I really liked the concept of puzzles within puzzles introduced by the indigo blocks. I might make those indigo blocks different colors/designs when the puzzle types changed. For example, solving the indigo puzzle makes it totally disappear in one level, but in the next level rearranging the blocks in the indigo level makes them appear that way in the meta-level. Since these indigo blocks function in two different ways, it might be helpful for them to have a different visual design and/or different names.
As other reviewers have said, I really like how you keep building on the basic premise and steadily add new mechanics. Fun game!
Fun art and a clever concept. I had a little trouble understanding the knight's pathing at first, but it became pretty apparent after experimenting a couple times. Great entry!
It's final then-- I'll put away the shaders for a minute (they weren't cooperating anyway) and add the Clear button now for the post-jam release :) .
As for being more intentionally vague about the mechanics:
I, personally, am 100% in accord with you. I love games that encourage experimentation and emergence! Unfortunately, in the past I've had quite a few comments from frustrated players who really wanted to like the game but just couldn't grok what they were supposed to be doing. So it's a real balancing act, making things that people can enjoy puzzling together and (/or???) making things that people can enjoy picking up and playing. This would be a great topic for a blog post (I'll start after the button maybe).
The idea of some kind of a journal or diary would dovetail in really nicely with a more staggered tutorial where you get introduced to the different pieces gradually level by level It would also be a lot more keeping with the alchemy vibe.
Sorry about the novel of a reply. I truly appreciate comments from thoughtful players (and fellow designers) like yourself!
Yes I definitely overshot the scope of this one (it seems to be a theme for me).
All of these suggestions are right on! I'd have to mess around with the orbs a little bit to make it work, but it's definitely doable. And I probably should have just included a "Clear All" button from the get go. The idea of being able to align rotas is intriguing-- I thought about having some kind of "snap" system, but ended up scrapping it as it seemed not free-form enough. After your suggestion I could see how it might be useful, though.
Thanks for the follow and the constructive feedback!
Thank you! I definitely think I missed the mark on scope with this one-- way too many components to introduce (and bug test : / ) in a week. Thanks for playing and for taking the time to write!
Yeah I tried the download and I think it needs additional files other than just the .exe. For example, when I built the project for windows the target folder contained the unitycrashhandler64.exe, unityplayer.dll, [project name]Data (folder), and MonoBleedingEdge (folder). I then zipped up the target folder and that's what I uploaded to itch. But ugh, I know it's like to work forever on something only to have it crash on release!
Hey there! I tried checking out the web version of the game and got a blank screen. Unfortunately, the unity launcher also didn't work (the error I got mentioned that it needs the unity.dll to be included with it). I know how frustrating these builds can be on a time crunch, so I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news :( .
Thank you! I tried to explain a bit about the goal on in the help menu, but I totally agree that this game would -greatly- benefit from tutorial levels and/or more clear examples at the beginning. I'll be keeping people in the loop with a blog post here, so if you're inclined feel free to follow or if that's not your thing please do drop on by post-jam for an update. I appreciate the kind words and helpful feedback!
Nice! Those choices are just for flavor now, but depending on how my other projects go I'd like to revisit the whole Greenmother miniverse and maybe expound on those a little more.
Poignant and relatable (that bitter-sweet experience of surveying a mostly-empty room). The theme, setting, and mechanics all resonate beautifully here. Thank you!
Haha yeah the cat one is an oldie but a goodie-- I really wanted to do more with Sparkles / Remmy but it ended up on the cutting room floor.
(spoilers) :
You've seen most of the endings-- The Ending 1 you described is different from Ending 2 if you choose to become the new Greenmother right away. I think you got all the other ones though. I can see how it might look like they would be the same though. I'll think about if there's a better way to broadcast the difference in outcomes-- it's surprisingly hard to convey some things to the player in IF .
Thanks as always for playing through and for your feedback. It's very much appreciated!
Awesome! I think you featured my Sitcom Generator in another showcase as well. Thanks for all the work you do putting these together and promoting all these talented devs!
Doesn't ruin it for me! I suspected that might be the case but was wondering how you did it. Thanks for sharing the secret-- I'll have to try stuff with tags on my next bout with Twine!
Thanks for playing! I appreciate you mentioning the voice-- it was a lot of fun to write in, but difficult to know if I was taking it too far sometimes. Glad to hear you enjoyed it!
The inventory / item puzzle system was easy to grok, and your prose and atmosphere here are top notch.
I don't want to get into too many spoilers, but I am curious if there is and underlying simulation element to when the creepy events happen, or if they're just added randomly?
Mind's Edge is my first game / IF . It's available in browser or app (the app emulates an old console). It's a bit more linear than I would have liked (though I could say the same for this submission), but that's the nature of Jam games haha.
Glad you enjoyed it! I admit the stories are pretty disparate-- partly because I rushed at the end and partly because this seemed like that kind of person that somehow manages to be both meandering and disjointed at the same time.
[Spoilers Ahead]
There are three endings. One where you admit who you are, one where you wait too long, and another that involves asking about Big Digger at the end and consulting the Sarambulus about the great beyond. Regardless, you didn't miss anything major. I was wondering if that ending actually worked, or if there could have been some way to pack in more resonance by hinting at it earlier.
Thank you for engaging with the story and taking the time to comment!
