heya it's Chris!
I read over all the comments and for the most part I agree! I feel that you guys have a good grasp on the memo and delivered a polished, holistic experience. I appreciated the premise, the puzzles, and especially the tremendous attention to user interface and experience. The circle to reveal Albert behind trees was something that I really wanted to add in our game but weren't able to!
I don't know if it was intended at all, but I kind of felt a subtly eerie vibe behind the cute presentations: our Dog looking like a Made in Abyss character, the 3rd NPC, the lighting during sunset, and how everyone seems to be unable to do anything. In fact, I dare feel like they are really taking advantage of Albert's kindness.
Great great first jammy effort!
Viewing post in Not Too Much! jam comments
Hey, thank you so much for your thoughtful feedback! I'm so glad you had an enjoyable experience with our game :)
That's genuinely such an interesting perspective of our characters, and I really appreciate you sharing (love the made an abyss reference, now that you mention it I can kinda see it lol!) You're actually not entirely wrong about the NPCs taking advantage of Albert, though I'd say it's very much an unconscious reliance on him on their part. (Spoilers ahead for those concerned) Since the NPCs rely on your help to solve their issues, there are options the player can take to either help them directly, which will technically only be a short fix as they'll end up relying on you again the next day, or you can choose to be generous in ways that encourages them to be more self-sufficient and provide them with a long-term fix (or encourage them to pay it forward), which ultimately sets off a chain reaction of kindness. In this game, the latter is seen as the true generosity, to tackle our friends' problems at the root rather than loosely patching things up.
The darker vibes are something I never considered but feel like they could make sense, given our use of Cult of the Lamb as inspiration. It's an interesting side of the game to explore for sure. Thanks once again for playing, Chris!
Thank you very much Chris! I actually didn't think much about Hektor's design other than "funny blob creature" at first, but I do love Made In Abyss and the media we consume does inform our practice even subconsciously, so who knows, hehe.
I can see how the eerie feel comes in and it'd definitely be an interesting direction to take or to recreate for the next jam! Especially if it was more MiA-esque instead of a more classic RPG horror vibe.
Can't wait to check out what you've made! :)
@Kirin and @RatPrince
I've no doubt you guys will be able to pull off either directions, just depends on what you wanted to do (I'm a fan of both)!!
On your reflection of generosity, Kirin, I found that insightful and very relatable at this stage of my life. It's a better conversation over tea, but when I was younger, I felt a strong sense of having views about things: Give her a fish and feed her a day. Teach her how to catch fishes and feed her forever - things like that. As I'm getting older, I realize these are just POVs, even if they're mine, and as a result, I'm holding onto them less, and rather than be concerned with why this or why not that, I've been putting more energy and focus on doing what I think ought to be done - in that way, I relate to you guys' vision and Albert a lot.
That's so nice to hear :') I've actually never heard of that saying before but it feels so in line with Albert being a cat too lol! It's absolutely food for thought, especially at my current point in life too where I'm faced with loved ones who are struggling, and unfortunately the furthest I'm able to help them is to give them the tools to help themselves. Our perspectives will be everchanging in tandem with our experiences, and that's exactly why we grow and change as people. I agree that it's just as important to periodically reflect on these stages of our lives and how far we've come. A lot of the games in this jam have been very thought provoking for me as well, which must mean they're definitely getting a strong message across. I'm touched that this contributed to that!