A wonderful, incredibly cute game! It warms your heart like a cup of hot chocolate!

Since others seem to have troubles with the download, I want to mention that the game worked without any problems for me. Just unzipped, startet the Winterjam.exe and done.

A small suggestion, though: the music doesn't loop and therefore leaves a little bit of silence at the end of the normal run (not too bad) and quite a lot in a longer practice run. Since the music fits the atmosphere pretty well, I think hearing it on loop would be cool.

But as I said, a very cute and wholesome game!

Best of luck for that!

She's pretty busy at the moment and we're already working on some other projects, but I'll tell her the next time I see her.  c:

Phew...that was a lot to read. Definitely wins the award for the most excessive entry!

I just dabbled with a few free MMORPGs 10+ years ago, so I'm probably not the best judge for that, but as far as I can tell, it's all pretty conclusive. The game history document is a neat idea as well.

Being able to play as a Bunbun Barista is one of the things I'll want in every RPG from now on!

Hmm...apparently you would need Adobe Muse to open that file. Given that Adobe Muse is/will be discontinued and not everyone has Adobe's Creative Cloud, could you maybe convert it into another, more easily readable format?

I have no idea what's going on, but that's exactly why I love it. Looks like a physics-based puzzle platformer, reminds me a bit of the grappling-hook-and-jet-pack mechanics of "Tiny and Big in Grandpa's Leftovers", a slightly more coherent but still pretty bizarre game.

Maybe turning it into a game is too much effort, but I'd still read a comic about that duo!

A lovely concept book!

I saw that you were looking for an artist and a programmer to realize those ideas. Can't do much about the art, but regarding programming: have you given Ren'Py a chance? It's a pretty straightforward engine for VNs that doesn't require much programming skills and there are plenty of tutorials available online. It will need some time to get used to it, but after that, you can easily code your own VNs. Best of all: it's free!

A friend of mine is drawing art and doing the code for her VNs (I did the soundtrack for some of them) and she learned to use Ren'Py without any real programming knowledge. I'm confident that you can learn it as well! =)

Nice sprites and really great level design (so far). The MNK design sheet is also a sweet little addition to the game world.

Having already seen most of the graphics at the Discord channel, the promo manual was one the biggest new things of the relase. You clearly put a lot of time and thought into it and it pays off, as I can imagine the game pretty well. If you should ever turn this into an actual game, I'd love to play it!

A pretty reduced but pleasing aesthetic with a font that is somewhere between Diablo's runes and futuristic, late 90s Dreamcast games, an interesting combination that works pretty well.

I like Reverie's design and would love to see the other characters as well! The colorblindness sheet is an interesting graphic that I haven't seen in any other games so far. Always good to learn something new!

The design doc is a neat add-on as well, although I'm probably too inexperienced with game dev and design to understand most of it.

Nice work!

Interesting Exorcist-like script for a fanfic(?). Definitely didn't see that last line coming...

Cool concept, featuring both one of my favorite game series (Fallout) and my favorite 70s muscle car (the Plymouth Barracuda just doesn't get enough love...)

The release notes made me chuckle, the weapons list seems plausible and the FAQ is well done as well (although I think you missed the Intelligence part of SPECIAL...on purpose, as its a WIP?).

Also a cool, quirky theme. The smooth break at 0:34 is gorgeous.

Reminds me of the This War of Mine board game that I played a few times. Maybe some subfolders would make the structure of the files a bit clearer, but the game concept and the rules are easily understandable The mostly black and white graphics are indeed minimalistic and slightly abstract, but that suits the theme pretty well. Interesting game that seems ready to play to me!

A few typos and mistakes here and there, but I really like the concept of a (slightly) alternative history stealth game that plays during the Russian Revolution!

Very amusing! I imagined it as some sort of dank brawler spin-off to the Shin Megami Tensei series. The low-poly, heavily pixelated graphics and the bright colors give it a pretty neat late-90s ａｅｓｔｈｅｔｉｃ. Good job!

Eeyup, it works for me now! Windows Defender doesn't seem to care as long as the .exe is in a .zip file first...

Played your game twice now and I'm pretty sure I still don't understand most of it, but I liked the overall silliness. Some sounds would have been nice, even just some "beatboxed" sound effects like you did in one of your tweets...I think they would even suit the aesthetic pretty well!

