Hello! I made a plugin to skip the default title screen and then added custom choices. My plugins are all available for free (under CC0 license) on GitHub: https://github.com/yaleksander?tab=repositories
Most of them are also available on the engine itself when you open the plugin manager tab, but some are not updated to the latest version
I like the references to The Witch’s House and the final dialogue/monologue was good. It was pretty short but it’s good for a game done in a week. Keep up the good work!
Thanks for the feedback! Tbh I didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about the controller scheme. I only realized much later that I should’ve added E as an action key, and I’m still not sure about space being reserved for item effects.
The puzzles were done in the last minute, so until I have time to implement better ones with more helpful tips and more rewarding gameplay, I’ve added a comment with the solutions on the game page as a workaround.
Absolutely amazing! The Yume Nikki inspiration was very clear, so I expected a game more akin of a Yume Nikki fangame, but you exceeded all my expectations. The art is amazing, the story is kind of confusing at first but very cohesive once you start to fit the pieces together. No notes.
Jokes aside, I really enjoyed the Fear and Hunger/Felvidek inspirations. The map designs and monster designs were good too. It felt very unique compared to the other entries. It could be polished here and there but overall it’s a really good work for a game jam.
This was one of my favorite entries! I love the mechanics, the chases were fun (although it felt slightly frustrating to repeat like 5 maps when you die instead of respawning on the previous one) and the story was good too. The art was awesome as well. My main issue though is the title screen. The door doesn’t convey how great the game actually is, and it feels somewhat disconnected from the rest of the game. Maybe the in-game locked door could be given more focus, or the title screen could be different. Anyway, this is just a minor detail, the rest of the game felt really good to play. Keep up the good work!
This was one of my favorite entries! The dialogues (monologues actually) felt very real, and anyone could sympathize with the main character. The art is really well done, the color palette fits perfectly with the game vibe, and overall the game felt good in a kind of sad/bittersweet way. My only tiny complaint is that the game feels very tangential to the proposed nightmare theme since the main character doesn’t dream. Sure there’s a big focus on the main character just sleeping their life away, but I missed the dream/nightmare part. Other than that, amazing work!
Thanks for the feedback! I don’t think it was mean, in fact I agree with you. I spent too much time implementing the mechanics and there was very little time at the end to make the maps better (there’s an issue at the forest that I hope no one noticed so far) and the fights more balanced. Classic time mismanagement. That said, as soon as the rating period ends, I’ll start working on this as a full standalone project, so this feedback will help a lot. Thank you!
Thank you! I gotta admit the balancing is kinda off, I spent a lot of time implementing the item effects and very little time balancing the enemies and maps. I’m gathering feedback from itch.io and from irl friends who played the game and the boss is consistently a complaint, so I’ll definitely change some major things about them after the jam period ends.
In the infinite corridor, you gotta open the 5th door to the right. The door right in front of you is the 1st one, so you gotta count 4 more. Don’t interact with the doors until you reach the 5th or else you’ll be reset to the 1st door. Going left also resets you to the 1st door.
The piano puzzle is the first 3 letters of the professor’s name plus the first 3 letters of his surname. You’ll find his surname on the school board on the entrance and his first name on the music room.
In the forest, there’s a hidden door that will reveal itself when you point the smartphone’s lantern at it. It’s located north of the save point.
To block enemy attacks you have to stay still and point the mouse or right analog stick in the direction of the attack.
The boss is invincible until they miss their special attack, telegraphed by a lightning animation. This attack is unblockable, so you have to hide behind a pillar. Doing an attack of your own to the side at the last moment can also help you avoid their special attack.
Also, since we’re here, please feel free to play, rate and make constructive criticism for my game for this jam as well!
https://aleksander.itch.io/memories
Don't read until you've beaten the game
I really vibed with your game because my game also tackles the theme of loss. But in my game it’s more of a surprise at the end, since the idea is for the player to see the protagonist’s memories as the game progresses. I think this theme has a lot of potential because sooner or later most people will experience grief and loss in their lives. And to me the message that we gotta keep on living is really strong. Cheers!
Hi! Since I uploaded my game, some text on itch shows up as “…” as you can see on the screenshot. This happens to every game page, not just the upload page.
Ok then! Just please don’t think that I disliked the game or anything. But the gameplay loop felt kinda repetitive. Find the standing out piece or click randomly on stuff until you get it right. Do it 2 more times. Then to it in another room for a total of 9 times. And this repeats in other rooms too, just not exactly the same pattern. Some other small details could be adjusted too, like the doors taking slightly too long to fade out in the dream compared to how fast it is to open and close them in the real world. The holes in the floor idea was nice but, again, kinda repetitive because the corridors are 1 tile wide so you can’t visit all rooms in the same cycle. The cracks in the nightmare could take one less cycle to break, and could accept anti clockwise movement as well. And finally, I know this is supposed to be a child’s perspective, but the game could guide the player better on what to do. I started off just clicking randomly until I noticed the pattern on the second time I interacted with something on the first room.
