Play soundtrack
GEMCUTTER - Original Game Soundtrack's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Quality | #1 | 4.500 | 4.500 |
| Impression | #2 | 4.467 | 4.467 |
| Composition | #2 | 4.333 | 4.333 |
| Overall | #2 | 4.350 | 4.350 |
| Creativity | #7 | 4.100 | 4.100 |
Ranked from 30 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Message from the artist
The CEO of the Simulant Corporation has passed away. Set to inherit his magnum opus, the Diamond Overlord, is his second daughter Seira. His first daughter Aries believes the Diamond is her birthright, and leads a hostile takeover of the company. Seira barely escapes with her life aboard the Zirconia Gemina, the volatile prototype of the Diamond. Simulants now sprawl across the galaxy, hunting Seira per her sister's orders. Seira must beat the odds, upgrade her simulant, reclaim what she lost... and become the fabled GEMCUTTER.
The individual tracks represent the following:
SIMULANT CORP - Title Screen
ZIRCONIA GEMINA - Tutorial Stage
GUARDIAN ONYX - Stage 1
TOPAZ IMPERIUM - Stage 2
CALAMITY CATSEYE - Stage 3
DIAMOND OVERLORD - Final Stage
GEMCUTTER - Ending
=====
I'd like to clarify my interpretation of the palindrome theme. The theme appears in my work in a few different layers, the first of which is in the primary motifs and some of the melodies. The motif first heard in SIMULANT CORP is one which has the same notes backwards and forwards. The brass motif first heard in ZIRCONIA GEMINA is the same, but the timing of the notes is different. You can access a zip file which has the full OST as well as two MIDI files with the aforementioned motifs as proof that they are, in fact, palindromes. There are a few other melodies, like the synth lead in GUARDIAN ONYX, that are palindromic in this way.
The second layer is the structure of each song. For the most part, every song follows an ABCBA structure. Otherwise, every song presents new elements and removes elements in an order that could be considered palindromic.
The third layer is the structure of the OST itself. The general sounds of each track are ordered in a palindromic manner - tracks 1 and 7 feature mostly ambient guitars, tracks 2 and 6 are both in the symphonic rock genre (even featuring the horn lead at inverted places in the tracks), tracks 3 and 5 feature more electronic elements, and track 4 is a wholly unique departure by being liquid DnB.
As always, this was a great deal of fun, and I'm happy to have participated. Please enjoy the music!
Difficulty
Make something that has elements that can be listened to both backwards and forwards.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://soundcloud.com/mediamonochrome/sets/gemcutter-original-game-soundtrack
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxqCS6LidLmvIGBFehTjl4ulcxFlmp1U_
Number of tracks7
Leave a comment
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Comments
This! This is my favorite. No beating around the bush, no BS.
This. Is. My. Favorite. Point, blank, period, fullstop.
If I didn't know any better, I would say that this is some secret marketing ploy from a game years in the making, the fact that you accomplished this in only two days is so astronomically incredible to me. I was honestly blown away from the first track alone thinking that you not only made something of that quality, but did it seven times over.
The genres, the energy, the vibe, the story, even down to the art, I am in love with this entry. Congratulations, in my eyes at least, you've won.
omg such enthusiastic praise, tysm!! i was uncertain if i could pull off something of this scale in two days, between irl responsibilities and light burnout, and the responses i've received from yourself and everyone else in this comments section has made the grind worthwhile.
Really awesome set of tracks Monochrome, love how they blend together to create a whole world - really makes you feel a part of it and likes it's a coherent whole. My favourite was calamity catseye, that track hits different
thank you! very happy to hear that, especially with some of the deviations i took like on topaz imperium.
SIMULANT CORP: Very effective intro!
ZIRCONIA GEMINA: So much energy. Megaman vibes!
GUARDIAN ONYX: I really love that lead synth.
TOPAZ IMPERIUM: Slight reduction in energy but still very hype. Love the progression (I'm loving the heavy V chord usage throughout the OST haha)
CALAMITY CATSEYE: That break! This one gives me boss theme vibes though I see its a stage theme as well. This might be my favorite and will definitely inspire me in some future tracks!
DIAMOND OVERLORD: That epic final stage feel!
GEMCUTTER: Satisfying ending! I love that bass rhythm.
You're a genius! This just might win the jam. Fantastic work!
lmaoo idk about genius, but i really appreciate such high praise
something i didn't mention in my submission description is that i imagine stage 2 to be a fight against an old friend who's been ordered to hunt down the player, which is how i justified the slightly less energetic feel. though admittedly i invented that after creating the track hahah
That feels very fitting! And I feel you sometimes the story ideas come afterwards lol. If you ever upload this to Spotify I'd love to know, can't get enough of Calamity Catseye in particular
This is super impressive, honestly a 10/10 for me
tysm!
love this!!!!!!! the way you blended all these different genres is impressive! calamity catseye, zirconia gemina, and topaz imperium were pretty big highlights on here too!
thank you, glad the genre blending worked for you!
OK I have listened to this OST multiple times now and my favorite track is probably Guardian Onyx or stage 1 with stage 2 coming in second. I can say with certainty this is my favorite entry in the entire jam! several of these songs will be going on my permanent playlist!
that's awesome to hear, tysm!
Now this is FANTASTIC!
I am locking in my guess right now that this will place in the top 5 at least probably the top 3!
It is super high quality and varied and just a complete package of a soundtrack!
I don't think I can pick a favorite as of right now I would need to listen to it a couple of times first which is likely something that I will do!
Amazing entry!
damn, that's very flattering to hear, thank you! hoping for something along those lines too lol
absolutely NUTTY production quality all around given such a short period of time!!! each track has its own uniqueness and i had a great time listening to all of them 😁😁😁
thank you so much! love trying to throw in as many styles as i can to keep the listen fresh
I had to connect my big speakers for this because this is some Megaman-X/Ikaruga Nartsiness.
hahahah that's awesome, thank you
hope it didn't sound too bad on speakers, i don't mix for them lol
Sounded great just so you know.
Really fantastic work.
lol i try my best thank you
woulda loved to have seen a live reaction on stream, wasn't around for it unfortunately so i never dmed it to ya
Phenomenal work, absolutely insane production quality
tysm!
bru, I love the Megaman vibe that I'm getting it's amazing . Very well done, all-around very solid take on t fr!
On Glob? - BUMPUS
wasn't expecting a mega man comparison, that's awesome to hear! thank you!
Holy hell! I've heard finished soundtracks with worse mix than that! Big props!
such high praise, ty!
Really nice '90s Mecha vibes, the riffs are pretty catchy and the entire OST has a lot of energy. And the midi guitars are super charming!
ty, still not the most experienced with rock so that's great to hear!
Definitely liked this one. Definitely like Mecha stuff. Impressed you managed so much in so little time, including stings and transitions.
yeah i wish i was able to get a few more sting-length tracks in there, but that time limit wasn't budging lol. thank you!
This album is insane, production quality is through the roof
thank you i do my best lol
The composition and production quality on all of these tracks are top tier!
thank you!!
This is really good! The combination of genres works great together and makes it all super cohesive yet diverse.
thank you, i always strive to have genre diversity and it doesn't always mesh the best together, so i'm glad to hear this one was cohesive to you
It's sounds so good! I love the stage 3 and stage 1 theme. The boss theme is cool too and the melodies with the guitars! Great job!
ty! stage 3 definitely one of my favorites too lol