Oooooh, I was looking forward to that since someone mentioned that you planned to play every game of the jam. Always a nice feeling to see someone else play and like my game. And of course, also interesting to see the other entries from the perspective of another player. c:

Thank you for the feedback, I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed it! Fun fact: during development, my actual concept was "Oregon Trail, but with less dysentery and more chill." I'd use that exact term to describe my idea to a few people. The scope proved to be too ambitious for the deadline, so I simplified quite a few things, but it's funny that it still evokes the exact reaction that I was hoping for. x)

A creative 3D platformer with unique (and tricky) gameplay, wonderfully cute and detailed graphics, upbeat music and fitting sound effects to top it all up!

Although I did run into a little issue...I have a 360-type controller and the analog stick seems to be a bit mixed up. Pressing up (/down) moves the pot to the right (/left) while pressing right (/left) makes the pot run up (/down). It kind of swaps the x- and y-axis. However, jumping and kicking works as intended. Maybe I just have an outdated controller that isn't supported by default, but I thought I should mention it.

Still, it's really an outstanding entry and a well-deserved top spot at the game jam overview!

A very cute game! Everything in it just has this nice and fuzzy aura around it, whether it's the car design, the drivers, the dialogue or the shop signs...it all seems so smooth and friendly. Rowan Berry is my favorite character - the hat, the mittens and the socks are simply adorable!

Very atmospheric and unsettling. Well done pixel art and a soundscape that perfectly matches that setting.

It's a bit slow at first (especially collecting water) but becomes pretty manageable once you get the fox mask. Collecting wood and meat even gets easy if you let the fireballs do the work...although that gets more difficult later on. Especially if you run into two devils at the same time, like I did on one occasion.

Completing the game took me well over an hour, as I just couldn't find the last health upgrade. The instructions were pretty well explained, though. My only criticism here would be the note that explains how you get meat. The rifle is pretty obvious and the meat could also be figured out, but the thing in the middle is a bit cryptic. Maybe a deer head or something similar would be more clear. But players will probably figure it out anyway.

Still, a great little horror game!

This is such a wonderful little game! Maybe even the chillest entry in this jam. It is astounding how much you managed to get out of an endless number of tubes and a few bouncy balls. The dynamic ambient soundtrack also does a really great job supporting the chilling atmosphere. I quickly lost myself in that rainbow-colored wonderland and found myself at ease. When I played that game, everything that bothered me before seemed so trivial...probably the most relaxing game I've ever played.

Two little suggestions:

1.) After you've caught a ball and the setting changes, sometimes the audio has a slight clicking noise in it, probably due to an audio file being abruptly cut off (or continued) before it hits a zero point. It doesn't happen every time and it wasn't that noticeable, but a very short fade-out (/fade-in) should be enough to avoid it.

2.) Would it be possible to switch from the "flying" mode to a "jumping" mode? That is, walking on the ground and being able to jump with some sort of greatly reduced gravity. I always like it when dreamy games (or levels) offer this type of movement, like you're in a giant bounce house in space~

But with or without those things, your game was really relaxing, fun to play and overall well done!

A truly excellent little game that is sweet in every sense of the word. The adorable art, the catchy soundtrack, the simple but challenging gameplay with an innovative take on the matching genre...

I didn't find anything that could be improved. Really, oustanding work!

Controlling a computer inside a game you're controlling on your computer is always a concept that piques my interest and I appreciate more games like this. The interface reminds me a bit of my days as a kid when I figured out how to change the design, colors and fonts of Windows XP. Given that GHOST OS was built by a young hobby developer and never really finished, I can see how she would do similar stuff with her project and I think you conveyed that aspect pretty well.

The soundtrack is pretty cool and having to find the files before you play them is both realistic and a good motivation to look for secrets. Having them also play when clicked on instead of just being added to/removed from the playlist would be a nice addition. A few more system sounds for opening files, warning messages etc. could improve the immersion even further. The fan noises and the whine when you shut down the computer are a nice touch, though I only noticed them when I switched to headphones.

I have to admit I didn't get very far. I've read all the help documents and interacted with everything I could find on the guest account, but I probably missed something that would have helped me finde a code to create a real account. Opening folders also confused me a bit in the beginning. I thought clicking on any of the rounded rectangles would open the folders, even when you're hovering over one of the icons. For example, clicking on the news icon in the program overview would show a message about insufficient authorization which lead me to believe that the whole folder was unavailable. I was pretty surprised when clicking a few pixels next to it one or two minutes later later would open the folder or the help file. The selected icon gets a bit bigger when hovering over it, but maybe the highlighting could be a bit more obvious? Then again, it could just be me.

Nevertheless an interesting entry and take on the cartridge!

