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Mia's Dream's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Correlation to theme | #47 | 4.108 | 4.108 |
| Quality | #65 | 4.081 | 4.081 |
| Overall | #68 | 3.957 | 3.957 |
| Impression | #88 | 3.865 | 3.865 |
| Composition | #95 | 3.919 | 3.919 |
| Creativity | #124 | 3.811 | 3.811 |
Ranked from 37 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
Storyline: Mia is a 24-year-old art student who starts to dream the same thing over and over again. In her dream she is 8 years old, and appears in a kind of magical forest that looks like the drawings she made when she was little. In order to sleep peacefully again she needs to heal the traumas of her childhood that are presented in her dream, but if she lets herself be carried away by anger she will wake up, and she will have to try all over again.
Genre/style: Platformer, roguelike, pixel art.
Tracks
Title: Music that plays in the game menu, represents Mia's journey back to her childhood, where she finds everything she felt as a little girl.
Find Myself: Music that appears in the first zone of the dream, is where most of Mia's good childhood memories are presented. It represents the pure soul of Mia as a little girl.
Evil Thoughts: This music is presented in one of the most advanced areas of the dream, Mia has to deal with the intrusive thoughts that haunt her from her past to her present.
A mix of lofi, with ambient and electronic music. Composed and produced in Cubase.
Message from the artist
So happy to participate in this jam!
Theme
How does it fit the theme?
Both the photo and the theme were a strong inspiration to imagine this game. I tried to use sounds and chord progressions that evoked a dreamy (and sometimes aquatic) mood, that also matched the color palette (or rather the perception we give to those colors), and that at the same time produced strong emotions, like the one we can see on the girl's face. I also wanted to experiment with a kind of lofi style to evoke the nostalgia a person feels when connecting with their childhood, since in the plot of my imaginary game the protagonist meets a child version of herself, and her deepest emotions.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://soundcloud.com/gianlucafaccilongo/sets/mias-dream
Number of tracks3
Genre
Soundtrack use permission
For game jams only
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Comments
i love the way you interpreted the theme and wove it into your compositions. you managed to convey a dreamy mood with a sense of uncertainty/unease that goes super well with your description of the game. this is absolutely captivating and beautiful work, definitely one of my favourites.
Wow, this is one of the chillest and well-produced submissions I've come across. I really like the variety of sounds you used. It kind of reminds me of Celeste's OST- I wonder if it was an inspiration for this soundtrack. I think you nailed the vibe you were going for and you should be really proud of the quality of this soundtrack. Congrats!
Thank you very much for your kind words. And yes indeed! Celeste is definitely my biggest inspiration for this, I'm honored that you mentioned it haha :)
I love the lofi beats for these tracks, especially in Find Myself! It definitely hits a nostalgic chord, reflective and cozy :)
Title: The main instrument you use sounds a lot like some of the synths from Super Mario Galaxy which gives this a really spacey and full quality. I really love the unique chord progression in the second section - I think that dropping the bass and changing the melody to the high chimes adds some great character to the track that shows imagery of returning to her childhood.
Find Myself: This has really nice quality lo-fi sounds/beat. The melody is really well-written - it is singable, has antecedent and consequent, and is interesting. It has a longing quality to it that maybe is a representation of nostalgia.
Evil Thoughts: I like the return of the Mario Galaxy theremin-like instrument. This track is also very spacey and full. The minor sound, bigger synth instruments, and syncopated-sounding time signature help convey the sense of danger and challenge.
Overall: I really enjoyed this short collection of tracks for your imaginary game. They are cohesive and would work so well for the video game you describe, but they are also fresh-sounding; they sound different from many other entries in this jam. I have book-marked your title track to reference later for inspiration - it was my favorite! Great work and thank you for sharing!
Thanks a lot for that great and detailed feedback :) I appreciate you taking the time to listen to it. I'm really glad you liked the title track, it was the first one I made for the jam and the one that defined what the style/genre would be like. ...by the way I checked your submission yesterday (although I haven't been commenting lately to be able to rate more submissions), and I could easily remember it because of how good it was. An excellent and very complete work. Your OST was super immersive, you can really imagine what the fictional world of your game would be like just by listening to the music. Very varied, dynamic and coherent too. Great job and thank you for sharing as well!
