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Astral Wanderer [OST Jam #7]'s itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Composition | #7 | 4.509 | 4.509 |
| Impression | #9 | 4.255 | 4.255 |
| Quality | #11 | 4.455 | 4.455 |
| Overall | #20 | 4.178 | 4.178 |
| Correlation to theme | #85 | 3.964 | 3.964 |
| Creativity | #181 | 3.709 | 3.709 |
Ranked from 55 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Judge feedback
Judge feedback is anonymous.
- Gorgeous, lush, and emotive from beginning to end-- truly some great work here. You should absolutely be proud of this! I can tell that you are inspired by the Journey score but you're not just doing a copy-- it feels like its own unique work. You integrate gestures beautifully throughout, from the tremolo strings on "Main Title" to the chordal sighs in "Astral Plane" to the arpeggiated accompaniment of "Childhood Once More". Very nice compositional style that I think results in a very beautiful product. The winds on "Path of Wisdom" absolutely sing. I was very impressed with this writing here. Likewise, I thought the big success of "Childhood Once More" is that it absolutely feels like multiple independent lines coming together into a cohesive whole, and the result is really, really beautiful. I think the biggest thing that I'd like to hear is just *more*. The statements and musical material here are universally strong, but I do feel as if each idea ends a bit too soon-- these ideas are crying out to be extended even more. This is my favorite kind of feedback to give-- "I love your music, and I want your tracks to be even longer, and to see what you do when you "stretch out" even more!" Lovely production as well, I felt like the mixes were all pretty flawless with a sense of depth and just enough reverb to give everything a sense of space without getting muddy. Wonderful work.
Description
This is an orchestral soundtrack, with some mostly gamelan-esque synths mixed in for some etherealness. There's a LOT of "Journey" influence here. (I like the music a lot lol)
1 - Main Theme
The music you hear at the title screen. There's a harp/piano pattern in the background while a bunch of instruments trade the theme.
(There's an audio bug for the downloadable version of the first track that I couldn't take out before submissions closed, sorry about that. )
2 - The Astral Plane
Our main character, a young boy, awakens in a realm where an impossible landscape of what seems to be both the deep sea and night sky mixed together stretches as far as the eye can see. With no recollection of how got there or even his own name, the boy sets out on his journey to find answers. Gamelans and synths are used to create an outworldly sound, with a couple solos mixed in.
3 - Path of Wisdom
The boy discovers that he is not alone in this world - there are people who seem lost, but not for the same reason as him. They are souls from the real world that have passed on with unfinished business.,, this world seems to be a midpoint between the real world and the afterlife. A man asks the boy if he can help decipher what his father says at his gravestone. "I can see his lips moving, but there's always obstacles in the way and I can't get close enough to hear him. Will you help me?" The boy then has to clear a path in the ethereal realm for the man to hear his father's words before moving on.
This track features a few woodwind solos/duos, each having a little bit of the theme. I rarely get to use bass clarinet as a solo instrument so I had fun with this one.
4 - Nightmare
As the boy explores deeper into the astral realm, he encounters a creature that seems to recognize him and becomes hostile. We later discover that this creature is the amalgamation of the boy's negative emotions and self-hatred, and the boy has somehow been separated from it completely when he entered the astral plane. He has to find a way to confront the creature to escape this world.
This music is basically for the area this creature originates from. I experimented with a bunch of spooky sounds and a lack of tempo for this one.
5 - Childhood Once More
The boy meets a woman who asks him to help reunite her with her mother that she lost when she was a child. Her wish is to relive her childhood memories one last time.
There's yet another flute and cello solo in this one... I guess I really like them.
There was supposed to be a big climactic track at the end here, but didn't have the time! :(
I hope what I already have is enough though.
Message from the artist
Cover art is by my friend Asahi Yonaha! I gave her some verrrry loose ideas about the story and she came up with not only the cover but also a lot of the specific story concepts that I incorporated into the music. Huge thanks to her!
Theme
How does it fit the theme?
I guess a little bit of both.
-"Inside my world"-
This isn't just inside one person's world, but the individual worlds/stories of each person you encounter in the astral realm. It's also (supposed to be) about the boy's journey to face his own inner demons.
-Picture theme-
I based the track "Childhood Once More" off of the image given.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://soundcloud.com/jinseig/sets/astral-wanderer?si=0d3d4466ba284ca6975bd2f29f3f8c09&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
Number of tracks5
Genre
Soundtrack use permission
Any non-commercial project
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Comments
Really beautiful and well-crafted OST! Loved how you carried the theme throughout the music, it made listening to the soundtrack really sound like a journey and it was fantastic. Great job!
I really enjoy how delicately crafted the orchestral parts are put together - the way the flute will sway in and out of the string lines is very ghibli-like and really gives a kind of wondrous, fantasy atmosphere. Great work!
Amazing OST, from the amazing title page art to the beautiful music! My favorite track is Childhood Once More, such a beautiful song that exudes nostalgia and childlike wonder
These are some truly beautiful pieces, the woodwind leads really stand out and are incredibly well composed. The synths you used blend in so well with the woodwinds, I barely even noticed that it wasn't all orchestrated. You mentioned Journey - I'm not as familiar with that soundtrack, I really got Hollow Knight vibes especially with the soft piano arpeggios and center stage woodwinds from Childhood Once More and The Astral Plane. Either way, the story concept was interesting and the composition was magnificent. It was a pleasure to listen to, excellent work!
Amazing work; your orchestral sound was on point. Absolutely beautiful score! Also I really liked the cover art!
Main Title: Love the progression. Great composition.
The Astral Plane: Very expressive strings.
Path Of Wisdom: Love the triplet use.
Nightmare: A darker tone comes in. Reminiscent of tracks like Caelid and Deepnest from Elden Ring and Hollow Knight respectively.
Childhood Once More: Pretty happy end to the OST.
This is some top tier composition work. Great work!
Gorgeous oboe on that first track, and also the low cello on 4 was sooo good, super earthy! Overall really effective use of those orchestral sounds, you capture this really cinematic sound that works great for VGOSTs.
Brilliant orchestration and composition, great quality and arrangement. Easiest listen of my life did the whole album flawlessly without trying to over analyse it just all sounded fantastic. Well done !
I love it. It's so calm, so expressive. Truly takes you into a beautiful inner world. And with your mastery of orchestration, we feel how sensitive it is, very moving, speaking to the mind and the heart. Well done. One of my favorites. Thank you for sharing. Looking forward to listening to your next works.! =)
Gorgeous orchestral writing, and completely immersive. That was a really enjoyable listen, congrats!
Stunningly pensive. Has an "otherworldly" atmosphere. Very interesting theme and orchestration. Excellent work!
Amazing work! I can feel your inspirations from "Journey", beautiful orchestration and harmonies, I liked a lot what you did! Very sensitive work with a lot of emotions, my favourite moment is when the strings come in in "The Astral Plane"!
This is probably my winner for this jam! Holy hell, you did an amazing job with this submission. The orchestration is beautiful, and encapsulates everything I strive for in my music, but never seem to achieve.
EXCELLENT work my friend!
Absolutely breathtaking and a perfect idea of the time in music. Great Work!
Wonderful work!! Each track is better produced than the next, truly incredible. Sensational work, congratulations
Each track is just dripping with story and emotion, love listening to this!
Beautiful orchestration in all of the tracks, The Main Title reminds me of Genshin Impact, and I mean it in the best way possible!! Also, The Astral Plane indeed has "The Journey" vibes!!
Great work! Very well thought out and whimsical, fits the premise/theme beautifully