Thank you so much for playing!! Funnily enough, I've received a few similar comments about how people that don't typically care for narrative/dialogue found it a bit more enjoyable in my game than they typically do. I think a big factor there is that I try to really focus on making a believable world for the player to explore. It's a bit hard to explain, but I think that if you can immerse a player in the world and convince them that they're talking to "real people" (whatever that may mean for your world), it's a bit easier to stomach than if characters simply act as "gameplay elements". Whatever the case, I'm really glad that you had a good time with it!

The other topics you mentioned (physics, visuals, sound) tie into the point I was making above: all of those elements were designed in order to align with and support the "realism" of the world you find yourself in. That's the primary reason for the short length, actually, as I focused so heavily on the "feel" of the game that I realized very late I wouldn't have time for any actual game (lol). Fortunately, it seems most people seem to get the vibe that I was going for, which has been great to see. I'm definitely planning to continue development, so hopefully there's something to look forward to (relatively) soon!

Anyways, thanks again for playing and for all the positive feedback!! I'm personally very excited about the project, but comments like this give me confidence that other people might be interested in the idea as well!

Thank you so much for playing, and for all the positive feedback!! Falling off the edge of the world is a known issue, and the only reason it's present is because I added the climbing ability very late in development. In fact, you'll notice that the leftmost wall of the map is not climbable because I anticipated that players would try to climb it. The issue is that I selected all walls on the map, marked them as climbable, then remembered to remove the climbable status from the left most one...only to realize ten minutes after submitting that the rightmost wall needed the same treatment, haha.

Thanks for the compliments on writing and the liveliness of the world as well!! I believe these two actually support each other: because I didn't have much time for traditional content, I tried to fill space and time with the various characters you could interact with throughout the world. I wish I had a bit more time to polish the writing a bit, but I'm glad that it served its purpose!

By the way, I'm excited to try your game as well!! I can already tell you have good taste, seeing as your protagonist is also a little blob creature :)

Blobbert: “So…what do you like to do for fun?”

THE OORB, who possesses no mouth with which to reply: *assorted squishing noises*

Needless to say, I am honored to have my game be a part of this list and I believe the judges should factor its placement there heavily as they make their final deliberations.

…With that out of the way, thank you so much for playing my game, and for all of the positive feedback!! I tried my best to create a polished demo rather than a half-baked but more substantial experience as a way to communicate a more expansive vision, and I think it paid off. The primary issue is exactly what you mentioned: it’s pretty much over as soon as it begins. I’m planning to expand it into a moderately sized full release once the jam is over, so hopefully there’ll be something to look forward to in the future!

I’m not sure if you’re planning on continuing your game, but whatever the case, I’ll definitely watch you and your team’s careers with great interest. And perhaps one day, when everyone least expects it…crossover blob-based romance game. With a Steam release of Silksong-ian proportions.

Thank you so much for playing!! I’ve seen a few people say that they experienced crashes when skipping through the dialogue; I’ll have to do some stress testing on my end to see if I can get it to happen consistently, but thanks for letting me know because I genuinely had no idea it was more than a one time thing, haha. I will note that you getting booted at the end of the game was a poor attempt at creating an ending with minimal time, so if you’re referring to that, it actually was intentional, though not very well communicated.

Thanks for the compliment on the player physics as well! I owe a lot to the physics engine I used, but I also spent a lot of time configuring it to get things feeling like I wanted them to. I’m really happy to hear that you had a good time with it! I’m definitely planning to expand it in the future; that was the plan from the start, but I’ve had so many people ask to see more of the world that I feel even more excited now than before (which I hadn’t thought possible).

P.S. I have played a bit of your game (not enough to rate just yet) but even my little taste was very, very fun. Expect to see some praise in your comments section soon haha

Thank you so much for playing my game!! I'm very happy to hear that you're interested to learn more about the world, and that you're following Winlo's advice to "let someone else know". Given the limited time I had to create the demo, I had to lean hard on the dialogue to imply a much bigger world/universe than what was actually implemented. I wrote a lot more than what was featured in the demo, so rest assured that there *are* answers to all of these questions; you might just have to wait a bit to see what they are ;)

Thanks for the compliments on the movement as well! I spent a lot of time getting that right, and while I'm still not fully happy with it, I'm glad that the work seems to have paid off based on all the feedback thus far. As for the colors: there are several more that I had fully designed that did not make it in, and each would allow you to traverse the world in different ways and access new areas (similar to the current ones). I'm currently re-evaluating how this system will look in the full release, but whatever happens, expect some surprises!

