Play soundtrack
Where Beasts Were Born(dev in progress)'s itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Quality | #8 | 4.304 | 4.304 |
| Creativity | #9 | 4.261 | 4.261 |
| Impression | #17 | 4.087 | 4.087 |
| Composition | #23 | 4.087 | 4.087 |
| Overall | #23 | 3.852 | 3.852 |
| Correlation to theme | #145 | 2.522 | 2.522 |
Ranked from 23 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
Where Beasts Were Born is a game in development that hasn't had music added yet, so I'm using this game jam as a way to jumpstart the process. The game is a survival game where you are fighting monsters for resources. These monsters threaten your livelihood and that of your village. You and some other friendly(or not so friendly) witches go into the caves to exterminate the monsters in order to claim your villages freedom.
I went for a dark tribal style of music and I hope to keep the instrumentation as traditional as possible. In it I'm using a hammered dulcimer, a bunch of different drums, my tin whistle and flutes, various other percussion, and a tiny guitalele I'm modifying to sound more like a lute.
The masks that the witches have remind me of old paganism. I looked up whatever I could find of old pagan cults and rituals to get inspiration. It didn't end up too dark, but I plan to make things darker and darker as you head deeper into the monster caves.
Message from the artist
I hope you like the three tracks I wrote!
Theme
How does it fit the theme?
It directly fits! Monsters threaten your freedom, so you have to get rid of the monsters.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9ss_jEyQVY
Genre
Soundtrack use permission
For game jams only
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Comments
I absolutely love Witch Chorus and Campfire Ambience! I actually can't believe I haven't considered menu selection music, because this really gave me lowkey Diablo III vibes in such a great way. Ofc all the other comments cover the great choices throughout, but my personal favorite aspect has got to be the drums and tambourine in Witch Chorus. 11/10 stuff!
You definitely nailed that folky, tribal sound! Very cool percussive elements in "Masks and Monsters" that pairs in an interesting way with the much more subtle harmonic elements. The OST as a whole feels incredibly cohesive and each track blends into the next seamlessly. One of the more uniquely stylized submissions in this jam, excellent work!
The percussion has a lot of oomph to it, which I like a lot. And vocal backings are always great to hear in a soundtrack. Nice work!
I know its just walking up the minor scale, but as soon as i heard it in the main theme i couldn't stop thinking about the modern god of war with these 😁
Really great mood and production on these, only thing that stuck out to me was that on MASKS AND MONSTERS the drums drowned out all the more melodic sounds a bit.
Good work!
wow, some really fun sounds in here throughout, I 100% get a really solid impression of what you're doing in this music Good work :)
This is really cool. With regards to Witch Chorus - the choice of instrumentation here is great and unlike anything else I've heard in the jam thus far. Leaning heavily into folk-instrumentation really brings about such a distinct vibe. Percussion does a good job of providing the music a pulse and reminding the listener of the threats that loom. I'm a big fan of how you've woven so many voicings around one another in those lead melodies; each one complementing the other without fighting to occupy the same space.
Campfire Ambience is gorgeously ambient (ha) off the bat. Some really subtle motion and melodies at play deep in the mix, bleeding forward just enough before disappearing back into the shroud. The more understated percussion in this one does a great job at keeping that tension at bay, leaving ample space for the instruments to really paint a wonderfully expansive canvas. There's a beauty in the subtlety at play here, with once again multiple instruments ringing out but never overtly interfering with one another.
Finally, Masks and Monsters sounds great. Noticing a trend in the subtle elements but instead I'll focus on the busier percussion for this. Loving the emphasis being put on certain beats, not only through velocity but the reverb spiking for certain hits to really create this unique pulse and simultaneously provide a virtual space for the listener to slot themselves into and get an understanding of the world. The lack of distinct melody in this separates it rather nicely from the other tracks, so kudos for the variety in that regard.
This is great - it feels like game music, which is probably the best compliment I can give it as it is fully serving its purpose and making me feel as though I am playing or at least envisioning a game. The mixing and production of all three are on point and I found myself wanting to listen back to the tracks again to not only see what I might have missed but also just stay in the world a little longer. Great work, and best of luck!
Reallllly nice writing! Great vibe! Great sound choices, very western to me!
I'm a big fan of the overall soundtrack, I really get the Diablo-ish gameplay feeling that sounds super legit. The mixing is great too. The choice of instruments is great as well, the whole OST is coherent and rememberable. The only problem I see is that I don't see the "Freedom" theme at all in the music. I understand the game is about fighting for freedom, but the music itself doesn't really explore the theme in my opinion. But again really nice soundtrack.
