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At the End of All Things's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Storytelling | #18 | 4.194 | 4.194 |
| Overall | #90 | 3.652 | 3.652 |
| Impression | #105 | 3.548 | 3.548 |
| Creativity | #105 | 3.613 | 3.613 |
| Composition | #134 | 3.484 | 3.484 |
| Quality | #151 | 3.419 | 3.419 |
Ranked from 31 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
This soundtrack paints an audio landscape of a post-apocalypic world at the end of humanity. Life isn't so bad, heat-resistant clothing allows the few remaining humans to still explore the surface, a long forgotten and abandoned wasteland that locks, what we know as Earth today, into a perpetual state of stillness. Two salvagers with a long, personal history, spend a day tredging along a boardwalk together, enjoying what was left behind by us long ago.
At the End of All Things marks the title theme of the game. Upon boot up, this song would play as a little animation plays out before the title of the game fades into view. This song is meant to immediately inform the player of the emotional journey its two characters will go on together: one filled with nostalgia, warts and all.
Boardwalk Halo is the day theme that would play while the player explores the titular boardwalk. Despite wearing heat-resistant gear, the hot, red sun would still make these characters feel the strong impact of its rays. Its light would illuminate the boardwalk and shine off the water, creating a truly beautiful beach view. There would be plenty of things to interact with, possibilty including some small minigames. Both characters would comment on the things they find and talk to one another about them, letting players learn more about the two and their relationship.
Fair of Yesteryear would play when the player goes on to explore the pier that houses abandoned stands and a ferris wheel. This song would play specifically while the characters are discussing and theorizing what this environment could have been and how people used to have interacted with it. As the reel in the song turns, so does our knowledge of history, allowing players and the characters to reminiscene about the same thing across two different times.
Beach Games would play when the characters discover a toppled volleyball net and a deflated volleyball. Despite having never played the game, the characters would instinctually figure out at the ball needs to be refilled, and upon refilling, play a crude game together. Their movements aren't what you'd expect and there's no consistency or rhythm to how they play, but they cannot deny that throwing and bouncing a ball over a net to each other is inherently fun!
Twilight's Farewell would play as the day progresses into night, signalling the approaching end of the journey. In this time, players would be able to rexplore areas they've already been through, as well as a newly accessable, small alcove on the beach. Here the characters would find some scrap truly worth salvaging, as well as some records that give them a little more insight about our world and this boardwalk. Among the scrap is a generator, of which the characters decide could be used to power some of the remaining electrical systems laid out amongst the boardwalk. This would open for some fun, new interactions with objects already discovered, as well as lead into the climax of the story. Despite the beautiful day, a misplaced turn of phrases throws one of the characters into a foul mood and the remainder of their exploration is met with some cold distance and awkward pauses.
As a partner to Boardwalk Halo, both songs share the same central melody and structure. However, even though the boardwalk is the same, the experiences and atmosphere between both times of day make them feel unique. To capture this, both songs have different section Bs. In addition, the order of the main voice and piano that play during this section have flipped. I see this change as an indication for the passage of time: Boardwalk Halo's section B features the piano into the violin, a show of the moon into sun like the dawn of a new day. Twilight's Farewell does the opposite: it features the flute first followed by the piano, the sun into moon. Additionally, there is a part where the violin plays in harmony with the piano, representing the last twinkle of twilight left in the sky as the sun fully sets behind the ocean.
A World Left Behind would tie a knot on the adventure. After connecting the generator to the ferris wheel, the two characters would climb into a seat together as the wheel very slowly completes its rotation due to the low electrical current. Without anything to distract them, the two characters would talk about a past they both have been burying within themselves. One apologizes for kissing another person, while the other apologizes for not being a present partner to begin with. They forgive one another, reconciling that their relationship was juvenile and immature. One asks for another chance, the other says they're not ready yet. They discuss is being friends is enough, and they agree to settle with that for now. Within the comfort of nuance and a weight lifted off their shoulders, they enjoy watching the red sun set across the water from them. For just a moment, they can almost feel a shared experience across time with their ancestors, their people who created this playground they could explore today. As their seat and the sun start to descend, the game fades to credits.
Composed in FL Studio, I started most songs with playing on my guitar. As I discovered chords and melodies I enjoyed, I translated them to MIDI notes for other instruments to fill in. Additionally, I recorded many parts with that guitar, as well as a bass guitar to bring a little more life to some tracks. Otherwise, tracks just created themselves as they saw fit: sometimes starting with the climax and sometimes starting a tiny loop to iterate over. At the end of the day, I just let the music find itself and if something wasn't working out or didn't fit the project, it was put in the pocket for another time.
