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Only As Good As The Last Day's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Creativity | #70 | 3.768 | 3.768 |
| Overall | #87 | 3.668 | 3.668 |
| Composition | #93 | 3.695 | 3.695 |
| Impression | #93 | 3.610 | 3.610 |
| Quality | #99 | 3.695 | 3.695 |
| Storytelling | #100 | 3.573 | 3.573 |
Ranked from 82 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
Only As Good As The Last Day
“The last day of any vacation is the most important when it comes to forming memories. If you have a good final day, the trip is a success in your mind. If you have a bad last day, was the trip even any good?”
I’m sure many reading this know the feeling. A week long vacation with tons of fun and happy moments, only for the last day to be riddled with issues that ruin the entire experience in your mind.
Do you remember that cool picture you took? Or do you remember how sick you got on the drive home?
SONG 1: Today is NOT a good day
STORY SECTION 1:
“This is the worst vacation EVER!”
Viktor is on his last day of summer vacation, 1 more night before he goes back to school, and it is the worst. day. ever.
On vacation with his family, Viktor is visiting the boardwalk. Games and rides aplenty, but none of that matters because today is the last day of his trip.
The past few days were fun sure; He played lots of games and rode tons of rides. Swimming and eating until he tired himself out, but none of that matters now.
Viktor couldn’t sleep well last night. The only food for breakfast was his least favorite cereal. His last pair of shorts are uncomfortable and chafe. And to top it all off, a hefty stub of his toe on the bed frame created the perfect storm for a very um-perfect day.
Tired, hungry, uncomfy, and in pain. Viktor’s last day of vacation sucks and he knows it. He is not happy and preemptively decides that today is gonna be terrible before it’s hardly started.
There are lots of fun things planned for the day, but none of it can make up for the fact that Viktor has already decided that today is NOT a good day.
GAMEPLAY SECTION 1:
This is a QTE sections.
The players goal is to avoid obstacles as Viktor makes his way towards the boardwalk. You will be avoiding bird droppings, spilled ice cream, and other such hazards in order to prevent Viktor’s day from becoming any worse.
SONG 2: Waxing Fun, Waning Sun
STORY SECTION 2:
They headed to the boardwalk again that afternoon despite the angst that Viktor was emanating. He clearly did not want to be there but he couldn’t just wallow in self-pity in the hotel room.
Viktor had already played all the games and rode all the rides. Why couldn’t they just go home early so he could be alone?
Despite what Viktor is thinking, it’s not true that he has ridden every ride. There is one that he has yet to approach. The Ferris wheel.
That death machine is the last thing Viktor wanted to think about on this day. A crippling fear of heights and watching scary movies had turned him off of Ferris wheels for life he thought.
Unfortunately for him, the Ferris wheel is the main attraction and the family would not leave until they rode it.
Waiting in line for something he didn’t want to do. Another reason this is the worst vacation ever.
He sits down on the ride. Shaking and mixture of fear and anger. He clenched his eyes shut, just waiting for it to be over.
The wheel started moving and he reconfirmed in his head that this is the worst day ever.
He reached the peak and his eyes opened.
The ocean was beautiful. Sparkling in the sun as it began its descent.
Despite this highlight, Viktor still had his pride and he couldn’t get the disaster of a morning out of his head. Today was still a bad day in his mind and it would take more than that to alter his perception.
GAMEPLAY SECTION 2:
This acts as more of a life-sim section. The players goal is to attend to Viktor’s needs as they arise. Things such as getting him a meal or getting to the ride he wants in time.
His happiness meter will fall slowly and get a boost when one of his needs is met.
His anger meter will also slowly fall and will jump up if needs are failed to be met.
The section ends when his anger meter has finally reached zero.
SONG 3: The Best Last Day
STORY SECTION 3:
Despite the terrible start of his day, despite his pride clouding his attitude, despite every obstacle in his path, Viktor reluctantly admits that this is a good day.