Thank you! 100% I knew that relating the theme would be difficult to me. Philosophically for me “freedom” doesn’t mean anything except for the freedom to live how you want without physical threats. Musically I guess this was very free because my process is basically just improvising and trial and error until something works, but freedom is a concept I have a problem with. Especially considering that right now we are in a “free” country where free trade was just ruined by tariffs, marginalized groups are attacked regularly by laws and now ICE, and protests are often shut down. Sorry to vent as my reply but what I’m saying is I agree it could relate more, but also what even is freedom other than a right to live without physical threats? Thank you for being my surprise therapist! 🫡🤣
ahah that's a very good question. I can only give you my personal interpretation of it :)
I guess I think the goal is to feel a sense of freedom when we listen to the music, at least that's how I understood the themed exercice. I totally join you on the current political situation, our current freedom is a joke and that's probably why it was the theme of that edition, to explore and meditate around that feeling which is getting rare. But you're right the concept itself is debatable and can be expressed in a lot of ways probably, I guess I was expecting to feel it in the music before all :).
Besides that, it's one of my favorite soundtrack tbh
Oh wow this sounds really well made. For 2 days the quality actually like mind blowing
thank you for listening! Check out the games progress on YouTube. It’s coming along and the dev is awesome!
The percussive elements are blended super well and your instrument choices are superb!
I understand the game itself being about freeing yourself from monsters, but I think the theming should go deeper than just the story and the vibes. Something in the orchestration itself to elevate the theming. Though I understand this was made for a separate entity. I also used the jam as a way to jumpstart music for a separate project so I understand and it really isn't a big deal.
really solid tracks and i liked the picture you used. Is it a screenshot from aforementioned game?
As I mentioned to someone else, freedom doesn’t mean much to me so that’s valid! Thank you for listening! I’ll check yours out in a bit.
Both the mixing and instrumentation all throughout are really well done, it's super immersive and feels like I'm in the setting. Had to put on my headphones to really appreciate the way everything's panned around haha :)
Thank you! Glad you’re saying that because I thought the mix was its weakest point.
This sounds really professional, I can easily imagine these in an actual gaming setting. My favorite is the second track, I absolutely adore your use of drums on it, feels really unique.
:]
A lot of drums in this game. I’m trying my best to make it feel very primitive without it getting boring! Thank you!
This could easily fit in a commercial ARPG title. Insane what you came up with in such a short timeframe! The whole OS has flawless instrumentation, I totally forgot this was made for a jam. Great job!
Thank you! There are plans to put this in the actual game. Where-beasts-were-born.com 👍
the beginning arpeggio of "Witch Chorus" had me intrigued, and the rest of the track had me immersed in the environment of the game immediately! your instrumental palette works well and lends a particular vibe that coincides with what you were aiming for, nicely done!
i love the percussion of "Masks and Monsters" — a focus on drums always lends to good tension and high-action! personally, i'd want to see even more on how the theme can evolve and vary, since you mentioned that in your project page!
I know I really wish I had a better way to explain how that works. I’ve tested the idea with the developer and it works really well. Hopefully we can get a playable demo up and running this year!
Thank you!
no worries!! i hope it crosses my vision again when the demo releases bc i have the memory of a goldfish >_< i love indie games, and the idea of monster mutations really captivates me
edit: i just remembered there's a steam page, adding it to my giant-ass wishlist LMAOOO
I really love the sound selection in these! I can definitely imagine people trying to defend their village with all the different elements presented in these pieces!
Glad to hear it! I remember you from another jam. Always great to see your nice comments everywhere! Thank youuu
Ohh... Time for an epic fantasy adventure!
Campfire Atmosphere - I feel like I'm in front of a campfire, surrounded by bearded, muscular dwarves... Or the Vikings
Masks and Monsters - PERCUSSION!! I LOVE IT!!!11!!
Witch Chorus, That's It... It's definitely a very spiritual song. No kidding, now I see a crowd of dwarves roasting a witch on a bonfire.
Overall, this is definitely one of the most atmospheric works of this jam! Tribal style is the most brutally magical
P.S. Rawr
Thank you for such a detailed response! Really glad you like the direction of it. Part of the game idea is that you’re a team of witches trying to kill monsters because they are stealing your mushrooms and other resources you need for survival. So maybe it’s witches roasting a dwarf on a campfire instead! Lol I like your imagery here and I really appreciate all the kind words.