Very nice game! As the worlds biggest Cyberpunk fan ever (this is an official title, don't @ me) this checked a lot of boxes and really knew what it was writing about. From the understanding of immunosuppressants, to cybernetic side effects, to the horror inherent not just in a cyberpunk setting but also the horror of these kinds of corporate/military institutions. This game really touched on a very strong emotional core, and despite my lack of familiarity with MalViolence I never found myself confused or left behind by the game's writing.
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protoViolence - Definitive Edition's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Accessibility | #6 | 4.700 | 4.700 |
| Sound Effects | #7 | 4.500 | 4.500 |
| Voice Acting | #14 | 4.450 | 4.450 |
| User Interface Design | #15 | 4.675 | 4.675 |
| Game Page Design | #15 | 4.700 | 4.700 |
| Story | #23 | 4.650 | 4.650 |
| Music | #32 | 4.400 | 4.400 |
| Overall | #33 | 4.575 | 4.575 |
| Log Line | #34 | 4.350 | 4.350 |
| Game Graphic & Logo Design | #35 | 4.700 | 4.700 |
| Character Designs | #53 | 4.600 | 4.600 |
| Halloween Themed | #102 | 3.575 | 3.575 |
Ranked from 40 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Comments
Thank you so much for the kind words - and I'm glad protoViolence got a seal of approval from the World's Biggest Cyberpunk Fan! ;w;
The horror inherent in settings like these (as well as institutions like STOP) is something I really wanted to capture in protoViolence, so I'm glad it delivers on that front - especially since you haven't played malViolence (and many protoViolence players haven't played malViolence either!)
I hope you can play malViolence eventually - it has even more of the cyberpunk goodness that protoViolence has... with a puzzly twist. :>
Well, this was one hell of a way to get me interested in MalViolence! The core story is so interesting, and the different ways it was conveyed helped keep me engaged the whole time; switching from research log, to journal, text message and video interview was a really good idea to keep things fresh. It also made it hard to put down! Even when I needed to do something else, I kept thinking, "I'll just see this next one!" ...and before I knew it, I just played through the whole thing! Dr. Deirdre was such a great protagonist, and it was great seeing her grow from someone more or less complacent, believing it was possible to reform STOP from within, to someone willing to take actual action against them. The climax of the story was so tense!
Presentation wise, this is top notch stuff! The production values feel so high, I'm amazed that you were all able to complete this in a month! Fantastic UI as well. Great work to the whole team, and I'm looking forward to trying out MalViolence next!
Thank you so much - I'm glad you enjoyed protoViolence - and Deidre as a protagonist. This story was designed to flesh her out as a character, and I'm happy it delivered on that front for you. :>
And it makes me glad to see you like the production values! I really couldn't have done it without the incredible efforts of my team, so I'm glad we were able to deliver something quality in the span of a month, haha.
Beautiful--fantastic writing and presentation. Amazing characters. This gut wrenching story of a researcher and their struggle to stand up to the forces that have commandeered her research even as she sees the stakes rising like a tide hits SO HARD. I was deeply moved am not ashamed to admit that cried more than once as I played. I was especially impressed at the way Pavil, who seems to be coded as neurodivergent, communicates his feelings, and how we (our individual as well as our collective selves) respond to him really rounds out the themes of the story. I loved how pace starts slow and thoughtful, and by the end it's a dead sprint. Very well done!
wow finally got to finish this and, like I predicted, it's GREAT! I loved how the story is presented, text bubbles, adv, phone, documents, the way text is handled makes everything so dynamic and perfectly complements the beautiful art! well done!
Submitted
Undead AirWOW. Absolutely stunning delivery, my heart was in my throat the whole time. I love the character designs, the UI, the music, the story, everything felt seamless and I was completely immersed.
Pavel is so sweet, and I could absolutely relate to him, doodling in the corners of my books growing up. This reminds me of some brutal schooling systems in asia, especially the callousness of Angie. I was put right in the head of an overachiever academic and her reflections as she considered the career she had at stake and her morals were just SO GOOD!
At first, I thought the various media seemed tedious but it gave SUCH A POWERFUL FEELING when I was waiting for Pavel after processing
What a horrible term, processing. The clinical speak and whole tone of the story just click so well, and seeing Dr Deidre reflect through various media made it all the stronger
Submitted
Marigold's MannequinThank you so much! I'm very glad protoViolence's story and presentation could leave an impact on you like this - especially Pavel. He's a good boy at heart!
SPOILERS
I'm glad the document reading worked as intended too. I wanted readers to get into the rhythm of reading a lot of documents for the first two story parts - only to have that routine broken when the third story part withholds information from them.
And yeah... "processing" is a horrible term, isn't it? Such a clinical term for something so invasive and life-changing... Which was the intent, of course. ;>
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