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Hello, thanks for looking!

Apologies for the lack of clarity, the common theme across the comments I've received is that the information portrayal is far more convoluted than it needed to be.

I've only managed to think of potential solutions to that issue after the jam...it's possible that it all made sense to myself while I was developing it, but I hadn't quite considered the most user-friendly ways to portray information to other players.

I'd probably either direct more attention to the sticky-notes when it's relevant, or have a tutorial for the first phase of the game, which has you up and running with a basic town by the time it starts picking up.

Very adorable - I played a lot of a game called "SimAnt" when I was younger, so I really appreciate a cute ant simulator. (even though the theme is very different)

I want all bugs of the world to party together!

It kinda gives me Tamagotchi-ish vibes, and I'd totally dig having a casual version of something like this on-the-go!

I think you did an amazing job on meeting the theme and wildcards! (particularly in the regard that the wildcards *are* the gameplay)

Very endearing and deceptively challenging.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with next!

I think you did an amazing job on meeting the theme and wildcards! (particularly in the regard that the wildcards *are* the gameplay)

Very endearing and deceptively challenging.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with next!

Pill Bugs (Woodlice where I'm from) are one of my favourite bugs; instant points for that!

That aside, that frog is more cute than it has any right to be and I kinda want to let it eat me lol.

I like how you integrated the "Seamless" wildcard.

Easy enough to pick up and play, and I liked how the player can actually roll on the hills somewhat, as they should be able to! But I would echo the same statement others have made regarding the camera - unless your goal is to encourage the player to have quick reactions, then it works pretty well, actually.

Good work for your first jam!

I couldn't ask for any more on my first jam than to get the theme right! Good to know that the interface and graphics manage to mesh decently, despite mostly being a hodgepodge of different resources, haha.

Yeah, the notes could probably be prioritised in some way...like, the weather notes should only be really relevant if there is a weather effect going on, the building information when you're trying to piece things together, and the information tucked away at the bottom is ironically the most important...

I had toyed with the idea of having several different tracks for the game to choose from, because having just one would be monotonous, I felt. I ended up thinking it wasn't necessary, but I can see where you're coming from and that's a good idea!

Thank you for playing!

Hey there!

It definitely could benefit from a tutorial of some sort - although I feel it would be a fine line of making it not any more overbearing than the information currently is...perhaps it could highlight certain areas of the console when carrying out certain actions to show where to look and where you can find information you need?

Thanks for the feedback and I'm glad you enjoyed the theme as a whole!

Glad to hear you liked the console aesthetics and information aesthetics! (although the volume of information could do with much tuning)

I initially had it so the window was resizable, which I probably could have just kept in as an option; especially considering working with the console was a curse and blessing. Maybe even a setting could work that allows the player to choose from several different "console sizes"? Kinda like how the 3DS has the standard 3DS and XL.

Thanks for playing!

I struggled quite a bit with the time limit, but that's probably because I like having as much time as I need to process a puzzle - but it's not a bad thing by any means, it really pushes you to keep trying!

Simple mechanics that manage to feel rewarding to pull off and beat the level.
Has lots of room for potential for other mechanics and types of levels!

Brb I have a sudden urge to make a life full of potatoes and TV...

In seriousness though, I love the concept and it's a very endearing world you've created!

His thoughts are a little hard to keep track of, but I really like that it gives that feeling that you're feeding into his mind, and just like a real brain, his mind really races and you gotta focus on the keypoints to prompt him from procrastinating.

Rather therapeutic to watch him go about his business!

Nice integration with the menu to get used to the controls!

Simple to pick up and play, and fun to see how far you can get.
Somehow, I could really picture a game like this draining someone's change at an arcade machine, haha!

I may or may not have missed a jump or two that led me to drift into space for all eternity...
But...is the character the bad guy? I really hope these planets aren't inhabited and he's just on debris cleanup duty!

Hello!

Yes, although I did not design any of the assets myself and I had some edits done for me, I didn't have a dedicated artist or anything like that.

Pleased to hear you enjoyed the theme and basic mechanics! I had to go through several different iterations of progression before deciding on one that I thought sorta worked. The fairies are difficult to satisfy and I think that becomes more apparent the further you go, haha.

Ah yes, I heard from a pre-jam tester that the village name entering was their bane. I'd played with the idea of having a scene that opens when the game begins, with name-entering and other information, but I didn't quite end up having the time for it; it does rather throw the naming at you, now that I think about it.

Ohh, I see the point you're making; so rather than giving information about all weathers at once, it just tells you about the current ongoing one...and if a building needs extra information, it tells you about the conditions for that particular building you're trying to place.
That makes a lot of sense!

Thank you for your constructive criticism and of course, thanks a lot for playing!

Hi there!

I'm glad you found it cute; that was my primary objective, to be honest, haha!

Apologies for the text overload, as I've replied in the comment above, I had all sorts of ideas on how I could fix this once it wasn't relevant anymore - but that's just how it goes I suppose - more knowledge for a future jam!

In another comment below, I'd discussed a possibility where text gets added gradually to the notes which I believe would work much better to have you learning on the go but not having to absorb everything right away.
At the moment, I feel like the game's style makes it look cute and simple, but all the information makes it more deceptively confusing than it should be.

Regarding the visual area of the game, it was actually more of a design decision to make it windowed only, to get across the idea of a small portable console - it also allows quests to be completed in the background more easily. If it's any consolation, I initially had information on the bottom-screen before the game started and boy was that even harder to read!

Many thanks for playing!

