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NAIAD's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Storytelling | #12 | 4.288 | 4.288 |
| Composition | #21 | 4.258 | 4.258 |
| Overall | #35 | 4.030 | 4.030 |
| Impression | #41 | 3.985 | 3.985 |
| Creativity | #65 | 3.788 | 3.788 |
| Quality | #74 | 3.833 | 3.833 |
Ranked from 66 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
NAIAD is an open-world adventure exploration RPG game made to life through music by yukiakino. It has 8 tracks, each representing it's own experiences and feelings. The genre of this whole submission is orchestral.
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STORY SYNOPSIS
The story is about our main character (the girl in the jam photo theme), and her yearning about her best friend. Her best friend died at a beach in their hometown, and she never had the chance to tell him the love she kept all the time. She was waiting for the right moment, yet it never came.
Years passed and our main character is graduating from high school. Not near her home, though. She has moved away to the city, and hasn't visited her hometown, where the beach she and her friend used to go to almost every day resides. Her mom asked her to come back, and she was hesitant at first, but feelings can never be kept all the time. Sometimes you have to let it out. She was denying it the day her friend died, but after all the time, She misses her best friend. She wishes that she has gotten to tell her true feelings.
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NOTES
I suggest to read the track meanings to understand well why it's composed like that. But, either way is fine! I also suggest that you close your eyes and imagine. And you can also not. Do what you want :)
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TRACK THEMES AND MEANINGS
I have put the themes and meanings in a Google document so the description is not lengthy. Or you can also check them out on the main project page.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vXGUweIvS1W98N6UwNxp--iTZmnnxfiMDGdfX-tjPQw/edit?usp=sharing
TRACK NAMES
1. Seaside Overture
2. Heart of the Mountain Town
3. Lumina (At the End of the Coast)
4. Atlantis
5. Empress of the Sea
6. Onward
7. Lunar Eclipse (Rise of the Exiled Emperor)
8. Love you, Farewell
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HOW I COMPOSED THEM
I drafted the story first and finalized it before making the tracks. My first track in the making was Heart Of the Mountain Town. I really liked the melody so I used it as my leitmotif. It was made with the piano instrument first, but then I decided to stick away from the piano 'cause most people usually uses piano for that 'calming effect'. So with that mindset, I switched to air instruments as my main instruments, 'cause breeze is also a sound that I hear from the beach. I only used the piano for the last track as to give them the nostalgia (like in the game Kingdom Hearts). Then, I made the tracks connected to each other. It's really fun and I enjoyed making the leitmotifs be recognizable in each track.
In the gameplay, I want it to be open-world exploration and its mechanics like from Death Stranding and Ghost of Tsushima. It's because I create heavy orchestral tracks and if I were to make a game, I don't want them to overwhelm with my music and complex gameplay mechanics. I want my music to enhance the experience, while keeping the focus on the essence of gaming -- immersing yourself, having fun, and enjoying the journey.
I'm still in college and I made the tracks only at night, where everyone is asleep and I can think of melodies. I can't pick a favorite track because I like them all. Then I sleep to reset my brain and listen to them while riding a train going to the university, and so then I can spot and revise some things I wanna revise.
After all of this, I made the album cover. I drew the draft in Ibis Paint X. Then I used the rest of the remaining time to draw the track covers, which can be found in the screenshots section in the soundtrack page.
Message from the artist
I think this is the best that I've ever gotten in my four years of music making. I really like how I manage to bring and juggle the several leitmotifs I made, and I had fun creating the wonderful story of the imaginary game. I had a hard time trying to understand what "One Summer Night" theme really meant ('cause it was too broad and vague for me) but hey, I think I managed to do this well.
For the listener, I hope you enjoy listening to the tracks.
I think this is the peak of my music career. I enjoyed this so much. Thank you.
Theme
How does it fit the theme?
