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Aspen and the Shadow OST's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Composition | #121 | 3.854 | 3.854 |
| Impression | #127 | 3.771 | 3.771 |
| Overall | #178 | 3.671 | 3.671 |
| Quality | #245 | 3.604 | 3.604 |
| Correlation to theme | #250 | 3.583 | 3.583 |
| Creativity | #265 | 3.542 | 3.542 |
Ranked from 48 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
[ check out the project page for the story and descriptions of each track !! ]
My ost is heavily inspired by toby fox , so i suppose that the genre is toby-esque! There is some additional inspiration taken from games like touhou and oneshot too. Everything was made in logic pro using soundfonts, magical8bit, and some logic instruments.
whoopie !!
Message from the artist
hey ! i had a lot of fun with this, and i hope you enjoy listening to them ! let me know what ya think <3
Theme
How does it fit the theme?
The story of Aspen and the Shadow revolves around Aspen protecting a world created in her vision from the a ruthless evil, Shadow.
Also ! Although i didn't use the picture theme as a basis for my game, i did take some musical inspiration from it. The image gave me strong fantastical energy, so i used instruments and effects that i think gave off that feeling (i.e. fantasia and reverb)
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://on.soundcloud.com/sLkRoiQ8zfgwSuAbA
Number of tracks6
Genre
Soundtrack use permission
Any non-commercial project
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Comments
Love the energy in "My Imagination Rules !!, it does a great job of evoking the confidence of the main character that is evident from the title of the song. it definitely has "anime opening" vibes, hehe. The air of uncertainty and trepidation in "Shadow" does a great job of shattering the calm and peacefulness in "A Town of Your Dreams." "Outta My Way !!" is a bop, though I think the lead that starts around 0:53 is a bit loud at parts.
I like how quickly the story goes from "a day in my little imaginary paradise" to "oh look, this guy wants to kill everybody and be god, I should probably do something about that." "THIS IS MY WORLD" is a great climax to the OST. There are moments towards the beginning of "Stay Courageous" where some of the detuning feels like it's laid on a bit heavily, but it dissipates once the song picks up.
Overall a solid OST with tons of energy and personality. Great work!
My Imagination Rules: Half expected this to burst into the opera scene from FFVI lol. But then it moves into a more Undertale inspired feel!
A Town of Your Dreams: Classic early town theme vibes. Shares some of what makes Snowdin Town a great track.
Shadow: Introducing a more serious tone. Cool shift to a more orchestral oriented vibe.
Outta My Way !!: Haha that overall Megalovania rhythm. Cool melody!
THIS IS MY WORLD: I remember hearing this one in Discord! I got chills from the brass section. Phenomenal work.
Stay Courageous (Game Over): Something about determination... Jk. This is a very effective game over theme. Slight sense of sadness while also sounding hopeful.
Great work!
I remember hearing "My Imagination Rules" the first time you shared it! Definitely a massive favorite of mine, with the energy and power it holds. Fantastic job with how cohesive your music is!!
What a surprise when the orchestral elements came in! You've blended a lot of genras to create one of your one, that was really pleasant to listen to! Nice variety of ambiences: "A town of your dreams" was really peaceful and relaxing while "Shadow" is a bit more dark (although you could have went further in creating tension in this track in my opinion).
aaaaa thank you very much!! ill just say that shadow was... very rushed 😭 i definitely think that was one i could have put some more time and thought into
First, I have to say, your screenshots look omega-scrumptious! Like a sour patch kids bag!
Secondly, I think this maybe could possibly be perchance inspired by undertale a little bit IDK tho.
My imagination rules was my favorite one.
thank u jofes !! you mayhaps be correct 👀
Ahh yes, my favorite tag; Toby Fox.
I can see where the inspirations lie so it does make sense. though you do a lot more and add your own flair into them like adding a string section to the Snowdin-like theme "A town of your dreams" and the connecting them together for the next track "Shadow", it's pretty charming.
"Outta my Way" is so similar to that one theme in deltarune chapter 2 and I like the key changes in there. There's also a good influence of Touhou, especially in parts of the melody structure.
Now for "This is My World", I like the fact you mixed two of the most well known instruments together; the megalovania guitar and the touhou trumpet, it's also very well made so I liked it alot.
Now to be a little picky, the amount of bells and shakers used in your soundtrack makes it look like it's winter, maybe that's because of the amount of winter songs that uses these instruments specifically. the cover art is amazing but it doesn't fit imo, regardless, amazing track.
haha thank you for all the kind words! i meant for the sleigh bells to add a sense of fantasy or magic to the tracks, but it does kinda make the songs feel wintery 😭. i showed my ost to a friend of mine and he thought the same thing. anyways glad you enjoyed !!