I know that sounds like a lot of complaints, but I just like being thorough with my criticism. Overall it was an enjoyable experience and anyone who plays it can notice that you really put your heart into this.
I love how you presented the theme of loss! I’ve never even considered a child’s perspective for that, but the sad reality is that a lot of kids do experience loss very early in their lives. The art is amazing and the narrative is on point. I just have a few complaints about the gameplay, but nothing too harsh. This exceeded my expectations for this jam. Great job!
Thank you! I’m honestly not too proud of this one except that I was able to use 3D animations for everything. I’m working on another jam that ends on the 26th so stay tuned for more! It won’t be fully 3D but it already has a lot of improvements. Also, feel free to join the paper maker discord server, the community is small but welcoming
Thank you! I have Michael to thank for the art, I’m just the programmer. Actually Michael should be credited for most of the game’s idealization, I just executed it.
Sure! Just keep in mind that I really liked the game and this is all constructive criticism. All those issues are pretty minor. But here’s a list of issues I remember:
The collision boxes weren’t quite perfect. Tbf this happened in all other games, including mine. It’s a nightmare to get the collisions right in the engine. But you could have mitigated this by making the fences slightly more open and some objects slightly more distant from each other.
At first I didn’t find the path to the woods. I followed the written directions so I found it after a short while, but I wish there was a clearer visual cue on the map.
Sometimes you could keep walking even during dialogues. Honestly I don’t know how that happened, cause this was supposed to be blocked by default. Did you uncheck the “block hero on reaction” box?
The rain effect was kind of weird. This is 90% an engine problem, but maybe you could’ve used a bigger raindrop image? Not sure what would’ve worked better tbh.
I love the overall aesthetic and mood! I’m also super pleased that you used the realistic water plugin and even managed to blend it quite nicely to the environment! Well done! About the minigames, they were fun (even though I sucked) but I’d assign different action buttons to them. Overall a really fun experience, congrats on the submission!
There’s one hidden detail on what you should do to get a good ending, but given the time constraint we didn’t add any hints.
Spoiler
You're not supposed to fight back the ghost, just end your turn every time. We were planning on adding an extra section to send a message about de-escalating conflicts and that'd mean you don't have to fight back the monster, instead you should try to understand it first. But oh well. We didn't manage to *actually* put this into the game.
Simply amazing! It’s so full of little details and it’s absolutely wholesome. Everything fits the atmosphere pretty nicely and aside from some rough edges here and there the idea was really well executed. Very well done!
Nah, I don’t mind the typos, it’s just a game jam after all, and English is not my first language anyway. Your game was the opposite of unfunny, I really had a good time playing. I wish there was an “overall enjoyment” rating because I’d give it 5 stars.
Wow, that’s a lot of game content! I really like the art, but I stopped playing after my first trip to the forest because I assumed from that point on there was no “definitive ending”. Still, everything looks neat. Congrats!
I really love the art style, and Yon and her family are adorable! I had a lot of fun reading through the dialogues. The choice for the theme song was on point too. Congrats on your entry!
Thank you! RPG Paper Maker has native 3D and I wanted to test how far I could push it for this jam. When I found out there was an unofficial RPG Maker “clone” with native WebGL that runs on three.js and has way more customization options for programmers, I simply had to try it out. I’m even thinking of reusing it for Scream Jam! Either that or Godot.
The graphics and the main gimmick itself were incredible, and the game was pretty light overall since it was made on Godot, so that’s a nice bonus. I didn’t really like, however, how long it takes to dig to the next point, and how faded the mining spots are on the map. Idk, maybe the other games I played were too quick, but it felt contrasting compared to other submissions. And I’d have done the final jumpscare slightly different, it didn’t feel scary because I already assumed I’d die in the end and each transition to the next point felt less immersive. But maybe that’s just me. Overall I really liked the atmosphere, and the tone was set just right. The story was refreshing and original too, even if it was told in two paragraphs. Congrats on the game!
Amazing! The mechanics are incredibly well done for a game done in a week, and the flow of everything is simply spot on! I really like the story too. The graphics/aesthetic are incredible as well. One of my favorite entries so far!
The game started off really well with the fluid animations, and the platform elements were really fun, but you could’ve implemented a hitstun or something similar for the skeletons. You had a lot of potions lying around tho so it’s not a big deal. I really like the jump “physics” too. I just had higher expectations for the “scary/spooky” vibe. I love platformers, I love spookiness in general, I was hoping these elements were mixed together in a better way. For a one week jam, tho, it was a great game!
Ok, I managed to beat it, but I’m not even sure I’ve properly decoded the code… It’s all binary, I converted it to ASCII, then tried different combinations (don’t wanna spoil it to people who haven’t played it yet). I must’ve done something right since I beat it, but the clues could be a bit more obvious for a jam. Either way it was fun to play, congrats on your first jam!
Started the game. “wake up, it’s your birthday!”… It is actually my birthday lol. Anyway I really like the game, it was somewhat predictable but I enjoyed it a lot. I mean, when you see a talking doll you know things are going south from there. The assets are really well done, the voice acting is good, everything is concise and overall works really well. Congrats!