I made sure my take on the theme stays true to it. The story follows the girl (from the photo theme) after her graduation as summer begins. Everything happened on a breezy night at the beach, where she met the Naiad that gave her powers, and gave her a mission to save her kid and as well find what happened to the soul of her dead friend. That moment changed her grief into a whimsical journey of discovery, love, and closure -- and it shows how that one summer night changed everything.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://soundcloud.com/yukiakino07/sets/naiad-ost?si=0b3c0bbb68fe4f3cb14655d918a369c9&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
Number of tracks8
Genre
Soundtrack use permission
Any project
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Comments
The only significant criticisms I have to say about the music are that I was left wanting more from track 3!! (It was one of my favorites and made me feel like a rock skipping across an ocean forever), that I feel like this could be S tier as opposed to A+ tier with better VSTs, and that (being reaaaally nitpicky here) the final track ended kind of abruptly. Other than that I LOVED THIS!!!
THE PIANO AND SEAGULLS IN TRACK 6 SENT CHILLS DOWN MY BODY
The chants of the crowd were an excellent addition :)))
Great work! I can tell you put your all into this!
This was awesome!!! Wow, I really enjoyed every track here, but Heart Of The Mountain Town and Onward were my favorites. Great work :)
Great work! I think this has brought my love for orchestral pieces back!
Excellent soundtrack! While the vsts for the strings occasionally sound a little stiff, the rest of the instrumentation is spot on. Orchestra is one of my favorite genres of music, and your soundtrack is a fine example of it. Incredible work!
It's very clear you put your heart and soul into this, it's almost like a film score! Every track sounds composed with care, and even without a written description I feel they still convey a story on their own. I hope this isn't the peak of your career just yet, because I think you have many more peaks coming your way! Keep going!! Great job on this one!!
It's clear to me that a lot of thought and effort went into this submission. Great compositions, leitmotifs, a compelling story, this soundtrack has it all. Congrats on creating such a pretty and complete soundtrack, this is definitely up there as one of my favorites to listen to!
I can tell that you put your 110% into this. It's amazing to me how these jams can really bring out the best in us. You already know you aced it with this soundtrack, but I'll solidify it for you very simply with this cheesy gif: https://share.google/images/stBcwfgkHTgXtE0HO
A+ . Great work! You even got away with leaving a solid 20 seconds of dead air at the end of the (best) track on the album. I'll just assume you meant to do that, for dramatic tension or something ahaha
Seaside Overture: Your use of flute and other woodwinds for the melody feels like an excellent choice to represent the main character as these instruments convey innocence and potential for growth. This is really well-developed with the growth in dynamics over the course of the track. I really like the details you add with the xylophone, pizzicato strings, and harp. I am excited to hear how you develop this motif throughout the rest of the soundtrack.
Heart of the Mountain Town: This track feels so much like a home town - you nailed that vibe! The choice of the more folky/traditional stringed instrument helps add character to the town and I agree that that is an excellent selection for a mountain-y instrument. You have so far done a nice job of building your tracks, but also finding the balance of bringing them back down so that if you wanted to loop them, you could easily.
Lumina (At the End of the Coast): Oh this theme is great! I really mean this as a compliment, it sounds like a classic Disney film theme to me. I really love the violins that intermittently accompany the bells during the calm solo part in the middle.
Atlantis: This is a really cool sound that feels like a “ruins” area based on the instruments you’ve selected which is really neat because I don’t often think of Atlantis in this way. It makes sense though if it’s filled with souls and spirits. I really like the theme you introduce at 0:49, as well as the variation on the repeat! I think this track is my favorite out of all of them!
Empress of the Sea: The first horn melody part creates a feeling of foreboding power and willfully subdued energy and seems to represent the Empress who is choosing to restrain her power on the main character. This is a really nice character theme!
Onward: I love this version of the main motif reprise! There is so much energy and it is so adventurous! It definitely fits as the pre-climactic track!
Lunar Eclipse (Rise of the Exiled Emperor): I think the use of the xylophone and other similar instruments from the main theme in this track helps tie the story together by creating a dichotomy of the two major forces. The tempo shifts help the track feel alive, and conveys a lot of story information.
Love you, Farewell: I’m a sucker for beautiful piano pieces to end an epic soundtrack story! This just gives space for me to reflect on the whole journey that took place and to feel like it was resolved.
Overall: I love the planning and the mapped out story in the Google doc! I really appreciate you giving us a glimpse into the backstory on how it was created! This is a big project with so much music - I am in awe of how much you were able to write! This was a special story and I really appreciate your use of leitmotif to tie it all together. Great work and thank you for sharing!
