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Thank you. It's really valuable to hear the opinion of someone who plays for the first time. I thought the introduction is easy but I know the systems too well.

I'll think about making a smoother introduction. 

I'm putting this project on hold because for the next 2 game jams I'm tweaking the custom game engine and it is already different (more complex for better / worse :D).

I can't remember what level 7 is but certianly it was suprising that I could do that... It may not be elegant and cool but think of it this way - if you add some hint/help menu the player is less likely to get stuck and less likely to abandon the game. 

Good luck!

I think I understand what you mean. Yes, I think the level up menu can appear automatically. 

Thank you. 

Wow, what a coincidence that you're a native to the historical setting!

Noted about the story. I admit that as an outsider I probably know only a tiny bit. I didn't have much time to research either. 

 I do believe that basing the story on real world history is beneficial to myself and to players. I will be more careful in the future.

What do you mean by "played in sequential segments"?

Thank you!

I'm going to post my notes until the point I reached and update them later.

Overall, I think you put a lot of effort and I assume your priority is to learn first and foremost. In that sense - well done! 

The design is interesting - you are making a few systems which interact with each other.

I see that you made the font yourself. Are you doing something unique and different - is it worth the effort to do it? Do you think in the limited time for a jam investing the time and effort into it steals away from other aspects of the game? For example you have a game like Pentiment (by Obsidian) where they did a custom font because it was central to the game - more details here https://lettermatic.com/custom/pentiment 

You mentioned that you use Aseprite - I personally have not used it as I'm aware it can be time consuming to draw one pixel at a time. Have you thought about using other software such as Krita? It is free and there are many types of brushes.

The art is OK but it is kind of flat - there is no depth, it does not feel like a real place. You may find this talk interesting - basically even professional artists ues hacks to do more in less time. Nothing wrong with that approach. Also - you can see many artists drawing something and then drawing over it again to make a cleaner, better looking version. I have usd Krita in this way. Cannot say about Aseprite. This is very important if you are serious about drawing.

For the slow and elaborate gameplay the music is too fast paced. I feel like the music is more suited for an action game not for this one.

To be continued...

I'm going to post my notes until the point I reached and update them later.

The pacing is well made - level 5 is where the core mechanic is used for the first time which is enough time for the player to understand how the mechanics work. 

However level 8 includes a double swap which was unexpected - I read another person commented that they got stuck. It's a good idea to include some hint.

To be continued...

The contrast between the music, the colourful world, the "sweet" enemeies is very sarcastic! It doesn't make any sense but at least it's not gruesome violence. It made the game fun!

It would be nice to add logic to check if the gun which is thrown still has bullets in it. I did it a few times by mistake. If it has ammo - should be availalbe to pick up again.

It would also be nice to add logic to check if the gun I'm holding has less amunition and let me get max ammuniation when passing next to a dropped gun.

About the difficulty - the first area with the ranged enemies was a bit of a spike. I was left with the impression that in earlier levels the enemies which where eliminated remained so. But then on the level with the candy house they respawned. Maybe this can be an option in the settings?

Clicking on the "Back to hub" button didn't work...

The spawn point of the candy house is outside the level. I managed to drop even further below then navigate up through the floor back to the level but with a lot of seconds wasted.

Overall, it's a blast to play.

Hey jammer!

The gameplay is focused on social interactions - character design and animation are important. 

Right now (Aug 18) we're a programmer and a composer.

The game is going to be with a top down view. Not an isometric angle but birds eye - directly above. So the environmental art is closer to level design rather than landscape drawing. The locations ar egrid based (the grid itself is invisible to the player) - currently 64x64 cells.

To satisfy the convention of character customisation we're using modular bodies and clothes. This means that at a minimum you don't need to draw the whole character portraits - only the faces. You may need to draw story specific clothes.

Here's a short video of the customisation which I've implemented:

Combat is not represented but I can add it in a very basic or automatic way. 

After many iterations the custom engine I'm building is starting to innovate and receive positive feedback.

The story is going to be based on real world history. There are a few benefits to a historical setting: 1) it increases the value of the game because it is educational in addition to fun, 2) there is a lot of material already available - not just text but also sounds and visuals which we might be able to use 3) it is more interesting for the audience of streamers.

To polish the game it is especially important to make good facial expressions. It would be fantastic if you have experience making modular faces - the eyes/brows and mouth are separate elements which we can animate. When you are ready you send the images to me to be uploaded to Esoteric Spine.

If this sounds like your thing you can reach me on Discord: avandonov_28554 . My time zone is: UTC+3.

Good luck with the jam!

