itch.io

I’m the organizer of the OST Composing Jam, a game soundtrack composing jam which has been growing significantly in popularity. With over 600 submissions in our latest jam, one challenge we’re facing is providing an accessible and ad-free way for participants and listeners to stream audio directly on itch.io.

Currently, we rely on external platforms like SoundCloud and YouTube for audio streaming, but limitations on upload counts and frequent ads make this solution less sustainable as we expand. It would be incredibly helpful if itch.io could implement a built-in audio streaming feature for project pages, so users can listen to tracks directly without needing to download files.

Additionally, a playlist feature would greatly enhance the listening experience, allowing for continuous playback of multiple tracks in a jam seamlessly and in a user-friendly way. This would be particularly beneficial for jams like ours, where we have a large volume of submissions and listeners want to browse through them easily.

Would it be possible to consider these features somewhere along the line in the future? I believe this could also benefit many other creators and communities on itch.io who work with audio content. I know itch.io is primarily a game store, but other stores such as Steam also has their own music player for game soundtracks. 

Looking forward to any thoughts/updates on this!

Hi, sorry for the delay, the results have now been published!

alonerabbit

Hi! Can you contact me on Discord or email?

Hi! Can you contact me on Discord or email?

I’m the organizer of the OST Composing Jam, a game soundtrack composing jam which has been growing significantly in popularity. With over 600 submissions in our latest jam, one challenge we’re facing is providing an accessible and ad-free way for participants and listeners to stream audio directly on itch.io.

Currently, we rely on external platforms like SoundCloud and YouTube for audio streaming, but limitations on upload counts and frequent ads make this solution less sustainable as we expand. It would be incredibly helpful if itch.io could implement a built-in audio streaming feature for project pages, so users can listen to tracks directly without needing to download files.

Additionally, a playlist feature would greatly enhance the listening experience, allowing for continuous playback of multiple tracks in a jam seamlessly and in a user-friendly way. This would be particularly beneficial for jams like ours, where we have a large volume of submissions and listeners want to browse through them easily.

Would it be possible to consider these features somewhere along the line in the future? I believe this could also benefit many other creators and communities on itch.io who work with audio content. I know itch.io is primarily a game store, but other stores such as Steam also has their own music player for game soundtracks. 

Looking forward to any thoughts/updates on this!

Hi! Thanks for the comment, after I submitted I immediately have to go out so I didn't have time to finish my submission page. I've now added the storyline I imagined for the soundtrack and what each track represents in the game krub!

Hi, thanks for the feedback. This used to be a feature back in the very early days of OST Composing Jam, but it has a bug that if you select an operating system (because itch.io is designed for games, not soundtracks) it will only show submissions that are tagged with that OS, and because soundtracks do not run in Windows, Mac, or Linux, none of the submissions will show up. It is also not possible to change your OS after selecting, so it was quickly removed. I have tried contacting the admin of itch.io about it, but they said it would not be worth implementing the feature as only our jam would use it and it costs resources for them to implement something new. But, because OST Composing Jam have grown so much over the past years, I can try asking them again. Hope this answers your question. ^^

I will confirm the date of the results again on Discord and on email when it is ready.

Hi! At the moment, I’ve only received feedback from half of the judges on the panel, so it’s unlikely that the results will be ready for release today. However, if anything changes, I’ll be sure to let you all know. I was also hoping to announce the results today, so I appreciate your understanding.

Thank you! My favorite track is also Hold My Hand haha, it's the most fun I had out of the bunch making it.

Hi! Because this jam includes the addition of judges, the results of the jam will be not be announced until the judges have finished giving feedback to the top 20 submissions. This is to prevent any bias when the judges are giving feedback or picking their favorite submissions as the top 20 submissions will be shown to them in a random order. A specific date will be given later down the line but for now, the results will not be announced until at the very earliest Sunday 11 August. Hope this clears up the confusion! ^^

I'm honestly lost for words. I don't know how but it just keeps getting better and better.