Aw, thank you! I probably got that idea from Pac-Man. Avoiding obstacles(/enemies) until you trigger a special mode and turn the tables around is such a simple idea but oddly satisfying. =)

(I'll also get to play your entry tomorrow!)

Well...Ace couldn't obtain the Silver Rule. I quit after a game over at the spike trap after the first locked door, so I'll just review the things so far. Before I start: having three separate downloads for the three platforms instead of one with all three of them would be nice.

The graphics are pretty solid for a NES/C64-style game. The three different spells, essentially a sword attack, a projectile and a mine, are also a nice idea.

The story is a bit confusing, especially the first piece of text being "Two weeks later". I read on the game page that it is a sequel/ has a prequel, but that should maybe be mentioned in-game as well.

I also noticed that advancing the text at the last sentence of a section would also cast a spell which is probably caused by using the same key but seemed unintentional nevertheless.

Entering the mind was pretty weird...which isn't bad per se, it's even an interesting idea. But the way the game changed when I first hit the C key was pretty unexpected. A short explanation before that and maybe even a transition animation would be nice.

The fight mechanics were okay for that retro aesthetic. The enemies - especially being the first encounters in the game - took a surprising amount of hits which felt a bit drawn-out, however.

I'm not really a fan of the soundtrack. They are original compositions and that is always a plus in my book, but they became repetitive pretty soon.

I've listened to all songs on your soundcloud playlist at your website and "The Chamber of Silver" might be the best example to show what I mean: having just a two-chord progression/riff repeat every eight seconds is a pretty small fundament for a composition that the player hears for at least a few minutes. That specific progression (i-ii° if I'm not mistaken which would probably correspond to A minor and B diminished in your case) is especially critical as a diminished chord is something that yearns to be resolved, not repeated. Think of it as the equivalent of some author writing "But..." every other sentence, including the three dots and nothing behind that to specify what would follow. It just leaves you hanging. I can sort of see that you wanted to use that to create the atmosphere of a dark dungeon where you can never be sure what is behind the next corner. And using it for effect every once in a while isn't bad. But that effect wears off pretty soon and becomes predictable...which is the complete opposite of its goal. Extending the pattern to four chords (like in the title theme) or more could be beneficial. For example, you could repeat the two chords two times and then use a few different chords. An eight-chord progression could for example look like this:

A min(or) - B dim(inished) - A min - B dim - C maj(or) - D min - A min - E min

The C major chord resolves the B diminshed chord and gives the progression a sense of relief and short triumph before going one step further and landing on D min, another minor chord that again increases tension but signals that this progress will not last. The return to the previous A minor confirms this and the E minor (ideally below the A minor notes) drives that point home while also introducing a more resigned alternative to the B diminished that usually followed the A minor.

But that's just a suggestion, there are many different alternatives, so just try a few out and I'm sure you'll find one that suits you.

Having more variation in other places could also really improve those compositions. You introduce more instruments as the songs go on, that's a start. If it's well done, it can even be enough for a whole song. But different parts of the songs that use different riffs, different harmonies or different keys (or some combination of those) can also lead to some interesting results and bears a lot of untapped potential.

Another tip for introducing new instruments or sections in a song: don't just restrict them to "Bar 1 to 4 uses just this instrument, Bar 5 to 8 uses an additional instrument, Bar 9 to 12 uses another additional one". Some pattern/loop-based DAWs like Ableton Live or FL Studio encourage those types of compositions, but it tends to get a bit too formulaic. Most successful composers - whether they do classical music, soundtracks, jazz, rock or pretty much any genre - tend to smoothen those transitions a bit. For example, a newly introduced instrument doesn't have to start in the first bar of a repeated pattern. Instead, it can start at the end of the last bar of the previous iteration of that pattern.

This might be a bit hard to convey with only words, so I'll use an example of a soundtrack that you probably know pretty well:

The basic pattern starts at 0:00 and gets repeated a few times after that. At 0:06, the high strings and flute join in with a lower note before the pattern is fully repeated, then they play a higher note at the beginning of the next iteration. Similarly, at 0:20 the bell-type sound is introduced before the pattern is complete. That way, the transition to the next, different pattern is more fluid.

On a related note: this doesn't just work for introducing instruments, but also for removing them again. Having an instrument hold a note that fades out while the pattern of the other instruments repeats is an easy way to smoothly return to a previous section while staying interesting.

This also works for drums (or percussion): having a little fill before the drums kick in - even just two or three notes - can work pretty well to introduce them. Likewise, a long cymbal hit on the first beat after the drums otherwise stopped playing is a nice trick to remove them again without being too abrupt.

