Play A Bittersweet Memory
SnowMan's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Story | #2 | 4.667 | 4.667 |
| Creativity | #5 | 4.333 | 4.333 |
| Presentation | #5 | 4.583 | 4.583 |
| Gameplay | #7 | 3.583 | 3.583 |
| Overall | #8 | 4.028 | 4.028 |
| Horror | #12 | 3.167 | 3.167 |
| Theme | #13 | 3.833 | 3.833 |
Ranked from 12 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
How did you choose to implement the Theme: Polar Expedition in your game?
Takes place on a mountain in the snow
Did you implement any of the optional Bonus Challenges, and if so, which ones?
Snowy landscape, Blood on the snow
Did you create your game in RPG Maker?
Yes
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Comments
wow, thank you so much for such another heartfelt and detailed comment! Or commentary, rather!
I feel you and some others are really able to dissect and Understand the complexity of what it meant for var as a person and how he represented himself in a way all the way up on the mountains-
Purposefully isolating himself in a way to protect himself from harsh judgment and abuse, and so he decided to barricade himself up on the mountains, covering himself in a metaphorical spiked shell like a porcupine or some such (re: the hedgehogs dilemma, wherein, though he wishes to truly be known and seen, he ultimately ends up hurting himself or those around him. Even if that were only the case with his father or how Var was made to perceive his life.)
I love the notion that Bora is not only his visual "opposite" but the person in his life he never knew he needed. Someone who would openly poke and pry and not be bothered- the "thorns" or "spikes" aren't there, or were never there to begin with. Var never had an opportunity to know before the events of the game.
Bora, I feel, was meant to be sort of a shining light- a "too good to be true" type of situation. Because, for all Var knew, thered be no one around who would dare or bother to figure him out. No one around to try, seeing that he made sure "no one" would be able to- event though, in his heart, Var wanted more than anything to be accepted. To be seen, heard and loved.
I wanted Bora to be the one thing Var always wanted or needed. Maybe I'm a hopeless romantic in that; I like to believe there's "someone for everyone". That, despite all our flaws and experiences, there's someone out there, in the near vastness of humanity ever changing, or something- that there's someone who would love and cherish another. Or I believe people deserve to be cherished.
And to have it all ripped away, immediately after finding resolve, Var blames himself for even daring to believe for a second that he could obtain said happiness. When, it was never on purpose. It was an accident. And accidents, mistakes, happen. Regret and pain are a part of love, too, in a way- and I like to imagine Var just...didn't get to really feel what that all meant or how to accept it all till the very end. Maybe.
In my heart, I want to believe these two meet again. Some world, some universe or "after", that he'd get another chance- he'd get to see Bora again and tell him from the start what he meant to him, what he was able to learn about and cherish Bora- and I think Bora would openly accept him. Bora and Var are fleeting moments, like a bubble in icy weather or frost or a breath in the snow. A "blink and you'll miss it" moment in Var (and probably the world's) life.
Thank you so much, and the music made me want to cry when applying it to the character of Var- I want to do more with these characters. I want to give them substance beyond a game that focused on the bad or major mistake(s) that occur, even if in some way, that may reduce the original "impact" of the narrative-
ultimately, I love my characters, and I like to treat them as a dollhouse of sorts- they can be anything, or do anything, in a way, because I'm the one who holds the strings or conducts them in a play or scenario- a show; in that, I'm especially grateful that people could enjoy or feel some strong way about this particular story. ...
Basically; I want to do more for them. With them, *for* them. Because I think they deserve it.
Or maybe I'm just a big baby and want to give character alternate universes or "what if" situations whenever I get attached, haha
❤️
This was a cool one! I always enjoy seeing your art, and the character design did a lot for this one. I like the way Bora's design plays off of the sexual dimorphism in wild fowl.
There were a few bugs, or what I assume were bugs, when I played. The section when I was picking up twigs suddenly went completely black except for the light sources, so I had to use my mouse for navigation. You can also walk through the wall at both edges of the couch. There are a few spelling mistakes and misused words as well (the only one I wrote down was "triad" being used instead of "tirade"), but nothing was illegible or game-breaking.
