Beat me I DARE YOU

If we finish our intended full version of this game, it will become more clear who the player character is. He has a bit of a story to his name as well :) And yeah, there is the slight "error" of Dante being able to "remember" stuff from when he was sedated, but I'm not really gonna bother fixing that. I can make it more clear that it's still part of the same cutscene in another way.

Neat! What all did you do yourself? The engine? The modeling? It was pretty neat. I did feel a sense of atmosphere when I found the really large room. Though, the guards weren't really threatening, which I think could be complemented with audio. And, the camera was very "horrifying" to use in the tighter corridors.

I am so glad you enjoyed! Yeah, we had better plans for the gameplay, but you know how jams go. For some reason we thought we could finish 4 stories plus a whole gameplay system, lol.

Neat game! I actually struggled with it a bit more than I anticipated. Very cute though, though I think the pace is a little slow, especially for how much I had to reset. Moving is slow, and using the runes. I think using the runes could have a quicker and more punchy animation that seems very impactful, perhaps even with a bit of screen shake. These runes contain unfathomable ancient power!

Hey Z, I like this a lot. There a few typos but that doesn't matter. My favorite poem is #4, Broken Dreams, because I can relate it to a specific event in my past. Especially the first stanza and the lines "We don't ever think about // those who we hurt // even if for a moment // or how their lives are"

I have a remarkable ability to "get over"/forget people - I think I have problems manifesting certain emotions and having empathy sometimes. Paired with a bad habit of completely cutting people out of my life if they are not currently benefiting me, I have made some bad decisions in the past. With some people, I was able to make up, and with others, I have only heard stories of how their lives have gone since I abandoned them. Your poem helps me realize that my actions may be hurting people. This is something I need to learn.

Additionally, I like that your goal was to exemplify negative emotions in a new perspective. When I write poetry, I am incredibly negative and edgy. I am not typically like that. In my submission to the poetry jam, I embraced these feelings and went as hardcore as I could. If you wanna check that out, you can!

Hey! I can't believe the itch algorithm suggested me this - it's so similar to my game I just updated! I like your game's style, and the narration through memories. I am inspired to work with this idea sometime.

As for "my game" that I mentioned, it is also a mystery involving a missing food item... if you wish to check it out, it is here!

Hey Vimlark, I have a new version of my game that is a lot more clear about what is happening and what to do next. This should improve your experience. There is also a completely redone first level with a lot more to discover. If you enjoyed the writing and the story (for which there are now 7-ish endings) you should check it out!

Hey Jorava, I have a new update for my game with a better parser (less superfluous arguments) and less tedious gameplay! Check it out if you like!

Hey BlueRookStudios, my newest update for my game includes this very feature that you suggested (among other improvements)! Check it out if you like!

Hey Olivia, I have a new update for my game that addresses your issues from before! (Thanks for your feedback, again.) If you would like to, you can check it out!

Hey never_k, I finally updated my game to be have more obvious feedback about what is happening! There is also a completely redone first level, along with other improvements. You're welcome to check it out, if you like!

Hey Joshua, you may have already seen on Discord but I have finished a big update for my game! It features many improvements that you were wishing for during your stream 3 months ago, and you should check it out! In fact, you promised to ;)

Hey Mana24, I'm glad you were enjoying my game 3 months ago. If you thought that there were clear instructions and a non-frustrating UI, you should love my new update with a completely redone mystery! There were many improvements for feedback, encouraging progress, and making sure people don't get lost. And if you want the challenge of the original version, there's a Super Sleuth Mode for just that! Check it out if you wish!

Hey Cee_64, you thought the RECALL function was excellent? Well what if I told you I made it better over these three months? That's right! It is now more intuitive, and needs less arguments to function efficiently! Anyway, I've redone the first level entirely, if you would like to check it out.

Hey theatrewalker, thanks to your input 3 months ago I was able to make a greatly improved version of my game! Your suggestion - and yours alone - of branching dialogue is now one of the defining features of my game. There are even 7* endings now! If you want to check it out, I'd love to know what you think!

*Kind of 5, but mainly 3, but technically 7

Hey mrhthepie, thank you again for your input! I am not sure if I fixed the exact problem you were having - the gameplay still revolves around walking around and talking to people. However, there are new improvements that improve the feedback and helo you progress with understanding of what is going on. You're welcome to check out the new version, if you wish!

Hey LineartLemur, thank you again for your input 3 months ago! I took your advice, and incorporated features such as highlighted text and better feedback to make the game much less repetitive and grindy. As for the sound at the beginning, I did lower the pitch quite a bit and lower the volume, however I was unable to part with it entirely. Anyway, the game has been greatly updated if you would like to check it out!

Hey Kosinaz, thanks to your input 3 months ago, I was able to improve my game! I did add dynamic text speed, as well as highlighted text. I have also made the RECALL command more intuitive, so you don't need superfluous arguments. Additionally, the game has much better feedback on what questions were already asked / were updated, so it is overall less repetitive. I have completely redone the first level with multiple endings if you would like to check it out!

