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Quartz Mountain's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Quality | #2 | 4.417 | 4.417 |
| Creativity | #3 | 3.833 | 3.833 |
| Overall | #3 | 4.028 | 4.028 |
| Coherence to the Theme | #4 | 3.833 | 3.833 |
Ranked from 12 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Difficulty Level
Advanced
For those who are confident in their music making ability
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Comments
Really exciting piece, was wonderful to listen to. The harmony especially is super fun, tastefully dissonant and suitably wonderous for this magical castle. I would critique that the track only occasionally dips into the more ethereal, reflective ideas I would normally associate with crystal castles in video games, like the string interjections near 1:25. Ultimately, that part of this comp is pretty much up to interpretation so I'm not marking it down particularly harshly for that. Nice work
Glad the piece was enjoyable to listen through! Ethereal is interesting - maybe it came from listening to too much of the score from “The Fury” while writing.
this is really awesome. The crystalline textures with the orchestra make it like a grand castle. Seems like a lot of work and well worth it!
Glad it was worth it - it was fun to write and mix and master which makes it more worth it.
It sounds like a song from a film. It's grand, adventurous and exciting. The harmony has this interesting way of switching from dangerous to wondrous, in a split second. I imagine a massive crack forms in a mountain as a giant machine rises from inside of it.
The quality of the instruments is very professional, like something from a Pixar movie. ( other then a very slight bitcrushy-type effect on the really deep horns starting at 0:37) but that is absolutely not enough to give this any less then 5 stars on the 'Quality' section.
Unfortunately I cannot say the same for the coherence to the theme, 'crystal castle'.
There's not really a crystal or quartz vibe to the song. There sounds like a very faint glockenspeil sometimes in the song, but it never takes center focus.
As for the castle-y-ness. This song absolutely perfectly strikes a grand sense of wonder. But it's not quite castle. It's an orchestral arrangement, and there's strings all over the place in this song. But castle-y-ness is a bit harder to achieve.
I look forward to whatever else you make, I just hope you stick more to the theme next time.
Great song regardless. 👍
Thanks for the feedback! What landscape does this piece exist in for you?
Well I discovered that with my song, people get different vibes from the same song.
Listening to it over again. I can't picture a scene from this song that wouldn't depict a staggering, deadly, but still beautiful and glorious height. I imagine a downward view of a mountainous cliff that ends in a very very far away field at the bottom, with a cloudy backdrop. Maybe some flying moments here and there as well.
There is something very dangerous in this song. Like the mountain is shifting, and you are about to fall off or something.
The temperature also wouldn't seem very hot or cold, if that makes sense.
The track's name is Quartz mountain. And, yeah. This perfectly portays a mountain.
If you want to take my advice for making a crystal castle vibe, read this last paragraph. In my song, to fit the prompt, I made it a point to use xylophone/marimba/harp and icy reverb for the crystal-y-ness. And instrumental string instruments like cello/violin/strings arranged in a waltz bassline for the royal castle-y-ness. That's how I personally tried to get the crystal castle vibe.
Wow, this feels like it could be a real song in a game, it felt like an adventure. Good stuff!
The adventure feeling is definitely from assuming - a castle = lots enemies to fight. Glad the piece was enjoyable!
So cool and rich, really enjoyed the time changes, the 5/4 section is probably my favorite, giving me some kind of Raiders of the Lost Ark vibes somehow, adventurous and also majestic. I also digged a lot the epilogue, giving a nice touch with a reprisal and closing of the circle. Amazing work, and thank you so so much as well for sharing the score with us to follow the piece!
Thanks! Had to bring the key and instrumentation back around to make the piece loop-able if necessary (with some cutting and re-mastering). I'm glad the sparse sound works after that big ending chord.
I see what you mean. Indeed, the piece sounded really having ended there, I felt it had finished with that grand finale, but I also knew it had not because I was peeking at the score. Maybe some subtle sustained discording high note or something of that nature could help for it not to feel disconnected from the ending? Just some stupid idea, not sure if it is really necessary.
Yeah, as a professor of would say, "That transition needs a little sandpaper".
super dramatic! well done, definitely can see this type of vibe being in a whimsical type of adventure game
Thank you! Definitely had some single person game running around a castle in mind.
Feels quite grand and something I'd hear in an adventure game. I'm a fan of pieces like this, so it was a joy to hear!
Thank you! definitely was thinking about single player games with lots of enemies to battle.
Nice transitions! Would this genre count as classical?
the beginning is very heavy on the high end and seems to incorporate some glass sounds? in correlation to the theme. The transition gradually adds in more low end. The low end does seem bit loud though, its presence in the second section conflicts with the other instruments. But after that, great job with arrangement, narrative crafting, and sticking with the theme!
Thanks for the feedback. I would not count this as classical much more Late Romantic because of the weird tonalities. Was looking at the score for "The Fury" by Williams for ideas - though this is far less intense.