Hey jammers. You can now complete the whole story! More details here: https://beseda.itch.io/interstellar-jam-9/devlog/1631645/2-post-jam-updates

Hey jammer!

We're a team of programmer, composer, writer.

We have a plan about the type of game we are going to make regardless of which theme is voted. 

The game is going to be with a top down view. Not an isometric angle but birds eye - directly above. So the environmental art is closer to level design rather than landscape drawing.

The genre is role playing and the gameplay is focused on social interactions - combat is not represented but I can add it in a very basic or automatic way.

To satisfy the convention of character customisation we're using modular bodies and clothes. This means that at a minimum you don't need to draw the whole character portraits - only the faces. You may need to draw some story specific clothes.

Here's a short video of the customisation which I've implemented:

The story is going to be based on real world history. There are a few benefits to this approach - 1) it increases the value of the game because it is educational in addition to fun, 2) there is a lot of material already available - not just text but also sounds and visuals which we might be able to use 3) it is more interesting for the viewers of streamers.

Here is an example of the newest game I made about the Egyptian president Anwar Sadat - I drew the faces based on photographs of the real people. I didn't have time to animate them.

To polish the game it is especially important to make good facial expressions. It would be fantastic if you have experience making modular faces - the eyes/brows and mouth are separate elements which we can animate. When you are ready you send the images to me to be uploaded to Esoteric Spine.

If this sounds like your thing you can reach me on Discord: avandonov_28554 . My time zone is: UTC+3.

Good luck with the jam!

Hey there! 

We're doing a project with 2D graphics, turn based tactics genre without combat.

The team is - composer, writer and programmer. 

Would you like to join us?

Hey, my name is Aleksandar. Let's connect on Discord - it's avandonov_28554

Thank you. Good luck to you too!

Hey there,

We're a team of composer, writer and programmer. We're looking for an artist.

Our game is going to be turn based tactics without violence. Would you like to join us?

Hey Maciej,

You mention sound design - which tools do you use?

I've integrated Howler.js into my custom engine but I'm yet to learn how to use the advanced features. Do you know that library? 

Kind regards

Wow, I like your style! 

We are a team of: composer, writer and programmer. We're going to make a turn based tactical game without violence. Would you like to join us?

Actually when you return to the diary you will see that the tasks have been completed and when you continue time moves forward to day 99. The first transition may not be noticeable but essentially you repeat the same actions and return to the diary again. The transition after that is more noticeable.

Achievement unlocked!

You did manage to keep the scope small enough to be interesting and to manage to complete it. Congratulations!

Good luck with your next project.

It's a case of - victim of one's own success. And the plot twist at the end is very ironic! Thank you. Good luck

Using the hand as a pistol is a classic - will not get old. 

Maybe I was hoping for something more when I unlocked the door... I think it was an opportunity to make some surreal and memorable to finish the game and leave an impression. 

It has already been mentioned - it's risky to make a large difference in the difficulty between segments of the game. Such spikes would usually lead to people dropping out.

Good luck

Wow, this was a very calming experience. Thank you. 

I liked how each entity was reflecting on it's past which also put me in that way of thinking. Overall this contributed to a feeling of closure, of the end of all ends. Great vibes.

Well structured - the connection between the black hole at the start and the probe near the end, it's evident that you put a lot of thought into it.

Great submission! Too bad you (accidentally) deleted it. Good luck with your next project.

Great job for managing to do all the assets within the jam period! 

The black hole using objects to recharge is an interesting design. It would be great if there were more objects. I tried and it was a nice surprise that the round hovering enemies can also be transformed into energy. But the turrets did not seem to be transformable which would have been nice.

It can be rather punishing that enemies can see (and shoot?) through walls. If I designed the game I would rather be on the lenient side and make the game easier on the player. To avoid rage quitting.

Good luck!

I appreciate the bright and colorful art style. Thank you.

I found out that I could stand at the right side of the screen and exploited that to be closest to the mouth. Maybe it is not supposed to be like that? Not sure.

Good luck!

I did jump and fall from the solid space into the void. But nothing happened. That's why I asked. Am I supposed to aim jumping somewhere in particular?

well done! This is a great foundation on which to build further. Keep going.

One suggestion is - when you use text inside the virtual world it breaks the immersion. I would avoid it unless it's stylistic like for example in Tom Clancy Splinter Cell Conviction where it is positioned properly instead of hovering above.

It seemed that the movement hit box is larger than the sword which resulted in the character pushing the ball and hitting the air. That happened a lot to the point of being annoying. It can use some tweaking.

Hey, I think the 3rd party integration for the tutorial might be broken at the moment.... I will check it later. UPDATE The tutorial is working.