Thank you for reading :) It makes me glad to know that my message carried across effectively, and that my work actually amounted to something. I'm glad I could show you my point of view, if for but a few minutes. If it sticks, that's even better :)

Thank you for the feedback! I'm glad you enjoyed the doodles, and I equally like the first poem :)

I like how these poems are pretty much recollections/memories. I am inspired to write something like this, partially to express myself and partially to test my memory; I struggle with my memory. Very nice for your first finished writing project! My favorites were As Small as a Muffin and In the Trunk of the Car. If you want to check out my work, I'd appreciate feedback as well :)

I think it is great that you wrote with a purpose - even if you intended on these poems becoming trash. Unfortunately, I can't let you have what you want. I think it's thoroughly interesting the way you write in the moment of February 2, 2020; not knowing the results of the sports game, and with the new album release. I like how you desperately avoid trying to portray any meaning beyond your immediate observations. I liked Canker Sore a lot. If you want to check out my work, I'd greatly appreciate any feedback :)

Good job Elena :) I think you captured the medieval vibes very well. I'm a fan of the instances where standard sentence structure is sacrificed for rhyme/rhythm, such as "as if by lightning struck". However, I do struggle with the times where a rhyming pair begs me to mispronounce a word. "by"/"plenty", for instance. Perhaps this is part of the style but I cannot deny that it threw me off a bit. Great story overall! If you want to check out my work, I would appreciate feedback as well :)

Good job Lucy, I enjoyed your poetry. I think your flow often parallels the feelings that you are portraying, and the images add a great style to the mix. My favorite is VISION / EMOTION because the quick, disoriented observations pair perfectly with the feeling of "my heart pounds in my ears" that I can so easily imagine. I also enjoy the two CRISIS poems. If you wanna check out my work, I'd greatly appreciate feedback as well :)

I'm into this. A view into the machinations of nature - the things that happen seemingly without thought. The cactus grows taller until it falls, the algae makes the water murky, and the crickets never let a night pass quietly. This almost begs me to feel special, as I can make choices where a cricket cannot, but my confidence still falls flat. I am aware of my options, yet I don't really feel any better off because of that. Perhaps nature does know what is best...

At least, that's what I make of it :) My favorite individual works are Skittering, Orange, and Dicrocoelium dendriticum. In addition, thank you for introducing me to Two-Headed Calf. Very good stuff.

Thank you so much! I appreciate the feedback greatly, no matter how short :) I'm so glad that my words were able to grab you in such a way. It's a strange feeling for me, considering that when I wrote SKIN I was pretty set on never showing anyone.

I haven't checked out your work yet, but I saw Vin's summary and the quote about the Betta fish was excellent. I will read it at a later time and let you know what else I find impactful :)

I'm glad you enjoyed it! I was certainly inspired by my frustration with old text adventures to make every possible command clear at all times. However, given it was made for a game jam, I hadn't the time to perfect the actual writing itself. I have plans to greatly improve this project, so if you enjoyed the prototype, keep an eye on this page ;)

I'm glad you enjoyed the prototype! I certainly plan on developing this project further - exploring hopefully more refined mechanics and less rushed writing. It's awesome that you enjoyed the more interrogative structure of the mystery - once I rework my dialogue system and develop a tool that allows me to set up more complex interactions easily, I am eager to write more ambitious stories :)

Glad I decided to actually start exploring Itch. This was pleasant :) Inspires me to start writing more.

I'm glad you fixed the scrolling issue otherwise I would have never read this little story. I enjoyed it. One of my goals is to never live a static life: a life like Larry's, where he goes to work each day, unsure of what he is doing. I am glad that I got to experience Larry's failure, because it helps me appreciate my own life. In my life, I always try to improve. That's why you and I are doing this game jam, isn't it? ;)

After many troubles, I finally played the game. To be frank, it seems everything in this game is designed against me - it seems my only options are to immediately die in a fight or become a cryptocurrency miner and do math problems for 20 minutes. I'm not sure exactly what you were going for in terms of design and gameplay. However, I do congratulate you for building a rather complex game out of batch files; that is pretty impressive. Perhaps if you would like to check out my game you could provide feedback as well. I would appreciate it!

Thank you for the notes! I certainly lacked in giving the player guidance, or even much feedback at all regarding the progress they make. I'm already working on those issues - in future builds communication should ideally be very clear through both the writing and the mechanics. I'm sorry I ran your time, but I am glad that you enjoyed the experience!

Thank you for the feedback! Branching dialogue would be neat! That, alongside many another suggestions in these comments (dynamic "typing" speed, colored text, etc.) will require a massive rework of my current systems but I think it will be a fun and rewarding challenge!

Thanks for the feedback! Glad you enjoyed the writing and the music. In the future, I plan to highlight anything that has changed dialogue following it, so you don't have to check each item repetitively. Also, I'd like to add a tab-to-autocomplete feature :)

I'm so glad you enjoyed! In the future I will work on making the cases flow a lot better - my first level was pretty rough due to it being a game jam and all. I'm glad you could visualize the characters as well, I was hoping they came across well. Also, I saw your comment regarding your game being fixed. I will go check it out now!

I am also having trouble being unable to scroll through the whole story :( 

It seems that when you updated the frame due to Daid's comment on the jam submission page, you messed something up.

Many many many typos, I'm not sure if that was intentional or not. But certainly a nice engine! Much better than a bunch of nested if statements, which is what I did when I was very young. Perhaps you could check out my game! It's similar in that I developed something that serves as a conduit for storytelling, though mine is item-puzzle/mystery-based. And I built it inside of Godot so I'm not sure I could call it my own "engine" or anything. But if you could provide feedback, I would appreciate it!

That's a very cool game! I like the projectile physics, and I am a fan of the ASCII art and the glitched CDROM idea. It was as if I found some strange disc at a garage sale and played it. Perhaps you could check out my game and provide feedback as well. I would appreciate it!