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A jam submission

He who readView game page

A rich-story Visual Novel game about a tarot card reader.
Submitted by Anynahel (@Anynahel) — 24 minutes, 55 seconds before the deadline
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He who read's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Audio#442.9313.348
Mood#492.8173.217
Visuals#522.9693.391
Overall#532.7703.163
Gameplay#702.3602.696

Ranked from 23 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

Engine

Unity

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Comments

Submitted

Nice art.

Submitted(+1)

I love visual novel and this is a great base for it! The early story is very intriguing too and heck I even learned a bit about Tarot, solid submission!

Submitted (1 edit) (+1)

I like the aesthetic and the ambience of the game. Very relaxing. Everything fit together. I wasn't expecting a tarot reading game, even tho it was obvious by the screenshot. Its actually a good idea, and reminded me of a SNES game, Ogre Battle!

Developer

Thank you for playing and for your feedback ! I don't know Ogre Battle, but by the screenshot I saw of it, I'm still looking for the resemblance x) !

Submitted(+1)

Ogre Battle was pretty innovative back then, because how the game starts, you choose who you are with tarot cards, and they will determine your stats and skills for the game :)

Developer

Oh I didn't knew that ! That's an amazing way of choosing your caracters indeed !

Submitted(+1)

Wonderful storytelling. Great concept. Beautiful art.

Just couldn't stop playing. Amazing job. Very very involving, especially because of the hypnotizing music. 

Submitted(+1)

Really interesting concept,  Great way for a storyteller to make a simple game out of it to portray the story. I didnt get to go through the whole thing yet but I did play it on my livestream tonight and read through a bunch of it but then had move on to other games for time. Not sure if it will give much for feedback but you can see the replay here if you would like 

Developer(+1)

Thank you for you feedback ! It's okay I understand !:) 
I'm sorry for the confusion at first of "the game is not uploaded yet" but it was, I just had a little problem with webGL !  

For the long talking part, I will try to make things less longer or at least an "accelerate" button for the dialogues ! :)

At least you understood and liked the concept, thank you again ! 

P.S : I love your voice ! It's sooo calming :D First time I see someone playing my game, it stresses me a lot but I enjoyed it, and you too it seems !

Submitted(+1)

I dont think you really need to change the speed or anything on it, it was just slower as I was reading it out loud. I like seeing people using games as an interactive or even not interactive way to tell a story. To the Moon was such an amazing game (if you can really call it a game). If you havent seen it its a rpg maker type game but you dont really have much to do other than move around to control the flow of the story but its such a good story it just sucks you in. Nice work

Developer(+1)

I know To The Moon, it was an incredible game for sure ! (I shred so many tears...). Thank you again for your feedback !

Submitted(+1)

Now, where is the source code, so I can build a Linux version of it for play-testing?

Developer

The source code is the "master" tagged .zip folder :) I'm sorry for not have built a Linux one, but as I cannot test it, I prefer to not make a build of it.

Submitted

Maybe it was too late last night already and I missed the file for downloading...

Submitted(+1)

beautiful art and great design, You managed to capture the tarot card readers atmosphere just right. Great job.

Developer

Thank you for your feedback !

Submitted (1 edit) (+2)

Interesting concept! I wonder how the story will continue, so thumbs up for that.

EDIT It’s listed as play in browser but didn’t see that version on the page. Maybe you’d like to check that.

Developer(+1)

Thank you for playing and for your feedback !I know for the play in browser bug, I can't take it off :( I tried multiple solutions but I think I might have created a glitch there, sorry for the inconvenience !

Submitted

Maybe Yang (zesix) can help you with that, but it’s not that big of a deal, really. I’ve seen the same happen for other entries as well.

Submitted(+1)

When packaging the webgl build make sure the html file is at the top level of the zip archive and all associated files and folders are in it as well, then it should work.

If you really can't get it to run online, you might want to switch the game page type from online-play to download-only.

(This is a bit of a let-down as I wanted to at least get through as many directly playable entries I can still manage in the short time remaining for the rating... And I wanted to focus on less-rated entries as well...)

