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Nel's Journey - OstComposingJam #04's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Correlation to theme | #104 | 3.071 | 3.143 |
| Composition | #125 | 2.978 | 3.048 |
| Quality | #130 | 2.838 | 2.905 |
| Overall | #139 | 2.857 | 2.924 |
| Impression | #146 | 2.698 | 2.762 |
| Creativity | #151 | 2.698 | 2.762 |
Ranked from 21 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
A soundtrack for an imaginary game where the main character, Nel, fights for her freedom. Made in Ableton Live 12.
Message from the artist
Due to the lack of time, there was a problem in the export and now files are locked so I can't share the files directly from Itch.io. The tracks are all correctly set in Soundcloud, so if you could listen to them there it would be appreciated. Thanks.
Theme
How does it fit the theme?
The first track represents the neutrality of Nel's life, the second one offers the feeling of darkness when trouble begins, while the last one represents the freedom obtained at the end of the journey.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://soundcloud.com/estudio-mandarina/sets/nels-journey
Genre
Soundtrack use permission
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Comments
Pretty cool... I would even say that the soundtrack itself feels very warm and intimate...
P.S. Is the silence in When trouble begins an idea? :D
p.s.s. RAWR!Love the tension in "When trouble begins." The lovely melody in "Freedom Awaits" wraps things up nicely. Personally, I would have gone for a big build up towards the end with strings, but the song as is gives quite a bit of emotion in a different way. Regardless - IMO, a low-key pad or something similar that matches the energy of the piano could definitely give this track a bit more oomph without killing the vibe. Lovely piano work overall, nice job!
There's a tension in how quiet it is, and it really shows itself in "When trouble Begins" for me with that steady bassline. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for it to swell up into an explosive ballad which didn't quite happen, but that's beautiful and descriptive in its own way. There's a quiet sincerity in "Freedom Awaits" that ties everything together really well for me, leaving me narratively satisfied. Great work!
Vibe is good on these, but felt that there could've been a bit more rhythmic variety in and between tracks, since it felt a bit samey after a while.
But still, good work!
listening to your soundtrack was very relaxing — even the second track "When trouble begins" wasn't too energetic despite having distinct enough changes in instruments and melodies to set up a foundation for the track's purpose. ^^
i'm curious what concept and/or genre you envisioned for Nel's videogame? i could imagine this working for a puzzle game of sorts thanks to the consistently steady energy in all of the tracks!
My favorite OSTs in general are the ones creating a strong immersive setting with just a few notes and instruments. The guitar at the beginning is a great illustration of that. The piano in the second one sounds a bit too virtual to me, which is funny because the piano in the third one sounds better. Simple and efficient at the same time, the emotions are here :) Good job !
Nice work! Really pretty, and the melodies and chords interacted well together!
I think that if you could find some ways to weave some countermelodies or some other sounds it would help really keep the momentum moving forward, even on a chill track like this.
Great work!
Pretty nice music, good job :)
Oh these are really pretty. The guitar offset with the piano in Life is really well done. The keys provide such a gorgeous foundation and support the lead guitar melody so well. Very pensive piece but still retains some sort of hopeful vibe.
When Trouble Begins is befitting of the name; there's tension woven in off the bat. Loving the square synth here functioning as a kind of off-beat metronome at points, continually drawing your attention back to it. The low-end of the mix is simple but well executed, functioning as a kind of pseudo-heartbeat to keep it driving along before the drums themselves come in. Melodies here are all interesting to listen to and spread across a variety of voicings.
Freedom Awaits is really pretty - returning once again piano at the forefront. Really loving the progression here - very thoughtful and curious sounding. Plods along at its own pace and has some really nice suspension built into the core melody itself. I was half-expecting some orchestral elements to come in to support the piano, but I think it was better off staying solo. I could listen to this over and over again, honestly.
As others have mentioned, there was a slight issue with the Soundcloud files here, wherein they had parts of other tracks at the end that would then abruptly cut-off, but I just skipped to the next track when that happened so it's no real issue. All in all this is great work, all three tracks are pleasant listens and the first and last in particular really just capture something special for me. Best of luck!
Thanks a lot for the coment! It really menas a lot.
Refering to Freedom Awaits, we wanted to add some orchestal elements (specially strings) but we simply run out of time :(
And about Soundcloud, yes, the files are not exported correcly, but we run out of time and we didn't want to risk not getting the proyect submited, so we uploaded what we had.
Thanks again, and good luck for you too!
That's fair! I think the that Freedom Awaits works with or without orchestral elements, so either way it made for a nice listen. :)
As for the Soundcloud export - I understand, that's fair. It isn't a massive problem as all the audio is there, so I just needed to be mindful of what track was starting and what was ending. No big deal!
I think there was something strange about your tracks on SoundCloud. They would seemingly end and then start the next song before actually ending and going to the next track on the playlist.
Yeah I did everything really quickly when submiting so there are some errors. We want to continue the OST and make it better in the future so we will fix it sooner or later. Thanks for pointing it out.
Pretty soothing album, the piano sound is very cozy to listen to !
Your arrangements on the different tracks (especially the first two ones) are very relaxing, great work !
I'm gonna agree with IndieKev with saying that this album is pretty!
I really like the last song, it's sort of minimal, and I feel that it's intentional. I'd relax under a tree with my best friends while listening to it for sure. and those slight cheeky dark chords that slip in add flavour
I really like the first and second tracks, the third one kinda loses its momentum that was built up from the first two. Which makes it feel disconnected from the rest of your music. Other than that, great submission :)
Pretty album, nothing really to say, that's some really good work!