Message from the artist
Thank you very much for listening! This is my first submission to any music jam/competition and my first time completing an OST for a specific project/theme. I am amateur and self taught, but I've put a ton of work into this project and I really hope it shows.
Theme
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://soundcloud.com/fourthstrongest/sets/at-the-end-of-all-things
Number of tracks6
Genre
Soundtrack use permission
Any non-commercial project
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Comments
Love the story concept. Every track fits pretty well to your descriptions, and the ferris wheel scene is cute. "Beach Games" sounds like it would be a really obnoxious minigame lol. The guitar seems a little off in this track to me, maybe it's a little loud in one ear?
The changes between Boardwalk Halo and Twilight's Farewell are interesting and well-designed. The soundtrack and story as a whole was a fun little ride to go on that I thoroughly enjoyed. Nice work!
I wouldn't be shocked if the guitars aren't quite perfectly balanced; I'm still getting used to dual tracking haha. But thank you so much for your comments!!! I appreciate it :)
I like the use of a chord progression as a motif throughout. It ties the soundtrack together nicely
Thank you!! Also I love your user name, mine is also an Earthbound reference, just adjusted a little :)
I really like the compositions here, and the live guitar and bass give it some spice. The tracks are all well suited to the setting you describe and cover a nice range of moods, and I like the nostalgic feel running through the whole OST. I agree that some better MIDI instruments and more variation in the velocity/articulation in the piano/string/wind lines would help the live and virtual instruments mesh better and add a sense of polish. Great work overall!
Thank you so much!!! Noted about the VSTs, as I mentioned in my last reply, I am definitely gonna be focusing on getting some better ones sorted out once the jam is all done. I'm happy the nostalgia came through!! That's the power of a maj7 chord haha I really appreciate the kind words!!
Great idea for the theme, fits really well and is an opening for a lot of emotion. First track is a lovely way to start, nice composition on the guitar and the melodies throughout are comfortable and cosy, but also wistful and a bit sad.
Like the bass writing a lot on Boardwalk Halo (great name). Punches through and gives it a unique feel, in my opinion. That melody really pulls me along with the song too. Fair of Yesteryear is a nice bit of fun and fits the scene you were going for. Same with Beach Games. The bouncy guitar chords and flighty melody work very well together.
Twilight's Farewell absolutely nails being a more nighttime feeling counterpart to Boardwalk Halo. Reusing the melody in a different way and weaving some other things around it really pushes that musical story you're telling along. The last track felt nice and poignant while also evoking the fairground/Ferris wheel music that you were going for. Really nice.
I think I would echo some of the other critiques in that some of the really good songwriting is a little bit hamstrung by the simplicity of the VSTs used. It can sometimes be a little expressionless and rigid, but the quality of the composition still shines through and I really liked the heartfelt sound of the whole thing.
Thank you so much!!! I really appreciate you going through and saying something about each song; it's very heartwarming!!! Noted about the VSTs; figuring out better alternatives is definitely where my priorities are going to go once this jam has been finished. Thanks for letting me know!!
Really impressive work! The guitar and bass recordings really bring the music to life, and I love the sense of progression in the storytelling (through the music). There’s a real sense of dedication in every track. Excellent job!
Thank you so much!!! I'm so happy to hear my recordings were so effective haha
What a great OST, you really took me on a journey through the story with your guitar, That phrase: the world is over, but it's not too bad. You nailed! Great use of instruments and nice mood changes :3!
Thank you so much!!! It means a lot and I'm happy my guitar managed to be so effective <3
Such a warm, heartfelt OST, I loved the way the music is always tinged with a sense of loss no matter the situation. It's quite special, and I think you captured the feeling of two people at the end of the world, trying to make the best of things really well. Great job, and thanks so much for sharing!
That's such a kind analysis, thank you so much!!! I'm so happy you enjoyed it!
Nice variety, listening to first track i already had something in mind for the next tracks but you completely proved me wrong it was waaay cooler such a nice change of mood and vibe. The 30 secs Fair of Yesteryear is super fun to listen too, super nice arrangement. Enjoyed :) . Good job !
Haha yay that's awesome to hear! I'm happy to have subverted expectations in a good way; that's really neat. Thank you so much for listening and for the kind words!!! I really appreciate it!