Oh thanks for listening to mine! I support you doing what you need to do to rate more submissions! Hearing your thoughts here means a lot though and I'm glad you liked it! Thank you!
The descending chiptune noises reminded me of BIT-TRIP RUNNER which I feel is kind of obscure but has some good music!
You're really good at composing in the lo-fi genre! I immediately understand what you were aiming for and I think that you've hit the nail on the head. Great work!
Thank you so much! I have tried to adapt my ideas to this style, but I wouldn't say I have any experience in lo-fi. My intention was to try out simple ideas and try to take advantage of this opportunity to make more minimalist music than I normally do.
Neat! I like the techno style music. Its so peaceful. Reminds me of music from Stardew valley and Terraria
Thanks a lot! I really enjoy those OST, specially Terraria . It looks like Mia also had adventures up there in the skies haha :) gonna check your OST right now!
Cool! Yeah, Terraria has great music.
Wow...what a cool sounds we've got here!!
This is a really impressive entry. I couldn't choose a favorite, they are so well crafted.
Excellent job!!!!
Loving the lofi vibes on this one! I especially like the lead synths you used, in that the pitch bend and vibrato almost makes them feel like vocal leads. The 10/4 section in "Evil Thoughts" was pretty slick.
Very cool OST overall, reminds me a bit of Celeste
Great job I loved this submission! My favorite track is "Evil Thoughts". Really great work!
Nice submission all in subtle elements! "Evil thoughts" is my favourite, the synths/harmonies and dynamics were really cool!
Damn these tracks are cool. Fav: Find Myself
Starting off with Find Myself - great dual-layering occurring off the bat here; having a defined front layer contrasted against the dreamy and 'blurry' background layer is genius. I really like when things properly kick off - you've got just enough percussion here to establish a beat and give the track a pulse, and the choice of accompaniment in the background complements the leads. Speaking of which, the use of two elements for the lead melody here is so, so good. Kudos on the background elements as well - I love how tastefully they're done. This is a fantastic track to kick off this soundtrack.
The mood changes, appropriately so, in Evil Thoughts. I think this also does a good job of demonstrating a rather unique core sound that you've managed to put together. Not just the approach to the lead synth but your style of arrangement in general. This piece is rather pensive and a little heavy on the heart but not in an oppressive sense. I really like how you've handled percussion and complementing background elements again - leaving plenty of room for some thoughtful lead elements to shine on top. Great use of harmonization on the key notes in the melody toward the end to drive it a little harder.
Finally, the Title theme feels a little more typical of an arrangement. I love the short-decay little saws here that then get embellished by the bell-like synths. Percussion is solid as always - never too busy and just enough to let other elements around it breathe and weave in and out. The lead makes its return here, making me feel as though that patch in itself is the motif throughout, which is clever.
I really enjoyed this, honestly. It's super tightly executed and cohesive. I can imagine this kind of music in some sort of Celeste x old-school Rayman, which I absolutely mean as a compliment based on how developed and thoughtful those soundtracks are. Arrangements were fantastic, choice of instrumentation and overall orchestration was on point, well-produced and super congruent throughout. You've got a very defined style of writing and it shows. Best of luck!
Wow! Thank you very much for taking the time to listen and give all that feedback! I'm really glad you enjoyed it :) I appreciate you noticed pretty much everything that is going on in the music haha. I really tried to keep it minimal and maximize the musical ideas. I'm more used to orchestral stuff, this time I tried to explore in a genre that was a bit out of my comfort zone, so It’s great for me to read such a feeback about it!
Sounds fantastic well job on the mix, really dig the ambient vibe and the mellow vibrato ish synth lead that you reuse alot. Good job !
The instrumentation is so clean it gives the tracks a distinctive identity. Also I really liked the chord progression in tracks 2 and 3. Nice job :)
Production quality is top-notch. I don't have much to say apart from really everything sounding incredibly good. Love Evil Thoughts synths and piano melody. Really cool!
Thank you for that positive feedback! :)
This soundtrack is so incredibly atmospheric, I absolutely adore the sound you have achieved with your lead synths. Just so magnificent and well composed, and that's all before how impeccably clean the mix is. I love it so much! :)
Thank you so much! I think I probably spent most of my process choosing sounds haha. Glad you like it :)
Very atmospheric. Liked Find Myself the most. keep it up!
Really loved it
Very playful tracks! Love the lofi vibe.