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Death's Call's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Melody | #25 | 3.417 | 3.417 |
| Jam Theme | #27 | 3.500 | 3.500 |
| Accompaniment | #28 | 3.417 | 3.417 |
| Overall | #28 | 3.444 | 3.444 |
Ranked from 12 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Explicit Content
No
Methodology
I first used Musescore to compose the melody. I was going for a sound of grandeur but also tense, and I feel like the held strings and brass melody was perfect for that. Exporting it into Ableton, I was then able to add small details like delay and reverb to finish it off. To me, it gave me a fun opportunity to explore instrumentation I'm new to composing with. For you, I give you: Death's Call. Enjoy!
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Comments
Wow what a tune! This has a very unique way of creating tension through a mixture of major and minor note choices. The dissonance in this captures what it (probably) sounds like to be called on by Death.
Yay, glad you liked it. Sometimes I find throwing music theory out the window makes everything sounds so much more interesting and lets you do things you wouldn't even think of otherwise. Thanks for listening and thanks for the jam, Andtech!
Aye awesome. I think this is the first time I've composed with the melody in the horn and honestly really happy with the result. Glad you enjoyed it :)
Eclectic and unsettling. This piece makes me uncomfortable in a good way.
ooo interesting. Eclectic, never heard that one before but I like it. I think the midi sound quality alone is unsettling enough for me haha. Thanks!
Eclectic and unsettling. This piece makes me uncomfortable in a good way.
This gives me Super Metroid Nofair vibes, and agree with others that it would sound really cool with the SNES sounds. If you wanted to go for more realistic orchestral sounds in the future, Spitfire's BBC Symphony Orchestra plugin has a free version that is amazing
Wow, I had to look up Super Metroid Nofair to be honest, but it looks sick. I love the drama and sparsity of the soundtrack, especially that vocal line, it's awesome. I've never really thought of going for that SNES style, but definitely excited to lean into that style for this or something else later. I'll check out that plugin, thanks!
The chromatic harmonization instantly sets the spooky Halloween vibe. There are many other techniques you used that I think add points to the jam theme category: the kick beats feel like a heartbeat which is a nice touch, the pounding low piano feels like a ghostly drone but also adds energy to a fight situation, the upward piano/brass arpeggios feel like a rising ghost, and many others. The subdued outro was an interesting touch and maybe hints at the aftermath of a gruesome duel or the succumbing to Death’s call. Good work and thank you for sharing!
Yess, I'm so glad someone mentioned the heartbeat haha. I love your metaphors for what each sound might mean. I never thought of it like that but I almost wish I did, that would've been awesome. You're dead on for what I was aiming for in the outro though. Thanks for listening!
Like the orchestration and dissonance that the track focuses on, really captures the dark vibe of the composition. Like Buscadon said as well, this track could be really elevated if there were more elements that add impact and percussion, some timpani drums maybe. Sounding good, keep it going!
Omg I should've added a timpani, you're right. That would've sounded so much more dramatic. And yea, can't do a spooky track without some good ol' dissonance. Thanks for your comment :)
I like the friction and harshness in the composition. I think this would sound even better if you would lean into the lofi sound more, like with a sound library similar to the SNES. I can totally hear this track with some of those sweet 16-bit strings, brass, percussion and delay effects.
Well done!
Huh, I never thought of it with an SNES sound library. You may be onto something. I think the MIDI I used is pretty shocking, and that more electronic tone would probably work well for a halloween track. Thanks for the ideas!
I love the buildup you have in this song with brass instruments, especially combined with the piano climbing up the key. This really has strong horror vibes to it, which is great.
One thing I especially appreciate about this song is the moments of silence that separate parts because it really helps give each part more weight to it.
Beyond that, my main concern with this one would be that I'm not getting very strong "boss battle" vibes with it. If I were to make it sound more that way, I would definitely try to make it more intense by focusing more on the percussion and maybe speeding it up a bit.
This sounds great, keep it up!
Aye, that's great. I actually love the amount of detail you put into this, it's interesting to see what you hear from it. And yeah I agree, after I submitted, I realised it gives me more Phantom of the Opera vibes rather than Boss Fight. Ramping up the percussion sounds like a cool idea to play with. I might come back to this after the jam, we'll see. Thanks!