He is having more fun today than he did any previous day on his vacation. Winning prizes, playing games, riding rides.
After some time, his cynical attitude began to wash away and in its place, pure unabashed whimsy took its place.
The sun began to set on Viktor’s last day of summer, yet despite this fact, Viktor wasn’t at all disappointed.
A vacation is only as good as its last day, so this must be the best vacation ever.
GAMEPLAY SECTION 3:
This section would be filled with mini games. Carnival games. They would include games such as: Knock down the bottles, ring toss, and other carnival games. The better you do in the games, the more prizes you get to take home as a trophy collection. They would appear in the main menu depending on if you got the best prize for each different mini game.
INSTRUMENTS / VSTs USED:
Pianoteq:
Planet N (original Mix)
Toy Piano (a la piano)
Vintage Tines MKI (Punchy Chorus)
Uptight U4 (Back)
Electra-piano (RubberChorus)
Organteq:
Baroque Cathedral I - Solo
SWAM INSTRUMENTS:
SWAM Tuba Eb
SWAM Flugelhorn Eb
Pigments:
Analog Triple VCO
Twin Voice Lead
Albion One Orchestra:
Brass Mid
MiniSynth:
Keys Brass Buttons
Addictive Drums 2:
Fairfax Vol 2 - snares, kicks, toms, hi hat, ride cymbals, and crash cymbals
FL Studio Native SFX:
Reverse Cymbal Riser
Riser Laboratory
FPC 7 Kick
FPC Tamb
Goofy SFX (provided by others on discord):
Bluetooth
Ed, Edd n Eddy Sound Effects Compulation
Goofy Cartoon Sounds (Extended Version)
I like this new generation of music
SONG EXPLANATIONS:
My #1 goal in this OST is to make something fun and catchy to listen to. I prioritized making fun music over making a story. (Even though I made the story first)
The story is a loose base in which I made the music to fit 3 general themes of starting with angst, becoming more whimsical, and ending with maximum whimsy.
All songs share the same instruments to keep things consistent.
3 instruments I’ve labeled, “piano instruments”
3 I’ve labeled, “bass instruments”
4 I’ve labeled, “Melody instruments”
2 I’ve labeled, “chord instruments”
A percussion section and some other efffects such as risers and whatnot.
I drew all of my inspiration from the MAD RAT DEAD soundtrack and even tried to get my instruments to sound the same too (too ok results)
Song 1:
This song takes place during the bad part of our main characters day and as such has a different vibe than the other ones and has a darker tone overall.
It still isn’t completely dreary because the day isn’t actually all that bad, it’s just the characters emotions making it seem worse than it is.
This song highlights a Synth as the bass instrument as that one gives the darkest tone and the least whimsy compared to the others.
The main melodic instruments switch here is a bit of a harsher synth to give the song a harsher vibe.
This song has a clean loop and that’s not just for gameplay purposes. The song is supposed to represent a feeling of angst and anger as someone is having “the worst day ever”. This feeling doesn’t go away unless the person feeling it decides to move past it and as such lasts as long as they will it.
Song 2:
I wanted this song to be fast and fun while still retaining some darker sections to show the change from a bad day to a better day.
The bass pattern is a back and forth to maintain high energy and maintain the catchiness.
This song highlights the Piano as the bass instrument because it has a mix of a darker tone and a lighter tone with the higher notes forming the chords.
The main melodic instruments switch a round a lot in this song to represent the changing emotions of the protagonist as he starts to change his mood about the day he is having.
This is the only song of the 3 to have a clear and defined ending. This is because the song represents the transitional period between believing you’re having the worst day ever, to actually enjoying yourself. The song ends cleanly as the protagonist decides he will start having a good day.
Song 3:
This song had to be just pure unabashed whimsy and fun. It has echoes of the less fun morning but they are insignificant in the face of this much joy.
I asked for any goofy sound effects people had in the OST jam discord and used all of them that I got (I think) in some way during the song to add even more goofiness.