Thanks again for all the feedback!!

Thank you so much for leaving such a kind, thoughtful comment on my game!! I try my best to leave a fair amount of thoughts on each game I play, but WOW, you are much more in-depth and organized than I am. It genuinely makes me want to try harder when I write comments; this level of detail and dedication really means a lot to people because it shows that you genuinely care about their success. First off, I just want you to know how much I appreciate it!

I am very pleased to see that you picked up on the primary motivator for many things about this project (beyond the elements of necessity, which played a part in the minimalistic art style). My mind immediately went to many of the same ideas that I see in the submissions today - slipperiness and cool guys doing cool tricks. Competing head-to-head with all the talented people pursuing these themes would have been a tall task, especially as a solo developer. However, I thought that maybe, if I went "blue ocean" and zigged where everyone else zagged, I might stand a chance. It was definitely a risk, but it's one that I would be glad I took even if the reception had not been so positive, as this sort of game is much more suited to my tastes than the "infinitely replayable" style you often see in jams.

On the topic of positive reception: thanks for all the praise regarding the various aspects of the game! I was partially inspired by development advice I've heard for commercially released games - rather than creating a rough implementation of the whole game to validate the idea, make a really polished 10 to 30-minute "demo" that really sells what you're going for. Mine ended up much shorter due to time constraints, but I believe the same spirit is still there.

Much of the time went into getting the physics to feel both fun and "realistic" in regard to how it fits into the world. Sound design was a major part of this as well; I wanted to make really sure I could sell the idea of an alien creature in an even more alien world. While I think the fun aspects of the game and the mechanics could definitely use some improvement, I'm proud to say that the way everything feels (minus the bugs) is pretty much spot on to what I was imagining when I conceptualized the idea.

I also really appreciate the positive feedback on the writing; creating stories/worlds is my favorite part of making games, and while I didn't have time to make an actual narrative like I would have liked, I hoped that the character writing would provide a splash of color (ironic, considering the setting) and make the world feel more fleshed out than it truly was. I only had time for a single pass, so I'm glad to hear it turned out alright in the end!

I have been so honored and humbled to see all the people asking to see more of the world I'm creating, and I definitely plan to continue iterating on this idea. I haven't been able to stop thinking about this project since I first conceptualized it, and I'm very excited to see where it could go.

On the topic of your personal note: this is something I struggle with in real life as well (shocker, right?). In fact, it's taking everything in my power not to apologize for apologizing right now, haha. I typically have a much better handle on it, but I guess subconsciously I was just so worried I'd chosen the wrong path and somehow "cheated" my players out of a better game that I thought I needed to make up for it in some way. Thank you for your advice; I'm going to take it to heart.

Thank you so much for playing, and for all the positive feedback!! The writing + atmosphere was definitely the main focus, so I'm very glad to hear that you enjoyed that aspect. The right wall being climbable is a known issue, and a great example of why you shouldn't implement core gameplay features 30 minutes before submission (haha). The funny thing is, I *knew* it would be an issue and made the far left wall (at the ending section) non-climbable, but it completely slipped my mind to do it on the right as well.

I love hearing that you think the idea has potential! The consensus thus far seems to be that people (generally) like what's here and are disappointed to find it ends so quickly. I was enthusiastic about the project *before* the feedback, and seeing the reception has only got me all the more motivated. I definitely plan to continue updating it after the jam!

I've also been interested in trying your game ever since I saw "BP Pellington". I'm not even typically a fan of the top-down racing genre, but with names like that, it must be good. I have a few others on my list first, but I plan to try your game out soon. Thanks again for playing!!

Thank you so much for playing my game!! I've been very surprised (and happy!) about how many positive comments that I've gotten about the art style. I'm solo with no artist, so the style was chosen 100% as a necessity rather than as just a design decision. I've grown more fond of it over time, though, and I think I'll try to stick with it as I work on this project in the future. And yeah, the physics system carried the aesthetics of the main character a LOT: I wasn't even going to pursue this project due to the complexity of implementing soft bodies like I wanted to, but I found an engine that replicated the effect I wanted exactly.