Yes, I agree that there is quite a lot of text to take in at once and I only potentially had other ideas to go about it on the last day or after the jam, oops. ^^;
I'm glad you enjoyed the overall presentation though and the weather system!

Thanks for playing!

This looks beautiful and the music is great!
Very bold attempt at participating in two jams at once.

But Argos, please, if you want to be fed, STOP FIRING LASERS AT ME!
...unless that's his way of threatening me to keep doing it.

ahem, that aside, very short and sweet and I felt compelled to push through. I think it's the way you subtitled the text at the top which encouraged me to try and feed him maybe once more...

I had a strangely quaint emotion of mixed frustration and accomplishment when I worked out what direction was what.

Thanks for the new emotion I didn't know existed!

Haha, I'm glad you appreciated my silly little advertisement; I couldn't help but imagine how back then that console advertisements were really cheesy!

Regarding the interface - I was using a Gameboy palette set for Aseprite (I'd been playing a lot of games lately that use Gameboy-themed colour schemes, so I kinda wanted to do one myself)
The console itself is actually based on the Game & Watch consoles (I got the asset here), but I adapted it to be a bit more like a DS. So in a way, I'm taking inspiration from a lot of consoles, I guess? My fondest memories are of the Gameboy-DS era.

I initially wanted to make it possible for the player to freely choose the colour palette, but then I was given the idea from a friend that I could try incorporating weather, so I saw that as an opportunity to add in colour swaps as a feature!

I'm a liiittle concerned about how you treated your fairies, but it's nice to take a break from the hustle and bustle of the city life! They aren't ready for it yet, clearly...

Thanks for taking the time to read into the discussion below, and for checking my project out, of course!
I had a lot of interesting moments with development, trying to figure out what might work and what wouldn't, based on the theme I was trying to portray. In a way, it's a tiny world in more senses than one!

That's a good point, yes, I hadn't thought of it that way.
I'm all for breaking the fourth-wall, but I can appreciate that you'd want to portray the information in a relevant manner.

If this management gave me the power to rewind time or ability to revert mistakes they know will happen, I'd be verrry wary, haha.
Is it generosity or do they want you to feel like those assists won't help you...?

That certainly sounds like a potential improvement, then if you have to restart and you already know a route for where to push things, you can get back to where you were quite rapidly.

Maybe it doesn't need to be an extensive tutorial, perhaps just for level 1 it could tell the basics?
"Build a hut, now build a farm for food..." etc.
Then once you've got the basics up and running you've already got a small economy going once the tutorial ends, so you don't have to start over.

Regarding the sticky notes, that's exactly the theme I was going for!!

There's always been a game or console in our past that we played to death, and I wanted to imagine that the owner of this game had played this game a lot and perfected it to a fine art, and wanted to note down all the tips and tricks they'd noticed whilst playing the game.

So you think it could be like...as you "discover" these interactions, lines get added to the stickynotes to indicate that they're learning?
So maybe when you place houses together for the first time, something pops up saying "Note added!", prompting you to check the note to see that fairies don't like overcrowding?

I could totally see that now!

Thank you for your feedback!

I love the theme and how insignificantly tiny I feel!

I've recently been playing Baba is You so this game felt right at home for me with thought-provoking box puzzles, haha!

As a couple others have mentioned, the only real changes I'd want to see made is the ability to move faster over long distances and an undo button would be a pleasant perk to have, although I think faster movement would offset it if it couldn't be implemented, because it'd be easier to get back to where you are.

Maybe a possible solution could be to allow continuous movement unless you're in the vicinity of an enemy or pushable object, where the movement becomes more controlled like it is now?

I don't know how but you awakened a desire in me for a power I never knew I needed! If only this were all that was needed to break up arguments, although the inevitability of it all hits hard...

The bantering noises were spot-on and I could feel myself mentally wanting to pull my hair out, but my hands were tied to the keyboard!

As a comment below mentioned, I did not understand what preferences customers had and wasn't sure why they were charging across the room to argue at someone I split them off from, when all they really want is a likeminded friend.

Endearing and addictive to try to push further than before!
I reached about a minute on my first try and managed to push that further on a second run with 70s.

I don't know how but you awakened a desire in me for a power I never knew I needed! If only this were all that was needed to break up arguments, although the inevitability of it all hits hard...

The bantering noises were spot-on and I could feel myself mentally wanting to pull my hair out, but my hands were tied to the keyboard!

As a comment below mentioned, I did not understand what preferences customers had and wasn't sure why they were charging across the room to argue at someone I split them off from, when all they really want is a likeminded friend.

Endearing and addictive to try to push further than before!
I reached about a minute on my first try and managed to push that further on a second run with 70s.

Thanks for playing!

Yup they get pretty grumpy, but they'll still do their job!

I'm happy to hear that you enjoyed the aesthetics, but I have to say, as much as I loved working with it...it was also one of my greatest hindrances because I had such limited space to work with, it was quite a struggle to figure out where information about playing the game could go.
It's a relief that you were able to figure things out from reading the information provided by the sticky notes - I worried that it might be too confusing and throws too much at the player.

Do you think something like a tutorial could have helped?

I'm glad you liked it!

I hoped that the adjaceny bonuses would add a little more flavour than just clumping everything together willy-nilly (I mean, not that you can't, they just won't be very happy about it, haha)

I learnt the hard way with this project that balancing games is super hard! I ended up having to rework the system several times before deciding on what I've ended up with, and even then I wasn't fully convinced on the gameflow...but the code was all so deeply ingrained with itself that I just had to leave it be. 

If you have any thoughts on what you think could have been done differently, I'd love to hear it!

Thank you for your time!