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A jam submission

The Struggles WithinView game page

Please help Jacob on his emotional journey by fighting his powerful inner demons! (3cutscenes,2levels)
Submitted by Jonnboy91, Chris Hilton — 1 hour, 7 minutes before the deadline
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The Struggles Within's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Story#343.9613.961
Music#833.7053.705
Fun#933.7753.775
Mechanics#1183.6363.636
Theme#2033.7133.713
Aesthetics#2623.4963.496
Sound#4282.4732.473

Ranked from 129 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

How many people worked on this game total?
2

Did you use any existing assets? If so, list them below.
Audio: Main Menu: Visions of Innocence. Credit me as "Tungerman". https://tungerman.itch.io/tearjerker-music-pack Cutscene 1: Heart Initial - https://sonatina.itch.io/infinity-crystal Cutscene 2: Trust Initial - https://sonatina.itch.io/infinity-crystal Custcene 3: Airship Initial - https://sonatina.itch.io/infinity-crystal Level 1: The Horde - https://ivanduch.itch.io/dragon-tales-1 Level 2: The Last Stand - https://ivanduch.itch.io/dragon-tales-1 Menu Select - https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/audio/sound-fx/fantasy-sfx-32833 Scroll Opening: https://freesound.org/people/ukjoncollins/sounds/441549/ Characters & Animations: Emoji Icons: https://sysl.itch.io/mit-licensed-icons Character (cutscenes): https://cypor.itch.io/12x12-rpg-tileset Character & enemies (gameplay): https://rgsdev.itch.io/free-cc0-modular-animated-vector-characters-2d UI: Buttons: https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/2d/gui/fantasy-wooden-gui-free-103811 PowerUp Images: https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/2d/gui/icons/free-rpg-fantasy-spell-icons-200511 VFX: Particle Effects: https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/vfx/particles/spells/48-particle-effect-pack-13998 Environment: Gameplay scene: https://rgsdev.itch.io/free-cc0-modular-animated-vector-characters-2d Cutscene: https://cypor.itch.io/12x12-rpg-tileset

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Comments

Viewing comments 20 to 1 of 112 · Previous page · First page
Submitted(+1)

Fantastic game! I may have uncovered a glitch: My first playthrough never allowed me to choose the eighth powerup. I had “imaginary friend” on, and the second play, I did not choose that one, and the 8th showed up just fine.

Bravi Bravi Bravi!

Developer

But you made it to the boss level, so it must have given you the correct amount of powerUps, since it wouldn't let you forward otherwise, the last one (eight) is just coming straight to the boss fight, I kind of made the "/8" (levelinfo) last minute and didn't think that once you get to 7/8 the next one is really not coming to that level anymore but just the boss level!

But thank you for your comments! Loved both of them! :) 

Submitted(+1)

Awesome game ! really liked the story and the combat well done !!

Developer

Thanks, glad to hear it! :)  Hopefully it wasn't too hard so that you made it to the boss fight :D 

Submitted(+1)

I didn't expect to be playing VS here but here we are, and I enjoyed this game!

And thanks for spreading awareness like this. It's a good thing.

Developer(+1)

Haha yeah VS has for sure been the inspiration for the gameplay and other games like it. I enjoy the gameplay mechanics and the simplicity but at the same time the growing difficulty and different powerUps allowing for different styles. Obviously we couldn't incorporate everything and wanted it to be our own style with mental health subject and on top of that boss fights/etc :)

Developer(+1)

I just found your Twitch on the gameplay :D I absolutely loved it, I was cracking up on your boss fight, it wasn't the therapist you were fighting but yourseld :D 

Submitted(+1)

I was surprised how the game changed after the intro as it was a little unexpected but i do enjoy survival games and I liked the metaphorical ability upgrades. well done!

Developer(+1)

Hahah, yeah we wanted it to be so that you black out and start fighting your inner demons :D So that's where the transition comes.

Thanks, nice that you spotted it, we went with like childhood-Adolescence-adulthood type of powerUps, since those were his demons from all different periods of his life and he found a way to survive them. 

Hopefully the boss wasn't too hard, if you played it that far :) 

Thanks for the review! 

Submitted(+1)

I didn’t make it that far but I must admit I took a very risky strategy because I knew if I really tried I’d be playing it all night lol and I had to move on to more reviews but I might revisit it if I get time to try the boss 

Developer(+1)

Haha fair enough, once you get a few powerups though it gets easier to get to the end of the level 1. But yeah completely understand, but if you got time give it a go!

Submitted(+1)

I'm not much of a fan of Vampire Survivor type games, but this was kind of nice. I was expecting more of an RPG type of game from the intro. :D

I hope other Jacob's were able to defeat their demons a lot better than mine, haha.

Developer(+2)

Thank you so much! Yeah we wanted the game to have a feeling of the "real life" being in that cutscene world and then the inner demons were in different way portraited. 

Hahah, balancing can be one hell of a job, it's so hard to make it challenging but still enjoyable so that people don't give up straightaway, but also so that they are not just running through it and be bored because of that. I'm sure a few tries and you'll be able to make it to the boss level as well! :D 

Thanks for the review! 

