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Synlyfe - Longing Freedom's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Quality | #11 | 4.167 | 4.167 |
| Overall | #22 | 3.853 | 3.853 |
| Composition | #24 | 4.050 | 4.050 |
| Impression | #31 | 3.883 | 3.883 |
| Correlation to theme | #32 | 3.650 | 3.650 |
| Creativity | #67 | 3.517 | 3.517 |
Ranked from 60 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
Wanted to work off of the sombre tones in the picture and lean more into a melancholic longing vibe. Did this by running the piano through some heavy processing, then filtered the final output to keep it a little crispy and muddied by a driven low-pass filter, with some resonators to really bring out and excite some key frequencies.
The piece has some pensive melodies and rather simple supporting instrumentation, leaning heavily into ambience to set the overall tone and drive the track forward. The majority of said instrumentation is rather clean, barring the sine wave from Serum which is being run through similar processing as the keys. Originally planned to do more elaborate string sections but ran out of time so I opted to strip back some underdeveloped sections and supporting lines.
Despite the initial direction, I wanted to inch toward a more hopeful feeling by modulating the key to Ab in the final section. The supporting instrumentation takes a little bit more of a backseat here but the rhythms switch up to lean into a more pensive, possibly-uplifting vibe to round the track out.
As for how this would fit a game - I originally started working with a title theme in mind but then found myself leaning more into a pensive level theme, possibly for some kind of side-scrolling platformer similar to Celeste or even the likes of Hollow Knight. The latter in particular is what made me want to rely more on ambience over outright melodies. I think the piece could be befitting of a kind of Save-Room theme; the journey isn't over, but it's OK to rest a while.
Done in FL Studio in approximately 3 hours. See "Message from the Artist" for more details.
Message from the artist
Misread the ending date for tomorrow so when I woke up and saw 3 hours to submit I realized I'd have to work quick! All in all this piece feels very underdeveloped and I'd prefer to keep some elements, dump the rest and start over but time isn't on my side. Happy enough with the result for a couple of hours work - likely won't be to everyone's tastes but that is OK!
My preferred 3rd party website Audiomack may be having issues displaying the track - I have uploaded the same mp3 to Soundcloud for now as an alternative: https://soundcloud.com/synlyfe/longing-freedom
Theme
How does it fit the theme?
Despite the title and the nature of the picture, I personally found it to have some sombre tones. I wanted to lean into this kind of pensive sadness by intentionally having the keys blown out and reverberated, then applied a resonator on certain frequencies and low-pass-filtered the output while engaging some drive.
As for how this would fit a game - I originally started working with a title theme in mind but then found myself leaning more into a pensive level theme, possibly for some kind of side-scrolling platformer similar to Celeste or even the likes of Hollow Knight. The latter in particular is what made me want to rely more on ambience over outright melodies. I think the piece could be befitting of a kind of Save-Room theme.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://audiomack.com/synlyfe/song/longing-freedom
Genre
Soundtrack use permission
Any non-commercial project
For game jams only
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Comments
Excellent work and fantastic mixing for such a short time frame! Really reminds me of the Minecraft soundtrack with its bit-crushed percussion and lovely ambient synths.
I really like the rhythm on nice ambient that create a unique vibe, Consistently go well together.
Love your style <3
Very nice ambient track. Despite your lack of time, I think it turned pretty good.
Very chill ambient, I love the textures you have here.
The modulation at 1:21 is a very welcome change to give it some variety, I loved it !
As others have said, I would have loved to here this track even more developped, I think you have great ideas. Well done !
For sure - maybe in the future! I wish I had more time with this but ultimately wanted to just participate more than anything, so I'm happy to see that the piece is resonating with some people. Appreciate you taking the time to check it out and leave your thoughts!
Your song was incredibly chill! Sad when the song ended, felt like it fell short. Feel like it could easily been a 3-4 min. song. I really enjoyed this. Keep making beautiful music.
I love this! Really gives me some Mirror's Edge vibes, good job :DDDD
Great vibes, very ambient, mix felt really nice too! Bravo!
I strongly agree with some fellows below, it really fits the theme image. The pensive sadness is well illustrated, and it has a little tenderness as well, perfect for a save-room atmosphere. I like the vibe, well done in such a hurry ! :)
Really appreciate you taking the time to give it a listen and leave a comment! Very happy to hear that you think the piece fits the image - I wasn't sure if I was a little off the mark with my interpretation so it is both a relief and a comfort that people seem to hear that. Thank you again for the kind words! :)
This fit with the theme image so well. It feels like what the color scheme looks like! It's a shame you had such limited time for the project, I would have loved to see how you would expand on this idea. Great job!
I really loved the tone you achieved on your instrumentation. 1:45 onward is something really special, that sound combined with the pacing and layering; it was very Minecraft "esque". That ending really made me feel like I was floating away.