I've been there since your first submission to the first OST Composing Jam, I remembered listening to it and think: huh, this is very weird, I've never listened to anything like this before, it's just so... otherworldly. I didn't like it. I didn't understand it. But as years passed, submission after submission, I started to understand the beauty of your sound design. It's not always about the melody, it's not always about being nice and pleasant to listen to. It's about conveying emotion and telling a story, which I feel like you've perfected here. You've opened the world of sound design for me, thank you, and well done  :)

Yep, I did it in GarageBand on ipad. I've been using it for maybe around 4-5 years now so switching to other DAWs have been quite hard to get used to, I'm just so used to the interface and workflow of GarageBand lol, and even now I'm still learning about features that I never knew existed, it actually is a very capable piece of software if you take the time to explore. I'm looking to invest in a macbook in the future so I can upgrade to logic pro, but we'll see!

This is really nice! The dream aesthetic and vibes are definitely there and is very pleasant to listen to. One thing to note though is that I think you've went a bit overboard with the panning, so many instruments felt off centered and is coming from everywhere, which you might want to do but not for every instrument, just some that you want to pop out, or maybe try experimenting with the tremolo effect so that it pans both left and right. But overall well done!

The king have returned

Hi! Can you message me on Discord (username: alonerabbit) or email me (contact@alonerabbit.com)?

Hi! Can you message me on Discord (username: alonerabbit) or email me (contact@alonerabbit.com)?

Hi, yes you can on the project page. Here are the step-by-step guide:

(https://ostcompjam.alonerabbit.com/how-to-submit)

Yeah of course! If you think about it all of the imaginary games are all demos anyway because they haven’t been created yet, they’re all just demos for a would-be full game.

Yeah that should be fine! As long as you’re not submitting a piece that’s already finished/near-finished before the jam :)

Hi, I've noticed that you've submitted two projects to the jam (the other one being https://itch.io/jam/ost-composing-jam-7/rate/2837534). You only have to submit one submission to the jam, as one submission can have multiple tracks!

*the files will only be locked during the rating period of the jam :)

Hi, you can create your project and submit at any point during the jam! You can also edit your submission and upload new files up until when the jam ends, after that all files are locked.

Hi, that should be fine yes.

Hi! You can upload as many files as you want and it doesn't have to be in a zip file. Hope this helps!

Hi! Unfortunately that is not the main aim of the jam, however you can take inspiration from other games to your soundtrack and imaginary game! 

Yes that is fine!

Hi, yes that is an acceptable alternative! Just any way for us to verify the submission is yours.

Yes you can! Just keep in mind how you can justify how it relates to the theme or how you were inspired from it in the description.

It just has to be a least 3 minutes in total, you can go however longer you want after that. So for example a 20 minute soundtrack is possible.

There will be a space for you to put this detail in when you submit. It isn't strictly mandatory, but it is recommended so other people that listens to your soundtrack can get a feel of what the soundtrack is accompanying or is for. It may also help boost your Correlation to theme score as that is when you can justify how it fits the theme. Hope this answers your question!

Hi, just to clarify you should only start when the jams starts.

It's encouraged that the submissions are made within the period of the jam as there is also a theme for you to build upon your soundtrack. All submissions of the jam must be original and composed specifically for the jam, hence the rule of being unreleased, and the rule of being unfinished is that it would be unfair to other participants (as this a ranked jam) if you have more time than the others. Your submission would be considered illegitimate if it is found that you have submitted something that is made before the jam starts.

You can use text to speech but just make sure that the license of the software you're using allows the audio to be used in your own projects / commercial projects if you want it up on streaming services ^^

Hi! You can work in groups of no more than 3! (However, you can have additional people to record parts for your soundtrack.) There is no recommended DAW for the jam specifically, you are welcome to use any DAW you like.

Hi, the results are now published!

Would never have thought of interpreting the theme this way, damn creative for sure. Really fun submission, I LOVE White Dragon Crossroads, especially the last part with the sudden slow down and speed up again, OH BOY! It slaps. HARD.

Like others have said, the climax and orchestration is very well done! This submission stands out for sure!

Yeah no, you guys are insane. Composed, engineered, mixed and mastered in 48 hours, that's some serious dedication and teamwork right there. Castle in the Sky and The White Dragon's Lullaby are my favorite, but honestly the whole soundtrack is absolutely breathtaking! Great job guys, hope you guys get some good rest after this ahaha.

Man, your bassline always slaps! I really enjoyed Fly Away, can't stop bopping my head to it! Great job sir