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VANITAS's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Creativity | #15 | 4.316 | 4.316 |
| Impression | #19 | 4.184 | 4.184 |
| Overall | #26 | 4.147 | 4.147 |
| Quality | #31 | 4.263 | 4.263 |
| Composition | #45 | 4.132 | 4.132 |
| Correlation to theme | #140 | 3.842 | 3.842 |
Ranked from 38 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Judge feedback
Judge feedback is anonymous.
- The entirety of your entry is absolutely exceptional-- truly achieving something special. The sense of atmosphere was immediately apparent when I began listening, and I really appreciated the cloud of gestures that opened on "In Between". The synth bed beneath was chosen expertly, as its tone color served as a perfect backdrop. I did feel that the drone-like nature of the synth there became somewhat unwelcome by the end, although I suspect just bringing it down in the mix might have alleviated that problem-- worth keeping in mind that you don't want to fatigue the listener. (This is a very small nitpick) "Plain, Meander, Erupt" stood out to me as a wonderfully inventive and interesting interlude-- the second half with the arpeggiated synth was breathtaking. Absolutely excellent work here, thank you for sharing it! The choice of having an eclectic instrumental palette succeeds quite well in my opinion. I found myself eager to listen to each new track to hear what new combination you had put together! The only small comment here would be that the piano textures feel somewhat dissimilar, especially on "Funny Business", which though a fun track (and well written to boot), seemed like it was zapped in from another OST entirely, I think mostly due to the fact that the piano sounds remarkably different. "There is Void" succeeds in texture, I think, but did overstay just a hair as I was listening. I think probably because your writing on the other tracks is so strong, the long, ambient stretches and sounds felt a bit *too* long on both my first and second listen. "Inside my World, A Great Beyond" is... stunning. I have no other words. As a chorally-oriented composer, I appreciate very much the kind of writing that so gloriously uses the human vocal texture to do that thing it does that no other ensemble can. (And I didn't even mention *the winds here*, which are absolutely breathtaking). Just expertly handled, congratulations on this.
Description
Storytelling soundtrack of various genres. I imagine this soundtrack to be composed for an immersive, artsy adventure game. You can find my description/interpretations of each track on the project page. My DAW of choice is Cubase. Since I've already had a template setup, I just use it as a canvas to generate ideas. The prompt this time is kind of introspective, so the instrumentations I choose focus more on small chamber ensemble with electronics. There is a lot of experimentations with the sound palette and synthesizer, especially on the third track Plain, Meander, Erupt, which I wanted to create something unique rhythmically to create a sense of imaginary headspace inside an artist's mind. There is also the last track with the choir to tie the whole thing together as the palettes of the soundtrack really vary track by track.
Theme
How does it fit the theme?
The word prompt suggests to me something abstract and introspective. My soundtrack uses a great variety of sound palettes to paint a picture of a world that is colorful and varied, rather than being defined by specific instrumentation. The anchor of the soundtrack is by tonally basing the root key on D, which is also only suggestive as either the root or it can be any key on its scale. If one is "inside" one's world, there should be no defining feeling of boundary because it is essentially a "made up" world based on pure imagination. And I try to root the music on imagined contexts that are connected to the imaginary world based on the imaginary girl's life experience.
The picture theme is an extension to what my soundtrack strives for. It paints an imaginary that is beautiful and surreal, also lighthearted and fun loving, which my music uses lighter instrumentation and orchestration to portray.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://on.soundcloud.com/H7GCRvhrS14hdcT36
Number of tracks7
Genre
Soundtrack use permission
Any non-commercial project
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Comments
Some really gorgeous textures and ambiences in here, honestly. In Between reminded me of something Akira Yamaoka would do. As others have noted, there's a rather unique mix of tracks in here and they're all realized to their full potential - no half measures in approach or arrangement. I love the more piano driven ones (such as the beginning of Plain Meander Erupt and Funny Business) but all of them have a lot to love.
Production throughout is really solid and I love the varied use of instrumentation throughout. Sand Tower has a lot of interesting components in it, in particular I'm a big fan of the vocal lines in it - they fit so seamlessly. Really nice use of folk instruments and writing to their strengths.