AAAAA thank you so much for such thoughtful feedback blue lava !! i have saw and istened to ur winning submission last time and its so good and i am shooked u commented here
thanks for noticing the motifs and the story ties throughout too, it really means a lot that it came across !!!
Really impressive work! Skillfully composed, expresses a wide array of moods. Makes me want to get better at using orchestral plug-ins.
thank you jarrod !!! am glad the moods came through, and now i am wishing you fun exploring orchestral plugins !! all of this was made only from bbc orchestra, i think
All the compositions show a vast world filled with intrigues and adventures for hundreds of hours. I think it's the orchestration that gives it, and the melody structures themselves. Very fascinating
thank you 🍎!! i am glad the orchestration and melodies gave that kind of vast feeling to you :DD thanks a lot aaa
Great job creating such a complete work for this jam! It not only tells a story but conveys it with a charm that reminds me of Ghibli films. My favorite track has to be "Heart of the Mountain Town", it has a fantastic melody and atmosphere. Thanks so much for sharing!
thank you bodo ! i am SUPER happy you enjoyed it, and hearing the ghibli comparison means a lot aaaaaa
This is so giving off Studio Ghibli type vibes lol, absolutely love these songs! Both incredibly beautiful and playful writing, I'm highly impressed with this. Good stuff!
thank you silhouettus !!!! ghibli vibes is such a huge compliment aaa i’m glad you enjoyed it :>>
I can feel the quality level and how majestic the orchestral vibe is on every one of these tracks. I bridle a little that it's not more rebellious but i'm of an experimental nature so take that sub-feature of me with a grain of salt. :)
Everything I hear here is like A-list quality and again i appreciate the effort that went in, wholeheartedly.
Gave you an itch follow, if you like the thing(s) on my page(s), consider doing the same.
Cheers!
--D
main website:
https://exedexes1.com/
thanks yuuuu so much ;DDD really appreciate the kind words, and i followed you back too. am excited to check out your work :>
The last song gave me chills... nuff said
No but seriously amazing entry. Heart of the Mountain Town is insane and that melancholy ending seriously did give me chills. That's the biggest compliment I can give someone, you got an emotional response out of me.
thank you jonathan !!! super glad it gave you chills, that means a lot to mee !! aaaaa
Very impressive body of work, I had a great time listening to your tracks and reading through the story imagined for each !
The instrumentation was really pleasant to listen to and, with the arrangements and great melodies that you came up with, it has that whimsical energy found on Ghibli music for example that immerses you in this fantastic world and makes you want to go on an adventure.
All tracks were very solid and consistent while being varied in setpieces so you did a great job tying them together (eventhough you seemed to have worked on them separately in a incremental manner, which is impressive too along with the great illustrations to visualize better your story).
Overall very memorable work, it was a pleasure to listen to so great job for that !
thank you so much, vaan ! i’m glad you enjoyed both the music and the story side of it !!!! hearing you compare the vibe to ghibli makes my day aaaa that’s such a huge inspiration for me !!! i did work on the tracks separately over time, so i’m happy they still came together as a set. really appreciate you taking the time to listen and share your thoughts !!!
I did end up closing my eyes and imagining a story to go along with this, it was such an immersive experience I could feel the water on my face (it seemed to be coming from my eyes for some reason). The compositional work here is SO good at conveying an emotional journey, all the little details with the different instruments moving in and out, the tempo changes, the huge but seamless shifts in tone, it feels like I just played the entire game. The only thing I can really say that felt out of place a bit was the horn sections feeling a little too consistent? It's an incredibly minor thing and might just be me not understanding how horns work but just a smidge of volume automation to bring some of the horns in and out/flow into each other a bit more. Again INCREDIBLY minor detail and the only reason I noticed it was because of how good everything is haha, awesome submission :)
wow, thank you so much micerama ! i’m glad you felt immersed. i get what you mean about the horns, i’ll definitely experiment more with dynamics and flow to make them breathe better. your feedback’s helpful, and i’m glad my tracks gave you that kind of journey !
Really great soundtrack! Love the little tempo changes, the instrumentation is really good! Each track has well defined sections and concludes nicely. Its all very polished and complete.
