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Apologies for the late reply! Paradoxically, the nicer/more impactful the reply is to me, the longer it takes me to write because I’m afraid I won’t be able to adequately convey how grateful I am.

And even with that extra time I still don’t think I can do it justice! I guess I’ll try to explain where I’m coming from. I don’t join jams to win or compete in the same way that (I assume) many others do; my goal is always to take the theme, use it to force me to come up with a unique narrative or setting idea that I wouldn’t have considered otherwise, then try to make something as impactful as possible. In my eyes, if I receive even one comment like this, I’ve succeeded at what I set out to do.

I have a similar view on the role of games as experiences; my favorite games and genres extend beyond just being fun to play and lean much more heavily into having a lasting impact on the player (and perhaps even the way that they interact with the world around them). This is not to minimize the role of fun or the people that design games solely for this purpose; that is a very, very important part of the equation, and I realize that my focus is firmly in the minority here.   However, in my eyes, the most successful games are those that reach through the screen and pull the player into a new world/narrative with such force that that person is forever changed. I don’t claim to have done this with Oorigenne, but I hope to at least have gotten a couple steps closer towards this (admittedly lofty) goal.

I also wanted to let you know that you actually caused me to see my own game in a new light. Your interpretation of the player character’s malleability in contrast to the more rigid shapes of the other characters extends beyond my simple  “well duh yeah Oorbi is not from their universe”. Though unintentional, this interpretation actually fits well with the role of the Oorbs’ in the game’s universe as agents of creation and change. And this is yet again why I love comments like this, because people engaging deeply with a work (mine or otherwise) offers so many interesting new perspectives that I’d likely never explore on my own.

I so, so wish that I could respond to each of your points/compliments in turn, but I don’t want to make this post too much longer than it already is, so I’ll try to wrap things up relatively soon. Firstly, I’m incredibly happy that you played my game, and even more happy that you enjoyed it and it had an impact on you. Secondly, if you’d ever like to talk further about any of this stuff, please don’t hesitate to reach out on Discord. Thirdly, thank you so much for posting about this game in the server - it is extremely heartwarming to see that you feel so strongly as to publicly endorse it, and if I can give other people this same experience based on your comment, I would be overjoyed.

And fourthly, about the possibility of a future release, while I don’t have much to share on it at the moment…I don’t think you’ll have much to worry about on that front ;)