Play soundtrack
Strange Tides: A Confluence (OST Comp Jam #7)'s itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Creativity | #4 | 4.435 | 4.435 |
| Impression | #17 | 4.200 | 4.200 |
| Overall | #17 | 4.207 | 4.207 |
| Composition | #25 | 4.247 | 4.247 |
| Quality | #34 | 4.259 | 4.259 |
| Correlation to theme | #118 | 3.894 | 3.894 |
Ranked from 85 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Judge feedback
Judge feedback is anonymous.
- It is so nice to listen to something that so instantly grabs my attention and holds it throughout. I very much appreciated the eclectic instrumental choices as well as consistent variety of material and tone-- all while keeping a consistent identity-- no small feat that! It was a real treat to listen to the "rock-forward" music you so seamlessly work into the material. Bringing this kind of unique palette really makes your entry stand out-- you have a unique approach that I haven't heard anywhere else, I'm sure it will serve you well in the future! It is honestly hard for me to find anything to critique here-- perhaps the one note would be that I feel the distorted rock guitar parts occasionally feel like they need just a bit of a tuck into the mix, as at times I had to focus to really listen in to the other parts when they were really shredding-- but I suppose that could just be the way that style/genre works. "The Buzz Merchant" brought a smile to my face-- I will admit that at first it was a little "unique" compared to the other tracks, but then you bring in the drum kit and it just clicked into place for me, and the segue to the misbegotten gods is at once smooth and still appropriately dramatic. "Cavern of Dreams" was wonderfully evocative. "Confluence" opens with some seriously great textures-- wonderful work with the march-like snare against the lithe vocal line. It is a unique, interesting, and beautiful texture in a submission that is just a complete feast of them. "'Inside my world" rounded things out perfectly-- again bringing a unique approach to the whole without departing so much that I felt it came from some other work. The live vocals here are much appreciated and a brave choice. This whole thing had me smiling from beginning to end. Fantastic work.
Description
You awaken knowing two things:
1. This world is not the one you know.
2. Your beloved lies waiting in a prison in the sea.
Strange Tides: A Confluence is a narrative-first action-adventure game about fighting your way through the sea inside a strange new world. Combat fierce endemic life, meet a colorful cast of friends and foes, overcome obstacles of the natural and spiritual world, and find your way to the one closest to your heart.
The album for Strange Tides: A Confluence was developed for the OST Composition Jam #7. It is a genre-defying mix of various orchestral instruments and native instruments of various diasporas, amplified with modern synths featuring rock-forward boss fights.
The album is a brief 11 minute sampler of four tracks:
- Awaken by the Verdant Sea, infamous for the occasional Ironshank Rampage.
- Find the amicable and mysterious Buzz Merchant, but thieves beware: the shopkeeper does not tolerate Misbeegotten Goods.
- Travel deep through the Cavern of Dreams to face against the tyrannical Herald of the Maelstrom.
- Two souls meet in Confluence and lose each other Inside My World.
Strange Tides: A Confluence is made possible through Reason by Reason Studios. The electric guitar tracks were created with the Ample Metal Hellrazer VST by Ample Sound, and the jaw harp tracks were created with the Cowboy Harp VST by New Nation Audio. Vocals provided by Reed Coale and Amelia Giarusso. All other instruments, effects, mixing, and mastering was made and performed within Reason and its freely included Rack Extensions, including the Orkester Sound Bank, Humana Vocal Ensemble, and Klang Tuned Percussion.
Strange Tides: A Confluence is inspired by:
- The genre-bending melodic storytelling of Darren Korb (Supergiant Games), Yoann Laulan (Dead Cells), and Borislav Slavov (Larian Studios)
- The imaginative and dense worldbuilding of games such as the Monster Hunter franchise and Felix Isaac’s tabletop roleplaying game, The Wildsea.
Cover art by Reed Coale.
Message from the artist
To Reed, my confidant and muse, whose soul can fill an orchestra beyond measure.
Theme
How does it fit the theme?
“Inside My World” is both literal and figurative; your soul mate lies trapped inside their world as you travel deeper and deeper to the inside of the world to face them. The illustrated theme shows two people, two souls so close yet separated by the thinnest veil between worlds, drifting in an unfamiliar and colorful sea.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://soundcloud.com/amelia-ridz/sets/strange-tides-a-confluence-ost-jam-7
Number of tracks4
Genre
Soundtrack use permission
Any non-commercial project
Leave a comment
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Comments
Love how much variety you've got going on throughout the soundtrack! All the guitar parts are really well written and played! I'm a big fan of the goofy sounds in the second track - so playful! The vocal work is stunning in the finale and a wonderful way to end the soundtrack! Well done!!
0What an eclectic mix! The various folk elements in The Verdant Sea and gradual build into the electric guitars (presumably the Ironshank Rampage section?) was well done, and wholly unexpected as others have mentioned. Lead work was tastefully done and has some nice flair to it.