This is by far the most complex song I’ve ever made. The amount of accidentals and instruments all playing at the same time was a ton of fun to get working and it’s a marvel I finished it as fast as I did.
This song highlights the Tuba as the bass instrument since it has the most whimsy of the 3 bass instruments.
The main melodic instrument is a piano synth to give it a more fairground feel to match the vibe I wanted.
This song loops cleanly because even though the best day can’t last forever, the memories can. You can keep having the best day ever if you keep a good attitude even during difficult times.
Message from the artist
Composers Notes:
This is potentially the most complex set of songs I’ve ever made in terms of the sheer amount of instruments playing at the same time. Yes most of them are just playing the same thing, but trying to imitate synths by ear alone is hard and this was the best I could do.
I truly hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed theorizing and crafting it!
I truly love these OST jams. I’ve never felt more of a connection online than I do when I interact with everyone on the discord and the comments here. Recognizing names and seeing others recognize me is such a great feeling and it continues to make me so happy to make music.
Whether or not I win or lose, these jams teach me so much about how people make music and they inspire me to reach even higher than I thought possible.
When I started making music 3 years ago because I watched a Bugsnax AMV (not kidding that was my inspiration) I thought I was the GOAT and that my music was good enough to be in any game.
I made lots of music. 20 original songs, an imaginary Megaman ost, a theme for each Risk of Rain 2 survivor. I thought almost all of them were masterfully made and perfect as is.
And then I joined my first music jam. Redlines Monthly Composing Challenge.
I didn’t do terribly, but boy was I humbled by the feedback.
Ever since that day, I have tried to improve myself constantly as I make new music. Experimenting with new styles, doing more music jams, understanding how to mix properly.
That first music jam was a little under 2 years ago and my growth as a composer has skyrocketed since.
I am so grateful to this community for helping nurture my talents as I create and create and create.
I may have only been composing for a little over 3 years, but here’s hoping I can make that number skyrocket as well.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING AND READING!!!
Theme
How does it fit the theme?
Explained in the Description section. Basically, the game takes place over the last day of summer and it goes from being a terrible day at the start to a fantastic day by the end thanks to all the fun things the protagonist does.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
Youtube:
Full OST:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6I6lTkAHOQ
Individual Songs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J57Hlq8oMGg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATvUEtPytY4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gz9MlM6crwI
SoundCloud:
Full OST:
https://soundcloud.com/joseph-black-16953843/sets/only-as-good-as-the-last-day
Individual Songs:
https://soundcloud.com/joseph-black-16953843/today-is-not-a-good-day-1
https://soundcloud.com/joseph-black-16953843/waxing-fun-waning-sun-2
https://soundcloud.com/joseph-black-16953843/the-best-last-day-3
Number of tracks3
Genre
Soundtrack use permission
Any project
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Comments
sorry I don't have time and inner strength for detailed analysis rn, but PEAK. Quite outstanding, the story itself is simple and relatable as well, my favorite track would probably be Waxing Fun, Waning Sun if not Today is NOT a Good Day
Thank you!
No worries about detailed analysis. Claiming it to be PEAK is PEAK to me!
Wow this is amazing! I’ve always loved the infectious energy and fun your music always has, and this OST is just filled to the brim with that! I think I especially like the more complex rhythms you use, which when combined with the non-chordal notes I noticed you’re using way more often now, makes your melodies have so much personality and catchiness. It’s great! My favorite track has to be “Today is NOT a good day”, it’s so catchy and enjoyable to listen to. Awesome job and thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much!
I did endeavor to use more non chordal tones. My inspiration music from Mad Rat Dead uses them a lot so I made sure to figure out how and where to use the most effectively.
I think used them the most intentionally in Waxing Fun, Waning Sun, whereas the best last day is so chaotic they were used more liberally.
