Play imaginary soundtrack
The Floating Tower of Shirotatsu's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Creativity | #13 | 3.864 | 3.864 |
| Overall | #29 | 3.591 | 3.591 |
| Impression | #32 | 3.591 | 3.591 |
| Correlation to theme | #33 | 3.727 | 3.727 |
| Quality | #49 | 3.500 | 3.500 |
| Composition | #65 | 3.273 | 3.273 |
Ranked from 22 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
The theme had me imagining a sprawling cloudscape in which the protagonist rides their dragon toward the titular Tower of Shirotatsu, named after the Japanese words for 'white' and 'dragon'. In this game, the protagonist would have to help their dragon take back its ancestral tower from its onyx-scaled counterpart.
My style involves blending orchestral instruments with pop synths and percussion. I'm less drawn to overt melodies and generally go for a more atmospheric approach, using instrumentation and orchestration to tie the themes together along with traditional leitmotifs.
Intro (Azure Sky)
This is the title track which would play upon starting the game and in the main menu.
Cumulus
The first level, simple and calm. I tried to capture the bounciness of clouds with this one.
Cresting Space
Originally I called this track 'Airship'. The theme of the jam lead me toward a Castle in the Sky-inspired approach, and while this track isn't musically inspired by that soundtrack, the airship imagery in that movie was in my mind as I wrote this. Kinda went for the maritime-y analogy that fantasy often uses for air-/space-travel.
Clouds as Hills
This would be for a level somewhere around the middle of the game. Sunny vibes with some shady chords thrown in for contrast.
Sky City Alleyway
A 'shop theme' for a smewhat gritty backalley merchant somewhere in the Laputa-esque metropolis I imagined. Moss and fog have taken over these secluded corners of the city.
Shirotatsu's Lament
This melody is what I imagine would be the main theme of the game, and aspects of this track were incorporated subtly into some of the other tracks in this OST as leitmotifs and similar chord progressions, like in "Clouds as Hills", "Cresting Space", and particularly, "The Floating Tower of Shirotatsu".
This track was adapted from a tune I originally composed for another game I developed last year, "Sleep at Night", found on Room308's itch page. I felt it captured the emotional energy of a later-game plot point. While the tune was precomposed (by me), the orchestration and structure is completely original to this soundtrack.
The Floating Tower of Shirotatsu
This would function as the final level of the game. The heroes have made it to the tower but their journey isn't over yet. Peril awaits the protagonist in this ancient, crumbling tower in the sky.
Yin VS Yang
The final boss of the game. Obviously channelling a certain japanese monster-catching game with this one (always seems to happen).
The last showdown between the white and black dragons. As they duel above the clouds, bands of light dance and shimmer across the landscape (skyscape ?).
Composed in GarageBand
Message from the artist
Thanks for listening!
Theme
How does it fit the theme?
While I composed this OST I imagined a sprawling city of clouds through which the protagonist and their dragon go on adventures.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
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https://brooklynnwhidden.com/the-floating-tower-of-shirotatsu/
(listen on SoundCloud if you must but the audio quality is wayyy better on my website ^^^)
https://soundcloud.com/room308-155404173/sets/the-floating-tower-of-shirotatsu-album
Soundtrack use permission
Any non-commercial project
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Comments
Pretty cool OST, so many styles! Good work!
thank you!
Kuddos for the differents kinds of creepy / esotheric / uneasy vibes, you handle this from instrumentation to harmony very well. I just wished there was at least one "non-linear" / constrasted (A B A ?) 2m+ piece, as I consider this a must have in your skillset as a composer. Other than that...kind of a flawless work.
Hey thanks for listening and for the feedback! With the limits of the jam I wanted to go for more of a complete picture with a series of demos, so I focussed a bit more on making a few unique tracks than developing the material super far within them. I'll definitely be working on some more complex musical forms in the full version of this jam in a couple months but the timing just didn't happen for this one ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Thanks for rating!
God I love the heavy/ distorted electronic sounds on the latter tracks!! I really live for the sound design on these
I ADORE the lead synth on the drop of "Floating tower of Shirotatsu", the sound itself is so dirty but it manages to sounds clean and well mixed. It's very nice to listen to and it adds a very unique texture to the soundtrack.
Thank so much! It's the "Breathless Pumping" synth on GarageBand. I love it, it's sooo sludgy
The atmosphere on this really is just gorgeous. Got chills on Shirotatsu's lament <3 I'm also more drawn to atmosphere/texture rather than overt melodies and structures so I really loved this submission
Thank you, I'm honestly surprised at the support for that track, I was worried it was boring 😅 I said it in another reply already but I've been really into that melody lately, I originally came up with it for a previous project I made with GB Studio and I'm definitely gonna keep using it haha
The intro's soundscape is amazing! I feel like I'm listening to the OST of an unpublished Metroid game, just wow! It's definitely my favorite track.
