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A jam submission

I AM NEVER ENOUGHView game page

A short platformer made in 7 days exploring the stresses of just not being enough.
Submitted by IffiDev, Loryenne (@LoryenneArt), Shiro Sky (@leonchen7498) — 8 minutes, 21 seconds before the deadline
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I AM NEVER ENOUGH's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
OVERALL#673.9443.944
VISUALS#784.1674.167
DESIGN#1173.6673.667
INNOVATION#1653.5003.500
THEME#3173.2223.222
MUSIC#6521.9441.944
SOUNDS#7351.8331.833

Ranked from 18 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

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Comments

Submitted(+2)

A unique story behind a solid platformer!

Theme:

I took the theme as the less stress I had, the further I could go in the game, hence the breathing and calming down before continuing!

Visuals:

The game was pleasant to look at. The background was a dream like state, the main character looked to be void of hope with the simple black and grey shading, and the contrast of the breathing mechanic really added flare to the game! The platforms/environment were all black boxes, which would have been nice to see some kind of added dreamy feel to them to match the background. The floating words were also a very nice touch, adding into the theme even more!

Innovation:

yes, this was another platformer, but it was a platformer that told a story, with real emotion behind it, and also added a puzzle mechanic. The breathing function found in the game added a twist to the player as to look ahead and plan out their route so they wouldn't run out of time. Breathing at the checkpoints gave the player a big circle of light around them, giving them access to walk through red floating words, so make sure you do your breathing exercises so you can pass through the game!

Sounds/Music:

Sadly you didn't have any sounds or music. I would have really loved to hear what you had planned for the game!

Overall:

This game was an emotional platformer, which I haven't played many of those. The message is really well spelled out in the game. The world does like to through a lot of weight on your shoulders. And if you are feeling that extra pressure, you should really check out this game! The platforming is really well done and the story story telling is compelling. Don't let the finnicky breathing mechanic hold you back from figuring out how to play through this experience! Once you get the hang of it, it is much easier to make it through! 

I streamed it here, starts at 1:21:00

Developer

thank you so much for your review and the video playthrough as well <3

Submitted(+1)

I was confused at times about the mechanics but figured it out eventually. It just distracted me from reading the words. Really great message. I liked how part of the guy was shaded grey to show depth.

Submitted(+1)

Well this is the first game I've played through to actually have a message behind it's gameplay (this jam I mean), which was nice to see.  The concept itself is pretty good as well, with some interesting and decently laid out gameplay mechanics.  Definitely a well done difficulty curve and some pretty good visuals to differentiate different things throughout the game.  Some finer points tho, just cause:

  • The breath mechanic was a little weird in how if you don't specifically do it the right way it just resets itself, which was a little annoying, but once I figured out how to work it (with some help thanks Iffi) it was interesting to use throughout the level.  
  • The difficulty curve was pretty well done, especially the portion with the blue word introduction, putting a checkpoint right before it helped me to be able to test out different ways of passing it to find the solution.  Though it was slightly weird that the "light" around the player removes it.  It does end up working better as a game mechanic that it does though, especially later on.
  • One of the better platformer movement systems throughout which is nice, not really much input there just wanted to say that.
  • The visuals had a very interesting and unique style, the fact that the background has some variation to it was nice, and the pseudo-depth of the player because of the different shades on the "front" vs "back" legs and arms was cool.  

The message is pretty cool, and the metaphors and such throughout are very well done.  Especially the ending.  

Developer

Thank you so much for your well thought out review ❤️

Submitted(+2)

Great idea and way to tell a story. The breathing mechanic was a bit janky, but I enjoyed the game regardless.

Submitted(+2)

What an amazing game!! I can't not believe this does not have more ratings, absolute hidden gem!

I love the art and animation so so much. The concept of using text as platform/obstacle is so genius and help combining story and gameplay so well. The story is incredibly heartfelt and relatable and again work brilliantly with the breathing mechanic, which I also loved. I can only imagine how even better this game will be with a little sound and music.

A small feedback I have is, for this type of game, I'd love for an easier platforming challenge and perhaps more checkpoints, since there're time when I have hurry to beat a challenge and couldn't read all of the text, but I can also see why you want to make it hard.

I really love this, definitely one of my favorite, making me excited to keep trying people's game! Fantastic job!!

Developer (1 edit) (+1)

Initially we wanted to have more smaller challenges, but we had not enough time to think this out properly :( anyways thank you so much for your kind words

Submitted

The visuals are very good. I like the game mechanic of breathing in and out, although I do believe a tutorial is warranted. Music and sound effects would have helped a lot. Still a pretty nice game. I got stuck at the part where you fall down a deep pit. Is there supposed to be a secret exit there?

Developer

Ah yes, The Pit. Many people have got stuck there due to lack of visual communication on the level designer's (my) part. I'll just leave this as a quick tip: blue words are new!
Thank you for your constructive feedback!

Submitted (1 edit) (+2)

Cool game! The story and art were delightful and thought-provoking. It really fits the jam theme with great creativity. The mechanic has some much potential. I hope you keep up with this project!

I think that the breathing mechanic should be faster because you stand there for almost 20 seconds doing nothing, and sometimes you miss, so it's a long time for the player to wait.

5 stars!

(+1)

Great art style :)

Submitted(+1)

Hey!


Nice game! I really connected with you are trying to say.  Loved the artstyle, the character animation and the breath in/out mechanic. I guess a tutorial in the first stage with the buttons to press would be nice - but I saw your comment about time to make one, it's all good -, also some ambient music.

It's a really solid game and had me thinking for a while.

Best of luck in the jam :D

Cheers!

Submitted(+2)

I resonated very well with what the game was trying to say, although i can't really see how that fits with the theme... Great game btw, Good Job!!

Also, this one the weird cases where i feel that the breathing mechanic (both in increasing and decreasing) should be better a little bit slower, just because breathing exercise aren't usually that fast and the difference in speed makes it a little bit strange imo :3

Submitted(+1)

sorry, no mac version in the zip file. I'll play it when I have access to a windows computer later in the week!

In the meantime, I'd appreciate it if you could play/rate my game as well! :)

Developer(+1)

My apologies, I did not realize that I failed to submit the Mac and Linux builds. I have now taken those two tags off of the game.

Submitted(+2)

I loved the art, but I think a tutorial would've been useful

Submitted(+2)

Although I totally loved the visuals and the story, I could not figure out what I was supposed to do until I read the comment section. Even after that I think something about the controls just doesn't seem right. Would love to finish the game so I am still trying.

Developer(+1)

We unfortunately didn't have enough time to make a proper tutorial so sorry if it's a little bit confusing! :( You're supposed to breathe in, breathe out and then breathe in again to create a bubble that'll stay with you when you run. If you breathe in/breathe out too fast then the bubble will break, same if you breathe in/breathe out too slow, so you need to find out the proper timing.

(+1)

I found it funny how it talks about how important it is to take a breath.  Then if you stop to breath you will die

Developer

I mean you won't die if you stop to breathe (since you can only breathe in safe zones) but your bubble will pop though

Submitted(+2)

Really love this game! It would be nice if the main mechanic was made a bit more clear, but other than that, I really enjoyed it!

Submitted

Trying to play this, but I'm stuck in the first room. What am I supposed to do? Really want to play this, but I just can't figure it out

Developer

Breathe in and out to the time of the screen prompt.

Three seconds in. Three seconds out. Three seconds in. Three seconds out.