Appreciate you taking the time to check it out and share your thoughts! Ooh the Minecraft comparison is interesting and quite the compliment. I'm glad the piece resonated with you. Thank you again!
The feelings: The song feels cold, but not hostile. I would say that the general emotinal hue is somewhat tragic, like exploring an abandoned place, wishing to break free from its desolation. That, or either deeply philosophical and contemplative thought process. Basically, Celeste + Hollow Knight, so good job there. But, for me, the modulation makes the song feel absolutely chilling and not uplifting, in fact quite the opposite, as if there was a storm approaching. So perhaps something else would work for that mood lift. (Just my opinion. It sounds great - yeah, but I want to give some honest feedback from the listener's position)
The instruments and etc:
Not really much to say, the composition is great, as well as the processing and mixing... so great job, you've got some skill! Very high quality in only 3 hours.
Some of my favourite moments:
0:48 - love that little segment, adds identity and your own little touch.
0:58 - that "ostinato" section is my favourite, very platformer style.
Overall - gud :3
Really appreciate you taking the time to listen and comment! I absolutely love hearing people's takes because it is always fascinating how different they can be. Seeing the modulation be described as chilling is really interesting, and has me curiously listening back over it. I think I can see where you're coming from; the tension doesn't quite resolve ultimately. I'm glad that the little touches around the 50 to 60 second mark resonated with you! I would have loved to have done more, but oh well - another time!
Thank you again for taking the time to listen and share your thoughts. :)
It's a solid and smooth ambient track. It was impressive for only a few hours of work; I loved the modulation. It kept me interested throughout the track. Great job!
I'd say that this is a very meditative and reflective piece, fitting with the text and picture theme
Amazing work! For 3 hours its really well composed / produced!
The ambience you described works really well - the whole track gives a "less is more" vibe while still carrying some intricate layers. Use of space is great as well, and I love how you switch up the key around 1:20. Very nice work!
Great track. The piano sets the mood perfectly and gives an authentic feel to the piece. I think if this music played in a game, exploring the levels would be very enjoyable.
Appreciate the kind words, I'm glad the mood fits! Been back and forth with how I feel about it as a whole.
This is really good! I loved the atmosphere created by this. The overarching strings (at least I think those are strings) in the first part I think really helped a lot with that. Definitely fits the genre you were going for! The marimba was also such a nice instrument to add to this, and the thought provoking synths are so pretty, especially with the tonal shift in the middle. Very well done!!
P.S. This sounds amazing for something done in only a few hours!!
Appreciate the kind words and insights! Glad you liked it. :)
I love the electronic nature of this, you really accomplished the ambience by putting tiny details in the sound design. I love the slight distortion of the piano (I adore distorted filters with resonance), the sudden change of tone at 1:21 is nicely done to keep the track interesting. The bitcrushed noisy percussion that slowly changes in cutoff is also good. I feel like our music is similar since I also use synths very often. Only downside I can find is that the strings sound a bit bland and "cliché". I wish you had more time for the submission honestly, if you managed to make this in only 3 HOURS.
I'm with you - I'm a sucker for some driven, resonant filters. They can be unruly to work with at times but when you can find that sweet spot, they are such a delight. Same for the bit-crushed stuff! I completely agree with you regarding the strings,;I was honestly tempted to drop them entirely but I felt like I needed to keep some texture or movement so I opted to leave them in. Not happy with them at all but unfortunately time was against me.
Appreciate you taking the time to listen and share your thoughts!
I wish you had the time to make more because this was really polished and nice!
Appreciate it! Never say never I guess, I may well get back to it at some point or borrow some ideas from it in the future. Thanks for taking the time to check it out and comment!
that key change at 1:21 really hits the spot for me... something about using key changes in composition can make for a really powerful atmosphere shift. i looove the plucky panned instrument that plays occasionally, along with the other choices in your instrumental palette. you did amazing despite the crunchtime (accidentally picked out this word while typing this response LMAO) you talked about in your submissions!!
this is indeed quite fitting for a Metroidvania or an RPG; i can imagine the party resting partway through their journey...perhaps in a post-apocalyptic world? or among ancient ruins? :0
Really appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts! Very happy to hear the key change resonated with you - had I more time I would've liked to flesh out the progression itself and perhaps gradually lean into a key change later in the track, but I still felt as though I needed to have something change to cleanse the palate.
I can't say I thought of ancient ruins but listening back, I can envision it! Thankfully ambient stuff can be attributed to most environments and moods. Thank you again for the comment!
a limit of 48 hours really is troublesome to work with HAHA if you do rework this after the jam, hopefully you share it at some point so i can hear the update!!
and yar, it's always so cool to hear everyone's different visualizations for music for sure! ^^