This track is really moving! And also sounds very professional. I actually quite liked the synth although I can see what other people are saying. I think it was a cool development and boosted the energy nicely.
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Time Runs Out's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Memorability | #1 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| Match to the brief | #2 | 4.143 | 4.143 |
| Overall enjoyment | #3 | 4.214 | 4.214 |
| Overall | #3 | 4.157 | 4.157 |
| Composition quality | #4 | 4.286 | 4.286 |
| Production quality | #6 | 4.143 | 4.143 |
Ranked from 14 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
If you want the full details, check out the soundtrack's page to see the creative decisions and more!
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING BEFORE LISTENING:
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“Time Runs Out” is a melancholic and expressive track, sitting at Precision Level 4 because I could not for the life of me figure out how to throw in a Dorian section and still maintain the purpose of making the listener feel emotional.
It is for the fictitious game called “Time Gears”, a melancholic but cozy narrative-based action-adventure game that takes place on a floating steampunk island of machinery titled, “The Heaven’s Mass”. This island hosts a strong dictatorship centered around the idea of utopia and eternal bliss, but has gone somewhat corrupt. You play as an 8-year old schoolgirl named May who suffers a severe and fatal brain parasite. As May is rushed to the hospital, the Doctors decide on installing a piece of costly brain machinery of complex gears that would slow down the rate at which her brain eats itself, but not entirely prevent it. May’s parents reluctantly agreed to let their daughter live for the expected five more days, and promised to make those five days the best of her life. As May travels around The Heaven’s Mass, she says her deepest farewells to her closest friends and strongest relationships. May’s family then drives themselves bankrupt in order to make May’s final days incredible. They go as far as to ration their food and provide May with the best and expensive meals. As time goes on, May’s brain begins to forget and destroy beloved memories.
As May takes her final breaths on her deathbed, she hums Mother’s Lullaby, a melody that her mother sang to her all the time, making it her final memory as May’s brain collapses and dies.
“Time Runs Out” plays in the ending credits cutscene, distinctly referencing Mother’s Lullaby as the main melody, and displays the parent’s grief and mourning for their child, emotional flashbacks of lost memories, the parents ravaging the last of their money, and dying to malnutrition and starvation in the streets.
Here is how I handled the Precision Levels:
1 - A piece of music for the end credits of a video game:
As explained before, “Time Runs Out” plays in the ending credits cutscene.
2 - The music should be nostalgic at first, then become energetic:
The song references Mother’s Lullaby (or the main theme), which at this point in time will be familiar and emotional at this point in the game. It picks up the expressive-ness and produces a heart-wrenching climax near the end of the piece, which is where the “energetic” comes in.
3 - It must contain a distinct melody that could be derived from a leitmotif:
Again, it contains Mother’s Lullaby, the main theme of “Time Gears”.
4 - The game is called Time Gears, an action-adventure game set in a steampunk world:
It is called “Time Gears”, and it is a steampunk action-adventure game, but relatively more chill and narrative-focused.
5 - The music must contain a distinct section of at least 16 measures composed entirely in Dorian mode:
I couldn’t figure out how to incorporate a section with Dorian without messing up the emotional structure of the piece so I just stuck with Level 4.
I hope you enjoy listening to this piece as much as I enjoyed making it!
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