Beautiful composition! Nice chords and melodies. You also chose a very beautiful set of instruments for this soundtrack.
As was mentioned elsewhere, some effects like reverb could be used to add a sense of depth and dynamics to the soundtrack, although things sounded nice as they were.
Bonus points for putting in the time to write a story/description to go with this! Great job.
Nice, soothing, but sometimes spooky soundtrack. I really liked Lights off, you obviously spent a lot of time on it. You really nailed the mood you described with this OST. Great job!
Nice, easy listen. I like the laid back atmosphere of this soundtrack.
My main critique would be dynamics. It can be difficult depending on the tools you have available, but look for ways to vary softness and tone of your instruments throughout the course of a song.
Otherwise, great cohesion. All the tracks fit together nicely while each having their own personality. Good job on your soundtrack!
This was one of my first big Reaper projects and wow I'm blown away by its versatility. Especially when I was processing the samples I'd recorded, it was just such a joy to work with. I guess I'm hooked now.
Wow I'd almost forgotten about the DK soundtracks! I think it's pretty likely that Crash Bandicoot had a significant impact on the style of some of the tracks, since I used to play it a lot as a child.
Thank you for listening and for your kind feedback!
Take my kudos, because I have a weakness for music that sparkles. Loving the nostalgia in a lot of the synths you used. You did a fantastic job mixing them with strings and piano. Overall, banger of an OST.
One critique, though: the high end was a bit much. Maybe knock it down a bit and boost some of your mids and lows.
Correlation to theme was on point too. All very dreamy and otherworldly. Great job!
Really enjoyed the atmosphere this created. You did well matching the story you described. Good job on all the synths too, they go well with digital/robotic aspect.
That said, my biggest critique would be the track length. There are some cool vibes going on, they're just really spread out. I feel that though there are a lot of loops going on, you would be safe in combining a lot more of the layers at once, as well as reducing the number of repeats. That being said, I have little experience in this genre, so take what I say with a grain of salt.
Overall, kudos for the care and time put into this soundtrack. This was clearly a big undertaking, and that's seriously impressive.
Wow this is so good. Really digging the Dark/Light concept, the dynamic music, and the looping. I was kinda hoping there'd be some sound design depicting the sound of the transition, but it's awesome anyway.
Good job with mixing and mastering. Overall, a really solid entry with a serious shot at winning IMO.
I literally get chills every time I play Beyond the Door. This whole soundtrack is packed with care and emotion.
I love the composition and production value of this. It's so well polished! You used leitmotifs to their fullest potential, and it all just ties together perfectly.
I'm gonna assume you recorded all the vocals in Beyond the Door. They just sound too good to be anything else.
This is a really small detail, but I really dig the heavily modulated reverb on the glockenspiel in A Way Out and Fish Lullaby.
Thanks! Definitely DreamTree.sys. I had so much fun recording and editing the vocals. Also it really felt central to the theme of the whole soundtrack.
Thank you! I was bouncing soundtrack-related story ideas off a friend, and we somehow stumbled on to this idea to name tracks like files. We are both huge fans of the game series Mega Man Battle Network, where characters have digital alter egos, named things like MegaMan.exe and Bass.exe.
Thank you! This is the first time I've really attempted this style of music, and I've enjoyed the workflow a lot. So I think I'll continue with the style in my other music.
Maybe it's just because it's late, but this song connected in a way that has me playing it on repeat. Super expressive and emotional! You really executed well with the tools you had at hand. Sorry to hear that you were unable to participate in the jam more than you did, I just want to hear 4 more of your songs like this one!
Really unique style! As mentioned by others, baroque is a really different style, points for creativity. Pretty good cohesion of tracks going on, as well as following the jam theme.
Genre-defying? My goodness what an understatement. Bendy groovy cowboy keys from Ancient Egypt? Yes, please. Synthetic bird sounds? Wait is that Yanni, Mannheim Steamroller, or Lego Racers theme music I'm hearing? Oh so now you're going to flex chiptune?
This. Is. Rad. Literally typing this as I'm listening through the second time.
9/8??? Ok this has gone too far. Too powerful... Must pause before I'm sucked in...
The vocals in Inside My World are just the icing on top.
I suspect you had way too much fun making this OST. The joy and emotion seep at every corner. It's raw and powerful. Love it.
Love it! The strings and physical natural instruments are just... lovely! Especially all the strings articulations and everything had me wondering (and I still kinda am) whether you recorded them. Really nice handpan in City Altarin!
Can't decide a favorite between Inside my World, Tide Pools Cutscene, and Ebbing Tide, they're all just so good!
The only item of criticism I would have is that some of your instruments are pretty hard panned to left or right. This can certainly work, but it feels more suited to EDM and other genres that lean into sounding electronic-y. You should look into stereo mixing techniques for width and space.
That said, amazing job. Like really. It was captivating from start to finish!
Rad sound design. Love the soundscape on The Unibirth. Got me hooked from track 1! First track is definitely my favorite. Great textures, good vibes. Excellent job following the theme.
(Properly reformatted repost of track descriptions from the project page)
NatureInit.exe (Main Theme)
Why is there moss growing in my recycle bin??
Wait. Maybe it’s that nature sim Cody loaned me yesterday. What if I just...?
RootWare.dll is a benevolent virus that has just showed up on your PC. It seems to be simulating a complex ecosystem, at least if Task Manager is to be believed. Of course, you could just launch RootPortal.exe to check out what’s using all that CPU.
FloraAndFauna.zip
If I didn’t know any better, I’d think those frogs were real.
DreamTree.sys
I’ve been here a while.
The luminous tree in the clearing regards you with majestic calm. Or does it? You can’t quite tell if it is fully sentient. But one thing is certain. It’s been controlling this place for a long time.
H0mew0xk_90192.doc
What’s happened to my homework!??
It seems that RootWare.dll has been “evolving” a bit too enthusiastically. Your documents… aren’t quite what they were. Maybe you should run antivirus software.
Are those vines growing out of my computer case?
Nightfall.bat
The nights here are exceptionally serene.
Even at night, this place teems with life. You’ve grown attached to this place of calm.
Too bad it’ll have to go.
RE:grets (Credits)
I’m sorry I had to do it. But I knew it’d understand.
The big tree just kinda stood there. Didn’t show any visible signs that it was listening, but it was. It’s weird for a virus to be non-malicious. And I guess it’s basically intelligent, given its response.
The uninstaller worked flawlessly. All the drivers and system files were restored. It even ran data recovery on my corrupted files. It’s… as if it’d never been there.
I kinda wish it’d left some trace because I’m gonna miss it all, the forest and everything.
But maybe RootWare.dll is out there somewhere. Maybe it’ll be back.