Submitted(+1)

Enjoyed!  Jacob is a very disturbed individual ...

Developer

Hahaha :D Thanks, I guess the things you create are part of you :D 

Will play your game today hopefully! 

Submitted(+1)

Cool

Developer

Thanks! 

Will try to play your game today hopefully! 

Submitted(+1)

Came back to rate! :)

Developer

Thanks so much mate! 

Submitted(+1)

I enjoyed the game!! i finish it at second try!! You should put a button to omit the intro and start the game again!!

Good job!!

Developer

Thanks! That's very well done, it ain't from the easiest side :D Oh yeah true, we thought about having the skip scenes button, for replayability but then we forgot/ran out of time with everything else we wanted to get done. 

Thanks for the review! Will play your game today hopefully! 

Submitted(+1)

A really nice game but i got destroyed very fast

Developer

Haha thanks! Yeah it can be a bit punishing for the first few tries, but I'm sure you'd be able to beat the level 1 and then go to boss battle! :D It is challenging to balance the game so that it feels hard but still beatable! 

Thanks for the review! Will play your game today hopefully! 

Submitted(+1)

That was fun, I got destroyed by the boss. 

Developer (1 edit)

Thanks for the comment and happy that you enjoyed it! :D Yeah the boss might take a try or two to win! Tried to make it hard, but still beatable, hard combination to perfect. Will be playing your game shortly!

Submitted(+1)

Very fun game! Has a really nice gameplay balance. I really like the cards as a way to select upgrades! I have a lot of fun playing it. The boss fight was challenging, though rewarding when defeated! Nice job on this game!

Developer

Thank you mate!!
So happy to heat that the balancing at least for you was done well, it was hard when we played it so many times to try and make it challenging but still beatable and I reckon that's always the case in games. Will be playing your game shortly! 

Submitted(+1)

Agreed that balancing can be tough. We ran into the same thing :)

Submitted(+1)

Very well made game! I had lot of fun playing it. The difficulty is just about right!

Developer(+1)

Cheers mate, so happy to hear that you enjoyed it! We worked a LOT on the balancing and it was really hard to make it challenging but still enjoyable, but good to hear that at least on your case we nailed it! Will be playing your game shortly! Appreciate the comment and review!

Submitted(+1)

Well done, the game is fun to play, the story is nice and the switch between the real world and Jacob's mind is a cool feature. Boss fight very enjoyable, hard at the right amount.

Developer

Thank you so much for the review and the comment! Big thanks to my team member for the story making, he was an ace coming up with the right stuff to tie them perfectly together! 

Nice to hear that you were able to beat it, balancing is one hell of art to perfect! 

Submitted(+1)

Great game!

Developer

Thanks! :) 

Submitted(+1)

Heyyyy this is cool and comic for some reason. Theme of the game is on the point. 

In first phase of gameplay is a easy, but boos fight is hard. I won with running around the rock.

Developer(+1)

Hahah thanks mate! :) 
Yeah the boss fight is difficult, but hopefully not too hard, since we wanted it to have a proper challenge and dodge bullets/etc. And it can change based on your choices on the powerUps!
Running around the rock is a solid tactic :D Although the boss (should be able to walk on top of the rocks) and if you take one powerUp that comes for the boss as well, then it's a bit harder technique.

Submitted(+1)

As a vampire survivors enjoyer i really liked this. and now i can AIM!! nicely done!

Developer(+1)

Hahah, I'm a massive fan of that game as well. Wanted to create a bit of a difference with boss level separately/etc.

Thanks for the comments and hope you liked it and if you haven't yet, remember to beat the level 1 (get 8 powerups and get to go to the BOSS level :D)

Submitted(+1)

i had time to finish it now. very fun boss fight. i survived with 1HP :D. didn't expect different stages of a fight. Really awesome :D

Developer(+1)

Love to hear it mate, so we managed the balancing somewhat alright, it was so hard to try and balance it! 

Submitted(+1)

It was definitely interesting twist after having to go through the 'rpg' element. Aiming was a bit off, but the way the build up in the game goes, it definitely was fun to play.

Developer(+1)

Good to hear that you enjoyed it! Will try yours next :)
oh damn that's weird we tested the aiming a lot, but something must have gone unnoticed!

Thanks for the feedback, hopefully the boss level itself wasn't too hard :D

Submitted

I liked the exposition before the gameplay and how it tied in to the combat!

Developer(+1)

Thanks! Hopefully the mainboss wasn't too hard 😅 I will for sure play your game today as well and leave a review! 💪🏼

Submitted(+1)

Well done on putting together something that fit the theme so well!  The first time I bounced in between a cut-scene and the gameplay I was like "whattttt ohhhhhh that's kinda cool".   Well done!

Developer

Thanks! Cutscenes were all my teammates work and he did them so well to fit the game and theme.

What you think of the mainboss? Hard to get a sense of the hardness, when we've played it so many times 😅

I will for sure play and review your game today as well 💪🏼

Viewing comments 20 to 1 of 112 · Previous page · First page