Developer

Thank you for your help ! I know how to upload a webGl, thank you but the problem was that I didn't changed back the type of project after that, now it's done ! thank you again and sorry, the WebGL is too buggy to be playable !

Submitted(+1)

Great work, the mood was amazing and the art is brilliant. awesome game.

Submitted(+1)

Very unique idea! I do agree with the others that the conversation in the beginning was a bit long but the music and the theme played really well together to make it really fun. Great work on this one!

Developer (1 edit)

Thank you ! I'll definitly keep in mind the long conversation problem, thanks !

Submitted(+1)

This is a really cool concept for the game. Tarot naturally lends itself to the jam's theme! I really liked the music. With the tarot, it gave me big Persona 5 vibes. However, there were two big detractors to this game - the pacing and the overall dialogue. The pacing was just a bit too slow for a demo. I understand this is what a visual novel does, but it took a little bit too long. We don't know these characters that well, so it's tough to be invested in their banter. Secondly, the dialogue was riddled with grammatical and spelling errors. Games like this rely on well written dialogue, but the sentence structure and frequent errors really takes you out of the moment. I would consider hiring an editor or proofreader if you intend to further develop this project. 

Overall, really cool project and I'm glad I got to experience it. The music and the talking greek statue heads had a unique vibe. Well done!

Developer(+1)

Thank you for your feedback ! Thank you for pointing out the slow pace of the game, as it is something a lot of people brought to me, I'll look to change it ! I am sorry for the grammatical and spelling errors, as English is not my native tongue, I know thre is a ton of errors ! I'll look up to get help on the writing ( for a better narration ) and on the translation ! I didn't planned to do it all with my poor english don't worry :D  Thank you again for playing !

Submitted(+1)

I love the idea of this game, I think you set the scene well but maybe took a little to long to do so.

Would be good to have more interactions at a slightly faster pace imo, but maybe I am just impatient!

Overall nothing to not like about this game, keep working on it am sure it will be excellent in the end!

Well done!

Developer(+1)

Thank you for your feedback ! The scene was long because I wanted to introduce a lot of the global story, finaly maybe it was too much ^^. I thought of adding an "accelerating dialogue " button or even a skip button but the game would loose it's purpose :) But yeah, that chapter was a test and it seems for a lot of people that the introduction was too long ! Thank you for telling me :) 
Thank you again !

Submitted(+1)

I was very much hyped to play this game since the menu screen that you posted on Discord :D And I’m not disappointed!


I love the atmosphere, setting, graphic elements (sculptures as avatars of characters? AMAZING!)

You definitely stand out for the fact that there is a lot of plot and story here, which I have missed after checking a dozen games so far. It reads very well. I see potential for a great game here, because the dramatic situation you use is very capacious and you can stuff a lot of interesting threads here (even this short demo could be discussed for long minutes).

Recently, I also had the idea of setting the psychotherapy situation as a frame for the game, but the fortune teller is even better because it allows similar things and at the same time adds mysticism.

One thing I don't know - as a person who has never had any contact with the tarot. Who chooses these 3 cards out of the 7 drawn? The fortune teller or the "client"? From the description I understood that the person who comes for the fortune telling, but then why am I, as a player, pointing them? (I understand that the player takes on the role of a fortune teller, not guests).

Regardless of the above, I see a lot of room here to add a little more "game" to the mix. For now, there is less interactivity in my opinion than it could be. I think "Paper, please" might be some kind of inspiration here. Depending on how we interpret the cards (maybe we have 3 interpretations to choose from for each card?), we will influence the fate of our "clients". Maybe I can somehow convince the character from the demo to start creating a more balanced and open City (lead him on a good path), or maybe I can convince him to take a risky deal that will result in him going to jail. But there should be some indicator than helps me predict what will be outcome of my decisions (it shouldn’t be too much clear, but still).

