Skip to main content

Indie game storeFree gamesFun gamesHorror games
Game developmentAssetsComics
SalesBundles
Jobs
TagsGame Engines

First of all, I have to say that your PDF is wonderfully organized. Everything is clean, well spaced, and easy to follow. It was genuinely a pleasure to read.

I really like the way you integrated the ingredients. Masks as a psychic way of hiding yourself from the Phantoms feels really clever, almost like a supernatural stealth ability. I also love the exploration loop and discovering what you'll encounter through the 2d6 tables. It makes me want to keep exploring the planet.

I'm not entirely convinced that having your spirit torn from your body is what I naturally imagine as a Molt, but I do appreciate the wordplay and how it fits the world's history.

I did have two small questions while reading. I had a little trouble understanding the Challenge Pool mechanic. A short example of play would probably make it click right away.

I was also a little unsure about the purpose of harmonizing with the Echoes. I understand that you're recovering relics from a lost civilization, but I'd have loved a little more explanation about what harmonizing actually represents in the fiction and why Harmonizers are uniquely able to do it.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading it. It has a great sci-fi atmosphere. 😊

(+1)

Hi and thanks for the notes.  I will definitely plan on making those changes.

Definitely an example of the challenge pool mechanic, since it is a little different than most dice systems I've seen.

To answer your question here, I kind of imagined it like rolling both pools and matching up same dice to cancel each other out.  Of course, when I played with limited dice, I just kept track of the challenge pool's numbers and then rolled my own dice 1 or 2 at a time until I reached my cap and kept track of the numbers while doing so.  Less thematic, but it worked.  I'll include both methods, since I can't expect folks to have like 13+ six sided dice lying around.

On the harmonizing topic, I've been told that things make perfect sense in my noggin, but I often don't form the appropriate connections when I put pen to paper.  Looking over it, I also see that I haven't been super clear about that.

To answer your second question: The molting tore people's spirits from their bodies and made them phantoms.  I imagined in my head that some spirits (or their memories) were tied up inside objects.  Like benevolent phantoms or parts of them that remained connected to the world and their person-hood.  So, harmonizing with those memories was a way to pacify them from being frightened or connect with their thought patterns enough to be able to hold the object without it reacting negatively to you.

One movie this system drew inspiration from was Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.

I hope my answers to your questions were adequate.

On that note, overall, thanks for taking a look at my game.  Once the jam concludes, I plan to tackle these things and create a post-jam version with a slightly higher word-count with some gameplay examples, lore, thematically placed flavor text, and maybe an illustration here or there.

Thank you so much for taking the time to explain everything!

It makes a lot more sense now. I really like the idea that the Echoes are benevolent remnants of people still attached to artifacts, and that Harmonizers must resonate with them to safely recover those relics. That's a really evocative concept, and I think it will come across much more clearly once you expand that part of the lore.

The Challenge Pool explanation also cleared up my confusion immediately. I think a gameplay example will make it click for future readers.

I'm really looking forward to reading the post-jam version. I think the foundations are already very strong, and with a few more examples and a little more lore, it will be even easier to immerse yourself in your world.

Thanks again, and good luck with the post-jam update! 😊