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Chronos's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Originality | #6 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| Overall Sound | #9 | 3.714 | 3.714 |
| Memorability | #17 | 2.786 | 2.786 |
Ranked from 14 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
What is the most interesting interval in your leitmotif/theme?
When I started this project I initiatlly wanted to go with some sort of locrian interpretation, but ended up going for a more chromatic approach.
When thinking of the theme "larger than life", I immediately thought about the concept of time and how it is this unstoppable force just ticking on in the background.
“What is the most interesting interval in your leitmotif/theme?”
I think the most interesting interval is happening both in the beginning of the piece going major 2nd->minor 3rd->major 7th, root. At the same time the piano is slowly moving down chromatically until finally resolving using the same interval, only now it is going from minor 3rd-> major 3rd with the new flattened root and the drone now serving as a minor 2nd.
(please keep in mind that I am not trained in music theory - so the intervals mentioned might be nonsense x) but I think it should be correct)
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Comments
Kinda sounds like a stressful but nice ambient sound
Thank you! :) I realise that it didn't quite live up to the definition of a leitmotif, but I have learned so much from this experience! :) Thank you for the comment!
The calm melody together with the ticking that keeps getting faster and faster make for a very frightening and almost claustrophobic atmosphere. You do well at evoking a sinister, threatening vibe :)
Thank you very much for your comment! :) I appreciate that you liked the atmosphere!!! :)
Loved the tragic suspension of the upper line. You had an interesting idea with the variation in the rhythmic pulse, but I feel you could integrate it a bit more seamlessly with more time ;)
What makes a character audibly recognizable? Certainly a melody that sticks does, but also elements of rhythm and also harmonic considerations. Part of the idea of the jam was exploring all the options, so thank you for being so creative!
Thank you for replying ! :)
I'm happy you liked the harmony change! ^^ I have no doubt that with time I could have done more, but yeah, time was really a struggle for me in this challenge, but that is also exactly why it is such an important lesson! :)
I really liked the vague nature of the theme too, there are so many different ways to interpret it! I definitely think all of the different submissions are proof of that - wildly different styles being showcased here! It is super cool to see how other people have emphasised different aspects :)
Thank you for making the challenge and for appreciating my submission! :) it has been an absolute pleasure to partake!
The somberness of the piece and calmness also gives me a sense of floating in space. This theme makes think of movies like interstellar. The tempo increase throughout the piece paired with the clock ticking sound emitted a subtle tensity that felt ominous and gave me an overarching sense of dread, it really made the calmness of the piece quite a red herring. I think there's a lot to this piece that is extremely effective, but might not be recognized immediately. Definitely a sign of creativity, in my opinion. It would be nice to see this piece get a proper ending! Great job overall!
I was actually very inspired by interstellar when making this piece! :) I really liked how Hans Zimmer interpreted space and time in that movie (he also uses ticking in quite a few of his soundtracks as I'm sure you are aware of!) :) I even believe there is a piece called "Mountains" that does kind of the same thing (i.e. ticking that speeds up to signify urgency), however as you point out in my piece it functions as a foil to the relative calmness and to symbolise time slowly but surely overtaking the piece, culminating in the bell and the harmony change.
I was also considering making a proper ending, but I felt like it would make the piece feel too resolved and it also felt like it could symbolise that time continues no matter what ^^ but a more practical explanation is also that I had a hard time dealing with the time constraint. If I had a minute or two more I would probably have come up with a proper conclusion! :)
Thank you for noticing all of these aspects! :) It is very gratifying when your ideas come accross properly! :) and thank you for taking time to comment! :)
Sorry for butting in uninvited, but: if you are interested in Hans Zimmer's Interstellar approach, I strongly suggest checking out the music sheet! There are transcriptions in Musescore you can listen to in real-time and adapted to different instruments. See this for example: https://musescore.com/user/30188642/scores/6873032 I don't know if this is the score you were talking about, I couldn't find one called Mountain, this one is mostly piano (the second half adds strings and other instruments, pretty cool stuff).
