Forester

Forester is a serene blend of instrumental and 8-bit timbres, both traditional and soundscape-like. The soundtrack makes heavy use of the woodwind family of instruments, including the flute, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon, plus features for the piccolo and cor anglais, along with a solo violin and cello, harp, guitar, and other instruments—plus a set of magic8bitplug chiptune synthesizers. It accompanies a side-scrolling puzzle platformer about traversing a vast forest in search of a cure for your husband’s sickness—all with a child in tow. For this project I used the Cinematic Studio Woodwinds, Strings, and Solo Strings, along with Eastwest’s Hollywood Percussion, Symphonic Choirs, the magic8bitplug synth, and a handful of other instruments that were packaged with Studio One 5, the DAW I use.

Follow along with the track list as you listen!

Track 1 – Forester (Title Theme)

I wanted this track to be representative of the full spectrum of sound encountered in this soundtrack, so I used a blend of orchestral instruments, drumset, and chiptune. While the main theme doesn’t reappear later in the soundtrack, the secondary theme does appear in tracks 7 and 8, The Marshlands.

Track 2 – A Tale of Two Lovers

This track accompanies the opening narrative for the game:

“Old Yard is far, far away from everybody. But you and him like it that way. A home, by the forest… what is missing? You both know what’s missing: how much you would love a family. But there’s nothing either of you can do… One day, a certain goddess took pity on you: Esona, guardian of the very forest you live beside. In her empathy, she blessed you both with a baby girl. Those months were so happy. Then, he got sick… Again, Esona calls to you: ‘your husband will not survive much longer. You must come to my temple, deep in the Forest… there, I can help.’ You cannot leave him with the baby. But to bring her along… it’s the only choice you have. You must find the cure. You must save your family.”

This track introduces the Lover’s Theme, which reappears often throughout the soundtrack.

Track 3 – Nettle Glade (Day)

“Travel through Nettle Glade, and mind your step—you will get to Lumbermill Lake quickly if you can keep your footing.”

This is the first area in the game: a clear, open forest with plenty of light. The track is mostly dry (no reverb), meant to emulate the sound of real woodwind instruments as well as possible—evoking the same intimate tone as the Link’s Awakening soundtrack.

Track 4 – Nettle Glade (Night)

“The Underbrush hides below us—a mirrored place where the bounds of reality loosen before you…”

It takes several days to travel from section to section, and as you go, there are clearings to light a campfire and rest. Once you fall asleep, you emerge in the Underbrush, a dream-like place where you can alter the real world to your benefit. These mirror levels feature slowed-down versions of the daytime tracks reorchestrated to chiptune.

Track 5 – Evening’s Reflection

At the conclusion of every level, after you set up camp in a clearing, your character will reminisce about his journey and memories of his husband and daughter. This peaceful guitar solo features the Lover’s Theme.

Track 6 – Lumbermill Lake

“Any deeper into this forest and things start to get... interesting.”

The first town you come upon in the game, Lumbermill Lake is a cheery and restful village, and the deepest most people will travel into the forest. Only those who seek the shaman Jessamine will go beyond its border and into the Marshlands.

 Track 7 – The Marshlands (Day)

“Go, seek out the sage Jessamine: she will know the way to the temple you speak of.”

The Marshlands are a darker area of the forest, filled with mystique—even rumors of the supernatural. Few ever travel here, and those who do risk getting lost.

Track 8 – The Marshlands (Night)

The night version of Track 7, rearranged for the chiptune synths.

Track 9 – The Marshlands (Dark Night)

“This dream-world… it is not as perfect as it seems… something grows, it leeches…”

Within the Underbrush, a disease is spreading: called The Leeching, it blackens and wilts any plant it touches, rotting the air and altering the landscape. When you encounter areas of the Underbrush infected with The Leeching, the music becomes static, with whisps of fragmented melodies fading in and out.

Track 10 – The Oasis

“Few travelers arrive to the Oasis. And in our history, no traveler has ever passed beyond its walls, into the deep forest. At least, not willingly…”

The Oasis, the second town in the game, is a small tribe almost entirely isolated from the rest of the world. I wanted to give it a desert-ey feel, even though it is within the forest. This is the location of the Shaman Jessamine, who aids you on your quest to find the cure for your husband’s illness.

