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Temporal Tower's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Overall | #6 | 4.332 | 4.332 |
| Composition | #6 | 4.537 | 4.537 |
| Creativity | #8 | 4.317 | 4.317 |
| Impression | #9 | 4.293 | 4.293 |
| Correlation to theme | #11 | 4.220 | 4.220 |
| Quality | #23 | 4.293 | 4.293 |
Ranked from 41 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
A soundtrack for an 8-bit platformer, created all in Ableton Live 11. Each track in the playlist is set for a certain moment in the game (levels, bosses, cutscenes, etc.). I go into more detail about each track on the official page!
Message from the artist:
PLEASE VISIT THE PROJECT PAGE!!! I've gone into detail about the setting, plot and creative process of this OST! Thanks so much for listening :)))
Theme:
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://soundcloud.com/arceusnmew/sets/temporal-tower-ost-composing?si=20196d3ca56b4fac8619539242d13c73&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
Soundtrack use permission
Any project
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Comments
Fantastic! I'm usually really not a chiptune guy, but i love this!
First of all, the production is great! While most people tend to do chiptune in a very bare form, to stay "authentic", but you put the chiptunes at the front, and then create a whole world of modern production around it. To me it's very reminiscent of Celeste and Toby Fox. Great stuff.
The actual composition is awesome too! I like how you take your knowledge of musical theory and use it to boost the narrative of music's purpose - in time signatures, tempos and harmpnically. On top of that, your use of leitmotifs is fantastic, and really helps to "strengthen the bond" between the tracks, which reminds of the works of Toby Fox.
Overall, your ideas were very original and you executed them well, and the entire package (including the story and the visuals) seems to be an indie platformer begging to be made. Great job!
This is very well done! I find that (at least for me) chiptunes are easy to get sounding generic. you do a good job of mixing in other ideas like the reversed piano in the third track, the old sounding piano in the sixth track (I think this one might be my favorite track, I love the vibe), and the chimes that pitch down in the last track. This was fun to listen to, great job!
Lovely chiptunes, very fun to listen to. They do remind me of 1st gen Pokémon music. It has been a very nostalgic listen, for me. Nice work!
Wow, this sounds really great! very professional sounding, it would fit right into an 8 bit platformer!
thank you so much! i'd love to have this music put into a game if there was a team who wanted to make it :)
Temporal Tower: This has such a great intro! Very heroic and epic. The feel overall of this track is similar to Pokemon games as you are setting off on adventure with the heroism of Legend of Zelda. And then the big 1, b7, b6 seems like a direct nod to Pokemon!
Present Plains: I like that the overworld theme is taken directly from the title theme as it gives us a familiar tune to start the game off of, but with a lot more energy! I really like the harmonic variation at 0:52 though. Then at 1:03 we get something brand new which is another great melody before the repeat.
Chrono Fiend: I think it is creative that you used a familiar theme and distorted it in this track. The pitch bending, while not really a time-manipulation, does give the sense of slowing down and that things are being distorted. I like the 5/4 section - that extra beat really messes with my expectations!
Time Is Money: I like your use of real sound effects amidst the chiptune. It doesn’t sound out of place and adds to the character of the shop. My favorite part is the bass line you’ve written when it slides up before dropping down to the next note.
Where Time Can’t Reach: These are bizarre time signatures! Weird time signatures sometimes have the effect of making the music not enjoyable because it’s hard to follow, but I felt that 33 bpm very clearly. It’s interesting how we are leaving the chiptune style behind in this track with the addition of the strings and reversed sounds. But then at the loop it feels like we get whipped back to the reality of where we are in the Temporal Tower.
Reminisce: I like the wind effects that give this a very floaty feel, which works very well for memory themes. I think your choice to keep it grounded in 4/4 is a good choice. I also like how the beat picks up momentum, until it’s just the piano and the clock.
New Dark Ages: This is a really cool battle theme! I really like the minor chord progression you use. My favorite part is when the bass drops out and you have the big pitch-bending notes alongside the high fast instrument and the return of the familiar melody.
Overall: Very high quality work here! I really enjoyed listening to the entire thing! I think that it was really creative to have the chiptune represent reality whereas the more realistic instrument sounds represented distortion or memories. Very cool stuff! Excellent work and thank you for sharing!
very thorough analysis!! you've managed to catch some things that even i hadn't noticed until later in the composing process lol. i'm glad you decided to take the time to carefully listen to all of my music, it really means a lot!! :)
Whoa! Huge tracker vibes despite this being made in Ableton Live 11! Would love to know how you created all these great chiptune sounds.
i use a plug-in called "Magical 8bit Plug 2" by YMCK! it's a really solid little VST, it's got a good amount 8-bit of wavetables to use :)
Now all you need is a game for this soundtrack! If these tracks ever come to streaming services they got a spot waiting in my playlist :).
haha i'd love to have a game for this! i'll see what i can do to get them on streaming services, but for now i hope soundcloud suffices ^-^
Very quality 8-bit music! Awesome work!
thank you my friend!!!