Anyway, you have to be careful, because there are potentially a lot of plot branching here, so from the very beginning you have to come up with a system of solving them to give the player a sense of "influence" and that his decisions have consequences, but not to make 1000 story paths, what would be really impossible to do for one person. On my profile I have a simple text game called "The run", you can check it, where you can make different decisions that are NOT mutually exclusive. That is, either you follow the storyline "A - make coffee" first, then "B - go to work" or vice versa. Problem with this solution? You have to include in the texts that sometimes the player has not done certain things, and sometimes that he has already done them. If the player chose to made coffee first, then at work you will not give him the dialogue line like: "hell, I could make coffee at home, I'm so sleepy!". Little things, but they build the consistency (or destroy it) of the story.

What I want to say is that your game really gives opportunity to make different plot branches, and therefore create a danger of getting lost in them.

Perhaps it would be interesting to do it as a separate small stories (one for each client) that doesn’t necessarily interact between each other, and then you will able to avoid cumulation of different threads.

Either way, I’m happy you are about to continue that work! I’ll follow your itch page and be happy to test next iterations of your game :)

Developer (1 edit) (+1)

Before I dive into the explanations and answers : Thank you SO much for your feedback, it is waaaay better than I would ever imagine :D  

First of all, you mostly grabbed the "biggest" part of the story and plot but let me explain a little more ( Without spoiling you anything I hope )! 

As I told you on discord, sculptures portraits won't stay (But i found them cool too !) :) 

Telling me that the readibility is good makes me really happy ! I tried to give some thread of "main plot" for the player to follow and to understand better the world that the characters are in in a little time. 

That's a really good idea ! If it is nicely brought into a game, I would definitly play it. 

That's were the demo has its limit. You will now later in the story why 7 cards are choosen randomly then only 3 are picked. For official tarot card reading, it is the fortune teller that draw the cards. In the game, it is normal and wanted that the fact of "who" is drawing the cards stays kinda blurry/uncertain. But what I do not want to happen is that the player think he is the client. So thank you for your feedback on this point !

I see what you mean about interactivity. It is true that a better display of 'how' that card, better than another one will influence. I wanted to do it only by dialogues. For exemple, Daniel asked about his ideas for the future of the company etc. So there are cards which have a stronger influence on him if they are picked ( Thoses influence are only in the code, not at all showned in any manner than reading the description of said cards). So some cards are better picked because they will improve his creativity for exemple, or some because they are linked to his story. So I totally see what you mean about thoses interpretation and I will work on it to permit more the player to know which consequences the choice may have ( positivly, negativly etc.. ) . 

The influence you have on the customers will definitly mold the City and everything around you, even your own story. So yeah, more indicators ! 

There is a lot of story to write, with an enormous branching system to do, I almost thought of everything mostly, like big lines etc but I'm glad you warn me about this, I will take this in concideration. I will go check your game to see, thank you for the advice !  

Thank you again for your advices and you feedback, I appreciate it a lot and I will t ake it in consideration !

Submitted(+1)

My first time playing a visual novel game, I don't think its my favourite type of game but I can see you put in a lot of work, so thanks for that!

Developer(+1)

Thank you for trying even if it's not your type of game ! :D 

Submitted(+1)

Hey! I replayed your game a few times since I can really see where it is going.  Reminds me a lot of Phoenix Bright series and those are some of my favorite games. The setting and character are already very interesting and the potential for nice mechanics is there, so I encourage you to keep going with the development and design of the game. I’ll love to see more of it in the future. About bugs and that, I didn’t find anything bad, only typos on the dialogue but that’s no biggie and easily fixable. If you ever need help with something development or feedback related hit me up on Discord. I’m there as Senbonzakura#4029 but you can find me more easily (I'm the leader) on our studio discord https://discord.gg/Mf6KNmSZuD (tho rn is mostly Spanish speakers). Keep us posted with your development progress and ton of luck in the journey!!!

Developer(+1)

I'm going to make my first fully serious game so I can keep you updated about it ! Thank you, i'm going to keep your discord name near to me then If I need something oen day, thanks for the help ! Thank you !

