Posting this here instead of as a review bc I wanted more people to see it and maybe be convinced. If it's too long, feel free to delete.
I normally don't play VNs (I think this is the longest one I've ever finished), but omg this game feels like it was created specifically for me personally.
So much of this games' presentation perfectly captures the vibe of a certain kind of passion project nature documentary where the scientists care deeply about their work - perhaps to an extent more than their budgets will allow - and there's maybe a little bit of chaos behind the scenes.
There are all these little touches where I kept thinking "the game would've been just as good if the developer didn't put the thought and effort into this tiny detail, nobody would've questioned its exclusion, but the game is so much more alive for its presence". The very small example that comes to mind is the slight difference on the scanner display when its scanning through relatively thin plant material, compared to dense animal fat.
The sense of humor is also perfect for the setting and structure. There's this really interesting delineation between things that are intentional jokes on the part of the fictional documentary crew ("it grows into a formidable predator... relative to its size"), versus things that are funny to the real-world audience that would just be facts of life to the people of this world (like the explicit clarification that the sea bunny is not a real animal, as compared to these very real alien whales).
If you're looking at this page and have any slight interest in trying this wonderful game, just do it. I finished the whole thing in an hour and a half and my only wish is for more of the story. I'm eagerly awaiting part 2 (which honestly shouldn't be free if charging would help the dev!)
Hi, i saw this on youtube a while ago and I thought it was really interesting and beautiful but i had a question about the voice acting. It seems like its ai generated or some tts program, and if so, will it be replaced in the future? Some of the line delivery is just a bit strange and it seems like a shame because the writing itself is really nice.
Also i understand if its not possible to replace it given this is a pretty small project, i dont have much right to complain about this given it is a pretty small detail.
Yes, voice is AI trained on public domain audio sources I've found. That's also disclosed in the credits. I'm unhappy with how some of it sounds but it's the best option for the moment. Even imperfect voice over has made an astonishing difference in my viewership.
My plan is to crowdfund for real actors when the script is locked but that probably won't be until the end of the project. Right now I still have to work part time jobs to support myself, I don't have the ability to contract work from others.
a wonderful experience full of emotion and detail. i did my best to summarize my feelings on it in a lil video and hope it's able to convince some others to try it out, too :)
Hi, N.O.Marsh, I've enjoyed your game alot and it stuck with me since I first came across it from manly badass hero and then played it myself. I really appreciate you for making this game and wish you best of luck with your future games. I've made an explained style video expressing my thoughts and opinions about it, talking about my favorite aspects. Anyone is welcome to watch it, the links are down below and i hope I could atleast express my thanks this way. Have a nice day!
I’m really glad you enjoyed Scrimshaw, and thank you for the video essay! The story seems to have struck a chord with some viewers so it’s very cool to see someone try to articulate their own thoughts like this.
I was just stopping in to say hi and congratulate you on your fine work. I found "South Scrimshaw" on GOG.com today. I downloaded it and played it through and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It is a really great use of the VN medium.
I look forward to the next chapters in your story. Thanks.
Hello again. I have a question about your coding. I like the little flashing "triangle" in the lower right corner of the screen that denotes "move forwards". Is that a stock feature in Ren'Py or did you custom code that bit? I'd love to put something like that in my current project, but looking around the docs I haven't found anything like that. Would you care to share your wizardry on that little bit of code!? Thank you. -David
Hello, sorry to bother you again, but I have another question. The code you directed me to is great, but I have one issue. In your game, most (all?) of your dialog is said by the narrator. I am able to get the CTC icon to display on a defined Character like this:
image ctc_anchored:
"images/metro_studio_icons/CheckBox-WF-128.png"
yalign 0.96 xalign 0.95 # Adjust these numbers to fit your own textbox
linear 0.75 alpha 1.0
linear 0.75 alpha 0.0
repeat
define vo = Character("Voice in your head", color = "#6699cc", ctc = "ctc_anchored", ctc_position = "fixed")
vo "That static, you've heard it before, but where?"
But to the best of my knowledge the Narrator has no define function, so how do I set the CTC options for the narrator and still have no character label displayed (like in your game)?
Thanks for the help. Your Itch.io page has no donate option, I'd like to send you a few bucks.
Yeah I had to define my narrator's text as a character, and I set the character name to None so no name appears over the text. So yours would look like:
define vo = Character(None, color = "#6699cc", ctc = "ctc_anchored", ctc_position = "fixed")
At least that's how I did it. I’m really poor at programming so if that doesn't work you may want to try the lemmasoft forums.
Many thanks if you'd like to contribute! Every small bit helps. I think the best way to give would be the Part One art book because you get something in return. But for a simple straight donation I have a ko-fi tip jar.
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I just discovered this - its wonderful. I wondered if the soundtrack would be made available at some point?
this was absolutely wonderful!!!!!!!!!! im going to think about this game for a long while
Thank you! Really glad you enjoyed it!
Posting this here instead of as a review bc I wanted more people to see it and maybe be convinced. If it's too long, feel free to delete.
I normally don't play VNs (I think this is the longest one I've ever finished), but omg this game feels like it was created specifically for me personally.
