I have to agree with @KV_Kingdom with a lot of the points. I think the music and sound effects were really effective and added to the overall gameplay experience. As far as the game is concerned, it did feel like I was "learning" about the digestive system sort of, but for what reason...? I can't figure out. Also, I'm still struggling to find where the theme of the jam (Mood) comes in.
Anyway, I think for 2 days this is still a good showing. It's fully realized with a start -> finish, and has potential to be much more with this as a foundation.
Viewing post in Belly of a Beast jam comments
Hey Jonathan, thanks for playing my game!
Glad you enjoyed the audio. The BGM was all made by "Sleffy”; he did a very good job. As for the SFX, they were all default RPG Maker SFX, but I used them in unorthodox ways. I’m most proud of the room-transition sound; since it’s actually the “poison” SFX instead of the usual “steps” SFX. I considered adding an SFX after every interaction with an environmental item, but I wasn’t satisfied by any sound I found (and I didn’t have time to prototype SFX assignment).
The “educational” bits are more background detail than foreground detail. The “digestive system as the setting” was more of an atmospheric choice (and i wanted to try using that particular tileset). I should pay more attention to separating “foreground” writing vs “background” writing and making sure the correct text-lines are emphasized. In the case of this game, the environmental details (24 in total) serve as a “trigger” for the cutscenes (4 in total). Every sixth item you look at triggers a cutscene which moves the story forward. So I guess the environmental details in this game serve as an abstraction of time.
As for how this game fits with the theme of “mood”? The brainstorming went something like this:
Mood > Emotions > Energy > Atmosphere > Energy Levels > Food > Digestive System
This influenced the choice of setting, and what VFX I would use. The screen tint and the shaking intervals are a manifestation of this; the mood of the beast affects the atmosphere and feel of its insides.