Play soundtrack
Nostalgia Trip's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Overall | #1 | 4.267 | 4.267 |
| Memorability | #1 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| Match to the brief | #1 | 4.583 | 4.583 |
| Production quality | #2 | 4.250 | 4.250 |
| Composition quality | #3 | 4.333 | 4.333 |
| Overall enjoyment | #4 | 4.167 | 4.167 |
Ranked from 12 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
I was shooting for level 3! Let me know how I did!
The game I imagined in my head while I was writing my piece was a fun comfort game, there wouldn’t be a lot of combat in this game, and a lot of the enjoyment would come from story driven character moments. I didn’t create many specifics about the game, just a general idea that it’s a cozy game with a lot of heart.
I used a kalimba aka thumb piano for that main A theme to try and create that sense of nostalgia and comfort. The toy-like piano timbre it has makes me think back to my childhood, which is why I thought it would be a good choice for evoking nostalgic feelings. In my mind, the main theme of the game is this same theme but bigger, and stripping it back at the end credits to build it back up to that energy of the title screen seemed cool to me, but I wanted to divert to a B section before getting that bigger A section again.
The B section is where I attempted to create a melody that derives from a leitmotif. Whether it’s a specific character or place in the game I just tried to make that melody very singable that sticks in your head. Then the A section comes back with open guitars and a bigger sound with a horn line echoing the main theme to fill some of that open space that was at the start of the piece.
I had a lot of fun participating in this jam and am excited to listen to the other submissions!
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Comments
Congrats on winning the jam!
Thank you! I'm a shocked! There were so many good entries.
Great work ! I particularly love the guitar, especially at 0:55, it reminds a bit of TJ Hill works on Amphibia. Your music is not empty, each instruments have their parts and each moment is interesting. I like the quality sound. I also love the brass repeating the melody after the kalimba at 1:40.
I'm not familiar with Amphibia, so I will have to check it out, thanks for sharing that!
I would recommend "New Adventures" from TJ Hill, that's a great work and it reminds me of yours in a good way !
Absolute cinema!
This is awesome. I loved the dialogue between the kalimba and the guitar at the beginning, and the way they echo each other's rhythm is a great idea.
I also loved the B section, which creates a perfect bridge between the opening and the return of the A section. That part was incredible, and I felt that every instrument had something interesting to contribute. The piece conveys a lot of emotion throughout.
The only thing I could point out is that I found the kalimba a little too percussive at times. I'm not entirely sure whether it's due to the register, the sound choice, or something else, but perhaps pitching it slightly higher, adjusting the EQ, or even experimenting with a music box sound could be worth trying.
That said, I genuinely want to see a game's end credits paired with this music.
Good luck with the rest of the voting period!
(I'm still humming your kalimba melody...)
Thank you!
I totally agree with what you are saying about the kalimba being too percussive. It was my first time recording it, and I will definitely try some different mic placement or playing techniques next time because there is a sharpness to the sound (possibly due to me playing with my thumb nails instead of the pads of my thumbs) that I had to EQ a lot to get it to a softer place. Also messing with attack and release times on the compressor I was using could also contribute.
Thanks again for the kind words and constructive criticism!
(Submission 9/29 - "Nostalgic Trip" by Nicholas_tb)
This deeply fills my soul with the most amount of early-childhood nostalgia I think a song has ever portrayed. I feel old now, thanks... :')
This makes me think of my life's journey so far and the challenges I faced - it's such a good composition!
Man, I just love music. Thanks Nicholas for the beloved memories that you forced me to remember in almost 2:30 of runtime.
(i'm actually holding back tears helpppp)
Aw man, that's awesome. Thank you for sharing that!
In just 2 minutes and 28 seconds, you managed to create an entire world through your music. Huge kudos—I really enjoyed listening to your work !
Wow, cozy is right. I love the kalimba as the main melody instrument in the beginning and how it returns towards the end replacing the violins for this call/response pattern with the horn section, bringing a real grounding influence to the piece, leading it into the end. Very nice, now I feel like buying Stardew Valley.
Thanks for the kind words! and you should definitely buy Stardew Valley!