Don't worry, you're just a few months early for a Christmas album
Hey, this was such a fun listen! The Undertale and Pokemon vibes are bringing me back haha its awesome!
"Outta My Way!!" reminded me a lot of like a pokemon gym leader theme song or something, I love its energy
"THIS IS MY WORLD" is sooo epic i love it sm, especially all the different lead melodies and instruments / synths you bring in, and the staccato strings make it so powerful and intense
the game over music is so beautiful, I love the background arp synth thing, feels a bit nostalgic in a way
You definitely captured the top down RPG style music perfectly, super impressive! I applaud you and best of luck :)
thanks dude !!
Not sure how I got to you JUST now. OST is really super nice to listen to. What an amazing job to have this much quality in a week I’m super impressed!!
aaaaa kev!! thanks for checking mine out o7
<3
GOD i enjoyed this so much. I usually quickly skip thru tracks while rating submissions, but here I just took the time to enjoy your entry!!! All these could easily pass as like, these fake Deltarune chapter 3 OST leaks you'd find on the internet. That is a compliment, by the way :P
easily 10/10
yo! this is a huge compliment coming from you! i’m glad you enjoyed! thanks!!
As I've promised, here I am!
HOLY, you weren't joking when you said you were also a toby fanboy! I can definitely feel the toby inspiration in each one of these tracks (especially "A Town of Your Dreams") and I love it! You definitely did a great job at making them feel similar yet different from the inspiration (something that I didn't really do that well lol).
Aside from the Toby Fox talk tho, the tracks themselves are also really well made! I can easily see each one of these being used for an RPG game. Although I'm an absolute sucker for boss battle themes, I think I have to give "My Imagination Rules !!" the title of my favorite track here. It's such an uplifting and adventurous track that definitely makes you feel like an amazing journey is ahead, amazingly done! That's not to say the other tracks are not as good tho, each one helps tell this story of yours really well and I applaud you on that.
Overall I really enjoyed this OST! I appreciate the Undertale influence and the instrument choice is also excellent. You did a great job telling the story you had in mind through these tracks and I congratulate you on that! Definitely up there for one of my favorite submissions. Thank you for letting my ears listen to such great tracks, you did an amazing job on these!
That's all I have to say really, have a wonderful day! :D
(P.S. I wouldn't attack Shadow in the final battle just to listen to "THIS IS MY WORLD" over and over again!)
aaaaa this is so comprehensive and thoughtful!! i’m glad you enjoyed the ost! my imagination rules is a personal favorite of mine too haha. becoming good enough that the music can tell the story itself is definitely smth i’m aiming for, so i take that as a huge compliment. thanks !!
This got fully green flags from me: the choices for patches and sounds merge brilliantly, the style blends all the best influences possible from the greatest Nintendo classics with your own personal twist. Chiptune and hard rock go incredibly well together! Wonderful job!
thanks!!
The trumpet in "THIS IS MY WORLD" is so cool lmao I wish it was louder. "Outta My Way !!" was awesome also, it really got me pumped.
yeah agreed, the trumpet could’ve definitely been a bit louder in retrospect. thank you dude!!
yess i def hear the toby fox inspo!! my fav track out of all these is actually the game over one. usually game over themes lean towards a negative/defeated tone since you've died, but i actually thought it was really sweet that yours plays like a sentimental music box almost
thank you scarlet!! ❤️
Really refreshing soundtrack. Extremely reminiscent of old-school RPGs. My personal favourite would have to be THIS IS MY WORLD, which has a great sense of forward momentum. Outta my Way immediately reminded me of Megalovania haha
haha that riff definitely reeks of a bit of megalo perhaps… anyways glad you enjoyed!
The beginning of My Imagination Rules reminds me of some old-school early SNES games, I can't quite put my finger on why but it just delivers that nostalgia. The change of pace and instrumentation about a third of the way through was a surprise, but damn does it work well. Great job on modulating back to those pensive intro vibes again for the last section of this track.
A Town of Your Dreams has the most plays of the bunch currently on SC, and I can see why it is getting the love. This nails the settlement vibe that you'd find in RPGs. Good choice of instrumentation and great job with the string articulation and harmonies in particular - they do an excellent job of supporting the lead melodies and motifs.
And for a change of mood, Shadow does a great job of capturing that aforementioned RPG vibe. It doesn't feel ominous, but it has a tension to it. More akin to battling a rival, I think. I really like the cheeky delay on the staccato strings here - the ping pong was absolutely the right way to go here.