"Time Is Money" was my favorite for how head-boppable it was. Overall, a very high quality chiptune soundtrack with very strong leitmotifs! The mixing was great too.
thank you! "Time is Money" was a lot of fun to write; it's probably the song that fits the theme the best on my whole soundtrack lol
Oh man, 8 bit music always amazes me with how much content it can pack into a single track using just a few simple sounds. I loved the additional synths and sound effects you used to enhance the 8 bit stuff as well, they really fit right in!! Not to mention the odd meters... awesome job!!!
thanks! composing chiptune songs forces you to make a lot with a little, and admittedly, i used the additional synths and SFX as a bit of a crutch lol. strictly chiptune music is tough :/
i'm glad you liked it though!
Great OST! I liked how you added non-chiptune sounds to further enhance the music. The overall composition is insane, well done!
thank you friend! i really love the way non-chiptune sounds fill the space that the chiptune sounds leave in the mix, it really makes it feel very full :)
Great composition! I love how you incorporated the same motif and the I bVII vi (? I don't know, implied harmony? XD) progression which weirdly reminds me of Pokémon and also Shovel Knight. The metric mod in New Dark Ages is so well carried out. Overall super awesome stuff!
thank you! i love that bVII vi movement, it just felt right to put it in several songs throughout the soundtrack :)
This is absolutely amazing!! Such great composition and arrangement also, you absolutely nailed the adventure vibe you were going for! This might be a bit specific but your OST also reminded me a lot of the musics from Pokemon Uranium and in particular the "Elite Battle" track with those bending synths that resemble the ones I hear in your track "Chrono Fiend". You clearly know this music genre and you made it justice. Absolute banger all the way through, you did an outstanding job!!
thank you so much! i took a listen to "Elite Battle", and i can see what you mean. bending synths are super cool when done right, and i'm glad i could remind you of music from pokemon (a fan game, but still)!
we each make a same song tittle Time is money you are a good 8bit game song maker
thanks! "Time is Money" is just a perfect name for a shop theme lol
My favorite is Chrono Fiend ! So fun and fresh. I love the wavy sounds that come and go in Where Time Can't Reach. The whole playlist is very nice to listen to <3
thank you! i'm super proud of those songs for sure, they were a challenge to make '^^
Some really nice late 80s chiptune vibe here, with both a touch of more modern sound and earlier era sounds. The soundscape is kept together with slight variations among the tracks, but keeping it within bounds anyway , except for a couple of tracks that stands out (in a good way) from the rest. Good Job!
yeah, at first i wanted to go just chiptune, but it became pretty clear early on that the tracks wanted more!
Lots to love here! The Rachmaninov-esque piano lines really complemented the chip sounds. Lots of nice little touches and attention to detail throughout. I really enjoyed your playing around with tuplets and time signatures too. I wondered if Where Time Can't Reach was inspired at all by Threshold by Sungazer? Absolutely top level composition! :)
wow, thank you! comparing my work to Rachmaninov is high praise 0_o
yes, "Where Time Can't Reach" was VERY DIRECTLY inspired by "Threshold". i'd been wanting to compose something with those tuplets for a while, and this felt like a perfect opportunity!
I am impressed - everything about this soundtrack is on the mark. It's fun, fits the genre of your game and the theme of time perfectly, and every track conveys exactly what you described of them in your project page. Your use of time signatures was genius - I had a similar idea in my own submission, but tbh yours is much more fleshed out. Reminisce is a lovely track, and re-using it in the final boss battle is extremely powerful. One of the most cohesive and well thought out entries to this jam by far, excellent job!
thank you thank you!! the time signatures were definitely giving me some trouble at the start, but i'm proud of how it all came out. i'm glad you enjoyed "Reminisce", it's one of my personal favourites as well :)
This is quality!
Temporal Tower: love the Mixolydian here along with the 8-bit, it gives a sort of GB Pokemon vibe. A good title theme!
Present Plains: Using the motif from Temporal Tower, but more energetic. Strong overworld vibes.
Chrono Fiend: This is one hell of a cool battle theme. Loved the reverse piano sounding sfx.
Time is Money: knew this was a shop theme before even reading the description! Very groovy.
Where Time Can't Reach: this is one cool rhythm. Love when the pads come in for that full sound.
Reminisce: Very dreamy. The minor plagal cadence like you said adds a nostalgic feel.
New Dark Ages: Very cool final boss theme. Those reverse samples are a great touch. The meter here is dope. bVI-i section (after 3:26) really gives me that classic NES/GB final stage feel. Bells help add more of the time connection.
Great work!
you know more about my music than i do! i absolutely love minor plagal cadence (didn't know it was called that!) in "Reminisce", it just feels so powerful and nostalgic. i'm glad you're appreciating all the details :)))))
Maaan this is so fun! The mixes on all of these sound great, and I love the blend of chip and sampled sounds. Cool time signatures in Where Time Can't Reach, definitely my favorite track.
thanks!!! the time signatures in "Where Time Can't Reach" were really hard to compose on (19 notes per beat is WILDLY unorthodox), but i'm super proud of how it came together :)))