Hi team, congratulations the Narrative Award! We had some requests for a re-upload of the Mac client as it couldn't be opened after downloading. Would someone in the team be able to assist with this?
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Njuma's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Presentation (rate its art, animations, sfx, music, and aesthetic appeal) | #16 | 3.591 | 3.933 |
| Implementation (rate the game's overall stability and functionality) | #33 | 3.165 | 3.467 |
| Creativity (how unique or innovative was this experience?) | #39 | 2.860 | 3.133 |
| Overall | #49 | 2.885 | 3.160 |
| Gameplay (how good was the user experience, game design, narrative, etc?) | #52 | 2.678 | 2.933 |
| Theme (how well does the game fit the challenge theme?) | #166 | 2.130 | 2.333 |
Ranked from 15 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
List the Itch usernames of all official team members.
Ellatuss, Joebinns, KorsoRedeemed, dipsas80, valorous-kid
Team Name
Orshtaberi Productions
How does your game fit the theme?
We have interpreted "Take a Deep Breath" as the final moments of a life, as one draws their last breath before passing.
Comments
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Amazing game! This is one of those games where you can tell a lot of effort has been put into it. The idea is really good, even though the theme might not be there. Honestly one of the best I've seen from this jam. Great job
Amazing job, everyone. You made something special and every moment of the game is a testament to your passion. Wall of text incoming....
This is such a beautiful, haunting game. I had a knot in my chest the whole time I was playing. I don't know how to describe it, because while the game feels heartbreaking, there is this redemptive quality to trying to piece together not just what happened, but what the characters want. It almost felt like some kind of closure, but I'm not sure if that's the best way to put it.
I had to play through the game multiple times to see if anything changed depending on how I interpreted the needs of each character. I kept seeing this door appear at the end of the last room, but I couldn't yet go through it. What was I missing?
And I could swear sometimes the characters would either disappear completely, or their shadow/spirit lingered depending on which item you gave them. Interesting.
There are definitely hints as to what might be going on, but you're not always certain, and I love existing in that space. It calls for a level of introspection on the part of the player that you don't typically see in many games. It's refreshing.
Eventually, I passed through that last door. It was a lovely moment. The end credits even change a little. I really love that. I still feel like there are things to be discovered and layers to peel back, but I got a deep sense of enjoyment from Njuma. We need more games like this.
One of the best games I've seen on itchio and my favorite game from this jam! I love the aesthetic cohesion and nonverbal storytelling. such a creative concept!
Submitted
AI Directive 701: Project ArcadiaPROS:
- Art and Atmosphere 100/10
- With theme? Who cares it makes me tunnel vision because its atmosphere is 100/10 i literally can only take deep breaths because the atmosphere is so well done.
- Game feel on point.
- Sounds, on point.
CONS:
- Not the art that's for sure.
- Could have the movement instructions more clear at the beginning, also I thought I was the fox, maybe that was intentional, but I just found it confusing at first.
- The prompt of E to use the item is inconsistent, it would pop up when I don't really need it, but does not pop up when I need it. For example, I never saw (and I don't think there is) an E to use the first doors. E is the primary interact key but the first time I need to use it to interact with the environment the prompt isn't there.
- There were loose story connections, and I see it as intentional to leave the game as more abstract, but at some points the characters would just repeat the same loops over and over again and I would just ignore them and couldn't do anything, and would then have to wait for them to have an exclamation mark to grab a random item and give it to them.
The idea that you create the story based on what you give them is cool.
I think this is the idea but it wasn't played into enough imo, it was just there, but as the player I never really got the emphasis that any of my decisions mattered and the game just played itself. If there was a way to give more weight to my decisions, or at least make me feel like they mattered, It would be even more interesting and fun.
Submitted
Torpedo-RushThank you for playing the game and for the detailed feedback!
Most of these issues we were aware of, but weren't able to get to before release. For the way we delivered the story, I think we took a bit of a risk with the non-verbal communication, and though it was meant to be more abstract, some subtleties can get lost in the process. This is one of the key things we would refine given more time. It is definitely an idea I will personally iterate on. The feeling that your decisions didn't matter is the last thing we want.
Really happy you enjoyed and connected with the athmosphere of our game!
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