(+1)

As a fellow Tarot card reader I really appreciated the use of them here, would love to see more of this game and for you to get some of those features in. The game page looks great and while the actual models are basic, I really enjoyed the card art and UI. 

Developer

I am really pleased of your feedback as a tarot card reader ! I plan on making this game my first serious one, so I can definitly keep you updated on its progress ! I take a lot of time to make assets or drawing (One week or so for one portrait...) so I prefered to concentrate myself on other important tasks ;) Thank you for the feedback !

Submitted(+1)

I normally  don't play visual novel style games. But your game looked very unique so I decided to give it a try and it is amazing. The art style and atmospere were very captivating. The music is definitely a big part of this. A lot of time must've gone into the dialogue and the characters, i hope to see more of it in future updates.  Maybe one little thing, I found some typo's here and there. But other than that great game, it definitely changed my mind on visual novels.

Developer

Thank you very much for playing even if its not your game style, I appreciate it a lot ! Thanks to Jesse Spillane, an amazing artist, I could have awesome musics that was so much in the style I wanted I was happy :) The dialogues are what takes me the most of the time in writing as there is dialogues for each cards, combo between cards, for upright and reversed one ! Thank you for reporting typo's ! If you remember some of them, could you tell me where they was ? (As i'm not a native english speaker, this is quite an exercice for me to write that much :D ). Thank you for your feedback ! 

Submitted(+1)

Hi, the pleasure was all mine playing your game was a fun experience.

I'm not a native english speaker myself but I'll try my best to write down the typos I came across.

  • A lot of people with differents faces and differents questions comes to  see me, more than usual.
    • A lot of people with different faces and different questions come to see me, more than usual.
  • Daniel, after the previous divination I finaly hoped I won't see you again.
    • Daniel, after the previous divination I finally hoped I wouldn't see you again.
  • Yes ! And I had your Lovers card then, why didn't I met anyone?
    • Yes ! And I got your Lovers card then, why didn't I meet anyone?

  • Even after all these years you don't listen to me it seems. The stars and I gives paths to questions,...
    • Even after all these years you don't listen to me it seems. The stars and I give paths to questions,...

  • ...That's written in my house door you just banged so hard to come in.
    • That's written on my house door you just banged so hard to come in.
  • Things have changed up here, a lot of people wants me to be...
    • Things have changed up here, a lot of people want me to be...
  • What the City want you to do, ...
    • What the city wants you to do, ...
  • If you were in my position you will see that ...
    • If you were in my position you would see that ...
  • Everything my family have built for centuries is here...
    • Everything my family has built over the centuries is here...
  • Wow ! Not an harch no?
    • Wow ! Not a harsh no?
  • We will see. Did you came for another purpose?
    • We will see. Did you come for another purpose?
  • I thought you were disapointed ...
    • I thought you were disappointed...
  • I won't really call that a gift...
    • I wouldn't really call that a gift..
  • You might want to choose carefuly...
    • You might want to choose carefully...

These are  the typos I found. I might've made some mistakes (sorry for that) I'm not a native english speaker myself.

This is how I wrote the typos down:

  • the original text
    • the correction

Once again great game, I hope to see more of it in the future.

With kind regards.

Developer(+1)

Thank you so much for the typo's ! I'm going to correct them and re-publish the game.

Submitted(+1)

A very good and original idea!  It is a bit tedious to read all the beginning...  I know that in two weeks it is impossible to find a way to reduce it and give enough info to make the prediction, but when the jam finishes, polish it with visuals that gives that info without so many writing and you will have a fantastic  game!  Please, send me a message via discord if you do, I would gladly play it again.

Developer

Thank you for the feedback !   Yeah I know the reading part at the beginning is quite "heavy" but I didn't wanted to get it away as it presents the characters and the environment :). I will totaly polish the game as I plan to make it a real and complete one ! I'll keep you updated when the game will be more complete then :)

Submitted(+1)

I would really appreciate that!  Thank you!