Outta My Way absolutely *reeks* of Arcade game in the best way possible. Choice of voicings and chord progression here is fantastic. Opting for a simple wave for a lead here is genius and the melody itself is fantastic, trading off to prevent fatigue. Nice job modulating the key toward the end to completely change the tone before resetting. This is my favorite of the bunch, personally - it has so many elements I admire and is arranged to perfection.
This is My World returns back to the RPG side of things and has a kind of victorious fanfare to the beginning before transitioning into what I would consider a more typical, high-stakes battle theme. Main synth here goes hard and trading off to the brass-like synth while the guitar chugs in the background was a great choice. Kudos on your instrumentation and choice of voicings throughout.
And finally, Stay Courageous is a nice farewell to the soundtrack as a whole. Incorporates a lot of other elements found in prior tracks and has a kind of longing to it, which is exactly how we all feel after a good game. I think this piece does have a pensive kind of edge to it, too, which I like. That ambiguity can be hard to strike, so good work!
All in all this was a really fun listen and is arranged really well. Great execution on the theme and a super solid entry for the jam!
dude! this is incredible! thanks for taking the time to write abt each track. super thoughtful. im glad you like outta my way!! it’s gotten the least amount of love on sc (probably because of the serial position effect 😭), but i think it’s a really fun and energetic track!
"My Imagination Rules" starts with a playful melody, strings add some tension when they come in. Love the rock section, very exciting and some nice variations on the established motiff.
"A Town of Your Dreams" starts with a fun call and response between staccoto strings and mallet. Legato strings and flute provide lovely counterpoint melodies. The sleigh bell pattern work well to provide a simple rhythm.
"Shadow" is much darker and more dramatic than the other pieces. The tubular bells add a nice impact.
Love the up tempo energy in "Outta' My Way". Synth lead melodies work well with this song. Piano melody towards the end is simple, but works great in that spot IMO. Whole song as a "Mega Man"ish vibe to it.
"This is My World" starts with a string rhythm remiscent of "Outta' My Way" and nice moment when the bells and high hats come in. Good drum transition at 0:20, maintains the momentum the song's been building up into the guitar section. Really like the trumpet melody. Love the new rhythm at 1:25 and the guitar melody rocks.
"Stay Courageous (Game Over)" works well as a game over theme. Nice down tempo variation of the "Outta' My Way" motiff.
man! the detail of this comment! thanks for looking into each track. it’s so thoughtful! appreciate all the feedback <3
Interesting combination of chiptune and rock =)
Guitars have little much mud in low mids, they masking drums with that frequency.
Shadow feels bit empty. Some arpegios or atmospheres on background may help with that.
Outta My Way - wider guitars will improove their impact in the track and give space to other instuments.
In general - very good work!
thank you, and thank you for the feedback! i did notice too that the drums were being muddled by the guitars in some tracks, and wasn’t totally sure what to do. so, i’ll try working out the low mids! appreciate the thoughtfulness <3
Some low-mid eq cleaning and widening the guitars will help with that)
Wow... Now I've found a really wonderful soundtrack with a chiptune base!!! This is going to be a fun adventure....
My Imagination Rules - Heh... I love how the very tone of this song says, “Hey, this is my dream! This is my world! Will there be only my rules here? Do you know what the rules will be here? Right! There won't be any rules!”
A Town of Your Dreams - Cute, moderately sad and moderately funny.
Shadow - This composition combines sadness and magic..... Cool! Feels like the atmosphere of A Town of Your Dreams, only with a more dynamic progression
Outta My Way !!! - Heh... another “I do what I want” style track.
THIS IS MY WORLD - “I'LL SAY IT AGAIN. I ONLY DO WHAT I WANT!!!!!!11 !!!” (...cool guitar solo).
Stay Courageous - "Hey... is the adventure over yet? Oh well...
...TIME TO TRY IT AGAIN!!!1!!!"
Your track has an extraordinary sense of lightness and freedom..... Interesting!
Thanks for a fascinating 11 minutes)
deltafox!! thanks for going into detail about each track. this is so thoughtful! i appreciate it. glad you enjoyed <3
You indeed showed the Toby Fox inspiration but made it more orchestral from times and back to chiptune with some heavy swings, you really diversify yourself in this one well done. The thing I would work on, unless it was intended, especially on My Imagination rules the beginning feels like the playing is really "MIDI" less humane, it works with chiptune but when its a rhodes or piano sound it does not sound too natural imo. Otherwise everything sounds fantastic. Well done !
thanks for checking my ost out fox! thanks for the feedback too, i appreciate it. i do agree it sounds robotic, cause yeah, i drew the midi 😭 i’ll look into humanizing my midi for sure!
Loved the pacing of the tracks. Produced very nicely and is melodically evocative. My favorite track was "My Imagination Rules"
thank you much woolstone!