Correct, there are tree types of actions (basic, advanced and special which is revealed in the locked off part of the game). 

Whcih of the 4 types of intent you select matters because when you chose the correct one you get +Power or you lose one power. If the power of your character drops below zero. That triggers the emotional state of worry which restricts the available intents for the next turn to Defend only. You play a mini game and if successful the worry is removed and the restrictions are lifted.

I'm still developing the system - there's a lot more to do. I'm participating in the jam in the hope of getting some feedback. I don't care about the competition. And I try to make the game useful in more than one way - hence you get the historical setting. I hope you found the history interesting at least.

I wish you a bright day

Hey Nicolaas, thank you for the feedback. I am curious to try out your game you mentioned.... But it's not on Itch I guess looking at your profile....

Ummm - there is a tutorial. Did it not appear for you? What browser are you using?

Hey, thank you for playing. I'm sorry it was not fun. I'm interested to know - what did you find confusing?

There is a soft lock - I'm aware of it. I fixed it and I'm going to upload it on the 17th.

There is more to the game after that point - building relationships. When you are (trying to be) closer to an NPC the flashing spheres on the body which you need to repeat make sense because they increase/decrease a Mood variable which you use for special actions that increase the depth of the dialog.

Interesting - you did create a feeling of being in a void. I mean - more than just making a level with an empty space around. Can't point at exactly how you managed to do it but good job!

I did not understand how I am supposed to go to the center of the black hole. Some more guidance would be appreciated.

I gave the cracker to Polly. I think that's a Blue (the animated series) reference right? :D Great series. Anyways...

It took me a while to realise that there was a banana on the floor :D 

It's kind of annoying that the terminal gives prompts and ask twice for confirming - there is nothing else to do. And it's not possible to say no. Not sure if that is intentional design or accident.. Can't say I'm a fan of that decision.

Not sure what happened after the engine started - sounded like it fired some projectile in some direction.

It's an interesting game - the best way to make a narrative is to give just enough information that the player is asking himself questions. Then the player wants more story. That's better than giving too much information and the player pushing it away.

Good luck!

Ah, I wish I had seen your message before I made the max damage and exited the game. Yes, it makes the ending... anticlimactic. The opposite of what it is supposed to be I guess.

Anyways - the game is very high tech. I guess you can think about making it funnier... or maybe that's not the correct word... Let's say - more engaging? I guess it needs some more juice - the seismogram is nice but since the main attention is on the globe that is where the main feedback should be.

I guess the skybox could be made with starts, not clouds - right now it's breaking the immersion.

I learned how interconnected the plates under Australia and Antarctic are. Thank you.

Good luck!

Awesome polish! Thank you. I really like how the music reacts to the gameplay.

One suggestion from me - I don't understand what those colorful tiles are for... I don't think I saw it explained somewhere in the game. At first I thought those were the only places where I could place the pieces. 

The automatic placement of the tiles make it a bit too easy - at later stages I was just clicking wherever there is free space. That reduced the logical part of the puzzle. Maybe it can be implemented as a power up? Like a temporary boost?

Good luck!

Oh, that's awesome!

One more thing - the tutorial is on page "Purple Adventure" but the first level is on the page to the left. It's a bit confusing. Ideally they would be in the same page. Or you can also just make it clear where to go after the tutorial.

Great execution! Thank you. 

The one thing I can comment is that the view of the black hole makes it easier to see when asteroids are coming from the sides. But if they come from up/down the visibility is lower and it's much more difficult. I'm not exactly sure how that could be handled... The naive solution would be to zoom out - that may decrease the difficulty however. The other option is to make the view round too? I guess it would also be zoomed out but that way the visibility would be the same in all directions (360 degrees). Anyways, the game is great as it is.

Hey, I'm glad that you like it. Sorry to hear about that bug - I don't think I've encountered it... Were the four buttons at the bottom center not visible?

The goal is to  advance the conversations. Same as with combat games but it seems when it is about dialog people expect more context and meaning. While I'm trying to represent the pragmatics of dialog - what we DO when we talk rather than the content.

Oh! I didn't think about trying that... Then I tried all the mushrooms and it did not accept any... Hmmm...

I guess you made the voice acting for all the characters, right? The Italian accent,  the "woman"'s voice - for me you have a talent for this!

 The writing includes a lot of references to different famous universes, there is forth wall breaking. It makes it interesting to interact with the characters.

Great entry! Good luck!

Congratualations! This is a fantastic achievement. I reached the end and had a cool time. Thank you.

On level 9 it is a bit difficult to differentiate the fields from the holes (where a piece cannot be placed).