itch.io

Having a lot of important dialogue is enough even if it's not a visual novel. That includes exploration, RPG and so on. So your idea is completely fine.

I just wanted to avoid a situation where people added games with basically zero narrative focus.

Feel free to ask more questions, they'll be added here.

Is this a ranked jam?

Not at all. There are no rankings nor prizes, though it is encouraged to play each other's entries.

Can I start working on my entry before the jam begins?

Of course. Since older works are also allowed, you can not only start working on the outline but also actual development, final assets and such. Technically you could make the whole thing before the jam even starts and submit it during the first day but it's encouraged to work on your entry during the jam's timeframe.

Does my story have to take place in the sea/ocean/etc?

Not at all. Even a puddle or a bowl of soup count. The scale of your body of water doesn't really matter as long as a significant part of the story happens there.

What if I don't want to write about underwater places but prefer to use sea monsters and such instead?

Well, that's a hard question. Ideally, the story should take place in some kind of body of water but! if underwater creatures are important to the whole project, that's also allowed even if the characters spend time mostly on land. Or in space. Or anywhere else, really.

Some examples include but are not limited to: a scientist taking care of and researching a fish colony. Kraken sightings where the narrative focuses on the kraken itself. Flying whales as a pivotal part of the narrative. A war between sirens and mermaids. And so on. Basically, the link to the jam's theme should be obvious.

Are late entries allowed?

I know accidents can happen, maybe you lost internet at the very last moment or anything else. That's why the jam is a bit longer than two months. But - just in case you really were barely a few seconds late, you can notify me of that and I'll add the entry manually. Just note that I won't add anything you notify me about after 24 hours since the jam ended have passed.

Can I make something other than a game?

Sure. While I expect mostly to see visual novels, any kind of story focused work, be it a game guide, ttrpg, novel, comic, picture book etc is still allowed.

Does my work have to be in English?

Not at all. While it would be nice, it's not a requirement.

Don't know which engine to use?

Whichever you want, honestly. Though considering most of the submissions would [I hope] have some kind of story to tell, here are some recommendations:

Ren'Py -   basically the go to program for English language visual novel creators. Moderately simple and very easy to learn if you want a basic game. Just a bit complicated if you want something good looking or fancy and if you know what you're doing, you could honestly even make an RPG there since it's based on python; point&click games are easier, though. 

Light.vn - a mostly visual novel engine with a more graphic interface than ren'py. The english community is significantly smaller than the japanese one but it's worth checking out due to its various non-vn supports, like side scrollers or various gameplay elements.

Unity - very versatile, has a big community and if you're stuck, looking for help shouldn't be hard. Can be used for both visual novels, text adventures [there are also way simpler and lighter programs for that, though] and something complicated.

Twine - want to write some interactive fiction instead? Twine is a very intuitive option that also allows its users to insert pictures or music to their stories [that requires easy to find plugins]. No GUI customisation needed, just write your story.

 Quest - prefer text adventures? Look no more. Another very simple program, also offers to make your game online and post it on the site. You can also try Squiffy from the same creators [interactive fiction only].

 Ink - another simple way to create interactive fiction. The end result is very light-weight since if you want, you honestly can pack the whole story into a single html file.

LÖVE - a bit more complicated  since it requires some programming knowledge. Uses Lua and is a framework for 2D games. Quick to learn. The only downside is that you have no basic art assets and need to prepare everything yourself. And if you want to create using both code and a graphic interface, you can always try Defold.

Godot - scripting using C++ or GDScript, Godot supports many platforms and allows for the creation of both 2D and 3D games. Open source with a pretty big community around it and many tutorials to use.

Narrat - want to create narrative rpgs with an inventory, skill checks and maps that still heavily relies on text? That's the one. It's open source and has some handy interface that doesn't require a lot of complicated programming to make your game.

Bitsy - for short, pixel games with a limited palette. Very easy to use, supports HTML5 [the game can be played without downloading], let's you go as simple or detailed as you want. Worth checking out.

RenJS - doesn't require programming, supports HTML5 and different plugins if you felt like adding some more features. Beginner friendly.

Thanks for your good wishes :)

We're working on it, albeit slowly 💪 

If you're playing on pc and use a mouse, you can use the wheel to scroll the text back which leads you to the previous screen and lets you save.

Though it's a demo so it doesn't have any endings at the moment. That message was left there since we planned to let people use old saves instead of replaying the common route but the full version won't be compatible with it anyway due to the new content.

So you can ignore the message and there are no actual endings.

It's been extended already so I'd rather not do that again but since you let me know early - if you really can't make it, contact me after the jam ends [discord or tumblr is best as it involves sending links]. Your game can be added late, after it's released.

Any chances you plan to make a sequel of sorts? I'll be interested in finding out more.

The rpg maker assets.

But it doesn't matter now, the dev told me to just remove the submission instead of modifying the page.

