Hello jayjialin -
I immediately felt connected to the idea of playing as a raven, because that implies flight mechanics as well as some sort of intelligent operation. And although the assets are just a bit above the level of greybox, it painted a peaceful atmosphere--and of course, the crow with a hat is just the cutest thing.
On my second playthrough, I was able to find my way to our old friend and reunite with him again. It felt touching and sweet.
Apart from that, I feel like there's not much feedback that is helpful, except to keep working on the Raven's Gift. It's not a fair comparison, because I believe you guys are approaching from a different thematic angle, but take a look at Bird Society, another flight entry in the jam. I felt like the flying mechanic was tied more to their theme of saving the bird's flock. I guess what I'm thinking is, with the Raven's Gift, would it make any difference to the emotions of the game if you were the man's grandchild, or another animal in the forest.
Your questions:
- If I didn't tell you the controls, would it have been obvious?
- I can, but I'm a developer and have played games for 20+ years. Despite of that, it took me a few tries to know that "E" is pick up and Left Click is crowing. If you want to see a good onboarding UX, refer to Bird Society.
- Is the direction of the game clear (like what to do)?
- Kind of - I was able to intuit quests until the rendezvous, but maybe because of the environment design, it was really hard to see anything and I spent some time circling around looking for landmarks - that took away a bit of the heartfelt emotions that I was slowly feeling.
- How would you enhance the art style?
- I think I would arrange the trees and paths in such a way that it naturally leads to the next points of interest (e.g., the ducks, the bear, the lake).
Hope that was helpful - good effort for 2 weeks guys! Keep going!