Also: some reverb is almost always a good idea to give the song production a bit more depth. NES-era soundchips (and older ones) usually didn't have a reverb unit so that's not always appropriate. But since the samples in the soundtrack are more comparable to the SNES era and beyond, that's not an issue here and we're free to add some reverb or delay to it.

I think that's enough about the soundtrack (or the game in general). I saw that you entered two game jams at roughly the same time for Silver Rule and its prologue. That can be very stressful and having to cut a few corners to meet the deadlines is something that pretty much all developers do at one point or another. So I don't want to come across as too harsh. There are justa  few things that I've seen from a lot of upcoming composers and that can relatively easy be changed to improve their works. I mean, I've been at the same point a few years ago, when I started composing with computer software. I can imagine how proud you felt when you finished it and how demoralizing these lines might be. But trust me: learning all these things is easier than it sounds and soon you'll be doing them without even noticing it.

In that spirit, I'd like to end with the slogan of your studio:

Never give in!

Thanks for the new upload. It works fine now!

Gotta admit, my initial expectations for a game with that concept and name were rather low. But this turned out to be a pretty entertaining and elaborate (although rather difficult) platformer, maybe even one of the best of this jam. The monochrome aesthetics give the levels and characters a surprisingly cute look that is reminiscent of the NES era but still posesses a few characteristics that give it a unique charm, like the tilted perspective and the bubble particle effects that appear when you swim.

Speaking of swimming: the movement works pretty well. It seems a bit slow at first but once you get the hang of it, it's pretty smooth and even leading enemies into projectiles becomes manageable. That is quite a feat considering the whole game is an underwater level - usually something that many gamers don't hold in high regard.

The soundtrack is pretty compact but doesn't feel monotonous even after longer sessions and does a good job at conveying a sense of urgency that some of the more hectic sections of the game introduce.

All in all: well done!

I liked the mysterious atmosphere and the heavily pixelated 3D environment. Very abstract but still attractive, a bit like a video game adaption of an expressionist movie.

I didn't get to read the final message as I fell down and looked the wrong way, so I was a bit surprised when the game closed and I had to start again. Maybe a fixed camera angle for the final scene might be a way to guarantee that the player sees the message?

A fun little gameplay idea with cute characters and a fitting chiptunes soundtrack!

Hi! You're not the only one in this jam with this issue but my Windows Defender (Windows 10) blocks the .exe file. If you're using Game Maker, it's usually solved by creating a .zip archive instead of a standalone .exe file. The Windows Defender then for some reasons accepts it. If you're using another engine, the method might still work.

It works now! Pretty psychedelic little game. Very chill!

Whee, thank you for the kind words! I'm especially glad that you liked the soundtrack, that is probably my favorite part of the game. c:

1. I totally agree. Originally, 4 levels were planned: the hometown, the grasslands, the desert and the Pacific coast, each with different sceneries and hazards. For example, the desert would have had fewer and less damaging obstacles (such as tumbleweed) but vastly increased thirst rate and distance between the gas stations, supermarkets etc. Traffic was also planned but I didn't like how the other car designs turned out...the graphics were generally one of my biggest problems and I still have a lot of room for improvement.
But when a few really annoying bugs popped up during the last days of the jam, I decided to scrap most of it and release it with the test level as the only real level.

2. I thought about that, but I wasn't really sure how to implement it. A typical arcade game would probably spawn bags with dollar signs on the road or something like that but that seemed a bit too unrealistic for what I had in mind (says the dev who lets you crash into a  swarm of balloons that comes out of nowhere). Another option would have been an ATM at gas stations or supermarkets but that would probably ruin the idea of a limited budget. I also thought about a minigame at the start that lets you earn your vacation budget by working in some small job but there was simply no time for that. So ultimately I decided to just give the player a fixed budget that should (barely) be enough to reach the end of the game.
But I like your idea with the balloons in Chill Mode. Could work as a direct "CHILLING STREAK BONUS: 25$" message or something a bit more integrated into the gameplay, e.g. triggering one of your passengers "accidentally" finding money under the seats when a certain combo is reached.

Now that the jam is over, I'm planning an updated version of the game that tackles a lot of the weak spots of the game. It will also feature a bigger soundtrack with many songs that weren't finished for the current release. Again, thanks for the feedback and thanks for playing! 

An adorable little platformer! The monochrome levels are surprisingly detailed and show that a lot lof love went into this project. The characters and backgrounds are smoothly animated and pleasing to look at. The intro and ending cutscenes give the game a nice frame for its cute little story. The soundtrack is authentic and even though I'm not really a fan of the typical NES-era soundchip limitations, I liked the compositions. Jumping was a bit tricky sometimes, but that's to be expected from a tribute to the NES.

