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Echoes of a Distant Shore's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Storytelling | #39 | 3.947 | 4.056 |
| Composition | #65 | 3.893 | 4.000 |
| Impression | #69 | 3.785 | 3.889 |
| Overall | #70 | 3.774 | 3.878 |
| Quality | #81 | 3.785 | 3.889 |
| Creativity | #123 | 3.461 | 3.556 |
Ranked from 18 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
From the theme, I envisioned a seafaring adventure game/coming-of-age story where the main character sets sail for the first time in their life, following in the footsteps of sailors who came before them. Along the way, they soon learn from other islanders that sailors sometimes experience strange phenomena at night. Our hero ventures onward, forging friendships and uncovering whatever secrets the sea has in store for them.
Based on this, I composed an orchestral soundtrack of 4 tracks. In addition to reusing and transforming motifs, tempo fluctuation and 15/8 meter are used throughout the soundtrack.
1. low tide - main theme. The protagonist sets sail for the first time.
2. star shower - sea exploration theme. As the starry night sky reflects on the sea’s surface, the protagonist encounters something magical and unexplainable, represented by the tonal shift at the halfway point. I thought of this halfway point as a representation of the water’s reflection or a portal into unexplored territory.
3. lamplight - land exploration theme, partly inspired by lofi hiphop. The protagonist wanders around various town islands, helping people, making friends, and hearing stories of the sea.
4. bon voyage - a romantic farewell, partly inspired by classic Hollywood scores. The protagonist must bid farewell to someone they have formed a bond with over the course of the journey. Smiling and holding back tears, their companion tells them that they want their final moment together to be happy rather than sad.
Message from the artist
Some feedback I received from last year’s OST Comp Jam was that they wanted my tracks to be longer/more developed, so that was one of my goals this time around, resulting in a runtime that is twice as long as last year’s. I also think the theme allowed me to write a soundtrack that felt big and more emotionally complex, so I was happy to switch things up this year.
Theme
How does it fit the theme?
I tried to make music that depicts the journey of a young sailor, using sounds that evoke the sea and the night.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://soundcloud.com/willdionio/sets/echoes-of-a-distant-shore
Number of tracks4
Genre
Soundtrack use permission
Any non-commercial project
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Comments
Low Tide: I get ocean and night vibes right away! Piano and cello both feel like they work well in “blue” environments for me. I love that these are what you chose for the main theme. The dynamic arc of this track is an adventure in itself - I really like the push and pull nature of the instrumentation as well as the tempo and harmony. Great imagery!
Star Shower: The prominent high bell-tones/plucks with sparse bass portrays a night sky scene so well. The high-register arpeggios are a very cool effect - it is really beautiful how each note seems to arpeggiate at a different speed. The harmonic shift is a nice moment of transition without leaving the style of the piece, allowing the story to feel like it is naturally progressing. Looking at your message saying that one of your goals for this jam was to develop your tracks more, I think you did a particularly great job with that here. You fully explored the theme in the first half and were also able to come up with a second half that is cohesive, makes sense, and keeps me engaged. Great work!
Lamplight: That chord change at 2:28 is pure magic! That is my favorite moment of the entire soundtrack I think. The lo-fi inspiration is apparent, and I like that you adapted it for the orchestral setting - very creative! The bell sound, in particular the lower line, made me think of incandescent light at night. I certainly imagined the gameplay with this track!
Bon Voyage: The cinematic quality of this track really helps convey very nuanced and specific emotions quite well. The waltz half-way in does a great job of introducing the companion’s wish to have this be a happy moment. The growth of this piece is quite fitting for a conclusive song. I love the quick fade to solo piano to hammer home the bittersweet ending. Bravo!
Overall: This is a beautiful soundtrack with so many fully-fleshed ideas that carry the story throughout many various aspects of gameplay. 3 minutes of music is a challenging target to hit and you consistently did that in such an impressive way that felt natural and made me want to listen to every second of what you wrote. Very very nice work here. Thank you so much for sharing!
This was really cool to listen to! Each song is unique and progresses nicely while setting different moods for the adventure. Low Tide is a great theme song, starts off strong with the sense of embarking on an adventure. Star Shower gives me those exploring the sea vibes, exactly like you were going for. Love the vibes in lamp Light, definitely my favorite! Bon Voyage is a beautiful piece, love the intro piano bit and the way it progresses with all of the other instruments. Great job, this is awesome work!
Really like the variance in the arrangements, the quiet nighttime atmosphere in Lamplight and the reminiscent emotional swells in Bon Voyage are some highlights for me. They feel warm and full, packed with gentle-yet-emotionally-charged memories that the main character has to work through.
Really great use of accordion parts (at least I'm pretty sure it's an accordion?..) which also helps communicate the game's setting. I like how you manage to keep each song interesting by varying up the moods and instrumentation.
A beautiful submission.
Thanks for listening and for your comment! The instrument I used is bandoneon!
Really beautiful set of songs here! I think you nailed the sailing vibe fantastically! I think my only point of criticism would be that your first song was a little TOO dynamic, which is a first for me in this jam! Hardly worth making too much of a fuss over, but always something to keep in mind since I had to raise my volume at the beginning of the song and lower it about half way through. Really great job though!
Great soundtrack :) Bon Voyage was a beautiful sendoff!
I really loved these compositions. Lamplight was a dream to listen to.
Each piece gave a unique and lovely part to the story. The work is unified and harmonising. I really like the dreamy composition and style.
Overall: a really wonderful soundtrack to listen to :)
Great romantic compositions. Star shower is probably my favorite, I'm a fan of the darker section in the second half of the track and the synthetic starry sound painting elements. I loved the choice of accordion-like sounds for Low Tide and I think if you had used more of that across the project it may have been more cohesive. That or something else to assist with bringing the disparate elements of the different tracks together I think could bring this project to the next level. I enjoyed listening to your project overall, thanks for submitting!
Nice movement and energy in low tide, the crescendo and subsequent cool-down play out very nicely! Every track has tons of emotion and dynamics, and each develop in interesting ways. "star shower" was the most unique track of the bunch, and definitely gives off an air of intrigue and mystery. "bon voyage" is a gorgeous ending to a wonderfully cohesive and well-composed soundtrack. Excellent work!
Late to reply, but I appreciate your comment - thanks for listening!
super nice soundtrack overall. Bon Voyage was definitely my favorite forsure. Love your chord choice and melody on that track, really well done!
This is really pretty!
Really nice compositions and arrangements! The way the instruments dance around each other is fantastic (especially in track 2). I desperately want to hear this with some higher quality VSTs (MuseScore is a good free program with great orchestral sounds)!
The fast notes fading in and out during Star Shower were so cool and fit the theme you have perfectly! They were also just really fun to listen to.
hey your submission was really cool! I think the first track definitely has to be my favorite. Even before I read your description about how it fits the theme and its relation to the sea, I definitely felt like i was on the water myself. I love how it's quietly cinematic, and then incredibly epic!! It shows adventures, undertones of uncertainty, and triumph. I love when everything falls out and its just piano, its so awesome! And star shower feels so magical!! Feels like we are sailing the stars, or something out of mario galaxy! Okay okay, I really love this soundtrack props to you, I can't wait to see your work in a game for real!!
Thank you so much. I'm glad you enjoyed it!