Solid work all in all - this was fun to listen to and explore all the different styles. Great work. :)
i love how you combine and cross genres in this OST, super unique!! its so intense and mystical. i tell this to most people but i especially mean it for you - you've told your story SO well with this OST and i'm obsessed! great work!!!!!
Is it diverse? Yes! Was it fun? Yes! Did There Is Void scare me? ... yeah..
Overall, I liked it! A solid, exciting and very atmospheric soundtrack... cool!
Thanks)
It's beautiful and captivating. Gives both a strange and pleasant feeling. Hypnotic. Thank you for sharing!
the fact you put 6 genre tags in the soundtrack shows how much variety each of the songs are in the soundtrack, signifying each part of the artists journey to become better. I liked "funny business" simply because of how its a fun upbeat piano solo that gradually goes faster as the song progresses.
there’s so much going on in this ost; it’s really beautiful. the quality is really nice too. good stuff!!
Brilliant soundtrack! Each track transitions nicely and grasps the listeners' interest. I love the wide spectrum of instruments that you used. Spectacular work!
Such a memorable and intriguing soundtrack for me, the music and description
At first, I didn’t understand much, not have much listening experience in genres (Acoustic Orchestra, Film Scoring, Ambient). On repeated listening, I found myself appreciating more, and noticing little details. It just grows on me to become my favorite :]
On the music,
Acoustic (in a way of Asian style), Minimal, and Ambient create colorful texture landscape.
In Between, Embark, Plain, Meander, Erupt and There Is Void are special and hard to describe, but they reinforce the theme unconsciously.
Sand Tower is memorable to me, I would find myself humming and hearing bumbumbumbahbumbumbum back of my mind, a push-pull effect, it is like I have to drag myself each step.
On the description,
It resonated as someone who has done creative work (both story writing and music), the frustration and struggle with oneself towards creative art creation. I would love to read a story written by you, that would tightly tie the soundtrack as its own identity.
PS - I would love to remix this, to explore some of the ideas in my free time.
PS2 - To get you started, what is the girl's name and her life? (keep it a secret from me, and continue writing :])
Fantastic track, the sheer diversity of sound and textures is astounding! There's just so much variety in the way you create different atmospheres, I learned a lot just from listening to this. Thanks so much for sharing!
the textures here are amazing, and this whole album incredibly well produced. this is top tier <3
There was so much variety! It was a lot of fun to listen to and I never felt bored really!
All around very high quality, congrats!
Hi Tony!
Love what you¡ve done! The amount of different colors that you've created along the whole ost is AMAZING!
So much variety of instruments yet cohesive between tracks.
A Great Beyond, my favorite one! Very impressive the dinamic control, especially in the choirs.
Great job!
Very beautiful soundscapes, wonderful production and fantastic ideas. It left me wanting for more to be honest. I would love to see what you'd do if you dove deep into just one of the tracks and developed them more. Overall, great submission.
This is beautiful!
Great combination of ambient & classical/orchestral sounds, as well as the other inspirations you've drawn from.
Hard to pick out a track a track as a favourite, you've gone in an interesting and creative direction on all of them whilst keeping the soundtrack still feeling very coherent.
Real nice submission! "Embark" really took me on the adventure!! Everything is well thought and the variety of harmony/orchestration/spirits of the tracks really blew me away!
This is BEAUTIFUL man! The first track gave me Nier vibes. My favorites are track 3 and the final track. I gotta know what you used to get those ethereal choir samples because it sounds so natural and realistic. Great work man!
Thank you for comment, rikuwru! I used 8dio Insolidus Choir and a little bit of Soundiron Requiem Light for that last piece. The 8dio Insolidus choir really excels in slower tempo and classic 4-parts writing style of composition.
Great submission, lot of well done composition! My favourite is There is void - fantastic energy!
One of the best submissions. Love this piano!
AYO, you so COOKED at 0:35 of the third track haha! This, coupled with your vision of the game on the cover, is an evocative piece. The diverse environments/vibe presented in 7 songs were varied and fun but still cohesive. The first two song and the last song reminded me of GRIS is it wasn't sad.