I also believe I’ve come to agree that Today is NOT a good day is my favorite one after many listens to them all. The chorus section at 0:53 really works for me idk how I made it sound so good.
Love the chiptune in "Today is NOT a good day". The mix was clean and the tracks never felt repetitive. I enjoyed the circus vibes in the last 2 tracks.
Thank you!
It’s not really chiptune, just some square-like wave synths, but I understand what you mean just fine.
I’m glad you enjoyed the circus vibes. I had a lot of fun making them!
Thanks for the clarification, it had an 8-bit sound so that's why I thought of it. Great stuff!
good.
Thanks!
Today is NOT a Good Day: Viktor needs to chill out, bruh. Love the chorus segment that begins around 0:53. Synth is vibey and the piano goes really well with it - love how you blended into the next section with the bellsynth at the end of the chorus.
Waxing Fun, Waning Sun: Your melodies are always very prominent and memorable, including this one. The breakdown leading into that slightly brighter section right after works really well here. Maybe Viktor was able to chill out, after all?
The Best Lady Day: Viktor has gone beyond chill and is now literally jumping for joy. Good for you, Viktor, we love to see it. What the hell are all those bops and boings... was that a cat? What is happening here? Is that running away sound effect public domain? Wait, don't answer that
My favorite was the first track, I can definitely relate to Viktor on that one. Great soundtrack, as always Jofes!
Thank you!
0:53 of Today is NOT a good day is also my favorite part. I was really proud of it.
If you're not on the discord, I actually asked people for the dumbest SFX the could send me which is where I got them all from.
I'm glad you liked it!
Today is NOT a good day: the animation is so cute. A kind of mischievous and cool vibe here I really like. I really like the progression. The lines interweaver really well. Very catchy. Good use of the piano rhythmically. My favorite track here!
Waxing Fun, Waning Sun: I love how playful this feels (that bass rhythm moving between the 1 and 5 of the chord will always work great for that feel). I have to say catchy rhythms are definitely your strongest point!
The Best Last Day: Haha I love the sfx. Such a cheerful feel, made me smile. Don't see enough tracks this jolly in the jam so I really appreciate this!
1:39 and the following bit was my favorite moment in this submission, it felt so good. I like how the original motif takes a background role in that section, keeping that catchy sound around while allowing a more complex melody to develop on top. Great work and thank you for always taking the time to rate everyone's submissions!
Thank you so much!
I think after listening to my track so much, I've come to agree that I think today is NOT a good day is my favorite for the same reason. I love the part at 1:39.
Cheerful is what I wanted to go for at least a little with every track because with experience listening to every song in each jam, there is never enough of it. The ratio of fun cheerful tracks to sadder slower tracks is like 85% to 15% and I pride myself on having very unique entries.
None will ever be as unique as my sandbox entry though with the choose your own music adventure.
I love how wacky this is, special kudos for making the SFX sound so natural in the final track!
Thank you!
I don't think I even mixed the SFX. I left them as raw as I got them and they worked quite well surprisingly.
Finally reaching the end boss, you're the one I created my track n°3 for xD
OK OK you're not lying when you're saying you've grown a ton the past 2 years. I didn't find your other OSTs to be bad like AT ALL, like Desserts on Us! whole OST is goated, but still this OST here is very very impressive composition-wise and you always have a way of making me rock my chair. They're just so full of YOUR personality it's lovely and even left you a comment on Soundcloud as there was one part that felt so damn good to my ears I couldn't not highlight it! Amazing job as always!!
Thank You!