Track 11 – Jessamine’s Temple

“Esona, she speaks through you… perhaps you are destined to travel past this place, walk the paths no human has walked in centuries.”

Jessamine’s Temple, home to the shaman herself, uses the theme from The Marshlands, but, slower, darker, and with more of a tango feel. This is where Jessamine gives you her blessing to pass through the gates and into Wisteria Pass, an otherwise forbidden location for outsiders. This particular track is in 15/4 time and was fun to write!

Track 12 – Wisteria Pass (Day)

“A place of angelic visions… Wisteria Pass is the wonder of the world few will ever see. Don’t let its beauty distract you.”

An ethereal glade of purple, blue and white flowering trees, Wisteria Pass is known only by the inhabitants of the Oasis. To give it a magical touch, I added women’s choir swells, harp glissandi, trills in the flute and oboe, and a warm, gentle FM electric piano. It almost sounds like water level music to me, and is one of my favorite tracks 😊

Track 13 – Wisteria Pass (Night)

The night version of track 13, rearranged for chiptune.

Track 14 – Wisteria Pass (Dark Night)

A corrupted version of tracks 13 and 14, to represent the Leeching.

Track 15 – Aspenroot

“The creatures that live here, do not be frightened of them… they are the guardians of this forest, and they will guide you on the right path.”

Aspenroot is a village inhabited by magical beings of all sorts. A truly remote village, and the last town before the Temple of Esona, it is difficult to gain the trust of these people. This track is in 5/8, and the lack of a strongly rhythmic melody gives it a disorienting, yet magical, feel. Once you gain the trust of these villagers, they will let you go to The Thornway.

Track 16 – The Thornway (Day)

“The Leeching… it emerges from the Underbrush… we are short on time now. The Thornway is dangerous. Day and night won’t be clear to you anymore.

The Thornway is the final stretch until the Temple of Esona, and it is corrupted by The Leeching. There is no rest in this section, as day and night seem to flow freely from one to the next. I wrote this track to be hectic and high-energy, but wanted it to call back to track 3 (Nettle Glade) as a glimmer of hope.

Track 17 – The Thornway (Dark Night)

There is no regular night level in the Thornway, as all of the Underbrush is corrupted by The Leeching. This track in particular has a more aggressive static sound, with an echo of the hopeful melody from Nettle Glade that phases in and out.

Track 18 – Entering the Temple

“It’s gotten into the temple… be careful, forester. I may be not be able to guide you much longer.”

Esona’s temple is a glassy, opulent marble palace, and the echoey organ sound is meant to display that. Yet, the harmony is strangely cold and dissonant, representing the infestation of the Leeching into the temple, and later, into Esona herself.

Track 19 – Facing Esona

The final battle of the game has you fighting Esona herself, now infested by the Leeching.

Track 20 – Her Final Wish

“I cannot give you what you wish anymore. The Leeching, it will overtake this entire forest. I cannot fend it off alone…”

Esona and the forest are succumbing to the Leeching: in fact, it is the same disease that has sickened your husband. The only way Esona can repel the disease is with the strength of another goddess—your child, in fact. In the final decision of the game, you must choose to either leave your daughter with Esona in the temple, saving the forest and your husband, or keeping your child to raise alone as the forest, and your husband, succumb to the Leeching.

Track 21 – Homebound (Credits)

Regardless of your decision, the ending credits will show the various locations as you return home, either with or without your daughter. When you arrive back to Old Yard, you either say goodbye to your husband or inform him of what happened. It’s a touch choice, and there are consequences for either action.

It’s been so nice to return to the OST Composing Jam, as my past two jams were some of the most fun, and the most free, I’ve felt while composing for video games. I’ve never shot for so big of a soundtrack before, and though I originally wanted to try for 32 tracks, I’m beyond satisfied with the 21 I was able to make. A couple of weeks ago, I had to end a long-term relationship. Since then, I’ve been in a creative block worse than I’ve seen in a while; and ultimately, it was this jam that brought the joy back into music-making. I’m so excited to share this soundtrack with you all, and to sink in to some incredible music from my fellow composers 😊