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A jam submission

Only In Dreams Are We BoundlessView project page

Submission for the OST Composing Jam: Crunchtime #4.
Submitted by Grunt. — 2 hours, 6 minutes before the deadline
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Only In Dreams Are We Boundless's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Correlation to theme#64.0004.000
Quality#653.4553.455
Overall#733.4453.445
Composition#853.4093.409
Impression#1013.2733.273
Creativity#1173.0913.091

Ranked from 22 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

Message from the artist
I think that there is still a lot to be done with this piece in terms of polishing, but I'm happy I was able to submit anything at all and got to have a fun experiment with new instruments and plugins :)

I do hope to come back to this piece later.

Theme

Freedom
Picture theme

How does it fit the theme?
I felt that this picture looks like the main protagonist is indoors somewhere trying to appreciate and understand the freedom that comes from outside their window. To me it looks like the protagonist is reaching up to see what the warmth of the sun could feel like, and let their imagination run wild with how they would be if they were able to be out of their room and feel the actual sunlight. Instead, they realize that all of the sensations were in their imagination and are soon brought back to the reality of their situation - they are trapped indoors and mostly in the shadows as if someone else does not want them to know what the outside world is like.

This was my interpretation of the theme and what I tried to reflect in my submission.

Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://soundcloud.com/grunt7517/only-in-dreams-are-we-boundless

Genre

Rock/Metal
Ambient

Soundtrack use permission

Yes (Game Jams)

For game jams only

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Comments

Submitted(+1)

Oh... That was beautiful! That airy, uplifting melody made me want to stand up and sing... Heh. Good job!

P.S. Rawr!

Submitted(+1)

Really cool thematic execution here. Contrasting the piano in the intro with some soft synths, subtle in the mix and just peeking through, is really clever. Adds some really nice texture. Those pads gently coming in and accompanying the main instrumentation is also really nice. The guitar work in this is fantastic - beautifully soft and contemplative. Almost whisper-like in the beginning before finding its voice and standing out.

The middle section has some nice use of noise as a texture to really create an expansive bed to work off of here. Keeping the guitar more on the clean side is a good shout, makes it so you can weave so many more subtleties into the playing and complement the lines with harmony and emphasis on certain notes. Reverting back to the piano and soft synths after this section was a great way to call back to the first section of the track and provide a kind of mental reset. 

All in all, this is great. The structure of the song is fantastic - the first had me right in place of what you're describing, looking out of a window and seeing the world beyond the pane. The second is akin to the decision to get up and open the door. Venture out into the world and embrace that freedom, while the last section represents those steps outside growing more and more distant as you wander off into the world. Good job, this was a delight to listen to.

Submitted(+1)

oh, i love the story you wrote regarding how you envisioned the jam's themed illustration and how you wanted to connect to that with your composition! the track you wrote feels very gentle and subdued, but i think that works in a sort of daydream-esque manner that matches how the character is only imagining their freedom! :0

i like that the piece does pick up around 1:50 to match the storyline! i am curious how this might fit in a videogame — i can see it working for a credits scene since it's not too overwhelming in nature.

Submitted(+1)

I guess I won't reiterate most of what was said, one that I haven't checked if anyone said is that I feel the part where they are trapped, indoors and in the shadow would warrant a big downturn in the song, I felt that was missing based on the description of how you interpreted the theme, but otherwise it was a nice listen, some more work on the mix, maybe consider adding the darkness part at the end and I would call it a day xD Good job!

Submitted(+1)

Good job on the sound choices, each piece fit well together. The bass could be brought up a lot more in the climax of the piece. The track matches well I think with the theme idea you're going for. Good work!

Submitted

I was hoping for some drums to show up big time, but overall decent. I dont really get "video game soundtrack" from it though.

Submitted(+1)

Great ambiance/vibe like you always have in your submissions!

Might be a personal thing, but I'd experiment with making the piano a bit more wet with reverb. Like maybe just having it as an insert with the wet/dry mix set so its a bit more spacious and less in the front.

For me the piano felt a bit too dry/in compared to a lot of the other sounds while listening, so making it more ambient might blend a bit better with the guitars.

Good work!

Developer

Thanks Eetu! It's always nice to hear from you!

Yeah I was actually going back and forth on this a lot when the deadline got close. I think that in combination with wanting that instrument to be the focal point of the piece and have everything else evolve around it, I wanted it to be slightly in front/more dry than normal. But listening back I'd agree it could still be more spacious.

I always appreciate your feedback, and thanks for listening :)

Submitted(+1)

I can really imagine what the protag you came up with is feeling listening to this, great job!

Developer

Thanks a ton!! And thank you for taking the time to listen :)

Submitted(+1)

I love the progression in this, I think it perfectly captures wanting freedom and the contrast of being trapped. I am reminded a bit of your "Reach Upwards To the Heavens" piece from this track (Which I liked a lot btw, still think about it sometimes)! Thanks for submitting this, there is a lot of emotional significance written here, and I am glad you uploaded it despite you not feeling the best about the polish!

Developer(+1)

Omg thank you for all the kind words! It's makes me incredibly happy to know that somebody out there is thinking about some of my previous work.

I'm also happy that the contrast is coming across for some people - that was the idea I really wanted to nail with this submission!

Thanks for taking the time to listen to my work :)

Submitted(+1)

Nice! This is the first more light and uplifting piece of music I discovered listening to the submissions so far. I'd spend a bit more time on mixing it, but it's already solid!

Developer

Yeah the mix for sure needs some additional work. I think I just accepted what I had by the deadline lol 🙃

Thanks a ton for listening :)

Submitted(+1)

Great vibes! Great ambiance! Very uplifting and hopeful, reminds me of the soundtrack behind the cult videos in Far Cry 5! I think a little percussive tones could go a long way in adding a level of interest to the overall track!


Bravo!

Developer

Ooo yeah, that could be pretty cool to try - I'll give it a go in the next iteration of this piece!

Thanks for the feedback, and thank you for listening :)

Submitted(+1)

I feel like the drums are a little quiet, but other than that the vibe and instrumentation are really great. Feels very hopeful and reflective, good work!

Developer

I would probably agree with this - I believe I over-corrected a bit before submitting, as the first iteration had the drums a little too in front in the mix for my taste. Hopefully next iteration it'll be more balanced.

Thanks for listening :)

Submitted(+1)

Definitely come back to this piece its cool!

Developer(+1)

🫡

Thank you for tuning in :)

Submitted(+2)

This reminded me of little big planet music despite me knowing almost nothing about little big planet or its music.

it was quite good!

Developer

Honestly, as someone who also hasn't listened to a lot of little big planet, I appreciate this 😆

Thanks a ton for listening :)

Submitted(+1)

Oh what a nice ambience this gives! This definitely feels like something that would play at an emotionally uplifting ending / credits scene. I appreciate how the different voices complement each other. 

Developer(+1)

Thank you for kind words! And thanks for listening :)