Compared to the music I was making when I first started music jams 2 years ago. You’d be surprised at how much better I got. You’ve only heard my stuff from 1 year ago in OST jam 7 and onwards. but I’ve got a ton of songs from before that and some of them need so much work.
loving the energy of the first track!! loving the melodic lines!!! i don't know if it's part of your inspo, but they sound very improv-adjacent and i LOOOVE melodies like that! the bass line stepping down and jumping octaves provides a good rhythmic pulse and contrast to the melodies going on above. i love the energy of this track wowow im grooving to this, it def fits the story being painted here! the electronic theme makes me think of the games and chaos of the boardwalk, supersuper fun i love
this song is a good transition point, still maintaining that fun theme while it still feels like the main character cannot decide whether today is a bad day or not, each melodic line building a more positive line before shifting darker. this is largely due to your chord progression, which fits very nicely with your theme! again, i love the way you compose your melodies, very improv-y! when the piano had the melody around the 1:18 mark, i feel like it was a little lost under the other instruments. in general, your mixing is very well executed - there are just some Very small sections where it doesn't feel like your wonderfully composed melodic lines have space to shine through, and i wanna hear em!!!! (this may be due in part to my hearing problems, so take this w a grain of salt)
wow this one is super goofy me likey - loving the attention paid to instrumentation here! its joyous, whimsical, and chaotic - but never too busy! ok those sound effects are actually awesome i giggled irl. i like hearing what i'm interpreting to be nods to the previous two tracks in the melodic lines that return quickly to the main idea!
supersuper fun OST! it was an incredibly entertaining listen, thanks sm for sharing! :D
Thank you so much for the detailed feedback!
That section in track 2 at 1:18 is the part of the entire OST that I had the most trouble with. I rewrote it at least 3 times and messed with the mixing there the most too but I agree that in the end it was the part that came out the most struggled. The song I used as inspiration had a very similar section hence me having it, but I could never get it to sound as good as theirs unlike the rest of the music where I felt I got a good grasp of what made it work. I still think it plays an important role in breaking up the sections, but it was the hardest to make work and it shows.
This soundtrack slaps! It really suits the story and complements it by adding a zany vibe to the player's experience. While my favorite track was definitely the circus themed one, all of them were a blast to listen to. Awesome job!
Thank you!
I had a feeling going in that track 3 was gonna be the favorite with track 1 in second place and my prediction has basically been spot on. I definitely had the most fun making Track 3.
A cheerful and perky soundtrack, it reminded me of some kind of surreal circus. that's just the thing for a playful game.
Thank you!
I like making the cheerful entries because it's the kind of music I usually like listening to.
Really solid submission overall ! Love the transition from more "dark" music to a completly clownesque circus-like goofy piece. Really felt the evolution of the character.
First and second pieces are so good and pleasant that I have not a lot to say about them, except GG.
I know how painfull it can be in such a short time, but a really solid amelioration for the third song would be a better mix of the "goofy" sounds effects, some were really too "out of place" in the mix and kind of got me out of the vibe for a second. You did well !
Thanks!
The entire reason I added sound effects was because my inspiration song had them too though not as wacky because I wanted to go wackier.
what could this word possibly mean - ameliorationfor
Firstly wanted to say Jofes I appreciated the message you wrote, I agree it's great seeing so many composers and I enjoy constantly trying new styles/pushing myself and improving from doing these jams! Okay the music - you've done a fantastic job hitting the carinval type sound and it shows across your compositions and instrument choices. I think the final track encapsulates this the best. Also Waxing Fun, Waning Sun is a great song title haha
Thank you so much!
I'm glad you like the music and the song titles were pretty fun to make. Waxing Fun, Waning Sun was the first one I came up with because I really like the word Waxing
This is just amazing. If you made this in 1 week then I don't know what you'll do in a month!
Thank you!
Honestly I’ve always been fast at making music. Once I start a song it’s hard for me to stop. As such, I basically have practice making music fast which helps out in these jams since I’m used to the crunch because I enjoy it.
I think if I was given a whole month to make a song or OST I would finish in the first week anyways because I have no chill.
