Description
The soundtrack for Whispers of The Sea draws inspiration from beloved games such as Journey and The Legend of Zelda. It blends symphonic elements with Caribbean and Latin percussion and melodic instruments, creating a unique and captivating auditory experience.

Whispers of The Sea is a puzzle-platformer adventure game where our protagonist, Melonie, is transported into a picture book her late father wrote before his passing. She searches for fragments of her father's memories throughout the sunken lands, aiding villagers and fending off deadly beasts.

The title theme, "Once Whole," sets a darker tone, reflecting the melancholic memories and emotions surrounding Melonie's late father. "A Heart's Respite" serves as the theme for Kokoro Village (Kokoro meaning 'heart' in Japanese), the main town where Melonie spends most of her time. This track is more uplifting yet retains a somber quality. "Submerged Splendor," the shop theme for the same village, is happy and catchy, reminiscent of a classic Nintendo shop theme.

I was heavily inspired by both the beautiful artwork and the thematic elements of the game for this OST. All of my tracks include bubbly/watery sound effects to immerse the player in the story's underwater setting. Most of these sound effects were designed from scratch, using a "bubble synth" technique. By using a fast LFO to modulate the pitch of a sine wave sound and sending it through a vocoder, I achieved delightful bubbly effects and created rich atmospheres for the tracks.

All tracks are designed to loop seamlessly. I demonstrate this in my compositions by looping each piece once and leading to a slow fadeout. I used FL Studio for all the songs in the OST. I intended to include recordings of the DAW sessions, but unfortunately, my CPU couldn't handle the load of OBS and all the plugins.

I hope you enjoy these tracks. Each song features many layers of instruments, automations, and sound effects. There is also a more detailed summary of the game idea on my project page. Thank you for hosting this event, and thanks to all the judges and participants!

Message from the artist
This is my first jam ever and though I don't compose often I found it incredibly fun to participate in this event. Thanks again to everyone apart of this.

Theme

Inside my world

Picture theme

How does it fit the theme?
I was immediately captivated by the artwork when this event started. I envisioned the exact kind of game I wanted to create using this art as a template. The image of a child holding the hand of a tall figure encased in a bubble inspired the game's concept: a child who falls into a world created by her late father, searching for pieces of him throughout her underwater adventure. This concept perfectly aligned with the music I wanted to compose—tropical symphonic with a dark undertone.

The dark blues and purples of the picture evoke a sense of sadness, contrasting with the child's bright smile as she holds the figure's hand, surrounded by vibrant aquatic life. Drawing from these observations, I composed an array of pieces that reflect the somber emotions Melonie feels over her father's passing, as well as the emergence of new, brighter emotions as she progresses through the story, discovering her father's memories and the beauties he left behind for her. Strings and woodwinds drive these themes throughout the three tracks, creating an almost angelic tone full of hope yet tinged with melancholy. This theme pairs beautifully with tropical percussion instruments such as claves, shakers, congas, and castanets, blending symphonic and Caribbean elements to evoke a tropical underwater feel.

"Inside My World" also holds significant meaning in this story. Melonie is drawn into the world her father designed before his passing. To capture this magical essence, I added shimmering, otherworldly effects to the tracks. The underwater theme greatly aided this effort, as I designed bubbly synths and reverb-drenched sound effects to create a rich, immersive atmosphere.

The overall vision was to create a collection of pieces that felt dream-like, soothing, and somber, utilizing elements from both the game's story and the music itself. I incorporated emotional themes by transitioning from minor to major keys as the story progresses and mixed genres to best suit the narrative inspired by the artwork and text theme.

Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyxcMMQuKrtf8jQoYYxZcqVmZRMj4g94S

https://on.soundcloud.com/P6FvNPzVxUsavtj57

Number of tracks
3

Genre

Soundtrack use permission