It might be worth considering "breathing" with wind instruments, especially flutes/piccolo. Some lines sound more suited to a keyboard than a wind instrument. In a real orchestra they can stagger breathing if they have to but it's more idiomatic writing if you consider it beforehand. Also forces you to have good phrasing.
I think it's a good sign that's my only nitpick haha, well done!
thank you for the feed back, liam !! well, tbh i did not consider making them breathe (cause i havent been a part of an orchestral band and i dont know how they work yet and i based it on synths and piano since thats my main instrument irl) but i will try to make them have a little space to breathe for more natural sounding track. thanks for the info! im glad you enjoyed it !
Seaside Overture: This is very pretty, love the pitched percussion use that lends a magical feel. Nice intro.
Heart Of The Mountain Town: This is such an effective town theme. Love how it gradually swells. Strong composition.
Lumina (At the End of the Coast): Really nailed the storytelling on this one. I like how you switch between calm and louder sections.
Atlantis: Ooh the mood shift. This one reminds me of Secret of Mana. Very nice!
Empress of the Sea: Love the brass. And then the harp in the second section.
Onward: Very grand. And then the soft piano at the end with the bird sfx! I really loved that switch.
Lunar Eclipse (Rise of the Exiled Emperor): This rhythm is absolutely bangin. I love the war chant type samples. That staccato (I think) string sound is a bit harsh but nothing crazy, just a limit of the library. I still really enjoyed the track.
Love you, Farewell: this is a very pretty outro and I love labs piano so much.
Great work!
thnk you for the feedback, kas !! i also noticed that before uploading and passing this submission and i'm just like "nah fuck it i'll just pass this early" cause i still have school and i just wanna pass this submission early 😭😭😭😭 thank you again and i'm glad you enjoyed it !!
the first track has captivated me immediately, so this will be getting my stream of consciousness treatment...
what a gorgeous first track and introduction! such a strong start, and beautiful progression throughout. really lovely!
second track: CONGRATULATIONS, this is the first track of the entire jam to give me goosebumps, such inspiring writing, with lovely interplay between your melody and countermelody, and the textural shift into the sweeping strings and driving arpeggios is absolutely unbelievable. the rubato effect is also so well done - it really contributes to the human feeling of this track and project so far. absolutely stunning.
lumina! gorgeous brass writing. i am a fiend for soft brass chords, and the opening of this track is no exception! a lovely emotional tone shift that contrasts really well with the previous track. very nice!!
speaking of tone shifts... what an intro to atlantis! the powerful low brass is such a bold choice, that i think works really well in effectively setting the emotional tone quickly. the progression in this track is so dramatic - this track works really well as a midpoint for the project.
empress of the sea is a fantastic companion piece to atlantis. while maintaining that dark feeling, it has the feeling i imagine one must feel staring at the peak of a mountain from its base... filled with anxiety, but with a drive to complete the climb.
the metaphorical mountain climb comes to fruition in onward! what an uplifting, inspirational track. absolutely stunning writing - plus, i love the gentle piano at the end of this track. it contrasts so beatifully with the earlier potion of the song, and the ambience at the end is also beautifully done.
you've really perfected that sort of boss-fight, final challenge, last battle feeling in lunar eclipse! another piece of stellar writing, with yet another beautiful conclusion
love you, farewell... what a conclusion to this project. so delicately done, beautifully emotional and gentle. absolutely stunning, and again, just the perfect conclusion to your submission.
such an impressive combination of quality and quantity for such a short amount of time to write - its such a challenge to compose a full orchestral work, let alone within a span of a week. however, you've done incredibly well. not only does it fit your theme and story perfectly, but it also stands on its own as a composition brilliantly. absolutely perfect, congratulations on your submission!
thank you, sylt !! holy cow i am so moved with your description and i'm glad you really enjoyed them !! i appreciate this so much.
delicate and sincere. i really like the development of the melodic themes going through this. the piano in love you, farewell is harmonically super up my alley and i liked it a lot. lots of comments on technical production stuff here, and i don't think it's as problematic as portrayed in this comment section. that stuff comes with experimentation, practice, and working with other people (very important); the most important part is to just keep writing because you like writing music. thanks for sharing :)
thank you for that wonderful feedback, skar !!! i really dont know how to work with other people, but i'm sure to work with my mixing skills ! i'm glad you enjoyed it !