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Broken Age: Dire Need's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Correlation to theme | #36 | 3.615 | 3.615 |
| Creativity | #84 | 3.385 | 3.385 |
| Overall | #90 | 3.300 | 3.300 |
| Composition | #91 | 3.346 | 3.346 |
| Impression | #114 | 3.192 | 3.192 |
| Quality | #117 | 2.962 | 2.962 |
Ranked from 26 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
This soundtrack is composed for an action-stealth game where the main characters are trying to overthrow a corrupt government. The first track (which uses Ableton) represents the opening cutscene of the game. The second track (which uses Studio One) is the final boss theme.
Backstory
In an age long after time, political unrest sweeps through the city of Emberdark. The Convergence party has been in power for far too long. Ordinary citizens are forced to work in imperialistic military campaigns, oppressed.
Because of this, a rebel group has emerged—the Dawnreachers. Their mission is to take down any Convergence operations from the shadows. However, they aren't afraid to get their hands dirty if spotted.
Music
The first track is the opening cutscene of the game. It is written as if someone were telling the story of how they lost their freedom. The piece begins with the character being free, with the flutes and strings existing happily. The piece then shifts to a more serious tone, with electronic elements slowly taking over. In the end, it isn’t completely clear what will happen to the person’s freedom.
The second track takes place during the final mission of the game. After being caught trying to sneak into the president's office, the Dawnreachers have to fight the leader of the Convergence—not the president like they predicted, but his closest advisor. It was made with an "electronic orchestra" in mind. The horns and synths show the struggle between good and evil in this climactic battle.
Theme
How does it fit the theme?
The premise of the game (a rebel group trying to overthrow a corrupt government) fits both themes because the characters fight for freedom, which is also shown in the defiant gesture of the person in the picture.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://youtu.be/GKr_isiVv3M
Genre
Soundtrack use permission
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Comments
Honestly, while I was listening to this soundtrack I was just staring at the wall... I think this is a pretty good result :D
OH, YES, EXACTLY! BASS! IT. IS AWESOME!
And in general, a certain mixture of fun, stupidity, pathos and groove in the melodies is, I think, what gives your publication +100 points to coolness (personally from me)
P.S. Rawr
The panning at the very beginning of "(The Loss of) Freedom" felt a touch too far to me, but beyond that it was an absolute banger. It evolved in ways I was not expecting and definitely kept the listener interested to the very end. "I Advise You to Leave" also evolves in interesting ways, and while I enjoyed it overall; the whole track felt a bit long to me. Both songs sound vaguely reminiscent of Final Fanntasy II, but that could just be my brain jumping there from your description of the game ahaha
Overall, nice work!
Another team of two! nice!
I love how dynamic and well composed the first track is. the second song has a decent feeling of a battle/ tense moment but i feel like the energy is not quite there for this?
I really liked this sub though! there is an overall nice feel across the two tracks and i think they work for what you were going for
Some really nice moments! From section to section, I would consider switching what instrument has the lead lines, it will help create some variation!
Well done!
I really like the first one and the story it tells, pretty entertaining and nice evolution ! I'm a bit less convinced by the second one which is a bit long and I had the feeling the melody was a bit random at some moments. The orchestration could use more punch as well to really capture this ultimate important battle feeling (cymbals, drums, sharp mastering with high frequencies more aggressive maybe etc...). I really appreciate the universe and the story telling, good job !
as a digifu composer and enjoyer, i was REALLY drawn to the apparent juxtaposition of orchestral and electronic instruments in "(The Loss of) Freedom"! and "I Advise You to Leave" is veiled in that oppressive and heavy atmosphere that you'd expect in a final boss theme, probably since it stays very close to the tonic! nicely done, you two! ^_^
i am a bit ensnared by the moderately high-pitched arpeggiation that maintains its volume for the most part throughout "I Advise You to Leave"; it might be fun to experiment with putting an LFO on its volume so it fades in and out, or some additional effects to dampen it in the mix? that aside, the conceptual composition and arrangement are awesome!!
Thanks for the comment! Mixing is definitely not my strong suit, so I am glad for this advice.
There are some really interesting ideas here! Very unique, very ambitious, and I think you delivered on your vision very well. Nicely done!
The first track paints the picture you're going for so so well. I feel like 3:10 in the youtube vid is when the rebels are actually caught and the BBG does his monologue before the boss fight starts.
Small thing, but maybe adding some sort of decay or tremolo affect to the flute during I Advise You To Leave would help with potential listening fatigue of the synth being monotone, since the melody plays for a while
Love the atmosphere. Felt like I was being taking on a journey. Good use of strings. Love the way they transition into your music.
Thanks a lot! I'm glad you liked the atmosphere!
I love the blend of orchestra and synths. The beats have a great vibe!
I'm glad you liked it!
Ooooh I really like how well (The loss of) Freedom tells a story. The tonal shifts are really great from the happy "nothing's wrong" to something that feels like some of the more intense moments in Celeste.
I Advise You to Leave is really interesting, my favorite part is probably around the 5:30 mark (in the youtube video) where things really start to kick in. I do feel like it could use some drums, or a remix with some drums to really sell the energetic feeling of a fight scene.
Both songs are very cool, both of you did a great job! :)
Ooh, maybe I'll make a remix with drums, like you said. I was trying to have the other instruments be so rhythmic that drums weren't needed but now I'm curious.
the first track was a real bop and the transition was fantastic!
I think something the second track desperately needed was a sharp sound of some kind for a melody. There was the synth, but even then, it still felt a little faded. A very "bouba" coded song when I think a little "Kiki" would have added a lot.
Thanks a bunch!! I'm really happy you liked the transition!
The mixing is the weak point here honestly, sometimes it's quiet and at 3:18 the instruments are too loud. The progression and the sudden change of tone of the first track is fire though. The second track could also be shortened.
I really appreciate the feedback on the mixing, thanks!
These were cool tracks!
Liked the transition from orchestral to electronic in the first track! And really enjoyed the orchestration on the second one!
Great work!
Thanks!!
These made for a fun listen! Kudos on pumping out over 7 minutes worth of music during a 48 hour jam.
I really like how (the loss of) Freedom explores so many different instruments in just the first minute and a half. Orchestration is solid here, and I love the subtle touches of sound design to provide some complementary tension to the rather heroic sounding strings. I could see this functioning as the opening cutscene track, or even the trailer for the game, too.
Meanwhile, I Advise You to Leave comes in with a different type of orchestration. I dig the old-school vibe of the horns and strings here - really reminds me of some older SNES/Megadrive titles. There's a particular kind of charm to those FM-sounding brass patches. This track weaves between various different stages of feelings; from heroic showdowns to tense battles and dire straits. Fond of the bass in the more dramatic arpeggio sequences as it does a great job of grounding the track and providing this rumble pulse to the piece as a whole.
Great work! Solid submission, good instrumentation and falls perfectly in line with the theme.
Thanks a lot!! I was really happy with how the strings ended up sounding with everything else going on in the track, and I'm glad you thought the orchestration was solid :)
Cool album overall, I wish you had more time for maybe better selection of sounds, but it's pretty good as it is, good job to you two!
Thank you!