A well done game with immaculate presentation. Thumbs up!

It took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out how to land without a game over, but after that, the gameplay was actually pretty entertaining! The 16-bit graphics are beautiful, the music is short but sweet and the overall gameplay is rather challenging but still fun. Definitely worth playing!

Ooh...you did an excellent job integrating the RM2K menus and battle system into a NES-like game. If it weren't for the Enterbrain logo and some RTP sounds (pure mid-2000s nostalgia for me!), I probably wouldn't even have noticed it.

The graphics seem really authentic to me. The colors, the dithering, the UI...I could definitely see this as an actual game from that era. The characters, enemies and story so far are also pretty old school.

I had to read the comments on the game page to see that the current version pretty much ends after finding the mirror,  which was a bit frustrating after searching the whole map. I think that should be stated in the game, especially if it's only a demo.

But other than that, this is a really impressive little RPG!

A fun little shooter! Who knew a "doom-like" could be so lighthearted? Nice 80s neon aesthetic and some well done glitch effects. Noticeable but never obnoxious or gimmicky. The soundtrack suits the game pretty well. I also really like the artwork for the main character, even if it's only shown in the HUD and shortly at the ending screen.

The boss battle went on for a little too long for my taste. I got to a point where the boss would remain invincible even though there were no more enemies in the room. so one of them probably went missing. Luckily, I skipped an enemy at the start of the level so I could go back to drain my health and restart.

But other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed playing your game!

The screenshots look pretty promising but (as many times before in this jam) my Windows Defender (Windows 10) blocks another single .exe file downloaded from the internet. I'm not sure which engine you're using, but in Game Maker, that problem is usually solved by creating a .zip archive instead of a standalone .exe file, so maybe you could try that?

Thank you, I'm glad you like it! c:

The art is nice to look at and the gameplay captures the Warioware style pretty well. Fitting it all into 64*64 pixels for the other jam is also quite impressive!

Two suggestions:

With some of the scrolling parts (the boutique and the zoo), it seemed impossible to scroll to one end of the screen and then to the other in that short amount of time. If the blouse(?) you're looking for is at one end and you start with the wrong side, it seems to be more luck- than skill-based.

The music seems repetitive after a short while. This was maybe influenced by the deadline, either for this or the other jam. But if you still want to improve Insta Quest, I think a more varied soundtrack would be one of the most noticeable ways to do that.

Nevertheless, an interesting entry that is worth playing!

I haven't tested the multiplayer part, but I liked the singleplayer so far! The reduced level design reminded me of Antichamber (which I loved) but with less insane puzzles and more vandart. The background track did a good job suppporting the "Run around and do what you like in a futuristic landscape" atmosphere of the game. I also liked that you could run along walls when you jumped at them from the side and kept going, similar to the wall ride mechanic in the THPS series. Not really sure if that was intentional, but I had fun with it when I discovered it and that's what matters!

Different spray patterns would be cool. I also noticed that some colors look a bit different on the canvas/walls compared to when they're sprayed, but that's a minor issue.

Fun little game!

At first I thought this would be like the usual JRPG bestiary: nice to look at once or twice but no real depth to it. Boy, was I wrong!

The drawings are incredibly beautiful with chracter art that strikes a perfect balance between silliness, cuteness and design that can be taken seriously.  Each character has a unique and charming personality that made the (mostly trial-and-error) dialogue options fun to explore. The diverse soundtrack fits the encounters perfectly: sometimes relaxed, sometimes upbeat, sometimes threatening, sometimes mysterious...the three composers did a great job!

Having played most of the other entries in this jam, I also liked your references to other cartridges of the Famicase exhibition. And the present after completing the bestiary was the cherry on the cake!

All in all: a creative concept turned into a flawless little game. Well done!

A great little retro game! Being able to choose between different versions of the game is a nice touch and all three versions seem pretty authentic. Fitting soundtrack and cute characters.

There might be a bug with the scores. When I broke the high score for the first time, it added my score twice to the top of the list, so that there was a first place with my initials and a second place with the same score and the default ABC name. The score was 5220, so that wasn't one of the default high scores. Also, my score wasn't reset to zero on my second try, instead I started with 5220 points and only one life. I switched from Arcade to 2600, maybe that helps identifying the bug.

But then again, games for those type of consoles almost always had bugs, so...maybe that's more of a feature? ;)