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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
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!
Very imaginative! The Toby Fox influence is very noticeable on the Outta my way and THIS IS MY WORLD, both catchy and well mixed. Good job on the other tracks too!
thank you!! i tried my best on the mix, even if im still improving!! glad you found the melodies catchy
Really nice soundfont compositions! Can really hear the Toby Fox reference in all of your tracks, very cohesive and a nice hommage to the genre. You have some very strong motifs reminiscent of Toby's melody arrangements, and the mix allows me to hear all of the instruments well.
Good stuff!
aaaa thank you dude! toby’s melody writing and the way he incorporates them is probably one of my favorite things about his music. especially those little motifs he writes haha. so, that’s a huge compliment to me <3
ooh another undertale inspired album yummyyyy!! anyways, this one sounded really good, and i like how you took toby's style and kinda gave it your own flair! if im being perfectly honest, i expected a lot more submissions to be more like this, but here it actually stands out!
erase !! thank you for checking my ost out ! i appreciate all the kind words dude <3
This was a really great listen. The tracks are well put together. My favorite track was THIS IS MY WORLD. Great Job!
thanks dousalad!
I love how you have taken so many staples from Toby Fox's style (strong catchy motifs, fun repeated supporting lines, similar samples, some melodic ideas) and made it completely your own, I could totally feel the influence but this felt so special as its own project! I read along with the song descriptions you put and I think you did a very good job and telling that story through the music as well, It was really fun to listen to!! My only feedback is see if you can mess around with how you approach some of those more repeated background ideas like that strings line in THIS IS MY WORLD, you have so much development going on in everything else and not taking the chance to let that line develop more almost feels like a missed opportunity, because your ideas are so cool!! I don't have this problem as much in songs like Stay Courageous because the simplicity is what makes that song special for me, its just deciding how and when to use that repetition fully to your advantage, because it builds tension and drives us forward, but sometimes you need to release that tension and give us some new content to have that real breakthrough moment.
Really happy to listen to this one early in my day today because it has me very excited to hear more, incredible job!
ah thank you cele! i’m really glad that while taking inspiration from toby, it still came off as something of my own. also, im really glad that someone picked up on the fact that i could definitely add variation to the background elements in some songs. that’s something which i felt i missed out on after re-listening to some of the songs. i totally agree, changing up the strings and chords would have really made things more interesting in THIS IS MY WORLD and a little less repetitive. but anyways, i’m glad you enjoyed it! thanks for the thoughtful comment :)))
You have such a cute style!! Very JRPG, and extremely catchy. Absolutely brainrot material
thanks dude!
This soundtrack is filled with so many catchy and memorable melodies! I got an ungodly amount of serotonin listening to "My Imagination Rules !!". It does a great job of capturing the excitement of jumping through that portal into this new world. Overall this is a really captivating soundtrack. I had a great time listening to this one!
haha thanks so much dude!
When Aspen jumped into that rainbow portal I was sold, and by the time Outta My Way II played, you had me hook, line and sinker. Excellent work!
someone who read my project page aaaaa thank you for your kind words !
really solid work here. like everyone else is saying, the toby fox influence isn't actually a bad thing here, as you've managed to create your own identity without just sounding like toby fox. the first track was my favorite and a great start to this ost.
ah man, this is the greatest compliment. tried to start of strong with that first track 💪 thank you !
I like this take on Toby Fox inspired music, doesn't sound like it's trying too much like undertale/deltarune but still takes noticeable inspiration especially with the sound fonts. The composition is great and the mix is very readable! Great work!
My favorite track is THIS IS MY WORLD
thank you !! i’ve very much a toby fox fanboy, but at the end of the day i want my music to morph into something unique. glad the mix is readable too!
Yeah it definitely felt like you were doing your own thing which was really cool! A lot of Toby Fox inspired music can feel like it's trying too hard, but I didn't get that vibe from this
Nice job, I can really hear the Toby Fox inspiration. The music does definitely feel tied into your game's theme, and each track has some solid development.
thanks dude ! glad that the music worked well with the story for you
I definitely recognize the toby fox influences in here (one of your tracks literally reminds me of snowdin town). Great job!
haha yeah i made that one and thought the same thing. thank you!
Hey fwugneo, nice work! Definitely could hear the Toby Fox inspiration lol. My favs would probably be "My Imagination Rules !!" and "THIS IS MY WORLD".
thanks dude !!
I mean, just phenomenal! I remember taking a listen of some of what you shared in the discord and thinking how great your submission was gonna be. You definitely delivered, especially to a fellow Toby Fox enthusiast <3
hey ! i remember you too, thanks ! toby fox enthusiasts unite o7. ive gotta check out your submission too :)))