All of the compositions are really solid and feel like they have a lot of polish, those guitars and the bass are incredibly satisfying to listen to throughout the album. I love the idea that "the world is over, but it's not too bad," and it comes through well. The story feels complete, and I could totally see this in a game! I do have to agree with IndieKev when it comes to the violin and flute, and the piano too sometimes. Getting good free realistic instrument vsts is tough, though just a bit of volume automation can also do wonders in making it feel just a bit more alive. Very fun and enjoyable submission! :D
Yeah I meant to do a little more dynamic velocity work but with the time I had I just decided other elements were a priority so that makes sense. If you have any recommendations for good VSTs, please feel free to send them my way! And thank you so much for listening and for the kind words!!!
Hey Fourth, to be honest the only bad point for me is the quality of the VST that don't do enough justice on the final result to what is very very enjoyable to listen to. Amazing work!
Ah thank you!! That really means a lot! Would you have any recommendations regarding VSTs? I feel like I always struggle to find ones that properly get the job done. Also now that I've actually finished a project and enjoyed it, I'm definitely open to finally dropping some money on a good one, since everything I've used until now has been free.
hit me up with what you'd be looking for, I've tried and checked a lot of stuff, if there's one thing I can help with it's probably VST selection xD
Absolutely love the variety you were able to achieve with this! It really gives the project some character to it, great work!
Thank you so much!! I'm happy to hear that the variety works!
What a beautiful and peaceful soundtrack, especially Twilight's Farewell. Great job :)
Thank you so much!!
Really nice vibe, definitly fitting, love the post-post apocalypse scenario and vibe ! Great work.
Post-post apocalypse is a pretty way of putting it, wow! I'm surprised I've never heard that before. Thank you so much for listening!!
A more hopeful take on a post apocalyptic scenario which is always good to see, the guitar playing is really impressive for most of the soundtrack. A few tracks that stood out to me:
Boardwalk Halo is such a good song, I really like it. The bass near the middle of the song is absolutely phenomenal, it really reminds me of Hylics 2. Beautiful stuff.
Beach Games capture the mood of... Well, beach games, really nice. I actually got reminded of the last time I went to the beach to play ball with my pals lol
Twilight's Farewell remixes Boardwalk's melodies really well, it's a nice song, although I do prefer the latter's energy haha. Your insight on reversing the flute and violin was interesting to read.
With this being your first project in mind, I really enjoyed listening through it. Although I can't say I'm a big fan of the instrument you used for A World Left Behind, it feels a bit too loud. A minor gripe on an overall great soundtrack. I also enjoyed the story quiet a bit, this would be a rad game to play through. Well done!
Thank you so much!! It means a lot to me that you went through and wrote about many of the songs individually <3
I get what you mean regarding A World Left Behind. I couldn't find a music box sample that I really loved so I went with the best I had on hand since I didn't have the time to track one down. I also did a stupid quick job on the mastering since, frankly, I have no idea how to master anyway, so that probably boosted that song in particular a bit too much. But very important to keep in mind; thank you for sharing your thoughts!
I liked the groove of "Boardwalk Halo". "Fair of Yesteryear" reminded me of the Toontown soundtrack, so thanks for the nostalgia trip with that one haha. I think the best track here by far was "Beach Games"--I could totally hear that in a game.
The guitar playing was great overall! Nice work.
Thank you so much!! I actually never played much of Toontown so that's a funny comparison to hear haha I'll probably check out the OST once all of this is done.
Beach games was a super fun time! High energy with a really good percussion line. It was my favorite of the bunch.
For a first time jam entry, it's really good! Cohesive and decently mixed with good progressions. Maybe some of the tracks are a little simplistic but that's ok.
Yeah I think in general I try not to lean too hard on overly complicated tracks for the sake of actually managing them well and because I'm not interested in changing up progressions unless I really feel that they're warranted. For example, there was a battle theme that used some different time signatures that was kind of coming together but keeping it cohesive with the rest of the songs was just too difficult. It's a simple feeling so I stayed fairly safe in that regard, especially given the amount of time. But thank you very much for listening and commenting!! See you in the Discord :)
simple and soothing, and wistful and cute. the melodic motifs and instrumentation are summery and make me feel at home.
delightful; thanks for sharing ^^
Thank you so much!!! Feeling at home is a huge theme in my composition in general right now so I'm really happy to hear that it came through!
I really like the set of instruments you chose for this submission. The first track is beautiful
Thank you so much!!! That really means a lot!! <3
I love the way you use some corky sounds. Would fit the game nicely. Some chill bets, too. Good work!
"Corky" haha I'm not sure what you mean but I love that way of putting it. Thank you!! It means a lot to hear that it could actually fit into a game.
oh i absolutely adore the first track. it's so soothing and it just like cleansed my brain. i wanna sleep. twilight's farewell is so light to the ears. i love it
Thank you that's so sweet!!! I really appreciate it <3