Today is NOT a Good Day: Mission accomplished for fun and catchy! I’ve spent time pondering what makes something “catchy” and I think there are several factors, many of which you do quite well, probably both intentionally and intuitively. One of the elements that caught my attention is your use of short melodic elements that are repeated almost verbatim over a changing tonic note. You do this in the sections at 1:09, and in a separate idea at 1:55. Another element that I noticed that seems like it comes quite intuitively for you is the rhythmic structure of your melodies where you emphasize heavy beats, but otherwise spend most of the line in syncopation.
Waxing Fun, Waning Sun: The polka-style bass is really fun in this track. Your percussion is also really well-made with some excellent fills over the fun deep dance-inducing four on the floor kicks. Out of all your tracks, this one is my favorite for several reasons. First, I think your melody, with repeats and variation, is the best written of all 3 tracks. Each time it is true to the first time through, but each time feels slightly different as it grows throughout the song. I also think that while the bass and percussion may be written simply, they are very strong parts for this song and make me want to dance. Love the key change too!
The Best Last Day: This track feels like it belongs alongside all the high-quality Mario Party soundtracks. The fair-like quality shines through on this one and the use of cartoon samples was creative to add to the clowny-ness of it. All three of these tracks are really fun to listen to so I maintain the statement at the beginning of my comment! Great work and thank you for taking the time to listen to and rate all of the submissions! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Blue Lava for the in depth analysis!
I do think Today is NOT a good day is probably the catchiest of the 3 because of how I wrote the bass line. The other 2 are more of a polka bass while the first is a more rhythmic bass which I think makes the melody even catchier because of how groovy it is.
I'm so glad that you liked Waxing Fun, Waning Sun! That one is the longest and has a good amount of repeating ideas so I was worried that it might be repetitive to some. I know that 1 section plays twice and then a third time after the key change which I like but might come off as too repetitive.
Honestly the reason I even put sound effects in The Best Last Day was because my inspiration music from MAD RAT DEAD also uses sound effects in a very similar way. I listened to that song so much to get a feel of where to best use the SFX like it since I love that song a lot. It's called Gloucester carousel. If you listen to it, it will be extremely clear that I drew inspiration from it.
i really like how indepth you went with the compositions and the game concept! i personally dont find myself listening to this type of music but i found this playthrough enjoyable and fun! it does really sound like you had a fun time making each track on this project and i can tell you put in a lot of work with these fun uplifting melodies!
my favorite track would have to be: Today is NOT A Good Day, i really enjoyed the bassline on it!
Thank you!
I did have a lot of fun writing all the melodies. It's my favorite part. I usually do it last when I have all the bass and percussion in so I can just toy around with stuff until I find something I find catchy.
At first I was afraid the soundtrack to be too busy when reading you had tons of instruments playing the melody at the same time, but it was actually really well paced. Especially on Today is NOT a good day for example there are some instruments going under the main run and it's giving space and groove ! Well done :)
My favorites were the first and last track. The first one is very energetic and conveyed that anger despite being upbeat and playful, great track ! And that last one is so chaotic with it's extatic and goofy melodies !! A trademark of yours I guess :p
Thank you!
I love having the goofy catchy melodies. I feel like they are far less common and I want to give people some more variance in these jams.
Thank You!
All 3 tracks have a really great sense of groove to them. I liked listening to the percussion writing and how you put in all the fills to add detail and motion to the music.
Thank you!
Adding little percussion bits at the end of phrases is quite fun. Sometimes it happens by accident to where I copy paste notes and it just winds up working.
I'm sorry but 'Today is not a good day' is such a bop my mood would shift so fast, sorry Victor's day sucked but I couldn't relate :D Same for the other two songs: very nice compositions perfectly conveying the intended mood, 'the best last day' is pure fun - chaotic but clearly thought through. I also appreciate you taking the time to talk about each song in such detail, it was an interesting read as well!
Thank you so much!
I actually got a bit scared that you didn't like it when I read "I'm sorry but". Thank you for reading my novel of a description! It was quite fun to put together since I couldn't do anything else for the first few days!
oh oops I didn't mean for it to come off like that, I loved each song yes :)