Play visual novel
Epimetheus: The Show Must Go On's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Originality | #790 | 3.657 | 3.657 |
| Overall | #1801 | 3.000 | 3.000 |
| Presentation | #2025 | 3.029 | 3.029 |
| Fun | #2234 | 2.714 | 2.714 |
Ranked from 35 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
How does your game fit the theme?
A stage play, but you don't know the lines. Other actors will interrupt you if you hesitate. You may not be who you think you are. But no matter what the mistakes, the show must go on!
Did your team create the art for this game during the 48 hour time slot?
Yes
We created all art during the game jam
Did your team create the audio for this game during the 48 hour time slot?
Yes
We created all audio during the game jam
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Comments
Impressive amount of content created by hand for this entry. I hope you continue to polish and add more to it after the jam, I would love to see its next incarnation.
I like the general idea, and the sound and visuals are pretty good!
Perhaps there needs to be something more in the end. I like the twist, but maybe it needed to be revealed more gradually (or be hinted at more from previous scenes (maybe I just missed some hints, but still)), and also perhaps have some final image/more text at the very end that explain better what happened (for the simple minded like me :P ). The twist idea in general is quite awesome though! Good job!
I love the way you tutorialized the "interruption" mechanic. I would weigh the option of showing the player how much time they have left to answer before things move on without them -- think about The Walking Dead and especially Oxenfree; the latter game especially sought to make silence as meaningful a choice as any other dialogue.
I applaud you for getting all of this done in just 48 hours! I'd love to play a polished version once you have some time to come through and touch stuff up.
Great work overall!
I think that mechanic still needs work: I went through several variations on the mechanic and even the stage manager's tutorial of it, but I think it still doesn't adequately get the point across that interruption is always a hidden option in this game — which is why it's currently in the description. Also I was definitely too generous with mostly around 4 seconds for each timer after I decided not to randomize it between 2 and 5 seconds.
Thanks for the input!
Haha GG for the sound effects :D
Really cool story !
Thanks! I enjoyed writing it in a strict timeline.
Ah! Huh... puh-huh... ahn? Huhg...
Huhwuh!?
CAWWW!
this is a nifty visual novel! the idea of a play going out of control and stage hands and actors trying to get things running smoothly is really funny and a really clever and fun interpretation of the theme. the art is nice, and the voice acting / sfx (especially the eagle screech) are great too. this could definitely be expanded into a really fun visual novel. normal that's not a genre i really like all that much but i had a good time with this one!
Honestly, it's not a genre I'm much into myself. But within minutes of the prompt going out I was thinking Out Of Control plot meaning "deus ex machina" and therefore Greek Theatre, and I knew it had to be this format. Thanks for playing despite it being outside your wheelhouse!
glad to see a fellow ren'py user haha
love the idea it was pretty original - good job :D
Yeah, lots to learn still. Saturday was basically a crash course. Thanks for playing!
It's awesome seeing more visual novels in the jam! I like the fact that no matter what you do, there's no control over how the play ends, despite the choices you make. The fact that characters move forward through the play regardless of your actions is great too! It really sells the theme. Good job!
A visual novel! Let's go! Love the art! Can't believe it was made in 48 hours! Great job! This game makes me go YES!
All paths leads to doom. The story is out of your control, really interesting take on the theme.
Such is the way of the Greek tragedy. Thanks for playing!
How fitting, that you cannot change the ending no matter what, and it's a Greek tragedy. And yet, you're still playing around with the conventions of both stage and VN! (I especially liked the stage manager cutting you off.)
Side thought: Why where people ever supposed to root for Zeus anyway?
I'm so glad you picked up what I was laying down. (Did you also see that other characters can cut you off as well, if you hesitate for too long?)
Side note: does anybody ever root for Zeus, though? He really is the poster child of being a huge prick.
I think I ran into the other thing as well, but I was playing on a laptop mouse-pad instead of with a proper mouse I just thought I had clicked by accident. In any case, it felt a bit less deliberate than the clearly ‘way too long’ answers that where on screen for clearly ‘far too short’.
Good point about Zeus.
Yeah I definitely spend too much time bouncing around how I would add the "you fail to respond" option. I wanted it to capture the feeling of improv that isn't going well, where other actors you're not vibing with might cut you off, but I also wanted it not to feel like a bug (like you accidentally clicked or that it went on accidentally without meaning to). The stage manager cutting you off after 0.3s with two huge paragraph choices was supposed to be essentially a tutorial for that mechanism [and a joke], but going forward I'm going to need to add a visual indication that this is intended design without giving an explicit timer.
I also was considering randomizing the turn timer within bounds, like 2-5s, but I ended up ditching that and going with an overly forgiving timer (like 6s) for most of the replies because I hadn't yet come up with a proper solution to it seeming accidental. Thanks for the extra feedback!
Interesting approach on the theme and very good execution. Game is short, but it made me laugh few times and i really enjoyed playing it. Great Work!
Glad I could give you a laugh or two! It's my first ever time developing a video game and doing a jam, so I ended up reducing scope a lot during the last 12 hours, but I'm pretty satisfied with how far I got.
Love the voice acting!
Thanks! It was a bit last-second, but hopefully at least my eagle voice lines were worth the effort.
Great way on using that medium to fit the theme! If only i knew more about greek mythology... Really fun playthrough though!
Thanks! Honestly the experience here might be more immersive if you aren't familiar with the mythology, since you're thrown into the situation with as much experience as the protagonist!
First visual novel I've seen so far! Pretty cool way of using the theme and the dialogue is amusing, especially the other actor reacting to when you take their prop
Thanks so much! Yeah, I figured when I came up with the idea it might be one of very few in the entire Jam due to the theme. Hopefully worth some cool points for originality or something.
Very fun game! I'm especially amazed you did this in python
Honestly, I'm a total Python noob. Ren'Py made it hilariously easy to code a visual novel with no experience. Thanks, though!
Cool little story, the dialogue was very enjoyable!
Thanks a lot!
A lot of fun! Loved the acting and gameplay:) Impressive work!
Thanks! I hope you enjoyed the eagle screeches at least as much as I enjoyed trying not to saturate my microphone. Oh and I loved your game's artwork -- I know I just said that in my review, but it's worth mentioning again.
I tip my hat to you. One python dev to another.
I bow to you, oh great sensei. This was my first time actually programming anything functional using any Python. I'm just glad Ren'Py and Python in general are pretty intuitive.
I like how the play begins to fall apart due to certain decisions you make in helping the show go on. It's an interesting take on the theme!
I admit to taking heavy inspiration from The Play That Goes Wrong, Noises Off, and my own personal experiences in acting. Thanks for commenting!