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The Cold Realm Within's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Composition | #55 | 4.082 | 4.082 |
| Quality | #64 | 4.082 | 4.082 |
| Overall | #88 | 3.871 | 3.871 |
| Correlation to theme | #138 | 3.847 | 3.847 |
| Impression | #151 | 3.694 | 3.694 |
| Creativity | #220 | 3.647 | 3.647 |
Ranked from 85 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
This is an OST for an imaginary adventure game called The Cold Realm Within, created for OSTCompJam #7! Cover art is a public domain image (Zes kerkuilen slapend op besneeuwde takken [1939] by Theo van Hoytema).
The game is a single player adventure game that takes place on a frigid mountain. The main character (you) finds themselves alone in an abandoned village. High upon the peak of the nearby mountain, they see a light emanating from what appears to be some sort of shrine. Staying in the village surely means death through starvation or freezing, so they begin their ascent to the mountain's summit. Along the way, they are descended upon by shadowy creatures that strangely feel all too familiar.
Upon reaching the summit, they encounter an idealized, almost god-like imitation of themselves. The being taunts them, mocks them, and challenges them to stand against it. When defeated, the being is absorbed by the main character, and we learn that the shades were insecurities and manifestations of feelings of failure and unworthiness in the mind of the main character, and the god-like being was the reality of who the MC is - a fine creature only antagonistic to itself. The landscape we trekked through to arrive to this conclusion was nothing more than a representation of our own inner mind - barren of warmth and comfort for oneself.
Track list:
1. The Cold Realm Within (Main Menu)
2. Alone (Introduction to the world)
3. Snow Buried Village (Village Theme)
4. Footprints in the Drifts (Starting the Ascent)
5. Shades on the Trail (Combat Encounter)
6. Failure (Game Over)
7. To Claim Oneself (Boss Fight)
8. End of Self Discovery (Ending/Credits)
Composed in FL Studio 21!
Message from the artist
This was so much fun! Thank you for doing this!
Theme
How does it fit the theme?
The entirety of the game takes place in the inner world of the protagonist, though they don't realize it until defeating and absorbing the boss. They realize how cold they are to themselves, how their insecurities and fears manifest as dangerous beings hell-bent on attacking them, and how they have an idealized version of how they think they should be, but even then, that version only speaks negatively to itself.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://soundcloud.com/circles-in-the-sky/sets/the-cold-realm-within
Number of tracks8
Genre
Soundtrack use permission
Any non-commercial project
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Comments
To Claim Oneself was super intence, I really enjoyed it.
Thank you for listening!
Brilliant orchestration! Waves of frigid winter hit me in gradual succession. Some wind effects could have went a long way, but it still invokes the same feeling. Nice work!
You're right about the wind effects! I didn't even think of that lol.
Thanks a lot for listening and for the kind words my friend!
This was awesome!! I love how consistent your sound palette was throughout the soundtrack, it really made the listening experience much more immersive as I imagined being in the cold, snowy world you described. Also love how you made a game over track! Great job!!
Thank you so much for listening!
Great to hear your soundtrack!! It works really well!! I loved how you captured the idea of snow!! It sounded amazing!!
Thank you so much my friend! :D
Very cold and wintery music, full of emotion.
Some nice composition with good use of the orchestra & instruments. Very nicely mixed too. Especially like the use of strings & mallet instruments.
Thank you for listening, and for your kind words!
You nailed the vibes of a cold and winter track very vividly in the soundtrack, I like how well you use the instrumentation to portray emotion of each track, like the feeling of solitude and loneliness on the "Alone" track. you managed to balance the whimsical nature and the emotional sadness throughout the soundtrack
Now I know that the music style is way different in the songs but the narrative description has a similar plot to the game Celeste; from the fact that the protagonist wants to go to the frigid mountain for self discovery, to the fact that the main antagonist was actually a manifestation of the main protagonist's insecurities, literally fighting yourself. you should try looking that up and have a try, very good game.
Thanks so much for listening and for the recommendation! I've never played Celeste but I've heard very good things, and along with Undertale, that's been the most consistently referenced game in the comments of this entire jam lol
I like the epic vibes. And quality of soundtrack! Also the cover art is really cool, will look up more Theo van Hoytema.
Thank you so much! I actually discovered Theo's work for the first time searching for a public domain image for this OST, and he has some really interesting stuff!
Great soundtracks!
Some of them make you think of Snowdin from Undertale, each work is clearly in the mood stated in the title.
I only wish there was a more detailed description of the game for a detailed immersion in the atmosphere.
Anyway, great job!
Thanks so much! I do wish I went a little more detailed with the descriptions of each track and with the game description, but I'm a terrible writer 😭
I heard various different mallet instruments throughout so I was happy!
They're like a sauce for me - I try to put them in everything! Lol I'm glad you appreciate the mallets as much as I do my friend, thanks so much for listening!
you captured the snowy vibe so well!!! end of self discovery was my fav track, well done
Thank you so much for listening!
The Cold Realm Within: Immediately got Secret of Mana vibes. Pretty.
Alone: Great percussion! Gives me a desolate overworld kind of vibe.
Snow Buried Village: Nailed the cold village vibe. Still feeling like Secret of Mana which is a great thing!
Footprints in the Drifts: I'm amazed how well your tracks match the described setting. More lovely percussion!
Shades on the Trail: Some tension enters the OST. Great battle theme that gives me war vibes.
Failure: Effective game over theme! Tragic though not overly so, a different take from the average game over theme.
To Claim Oneself: Evil organ. The rhythm here is crazy cool. This to me perfectly matches the scene of the MC essentially facing off against their self, grand and tragic.
End of Self Discovery: Love this sort of bittersweet credits theme. Very effective!
Great work!
I appreciate the feedback on each track! Thank you very much for listening! :D
Very solid entry. It's very well composed.
Thank you very much! I hope you enjoyed it!
pretty cool stuff here! within the ost itself it feels like there's a well structured world being built and it's very hard to make that feeling within just music alone, so great job!
Thank you so much! :D
Epic AND whimsical, well done!
Thank you so much! I hope you enjoyed it :D
This was such a journey! I felt like I was back on the PS1 playing through something like Legend of Dragoon. The mixes were nice and spacious, and the simple orchestration was used extremely well. Shades in the Trail was for sure the standout for me!
Oh man, mentioning Dragoon is the way to my heart! Thanks so much for listening and for that once in a lifetime comparison my friend!!
You've built a really charming world! Your themes are well constructed and the overall ambiances are great! Nice submission :D
Thank you for the kind words my friend!
Your melodies are so full of charm, amazing work!
Thank you so much! :D
This was a really incredible submission! All of the tracks are cohesive in telling the story you've presented. I can imagine myself playing this game from the music alone.
Thank you so much for listening and for the kind words!!
Great stuff here! All the arrangements are well done. I liked To Claim Oneself the most, gave me square enix vibes and the organ used was cool!
Thank you so much! If I ever had anything comparable to Square's soundtracks, I'd die a happy composer, so thank you again for that comparison! Lol
really nice compositions! I appreciate how you kept it consistent in what instruments you use. It makes it fit with each other really well. To claim ones self is my favorite track the orchestration is super good. Great job!
Thank you so much for listening! I appreciate the kind words :D