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The Pieces's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Concept | #52 | 3.435 | 3.435 |
| Overall | #60 | 3.239 | 3.239 |
| Enjoyment | #61 | 3.174 | 3.174 |
| Use of the Limitation | #69 | 2.957 | 2.957 |
| Presentation | #69 | 3.391 | 3.391 |
Ranked from 23 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Team members
Writing & Design: Natalie "Witch Hat Natalie" Bickelhaupt (https://twitter.com/WitchHatNatalie), Music & Sound Design: Eric Franklin, Additional Music By: Anna Iris Hill, Additional Audio Support: Megan Karow, Achilles "Composer_Kiwi", Level Design: Justin "Warspiteful" Almendral, Kane "xuhongka g" Xu, Programming: Justin "Warspiteful" Almendral, Kane "xuhongka g" Xu, Peter "MrPeterss" Bidoshi, Kevin "KZCheese" Zhan, Brandon Lyman ( https://brandonlymangamedev.com/)
Software used
Unity
Use of the limitation
A player will be unable to take all items present in the game and must opt to leave some behind; there is no "win state", only what the player values. Narrative-wise, this game is about a failed relationship due to mismatched personalities. There is no reconcilliation possible, only facing the consequences of the failure.
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Comments
This is a short but sweet game, the text is interesting to read and i like the atmosphere that you created. The ending could be different based on what items you bring with you. Other than that this is a really good entry!
Thanks for the feedback! We definitely missed an opportunity on the alternate endings. Would've been pretty easy to implement since it was just text. I am gonna blame the time limit :) thanks for playing!
Interesting concept! Good work! i would have preferred a "skip" button at the credits,
But i enjoyed this, it was an enjoyable (a tad depressing since it hits a bit close to home) but it was good, almost as depressing as my entry. ( i mean that in a good way)
Thanks for the feedback! We will definitely consider a skip button in future iterations. Glad you enjoyed our game, I thought your entry was top tier!
I went into the game totally blind, and was so surprised to find such a serious, compelling narrative. Reading the item descriptions was so bittersweet, even though I had no idea what any of these characters even look like. Everything was incredibly well done, from the writing to the music, definitely one of the best games I've played this jam!
Thank you so much for the kind words! I think a lot of what allows our player to project themselves into the player character's (Ash) life is the lack of visual detail. We relied on the player's imagination (and our talented writer) to do the heavy lifting in terms of visuals. I am glad this technique was so effective for you. Thanks for playing!
It's interesting to see a serious take on the theme. The writing really made me care for the characters, which is a important thing for a game like this. I also liked the minimalist furniture design, it made the important items stand out. I'm a bit surprised about the team size though. Overall a very solid game!
Thank you so much for playing! We are excited you were compelled by the narrative and it made the game more enjoyable for you. Thanks for the feedback!
Great game, surprised that so many people worked on it
Thanks! We had actually never worked together before. We met about a week ago!
Really nice game, you see that there is a lot of people's work behind it.
I would have just improved the initial UI a bit, otherwise great job.
Thank you for the feedback! I think on the title page in the future we want a few panning camera shots of the level running in the background, kind of like N64 games (think Diddy Kong Racing) where the game played in a movie style while in menus. Thanks for playing!
Very interesting game, it makes you feel you're really playing. Very very deep. Congrats guys!
Thanks so much for the feedback! Glad the game had an impact on you. Thanks for playing!
Really good concept. It's more "deep" than I initially thought. I liked the story/lore explained through items and descriptions. It's a thing I love of FromSoftware games (Dark Souls, Elden Ring etc).
Just a side note, in the Bedroom you can go over the bed and since then you basically float around because there's no gravity pull you down. Not a big problem, but it's pretty strange.
Good game overall, i liked it! Great work.
Thanks for the feedback! We had a meeting last night and traced the origin of the bug. Adding gravity would definitely be the best fix it, with the added bonus of making the game more immersive. Thank you for playing!
Surprising idea! It is true that there is no 'win' for the man in the game.
Thank you so much for playing!
love the atmosphere that you create, good job!
Thanks! I am sure our level designers are proud to hear this. Thanks for playing!
Great work! Very effective for a simple and short game. The writing felt honest and relatable. I agree with other commenters that some closure based on your choices would really make this game sing.
Thanks! Yeah we are kicking ourselves for not changing up that ending message based on what you pick up. It would've been achievable in the jam window for sure. Thanks for playing!
Wonderfully written, with a lot of detail to unpack about the characters and their relationships from each object which all come together to tell a really compelling story.
The sound design is wonderful - I particularly enjoyed the very faint music that plays on picking up the record player, which was understated and deeply melancholic. The ambient sound and quiet footsteps really emphasised the empty feeling of the apartment too.
Thank you so much for all the kind words! We had a lot of composers/audio engineers on our team so we really leaned in to this being a sound-based experience. I'm glad it all landed for you - thanks for playing!
I liked the concept, the somber tone reminds me of something like What Remains Of Edith Finch, where there isn't any winning, or really losing, you're just "there" discovering what happened. I do wish that there was a different outcome depending on what you took/left behind, but overall the game was charming
I believe that game was something our group mentioned as inspiration during development! I think we will be releasing more iterations of this game where we will definitely explore multiple endings. Thanks for playing!
I loved the concept! I wish there were different afterwords for the items you pick up, though. Like maybe if you pick up boardgame-related items, the MC ends up meeting with Keith again, or learns to play the cello if he brings it with him.
Thank you for playing! I agree, since we are just using some text to describe what happens afterward, it would be very cool to have a series of multiple endings. We considered including an NPC for Keith but ultimately scrapped them. We really appreciate your feedback!