So much of this games' presentation perfectly captures the vibe of a certain kind of passion project nature documentary where the scientists care deeply about their work - perhaps to an extent more than their budgets will allow - and there's maybe a little bit of chaos behind the scenes. There are all these little touches where I kept thinking "the game would've been just as good if the developer didn't put the thought and effort into this tiny detail, nobody would've questioned its exclusion, but the game is so much more alive for its presence". The very small example that comes to mind is the slight difference on the scanner display when its scanning through relatively thin plant material, compared to dense animal fat.
The sense of humor is also perfect for the setting and structure. There's this really interesting delineation between things that are intentional jokes on the part of the fictional documentary crew ("it grows into a formidable predator... relative to its size"), versus things that are funny to the real-world audience that would just be facts of life to the people of this world (like the explicit clarification that the sea bunny is not a real animal, as compared to these very real alien whales).
If you're looking at this page and have any slight interest in trying this wonderful game, just do it. I finished the whole thing in an hour and a half and my only wish is for more of the story. I'm eagerly awaiting part 2 (which honestly shouldn't be free if charging would help the dev!)
Thank you for the thoughtful commentary 🙏
Hi, i saw this on youtube a while ago and I thought it was really interesting and beautiful but i had a question about the voice acting. It seems like its ai generated or some tts program, and if so, will it be replaced in the future? Some of the line delivery is just a bit strange and it seems like a shame because the writing itself is really nice.
Also i understand if its not possible to replace it given this is a pretty small project, i dont have much right to complain about this given it is a pretty small detail.
Yes, voice is AI trained on public domain audio sources I've found. That's also disclosed in the credits. I'm unhappy with how some of it sounds but it's the best option for the moment. Even imperfect voice over has made an astonishing difference in my viewership.
My plan is to crowdfund for real actors when the script is locked but that probably won't be until the end of the project. Right now I still have to work part time jobs to support myself, I don't have the ability to contract work from others.
Yeah thats comepletly understandable, its not a bad compromise by any means. Ill try and throw some money your way whenever I get the chance.
a wonderful experience full of emotion and detail. i did my best to summarize my feelings on it in a lil video and hope it's able to convince some others to try it out, too :)
Hi, N.O.Marsh, I've enjoyed your game alot and it stuck with me since I first came across it from manly badass hero and then played it myself. I really appreciate you for making this game and wish you best of luck with your future games. I've made an explained style video expressing my thoughts and opinions about it, talking about my favorite aspects. Anyone is welcome to watch it, the links are down below and i hope I could atleast express my thanks this way. Have a nice day!
I’m really glad you enjoyed Scrimshaw, and thank you for the video essay! The story seems to have struck a chord with some viewers so it’s very cool to see someone try to articulate their own thoughts like this.
I was just stopping in to say hi and congratulate you on your fine work. I found "South Scrimshaw" on GOG.com today. I downloaded it and played it through and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It is a really great use of the VN medium.
I look forward to the next chapters in your story. Thanks.
-David
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it.
Hello again. I have a question about your coding. I like the little flashing "triangle" in the lower right corner of the screen that denotes "move forwards". Is that a stock feature in Ren'Py or did you custom code that bit? I'd love to put something like that in my current project, but looking around the docs I haven't found anything like that. Would you care to share your wizardry on that little bit of code!? Thank you. -David
Yeah the click to continue icon is pretty easy to add. This is the tutorial I copied my code from: https://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewtopic.php?t=22196
Good luck with your Ren'Py project! It's a really fun engine.
Hey thank you so much, I will check out that link and see if I can figure it all out. Keep on writing...
-David
Hello, sorry to bother you again, but I have another question. The code you directed me to is great, but I have one issue. In your game, most (all?) of your dialog is said by the narrator. I am able to get the CTC icon to display on a defined Character like this:
image ctc_anchored:
"images/metro_studio_icons/CheckBox-WF-128.png"
yalign 0.96 xalign 0.95 # Adjust these numbers to fit your own textbox
linear 0.75 alpha 1.0
linear 0.75 alpha 0.0
repeat
define vo = Character("Voice in your head", color = "#6699cc", ctc = "ctc_anchored", ctc_position = "fixed")
vo "That static, you've heard it before, but where?"
But to the best of my knowledge the Narrator has no define function, so how do I set the CTC options for the narrator and still have no character label displayed (like in your game)?
Thanks for the help. Your Itch.io page has no donate option, I'd like to send you a few bucks.
-David
Yeah I had to define my narrator's text as a character, and I set the character name to None so no name appears over the text. So yours would look like:
define vo = Character(None, color = "#6699cc", ctc = "ctc_anchored", ctc_position = "fixed")
At least that's how I did it. I’m really poor at programming so if that doesn't work you may want to try the lemmasoft forums.
Many thanks if you'd like to contribute! Every small bit helps. I think the best way to give would be the Part One art book because you get something in return. But for a simple straight donation I have a ko-fi tip jar.
https://nomarsh.itch.io/art-of-scrimshaw
https://ko-fi.com/nomarsh