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A jam submission

FAT ASSView game page

A horror drama. Made for ECTOCOMP 2021.
Submitted by Norbez Jones (call me Bez) (@NorbezJones) — 7 hours, 58 minutes before the deadline
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FAT ASS's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Spooky Greatness#212.6922.692

Ranked from 13 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

Which category is your game in?

La Petite Mort (created in under 4 hrs)

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Comments

An interesting and vivid short story about self-image, with clever use of a supernatural element.  Not in any way interactive, but well written.

Submitted(+1)

A whole lot of story, given the time constraint. I dig works which use supernatural elements to explore or express psychological phenomena, and this does it skillfully. I do wish there was more substantive interactivity, though.

(+1)

I made the mistake of beginning this game with my audio muted, which is a shame because when I put on headphones a third of the way through I realized how great an impact the multimedia component has on this game. This isn't because there's anything weak in the writing that's being compensated for, but that the author has done a great job creating a disquieting space with all the tools at their disposal.

The basic premise is that the protagonist's mother has invoked a deal with the devil to remove their child's fat. The protagonist then enjoys a life of thin privilege, being first pick to be a news anchor at their television station among other benefits. Then, the devil announces that all pacts with devils are off, and soon their fat self will reassert itself. Instead of being consumed by suicidal thoughts, the protagonist makes it into therapy where they begin to unlearn self-hatred as they realize it's not serving them.

As I mentioned earlier, the disquieting moments are really amplified by the audio and the visuals. A lot of attention has been paid to these elements and it's really impressive. Regarding form, it's not a choice game, which is fine. I don't think it would benefit from being one. If you'd like to call it a "multimedia narrative experience" rather than a game, it might set your expectations better. 

My only real critique is that it felt like it was missing a conflict in the final act. Once the protagonist enters therapy, it's essentially a linear climb to something nearer to self-acceptance. I might have preferred a challenge, perhaps the devil returning and saying the deal was back on the table, and seeing how the protagonist dealt with that as a chance to show growth or change. Otherwise, impressive output for something created in under four hours.

Submitted

I think the temptation with any "Spooky" art competition is to rely on traditional horror tropes and external conflict. Here, in FAT ASS, we are reminded that horror extends beyond the monsters we know and can live in both the monsters we fear to become and the monsters we are to ourselves. 

This game pushes the form, demonstrates a lot of panache, and challenges what horror can be in a fresh, exciting way.

Developer

Thank you Gus. <3