Not a problem at all! I'm just super happy you are taking such an interest and that you are being so helpful, that is super cool! :)
I am afraid that I can't read music that well, because I'm not trained in theory- but the fact that you can listen to these pieces at the same time might make it a really good learning tool! So thank you so much for sharing that! I looked around at the site and I found the piece I was refering to if you are interested:
https://musescore.com/maggggoooooo/mountains-from-interstellar-hans-zimmer
I think it is only arranged for piano in this version though! Still a great piece! :)
I think that this is a very creative submission. I am a big fan of the slow intensity build in the rising tempo of the bass pulse and clock ticking. The melody gives a solemn vibe that I think fits time as a villain well as sort of a silent enemy. I really like the sample of the clock chime you have at the end. I think that if you would have been able to descend one more scale tone, and had the clock chime on that last note, it would have felt resolved and more concluded, but I definitely understand that 30 seconds doesn’t give a lot of wiggle room. Cool entry overall! Thank you for sharing!
Heya! :) thank you for the comment!
It is actually funny that you say I could have descented one more tone in the scale (I think you mean to the key F) and I almost ended up doing that, but I ended up reconsidering, because I did not want it to be too resolved in order to keep that uneasy feeling going! But I totally get where you are coming from! I was super tempted to resolve it (as that is what my own ear would prefer too), but yeah! ^^
Super cool that you noticed this though! :) thank you for the feedback!
Very interesting choice with the ticking vs chord, going at different speeds...
I don't know if I would call it a leit motif... but as an environment theme, this is awesome.
Thank you for the feedback! :)
I was actually in doubt when submitting about whether or not it would satisfy the "leitmotif"-part myself! x) it is my first attempt at such a thing! If you have any pointers I would be happy to take them! :) My primary goal is to learn!
That being said, I'm happy you enjoy the "atmosphere"! :)
Hey, of course, I'll try help! And I'm in the same boat in the learning. ^^ So. The leit motif thing: well, the Jam organizers did leave a few videos as pointers, very useful stuff. The main idea is that a leit motif is a music phrase that, repeated enough times throughout a song, you associate it with a character or a franchize.
The best example I can think of is of course anything made by Hans Zimmer. They are very long songs but there's a part that the theme keeps coming back to. That's the leit motif.
But that also means, it's almost exclusively the work of the melody line. That's what usually sticks with you - and sticking *is* the objective. You could say the line patterns become a marketing strategy of sorts. To such effect, later on you will remember that phrase in your head, for hours/days/years to come. Think Mario Bros and you immediately remember the first two-bar sequence in the first level.
That's why your theme is at a disadvantage here. I'm thinking, if you could add it a melody line (hopefully something catchy), this could turn into a leit motif no problem, however. ...Hope any of this helps :)
Thank you very much for your elaboration! :)
I did watch the videos on leitmotifs, I just think I interpreted it in a slightly different way. My character in this case being time I focused more on rythm and tempo (time speeding up underneath floaty chords as an example). The only true "melody" that I encorporated is heard right at the beginning (Movement from C#->D with a drone on B to give the feel of something being constantly looming in the background.) The motif only shows up again at the end when the bell rings (exact same movement but in different harmony (emphasised by the bell). But perhaps that is where I made the mistake, thinking that it was enough to constitute a "motif" ^^
I will try and keep memorability and repeatability in mind for future reference! :) thanks again for taking time out to explain!
Well, I'm not an expert either - I don't mean to give that impression ^^' I don't know, or I can't think of, any instance of it happening, but there must be leit motifs that are purely percussion.... But I suppose it'd have to be something pretty crazy in sound or pattern to be easy to identify.
...You know what? Nevermind, I just thought of a percussion-centered leit motif example XD : Akira's main theme (anime movie). It has drums as the center piece over a slow-building tonal base (voices), much like what you did here! ... Sure, the drums are mad; I guess that's why it's so rememberable... And it also helps that they are toned-drums, so there's a hint of a melody there. The tonal base (voices) also have a melodic line, not just tone... But the rhythm is undoubtly the main thing here.
Tl;dr : I have no idea how Akira soundtrack composer pulled it off, but yeah, it's do-able XD
Hehe, you sure know your stuff though! ^^ you are not coming across as condescending or anything if that was your fear! :D I think it is extremely helpful at least ! :)
Ooooo, I have never encountered this soundtrack before! That is a super cool piece of music! I really like the drums serving both as a melody and as the driving-force behind the piece! I think you are correct in the analysis that it is probably the fact that the percussion is tuned that makes it much more memorable and succinct!
Thanks again for sharing! I could probably talk about music with you all day! xD
Love the environment, and the clock tick holds it all together!
Thank you so much! :) I'm very happy you like the piece! :)
https://soundcloud.com/andreas-andy-ditlevsen/chronos?utm_source=clipboard&utm_m...
Soundcloud link for those who don't want to download the file added :)