itch.io

It was a chill experience to almost put yourself in the shoes of a captain, yet all the decisions, for me were made by someone who wouldn't consider themselves a boat captain in any possible way. 

The interesting thing about your game was how close it was to the real world at some points like at some point of the red path I ended up seeing seagulls and I knew that usually when you see them some sort of land or shore is close. I also used knowledge from my first run of the "yummy yellow" to understand what things could happen when it came to repeating events. Your approach to illusion of choice was more prominent in other paths than others but I saw that as a nice thing, since you intended on exploring the in's and out's of player choice and expectations (via.  your intention on Canvas). 

Your design decisions of color coding different paths was a great touch of creating illusion of choice because when we see repeating patterns, especially in games we think there are conenctions between different parts of a story. What's great is that that isn;t always isn't the case and for me that was clever and really made me think about the multiple endings you curated. Cool story and hope to learn about the actuality of the  easter egg you reffered to, I didn't get to find out what it was based on what I played at least!

It was interesting because as I played through the first part of the game to get past the white fence, I seemed to struggle and it made me feel like...

1. I wouldn't survive a zombie apocolypse. 

2. Cats can do so much more than we can make out. 

Better yet, that first decision of selectinv which cat you chose made me think that influences my survival rate, especially after failing so many times but that was great use of illusion of choice. As the sotry progressed, I know that you were going for a Stray and The Walking Dead type of survival game and those qualities like butterfly effect and playing to survive made your objective of the game very engaging. Despite the neutral tone of the typeface you use, the images really add to the immersion because by reading and seeing words it allows me to create a more active connection between current events and what might happen after the choice I make. 

The 2nd part is where it becomes more intuitive and instinct base, where you decide what food you must feast on. When I bypaseed the first options and came across the bird that I'd end up hunting it made me feel like I had full control over what I did. Simply by adding "take a step forward" or "pounce" it made me consider my decisions more. To me player choice was the forefront of your game and because you did a zombie survival-esque game, it made my immersion with the game all the better! Loved it. 

A few interesting things I can say about your game is that choices and their consequences aren't immediate, that for me is what made the experience more engaging. Especially after finishing the game and when you restart your day at work because I experienced one ending of the story it made me curious about other outcomes if my intrusive thoughts had won over in the first place. 

Your selection of type and illustration was very fitting too, from comic sans to a very cartoony illustration style and in relation to the "dark" yet violent actions you commit in game, that juxtaposition made me reflect on the quote the therapist says to you in the appointment. 

I felt it was clear to navigate through my choices and the overall design choices you made for your hierarchy was what made that possible. Initially I thought it was fun but when I reached the therapist it was almost like a pause in time and made me reflect on the possibilites we all have as people to make a violent decision, yet we never act on it and when I think about it more amazes me. Better yet that quote helped me see that the game isn't only fun but had a neat concept that balanced the fun of possible choices with the serious concept you explore in your game! 

It turned out great, it would've been interesting to see in another iteration where you could act out on the therapist. It would put into question whether the player themselves learned something or just wanted to see what would happen if they took the therapists' words for granted... either way had fun playing it!!!