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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
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Comments
Ok this was very cool, I was starting to get kinda of a western vibe and then boom heavy gtrs. Loved it. As a guitar player my only advice would be to simulate a double tracking for the riffs and hard pan them then leave the lead in center. I really enjoyed the last song as well, very good work!
i remember you posting your progress in the discord, i was always amazed by your progress!
i know you put a lot of effort into your OST and it shows, this is really an incredible soundtrack, especially with the way you switch styles so seamlessly. my favorite addition was your use of vocals in your final track, Confluence/ Inside My World (feat. Reed Coale), which really added a lot of personality to your track. You don't see a lot of vocals in OSTs and it was really cool to see!
This is definitely the most creative OST i've rated so far!! great job!
The Verdant Sea/Ironshank Rampage: Right off the bat some very interesting textures. I'm trying to place which game that bird sfx reminds me of! Damn this perc and bass. Fun Phrygian Dominant use. The guitar damn! I need to learn to use AMH as good as you.
The Buzz Merchant/Misbeegotten Goods: Cute Earthbound vibes but not lacking in powerful drums. And then almost a cyberpunk vibe! This goes hard.
Cavern Of Dreams/Herald Of The Maelstrom: Great percussion and cave vibes. Nice chromatic descent progression. The 9/8 time signature goes hard. Simply an amazing track. This is one of my single favorite tracks from the jam!
Confluence/Inside My World: Great vocals. I really love the choice of progression for a closing track.
Great work!
Quite the listening experience. 1:51 kicked in on Verdant Sea and I was impressed by the switch. Same goes for 1:17 on Buzz Merchant. Cavern of Dreams was epic and I got happily surprised by the vocals on Confluence. What a creative entry. Very nice work!
A nice mix of styles. Really liked this one
i love this one! i also like how you change styles after each track too!
fav tracks: The Verdant Sea, Ironshank Rampage <-- love this one!!!, Misbeegotten Goods, Cavern of Dreams, Herald of Maelstrom, Confluence, Inside My World
Beautiful entry!! The rock elements are so well executed, coupled with the dreamy sound design in 'Cavern of Dreams'. The vibe feels really distinct. And wow whoever is singing in 'Confluence', does a perfect job. It fits so well. Production quality is really solid too! PS I can't tell you how much I adore Buzz Merchant
Amazing stuff!
My only "gripe" was the buildup on the second track that didn't go anywhere! I was like gearing up for a bass drop that never came! Haha. Oh well, good stuff.
It's a really cool atmosphere you made.
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!