I covered everything necessary for the background but if there's something I could have done better or missed I'd appreciate the feedback
Hmmm...not sure, but here's some questions that I think might help me:
It's clear that there's supposed to be some relationship to this dead god and their own progeny, but what is it that they did or did not do to feel guilty or regretful?
Do the duo of mindwalkers really grasp the abstract meaning of the things they observe and engage with in order to cleanse the dead god?
What really constitutes cleansing in this mindscape? Do things fade away or do they reconcile and change for the better?
A lot of this stuff are things I purposefully left up to interpretation or omitted from the final itch pages to avoid dumping hella lore on whoever bothered to read everything, but my idea behind the relationship between the dying god and his son (the sun) is that it is a miscommunication between the father and the son. The son (the sun) loved his father and was happy with who he was. The father (the dying god you enter) wishes he was a better father and is convinced that his son resents him and that his son is trying to overachieve because of this. The guilt creates the reflection (the false sun of shadow) which represents that misunderstanding and the dying god's misconception of his son.
The mindwalkers lore is something I do wish I clarified more of. They are a clan in a sense, being in god mind worlds changes them and makes them more reclusive so they congregate amongst themselves out of an introverted belief that they are lesser, but they are well respected and good people. The mindwalker duo (the two players, my idea for this was that it would be a co-op game), do understand the mind world and their role. Each god is given a mindwalker who watches over the door to their mind world (let's call this mindwalker 1), these mindwalkers that the gods are given, once in the god's head they are essentially immortal never aging until they leave. I played around with an idea with the concept artist that these mindwalkers while not aging, become affected by the door and become more abstract in the time spent in it's proximity but he didn't have time for the concept art of the mindwalkers. The second mindwalker (mindwalker 2) comes from the outside. Two mindwalkers are required to enter the door, a representation of the two halves of the brain.
Cleansing in the mind world is the god reconciling with their guilt represented by the shadow/reflections. The mindwalkers as they venture through the mind world defeating reflections/shadows of the dying god's guilt ease their mind. Once all the guilt is cleansed the god is at peace, the mind world fades away and the god can die without destroying reality from the outburst of guilt/shadow.
I hope this helps! I had a lot of fun coming up with ideas for the world building of this jam and now I am wishing I included more of it in writing because looking back it is pretty confusing
This was an insane submission. The production on this is the best I've heard so far. The compositions and arrangements are interesting all the way throughout. The use of synths mixed with the beautiful orchestral instruments was outstanding. My favorite track is False Sun of Shadow.
Overall, this is one of the top submissions for me. Keep it up!
This was absolutely astounding to listen to! I can definitely see the Dark Souls influence in track 2 and 3, it reminds me a lot of Slave Knight Gael's fight in DS3. I seriously admire that you played the instruments, you absolutely killed it. This was literally immaculate through and through, I was freaking out in vc with my friend. (quite literally my only tip I can give you is to notch EQ some of the resonating frequencies in the last track)
Thank you for the feedback! The last track was made in a very short period of time on the last day so the mix was very rushed, mixing is definitely an area that I think I could greatly improve upon and going into this jam I had issues with it as well.
There is 100% some Dark Souls influence, I beat DS3 a little over a month ago so it's been on my mind. I'm also a huge FromSoft fan lol
Thanks again for listening! I'm glad you enjoyed it :)
This sounds really cool and professional. Definitely has that dark souls vibe which you successfully pulled off with lots of background sounds.
One of my favourites for sure, good work!
this is divine man very well structured and beautiful work you've put in to this it's superb man Much love
This is absolutely incredible. The instrumentation and composition are top-notch, and conceptually this is creative and water-tight. Definitely the best I've heard this jam. Amazing