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A jam submission

TraceView project page

Submitted by Zayasan — 24 minutes, 45 seconds before the deadline
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Trace's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Storytelling#1193.4503.647
Impression#1223.4503.647
Quality#1263.5053.706
Overall#1323.4163.612
Creativity#1483.3383.529
Composition#1553.3383.529

Ranked from 17 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

Description
Trace is the story of a hand-drawn boy on a bike, exploring a post-apocalyptic world shaped by unclear memories. As the boy journeys through fragmented memories of the past, he slowly uncovers the truth of his existence. He is the soul of a long-dead child, now wandering the Earth in hand-drawn form. The boy eventually discovers his creator, a real child who passed away.
The gameplay is supposed to play like Limbo with some puzzle-solving elements. It’s a quiet, introspective experience, meant to feel both haunting and beautiful.
The music I composed for this submission represents a level based on a summer memory at the beach. The character experiences the good, the bad, and the corrupted layers of his past. I included the game’s main title theme to introduce the central leitmotif. Without it, I felt it might be unclear how the theme weaves into the level’s music, so I wanted to showcase it in full before diving into its variations.
My inspirations for this project include The Electric State, Flow, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, and Tunic. These works all share a strong sense of mood, worldbuilding, and emotional storytelling—elements I tried to bring into Trace as well.

Theme

One Summer Night

Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://soundcloud.com/zayasan/sets/trace

Number of tracks
3

Genre

Orchestral
Electronic

Soundtrack use permission

Yes (CC BY)

Any project

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Comments

Submitted(+1)

The textures and intrumentation are really well done, i loved listening to it. The composition is on great path and has a really good flow. Keep experimenting like this please!!

Submitted(+1)

Comes to Life - I like the glitchy sounds towards the end of this track!

Ashore - I like the use of acoustic guitar and the string ostinato that starts at 2:30. There are also some sounds that are hard to identify starting at 2:30 that sound like flutes, but they’re cool too! I felt like this track had a lot of potential to explode into a faster, more energetic arrangement.

Under Currents - Interesting whispering and glitchy static with synth ambience in the background. Nice synth design and chime sounds in this track!

Really great work here! I felt like some effects could have been toned down a bit, especially with the reverb in Comes to Life at 1:15 and the guitar delay in Ashore. I also think tracks 2 and 3 could have used greater textural shifts, especially considering how long they go on for—maybe an extended silence, faster section, drums, or something like that. Overall though, I really do appreciate the compositional aspects of your soundtrack, which shine through in the development of “Comes to Life”. This was a cool submission, and I felt that it was still cohesive even with the different styles/moods explored so nice work!

Submitted(+1)

I like that you focused on different moods within this OST, starting off with a darker tone, then moving on to something more hopeful, and finishing with an unsettling and mysterious track.

I also really enjoyed the sound design elements!

Submitted(+1)

I liked the glitchy effects in the intro. "Under currents" is my favourite one by far with the beautiful kinda glitchy atmosphere, the whispering sounds and when the big pad suddenly kicks in wow. 

Submitted(+1)

I find both the concept and tracks very beautiful. First track might be my favorite one.


PS I might be a little biased because my submission is chiptune, but I feel these tracks could be enhanced from adding some of it hahaha (not that they need it)

Submitted(+1)

the climax in Comes to life with a beutiful percussion unwind is soooo good.

Submitted(+1)

liked this, very creativ

Submitted(+1)

The percussion coming in during Ashore was exactly what it needed. 

All the songs were pretty good and had some great vibes. Ashore was my favorite because of the percussion, the mallet instruments, and just the general happy aura.

Submitted(+1)

pretty good

Submitted(+1)

The mix in this was great! Very clear and included a lot of textural elements! I appreciated the simultaneous similarity and differences between ashore and under currents, it really sells the soundtrack as being part of the same world!

Submitted(+1)

Nice touch adding the main theme to introduce the leitmotifs, not only is it a great piece by itself but it does help tie in everything together, like you said in the description!

"Ashore" was very fun to listen to, a true summer/beach theme!

I'm not usually a big fan of sound design focused tracks, since I normally prefer a clear melody on top of chords, but I really liked "Under Currents", maybe because the broken leitmotif usage!

This could fit perfectly in the game you described!

Great job!