Not at all a weird comment! I was experimenting (a.k.a. goofing around) and thought it might be another way to disorient readers in regards to what a Sarambulus is. It sounds like it was sort of successful, but I could amp it up a little--I'll put it in my notes for a post-contest update. Thanks again for more helpful feedback!
Great execution on a stealthy Roguelike. Particularly effective use of status / awareness indicators on NPC's. I also dig the unique setting!
Small bug (though you may have already fixed it): When my inventory was full (all nine slots) I couldn't select the ninth item.
Overall a fun experience that changes the roguelike gameplay dynamic by making you avoid / take a lot of time to deal with hostiles.
Developer Shop Talk Incoming:
I was reading up on the Osnowa framework and then realized you are the creator as I was playing through this entry. I'm working on my own ECS engine in C# and had thought I was super clever coming up with component-states for AI when I came across your (extremely smooth) implementation. I'm still a Unity novice, but I got the Osnowa demo up and running and am considering using it for my next project now that I've seen what it can do in such a short time.
Thank you! I was worried that the hints might be too obvious, but I had the opposite problem in a previous game (Ouroboros, Oubliette) and it made it difficult for players to understand what was going on. I for one like games where mechanics and effects are more implied, so perhaps I'll go back and tweak this.
I'll add the infinite level generation to my list of bugs to check out. I wonder if some parameters need to be sorted out.
I really appreciate the feedback and you taking the time to play! I'll do the same for Res furtiva in the coming days!
P.S.
[Spoilers]
You're right on about Knowledge there.
The 80 MB is probably more a result of me using an engine intended for larger purposes on a smaller game. That and I'm not the greeeatest when it comes to optimization. However, there are two endings :) .
There are an impressive amount of mechanics (and UI functionality) going on here, especially for a 7DRL-- well done!
I was dying a lot at first but after reviewing your help section (particularly the summary of combat) I was able to keep my armies going longer (still needed to stock up on fresh fodde- err-- farmers every few rounds. In the last game I played I died to a herd of rhinoceroses, which was a novel strategy gaming experience.
A few thoughts:
1) It was sometimes difficult for me to distinguish between my units and the enemy units when they were the same type. I may have been missing a UI tip, but it would be cool if there could be some kind of visual indicator on the map to distinguish friend from foe (maybe a red box around them or something)?
2) I almost instantly grokked the darkened FOV as moveable tiles, but it's still a little non-standard to shade out places that ARE possible for you to move/attack. Maybe there could be a green overlay instead of a black one to indicate possible choices?
3) A field for how many days you have left before you run out of rations would be nice for those of us who are lazy and don't want to divide the amount of rations by the number of rations consumed daily.
I'm not sure how many of these were updated in the next version. (Very cool that you already have that out already, btw).
Overall, a fun condensed strategy roguelike that reminded me of MoM and Conquest of Elysium. Thank you!
Wow! Thanks so much for taking the time to play and for the awesome tips!
The "ot' should be "of". I always manage to fit one typo in no matter how little text I have :)
The "Death's cold hand reaches out for you." is more of a warning than an alert. It's telling you that if you are in a death-adjacent square on the next turn, you will lose health. I thought it would be more fair for the player that way, but I definitely need a better way to communicate it.
I'll take a look at fixing that "courage" / message overlap as well.
I think you can press any of the direction keys to exit out of the help menu, but I forgot to mention it in the menu itself. Regardless, your suggestion to get rid of the "shift" key makes total sense-- I'll change that in the next update as well.
Spoiler about winning:
Once you have five memories, it's possible to get the "acceptance" ending.
Again, I really appreciate the great feedback! I'll do the same for Wizard Chess soon-- it looks like it's right in my wheelhouse of strategy/roguelike hybrids!
Clever use of sound in this one-- I like the idea of an audio / symbolic puzzle. Like some of the other reviewers it took me a minute to understand how it worked, but that discovery is also part of the fun!
Thank you for playing and for the kind feedback! I completely agree that some audio would do wonders (particularly if some confirmation sounds could play when choosing an action) and some parts of the game absolutely need some more explanation. The most regrettable bug at the moment is definitely the inability to see what the fourth player is doing. Nice job on beating Ouroboros on your first try-- it took me a lot more than that!
Maybe you could have an option to Recall "The Facts" or "The Clues" that you've found so far that could point the player towards where they should go next? Regardless, it looks like you've got a good start and a lot of potential for more stories!
Thank you for the feedback! I completely agree that the trial-and-error approach is a big barrier. I was halfway through writing a quick manual when I kept hitting bug after bug, including several related to the A.I. that you mentioned. In the end, I was happy that it actually could attack different characters at all. Needless to say the last day or so of this jam was a liiiittle bit stressful-- I hope to get the A.I. sorted to a slightly better state and release a manual after the Jam is over and before I move on to other projects. Thanks again for playing!
Thank you for giving it a try! The biggest (well, one of the biggest) problems with this demo is that there isn't any tutorial or documentation. You use the numpad or numbers to select actions for each character, and different character classes have different actions available. I really could have used a little more time to improve the ux/ui -- hoping to get around to that after the Jam when I have more time.
That makes sense-- the whole Recall feature is nicely handled as well. I was thrown off for a minute when I could see options in recall that I hadn't discovered yet, but it does help you know where to go. These are minor gripes though--it's a solid proof of concept and I like the idea of newsscrolls and #1 Dad mugs in this setting.
