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Moonlight Bird's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Correlation to theme | #23 | 3.818 | 3.818 |
| Overall | #45 | 3.636 | 3.636 |
| Creativity | #47 | 3.682 | 3.682 |
| Impression | #54 | 3.636 | 3.636 |
| Quality | #58 | 3.545 | 3.545 |
| Composition | #75 | 3.500 | 3.500 |
Ranked from 22 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
I was inspired by the theme and its accompanying photo mainly in my game concept. The premise is that you play as a child clone growing up in a fringe space colony controlled by robotic beings, much like a labor camp. One day, a crow who has been somehow subsisting on the desolate, rocky planet flies into the facility out of curiosity. It is captured but manages to escape and fly around until it crashes into your living quarters. You nurture it back to health and a bond form between the two of you. Eventually, you manage to escape the facility with each others help, with the player switching between the two characters. Finally, after successfully escaping, both characters are free to start a new life on their own and venture off into space. The child has gained physical autonomy and the crow no longer can only spare to worry about its survival.
I tried to use industrial and mechanical sounds and techniques to represent the factory. In track 2 there's a shift when the two characters meet each other and find hope. Track 3 is high energy and fast paced for the action scenes as they escape. Finally, track 4 shows a shift in tone with a much lighter, free-er feeling sound.
Track 1: Follows the child's labor in the harsh factory.
Track 2: The crow is captured but manages to escape to the child's cell.
Track 3: They work together to escape.
Track 4: They're in a big, unknown world, with nothing guaranteed but everything possible.
For software, I used Ableton Live with a mix of stock synths/sounds and the Spitfire Labs vst.
Message from the artist
I hope you like it! I had a lot of fun making these and am pretty proud of what I was able to make in the short time frame
Theme
How does it fit the theme?
The story line of the game (in the description) has the theme of freedom. The tracks reflect this to an extent. I also used the picture more literally when thinking of the game idea. To get into more detail about my interpretation of the theme, I liked the idea of having two different characters that show different sides to freedom. Before the game, the player is stuck in a labor colony, physically isolated from the rest of the world to show their lack of freedom. The crow on the other hand is physically free, able to roam the entire planet to itself. However, in the barren landscape it struggles to survive and finds a lack of freedom in this limitation on its life. Through the course of the game, both characters are able to supply to the other what they're missing and attain freedom together.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://randomperson21.bandcamp.com/album/moonlight-bird
Genre
Soundtrack use permission
Any project
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Comments
BIRD!
Cell 4839 - SYNTHESIS! WAH! BIRDS! WAH! BIRDS!
A Curious Creature - BITCRUSH WAH! RUNNING BIRDS! WAH! LIFT SYNTHESIS! WAH! CHALK MELODY! WAH!
Break Out Duo - TU DU TU DU TU DU TU DU! SOMEONE'S BREATHING! SOMEONE'S BEHIND! BUT! I WANT TO DANCE! WAH!
A Home of Our Making - a waterfall...
P.S. Rawr! Good job!
P.S.S. Rawr x2. WAH. BIRD. WAH. BIRD.
altogether a solid soundtrack! i was really fascinated by the gritty direction you went for "A Curious Creature"; it reminds me more of viewing the event from the perspective of the facility guards treating it as an emergency. meanwhile, "Break Out Duo" was an energetic track that really shifts the mood of what a player would know so far for your videogame concept. very nice! ^-^
you really nailed the mood of the unknown and infinite frontier with the final track, especially considering the setting of outer space.
Cell 4839 had me thinking this would strictly be chiptune, but hearing the piano come in immediately changed my perception of what was to come. This piece is laden with tension; a quiet dread, offset only by the faintest glimmer of hope. A lot of interesting voicings occurring in this one.
A Curious Creature has some really delicious bit-crushing going on off the bat, giving some really neat textural vibes to the track on the get go. The pads swelling out reminded me of something I'd hear in Biohazard on the Genesis/Megadrive. Orchestration kicking in after the big blow-out was neat, and really gave the piece a very expansive feel.
Break Out Duo comes in with some strong patches and a thick kick with just a hint of crushing on the top end. I love how the saws here are wavering constantly and panning around the place, giving them some real motion. The lead lines are interesting and the chosen voicings give some real texture. I absolutely love when the percussion gets some extra layers - it spices things up just enough and adds some real ear-candy.
A Home of Our Making caught me off guard a little; the intro feels very ominous, but then it gives way to some gorgeous piano work and orchestration. Nice use of the bird calls here to ground the piece. The delay on the key melodies here are fantastic and really round out the stereo-space. The entire track is like one massive release of tension; a crescendo from start to finish to encapsulate freedom. I was full sure that Break Out Duo would be my favorite of the bunch coming into this one, but I'm wholly and utterly sold on it being my favorite of the bunch.
Great work, these were a delight to listen to and pretty varied. Started well, but ended strong. Gave A Home of Our Making about three listens before having to move on! Best of luck.
Beautiful work. Giving me night time/outer space vibes.
i really like your story idea and how fitting the music is to it. Each song that ties to each part of story i can clearly envision in my head as a part of the game. Break Out Duo was bumpy, and the last track was beautiful, i liked them a lot! Really well done with this submission!
I like this industrial night vibe, the universe is well thought and the music is a good illustration of it. Nice job !
Cool take on the theme, really funky! Enjoyed these a lot. Also, question but are the drums in Cell 4839 from LABS or another VST?
I'm glad you liked it! The drums on that track are a stock ableton device called yakiman kit.
Thank you for the info!
aw I love the cute little pixel art here!
i found my self bumping to the tracks, especially Break Out Duo. it feels really unique too.
And that last track really solidified the freedom aspect of the OST.
GREAT job!
Those emotional strings at the end of "A Curious Creature" hit me in a way that I wasn't expecting. Throughout the whole OST there's a very particular quality that I can't put my finger on but it feels very... personal? It feels like it's from a combination of interesting instrumentation, subtle but effective melodies, and a consistent feeling from... the mix itself? I really have no idea how to describe it but it stands out in the best possible way for me and makes it really memorable.
Great work, definitely an interesting vibe, it give modded terraria vibes. Good work :)
When it comes to Cell 4839, the droning synth in the background is a good way to keep the vibe oppressive and its really well done. Percussion is also really well done in that purpose. A Curious Creature has this really nice subtle percussion in the background that I'm just obsessed over. It's really well done, and I like the addition of the alarm sound in the melody. In Breakout Duo the really oppressive percussion and the droning bass synth in the background is amazing. This is probably my favourite track due to how much punch the percussion has. A Home of Our Making is a really nice conclusion to the songs, It's well earned reprieve from the oppressive nature of everything the character's have been through. Overall this submission was really good, and I enjoyed it quite a lot!
Nice man! Really great work, love when those drums kicked in in track 3. Also love how the last track wraps it all up!
I think my favorite part was when the piano would come in during the 3rd track. it was kind of a vibe.
I honestly don't have much to say. I liked the tracks and they were well made!