The second track feels vey fitting after listening to the intro - continuing to polish this surreal atmosphere, and doing so veeeery well.
The quote on quote 'airship' theme caught me off-guard at first, but after reading the description you wrote I totally get it, and I think you delivered the idea across pretty well.
The fourth track continues the amazing atmosphere from earlier so well. Also the production here is really incredible. I always feel so limited with garageband (I use it too), even when I make stuff that I'm proud of production-wise, but this definitely inspiring me to work on it more - the production here is incredible imo
The shop theme is a little silly and very alien, and you can really hear the darkness in this city. It really works in painting the scene you described.
That lament is haunting. This is also a great showcase of the fusion of more cinematic/orchestral music and electronic music that you defined your style as. Great melody, great orchestration.
Final level theme, for me at least, continues the kind of metroid feel. I again can really imagine this forgotten game in my head (it's really making me want to replay Dread and/or Fusion).
I don't think can describe the last track any better than you did. I like the more overt use of synths here, as they give the track that feeling of "something so mystical it can only be described with technology" (idk a better way to describe it).
Overall - a great OST. Fantastic job! I'm honestly really inspired by this submission.
Wow first of all: thanks so much for taking the time to write all of this, it was really nice to read! I'm glad my ideas came across, definitely not the best writer lol. I looove the Metroid STs so that comparison is a huge compliment ❤ And on the subject of GarageBand, it can be so lame sometimes but at this point I've invested so much time into learning its quirks that I'd rather just work with those limitations than learn a new system. Sometimes I even incorporate the GB glitches into tracks if they sound cool enough 😂
Oh that's really cool haha
This is an excellent OST. I could clearly see/feel the game that this was made for. It very much reminds me of the genre of games that twospaces-sg mentioned, which is great because I adore them. My favorite tracks are "Shirotatsu's Lament" and "Sky City Alleyway" (I appreciate the avant-garde nature of this piece in particular). Good stuff.
Thank you, really happy you liked it! I'm loving all the connections people are making to other games
I like this entry, the surreal nature of the tracks reminds me of those weirdo RPG Maker games like Yume Nikki and OneShot.
Thanks so much that's such a compliment! I love the Yume Nikki soundtrack
Azure Sky: Mysterious intro! Loving the chords.
Cumulus: This does give me a floaty cloud vibe!
Cresting Space: Great rhythm in the bass.
Clouds As Hills: Cool drums. I could imagine this in a game like Omori.
Sky City Alleyway: Really cool sound choices. More mysterious chord changes!
Shirotatsu's Lament: Very dark! Fits the lament part.
The Floating Tower of Shirotatsu: Energetic! This gets really cool around the 30 second mark. Love those electronic sounds.
Yin vs. Yang: These arps are really cool!
Great work! I love the mysterious vibe throughout, I like your unique atmospheric style.
Wow thanks for going so in-depth! I love the Omori connection, I'm really glad you enjoyed
Nice soundtrack with great quality and quantity ! Overall I liked all the tracks and found them fitting for the descriptions you provided, and I really liked Shirotatsu's Lament (the flute part at 28s reminded me of the intro of Elektrik by King Crimson for some reason). Great job !
Hey thank you, really nice of you to say! I'm not familiar with the track but I'll check it out, thanks for the rec.
My favorite track was Floating Tower of Shirotatsu. Super catchy great work!
I like that you have a detailed description and a clear image in your head about the levels and for each soundtrack (and it goes without saying, 8 of them)! My favorite track is The Floating Tower of Shirotatsu. Keep up the great work!
Thank you!
Wow, creating so many tracks in such a short time, but all of them are quite high quality. Good job!
Hey thank you! I teied to take 'crunchtime' to heart. if it hadn't been Mother's Day, I would have probably played around with the levels a bit more but eh ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
It’s already been said but great job creating 8 solid tracks! I particularly liked Shirotatsu’s Lament!
Thank you! Yea I've been really attached to that tune lately so I'll definitely be reusing it at some point
8 tracks is crazy impressive! I love how distinct each section feels. The blending of synths and orchestral instruments is also really cool here.
Hey thank you, glad you enjoyed!
Sky City Alleyway parece el ost de un liminal space
Honestly yea, I definitely find alleys a bit liminal in general so maybe some of that seeped through into the music. Hope you enjoyed!
The title track was so cool!! Felt very dynamic - I would definitely be hyped if this played during the final level of a game.
Glad you enjoyed, thanks so much for listening!
My favorite tracks were the floating tower of Shirotatsu and Yin VS Yang because they were very distinctive and ear catching compared to the others. Some of the other songs meshed in my mind because they felt a little samey.
Fair enough! Thanks for listening ❤