I'm glad that you enjoyed the movement! That's by far what I spent the most time on. There's a lot of stuff I didn't get to implement, and a lot of stuff that *is* in there but never comes up (ex. you can use the force of impact from landing on the ground to give yourself a little height boost if you time your jumps right). Unfortunately, I didn't get to explore much of this in the time provided. Thanks for the compliment on the level design as well! You touched on the exact balance I was trying to strike; it's currently pretty underdeveloped for my liking, but I'm glad you enjoyed it even in its current state!

I'm very interested to play your game, by the way. It seems like such a cool and inventive concept! I've had my eye on it for a while, I just need to find the time to move my setup somewhere more isolated (no way I'm letting my family hear me embarrass myself trying to come up with things to talk about, haha).

Thanks again for playing!! Sample is definitely the right term here; I think with even just one extra day, I would have been able to make something much more substantial, but alas...anyways, I'm glad you got at least some enjoyment out of it even in such an incomplete state! I loved Bulbo's Belief System, so the comparison here means a lot to me as well.

I'm excited to continue working on it, and it's very nice to see that you see a lot of potential here as well. Also, I think your final sentence touches upon an interesting point: two people given the exact same starting point and resources would go on to make entirely different games from each other solely based on their individual tastes and personalities. I think that's part of what makes jams (and game development in general) so interesting. Each time you play a game, you're getting a little peek into the mind of the person that made it.

Overall, I guess what I'm trying to say is I really appreciate the feedback, and I hope you'll check it out again once there's something a bit more substantial here :)

Thanks so much for playing!! The minimalistic style was more a practical choice than an artistic one, given that I'm solo and have zero artistic ability (haha). I'm glad it worked for you! The sound design was very fun to work with as well; I've touched on it a bit in other comments, so I won't talk about it at length here, but it was a very fun learning experience, and I'm glad it turned out as well as it did. The visual effects for the main character are actually a product of the physics system I used (QuarkPhysics by erayzesen), so I can't take any credit there.

As for some of the issues you mentioned: the level design was one of the last things implemented, and basically just consisted of me cloning the floor platform and placing it at various angles around the game world haha. The pit section was a pretty ham-fisted way of implementing the original idea I had for the world to change as you progressed as a result of your interactions with it; I immediately wished I hadn't included it about 15 minutes after submitting when one of my family members played through it and was confused by the exact same thing. I apologize for any wasted time at that section :)

As for "Z"...the one and only reason for that is that the only dialogue-based game I've played on PC is Undertale, which uses "Z" for all interactions. I use exclusively arrow keys, so I never stopped to consider how inconvenient it would be to use Z if you opted for WASD controls. And it would have been so easy to also include "E" or "Q" in addition...I have no logical/design explanation here, it was just a complete and total brain fart lol

Anyways, thanks again for playing, and for both the critique and encouragement!! It's very helpful to see where other people experience issues, as the way I interact with the game is much, much different than the way other people do (which I think goes for most projects).

Words can't describe how much I love this comment (however, this will not stop me from writing a novel-length response). I am so, so glad that you enjoyed it, but I'm even more glad that you realized what the intention was here. While I don't think I'm quite capable of a 10/10 game just yet, I was definitely trying to make this seem like a small slice of something much larger. To hear you say you loved it means the world to me, because the main reason I make games is to try against all odds to give people the same type of experiences that made me fall in love with games in the first place.

Also, very glad to hear you liked the dialogue (shoutout to my GOAT Wally). That was definitely a major focus, along with controls and SFX to create the type of atmosphere I was going for. I hope to eventually expand out from this little slice into something much more substantial, so if you still find yourself wanting more, there may be something to look forward to in the future (no timeline yet though).

...okay I did say I was going to write a novel but this is getting ridiculous so I'll just end it and say thank you so much for this comment and for playing my game!!

Thank you so much for playing! I'm not much of an artist, so I'm glad that the minimalist style seems to have hit well enough with most people. And to be honest, I was kind of worried that the connection between my game and slick would be tenuous at best. I just knew that I wanted to do something different from the typical interpretations. I'm glad you liked it!!

P.S. Spring Theory is a killer subtitle lol

Thank you so much for playing, and for the encouragement!! I wish I would have had more time to flesh things out as well. Once I realized that my time was going to be severely limited, I had a choice to make: a small slice of my vision for the full game, or a less polished but more substantial experience that focused on gameplay over atmosphere/story. I’m a writer at heart, so I chose the former, but time will tell whether that was the right decision. Thanks again for the kind words!