The exposition did feel a little heavy in this one, with a lot of information being repeated just a few too many times, but I think you really thrive when you're leaning into visual storytelling. The lack of clarity as to who or what exactly the protagonist killed was incredibly interesting to me, and a lot of this was handled with the in-game graphics. Visually, it was clearly a pheasant, but the text descriptions very much felt like a human being was being killed and eaten. As mentioned, Bora's character designed also suggested the image of a pheasant without being 100% clear on why this was the case. I was glad that the game didn't really end with a blatant text explanation as to what happened; Bora's importance rested mostly in what he represented rather than who he was as a character. He could have been a person that literally transformed into a pheasant, he could have been a person that was mistakenly killed like a pheasant, he could have not been real at all, he could have been half real and half metaphor, or he could have been something else. I love this type of symbolic vagueness in emotional stories.
I do kind of wish there was either a more hopeful ending or less finality to Var's confrontation with his "father." It was hard for me to understand why a character arc about aggressive self-acceptance would be bookended with such a depressing turn. It almost felt like finales to two separate games.
Both of these finales have a lot of potential, though. If the confrontation with the father had less finality to it, I could see Bora's death as a metaphor for Var ultimately closing his heart to his true self because of his trauma. He would feel the need to kill and consume the pheasant just to sustain himself, even though it ultimately causes him grief.
On the opposite end, if Bora wasn't killed, even if he still "became" a pheasant and didn't see Var again, his presence would feel more impactful. He would have been a passing love or a surge of emotion that changed how Var felt about himself. Even if the game didn't end with a happily ever after, it would show that sometimes the most important people in your life don't always stay in it.
That could also just be a matter of personal taste, though! Regardless, there's a lot of potential in this little project. I would really like to see the characters and world expanded upon in the future.
wow, thank you so much for such a detailed description of my little entry! I'm sorry about the visual bugs especially, I was very rushed but that was my own fault. I knew the idea(s) I wanted to explore and try and make into a coherent entry with using my own assets and didn't get to polish it as much as I'd have liked aaa
Apologies for the spelling and such;; as for Var and his father's situation, I feel like he was so desperate for a feeling of acceptance that he wanted to use it as a beacon or a "see? Someone else can care about me and not make me feel bad.", more leaning into his own, self appointed "tantrum" or "childishness".
In all honesty, I didn't intentionally make Bora as ambiguous in relation to avian dimorphism, but that's really cool that it ended up being read that way- maybe a subconscious decision? Still-
I think I have a hard time making stories that balance both a type of "mythical" or "unexplainable phenomena" along with "but that wouldn't happen irl right?" Like I take it all too seriously and when exploring possible factors of supernatural cases (in the instance of say, monsters or what Bora was or represented) occur, it can be confusing or hard to grasp, as a story element, even for me while writing it.
I love hearing everyone's interpretation of it all, it makes me feel as if I've succeeded in making a story with some kind of meat to it, even though it ended in such a way.
In my mind, I feel if I were the one who seemingly found "happiness" in someone else for the first time, only to have it more or less be ripped out of my hands, and especially after having a mental confrontation like Var did with his father...I feel I'd also fall apart. I couldn't see a possibility of Var *not* feeling complete despair- like he had a taste of acceptance and love and it left as soon as it came. Maybe like snow melting, in a way.
Bittersweet in that, he was able to feel that warmth he'd always needed, but then it left so easily- it felt, to Var, like a cruel joke. Like he, in his mind, felt that "maybe my dad was right or cursed me.", like he never had much confidence and when he had a taste of it, he knew he'd want to be spoiled in that feeling- too fast, maybe.
I really loved these characters myself, and I'd like to draw them together sometime too- maybe Var, in some world or some universe, can be as happy as he felt in those few days just a bit longer.
Thank you again so much for your thoughts! I love hearing everyone's different interpretations! This was very pleasant to wake up to, and helpful for creating further, I feel :>