The Buzz Merchant is so quirky and packed to the brim with whimsy. Reminds me of some late 16-bit era games that had some serious funk woven into them. Can really appreciate the change in tone with Misbeegotten Goods which, in comparison, sounds straight out of the early PSX era. The side-chained guitar in this goes really hard, and I'm beginning to notice a trend! 😄
The vocal work in Inside My World is gorgeous and really well done - another rare element in jams! All in all this was a delight to listen to; explored some unexpected twists in genres and direction, choice of instrumentation and voicings was on point and the arrangement throughout was varied and interesting. Great work with this!
Veery unexpected mix of instruments, genres and atmospheres. Such pretty sounding tracks.
Guitars are bit too dry and pan may be little more wider.
Well done work!
Wasn't expecting the strong electric guitars to come in, what a surprise! Really interesting takes on the ambiences!
Very nice soundtrack, and also quite original !
There is a lot of great ideas in the different tracks, and the instrumentation flows together very nicely.
I also enjoyed a lot the tracks being clearly divided in two parts (like some Megadeth song titles) because you can quite easily imagine how to make the songs adapative in a game situation (with the second phase of a gameplay situation triggering the second half of the songs like in Metal Gear Rising for example), which is a nice touch in a Jam based on video games music composition.
Overall great contribution (with special mention to the vocals in the last song too), so good job !
Cool use of samples, really enjoy that vibe it give, verdant sea was a bit western of the sea x)
First use of rock in OST i listen in the jam and really well done!
Wtf was 2nd track x) Goofy vibe! The transition was really well done!
Love first part of 3rd track really unsettling.
Amazing last track with vocals! The voice a bit drowned in the mix but it doesnt matter it still sound fine ;)
Great job^^
Loved the metal vibe to the idea. Excellent vocals on the last track and the second track went so hard. I love this type of sound and think you did an awesome job.
My favorite is actually the first one! I think it sets the tone really well and I had a solid understanding for what to expect in the others. Incorporating the theme into the lyrics at the end was also a nice touch that resonated with me too. We did a similar idea to have the last track a full song, but our implementation was totally different. I love that comparison and seeing stuff like this is why I love doing these jams. Great work!
The first track sounds so stylish, love the percussion and guitar! The Buzz has such a fun quirky vibe to it and kind of reminds me of Earthbound. The end of the last track "Inside My World" was beautiful! Good work.
Wowowow amazing production and really masterful use of genre. This was a really impressive listen. Love the shop theme especially with your really interesting use of melody. The vocals add such a unique character to the last track. Superbbbb OST!!
Amazing submission! Everything sounds really diverse. Its really cool how all of the tracks had multiple sections with very distinct development. Everything was clearly well thought out and had a lot of effort put in. All the instruments sounded great, but the vocals especially stood out to me. Good work!
The first track is my favorite because of its rock vibes. It reminds me a little of the music from "The Oregon Trail". The album overall has a lot of variation which holds the listener's interest. Impressive work!
So good! Agree with the Hades vibes. The guitars sound great, vocal performance on the last song is fantastic. Epic work!
This is fire!! I'm in love with "Strange Tides" and absolutely adore your style. If I could say something, I feel like your percussion is a bit shy. Maybe it needs a bit more punch. Otherwise, your mix is completely fine, as long as you can hear all the instruments and all your tracks make sense, i think you did the job well ! Love how you introduced Metal in your tracks, this is one of the best entries I've listened to! Amazing work!
This is great! As other comments have said, you’re a lot better at mixing than you think! Everything is super clear and feels full. Groovy stuff going on as well; love the odd meters and changes of pace throughout. Well done!
Oh my god, this is like an actual real video game that could exist. this is one of the most professional things I've heard so far in this jam. Every track is so distinct and evocative, and just plain enjoyable to listen to with never a dull moment. I would love to hear your music appear in an actual game someday, golly
Really love how you arranged all of your tracks, with contrasting A and B sections that flow into eachother through multiple means! I also love how the initial melodies always expanded and grew as darker/gritter instruments were added into the arrangement. Your mix felt full yet allowed instruments move freely within the arrangement, Your ideas were fairly unique and every track was a fun and transformative experience! Nice stuff!
You downplayed your mixing in the discord but I'd have to hard disagree. You create space in your music that makes me want to travel to wherever that tune is playing. The natural use of odd meters made me a fan. Another front runner for me!
Hi amelia.
just rated after you forcefully suggested I should do so on the discord. I forcefully suggest similar action regarding my project ;)
Very cool work. The willingness to use more unusual textures and commit to them is brave in a jam like this, but the way they all work together shows you really put thought into it. my highlights are the John Carpenter style guuitars in the first track and the highly processed background vocals in the last. As a committed headbanger myself, I also can´t deny that I give bonus points to everything that has rumbling guitars. Maybe one day we´ll get the death growls from you that you teased at the beginning of the jam.
(If you need a harsh vocalist, hmu).
The mix is amazing : two different genre that just sound like they belong together, instruments with really similar range perfectly mixed, I just don't have a lot to say because of how good it is.
At least I did lower your karma a bit !
What the heck? These tracks go crazy! I was expecting something soft bc of the thumbnail, but its so dang diverse. Keep it up! ヽ(✿ﾟ▽ﾟ)ノ