Hello. The jam with a strong preference not to include AI assets was omegaverse jam, not the werewolf one. Right now the information about your usage of AI generated assets isn't plainly stated in a visible place on the page which goes against the rules. I'll leave it for now but if you don't add that information [the more specific, the better] before the jam ends, I'll be forced to remove your submission.

As far as the rules go, it's technically allowed because it seems the author used it only for some of the images and nothing else but it should be clearly stated on the game's page - which it isn't - so I'll remove it only if the author doesn't add that information.

Thanks for letting me know.

That's some high praise (⸝⸝⸝´꒳`⸝⸝⸝)ﾃﾚｯ

Thank you.

Of course, as long as you add trigger warnings.

As long as it's story focused, it's fine so comics and literature are allowed, though I have to admit I 'marketed' mostly in gamedev spaces so that's surprising. 

I'll edit the main page and FAQ so it's clearer it doesn't have to be a game.

Still in progress. We're just busy so it's going slowly and I'm personally not a fan of updates that don't feel significant, though of course I wouldn't stop the team if they wanted to post one. And we will make a devlog once it's fully released.

As for donations - they weren't the goal. As you can see, they're turned off at the moment and will remain that way for the time being. But thanks for your interest.

Glad you liked it.

That's a good point. We'll definitely do something about the transitions in the full version.

Any chance you'd add omegaverse to the tags to make it easier to search for your games [because people often search by tags]? I see you didn't put all 10 tags so there's space to add some.

Feel free to ask more questions, they'll be added here.

Is this a ranked jam?

Not at all. There are no rankings nor prizes, though it is encouraged to play each other's entries.

Can I start working on my entry before the jam begins?

Of course. Since older works are also allowed, you can not only start working on the outline but also actual development, final assets and such. Technically you could make the whole thing before the jam even starts and submit it during the first day but it's encouraged to work on your entry during the jam's timeframe.

Do the characters have to be humans?

You're free to make your character whatever you want, they don't even have to be humanoid. 

What about ger?

I mentioned it on the main page and while technically it's not exactly the same as omegaverse, to my knowledge it's similar enough to be allowed. It would be nice, of course, if that element was integral to the story and not just an afterthought.

Are other related tropes like cakeverse/guideverse/etc allowed?

Yes, as they're more or less based off omegaverse, although you should mention that fact on the game page [and ideally tags]. There should also be a stronger focus on the dynamic to show we're not just dealing with a normal human setting.

Are there some omegaverse rules/settings to follow?

Due to its nature, there are multiple possible interpretations. Some have women be normal humans since the gene is carried on Y chromosomes, in some it applies to all people but pairing an alpha woman with a man turns it into a normal human relationship, sometimes the pheromones have a variety of food smells, sometimes it's only a recent mutation and so on. As such, as long as you have alphas, omegas and betas, you're free to modify the setting to suit your needs.

Are late entries allowed?

I know accidents can happen, maybe you lost internet at the very last moment or anything else. That's why the jam is a bit longer than two months. But - just in case you really were barely a few seconds late, you can notify me of that and I'll add the entry manually. Just note that I won't add anything you notify me about after 24 hours since the jam ended have passed.

Can I make something other than a game?

Sure. While I expect mostly to see visual novels, any kind of story focused work, be it a game guide, ttrpg, novel, comic, picture book etc is still allowed.

Does my work have to be in English?

Not at all. While it would be nice, it's not a requirement.

Don't know which engine to use?

Whichever you want, honestly. Though considering most of the submissions would [I hope] have some kind of story to tell, here are some recommendations:

Ren'Py - Basically the go to program for English language visual novel creators. Moderately simple and very easy to learn if you want a basic game. Just a bit complicated if you want something good looking or fancy and if you know what you're doing, you could honestly even make an RPG there since it's based on python; point&click games are easier, though. 

Unity - very versatile, has a big community and if you're stuck, looking for help shouldn't be hard. Can be used for both visual novels, text adventures [there are also way simpler and lighter programs for that, though] and something complicated.

Twine - want to write some interactive fiction instead? Twine is a very intuitive option that also allows its users to insert pictures or music to their stories [that requires easy to find plugins]. No GUI customisation needed, just write your story.

 Quest - prefer text adventures? Look no more. Another very simple program, also offers to make your game online and post it on the site. You can also try Squiffy from the same creators [interactive fiction only].

 Ink - another simple way to create interactive fiction. The end result is very light-weight since if you want, you honestly can pack the whole story into a single html file.

LÖVE - a bit more complicated  since it requires some programming knowledge. Uses Lua and is a framework for 2D games. Quick to learn. The only downside is that you have no basic art assets and need to prepare everything yourself. And if you want to create using both code and a graphic interface, you can always try Defold.

Godot - scripting using C++ or GDScript, Godot supports many platforms and allows for the creation of both 2D and 3D games. Open source with a pretty big community around it and many tutorials to use.

Narrat - want to create narrative rpgs with an inventory, skill checks and maps that still heavily relies on text? That's the one. It's open source and has some handy interface that doesn't require a lot of complicated programming to make your game.

Bitsy - for short, pixel games with a limited palette. Very easy to use, supports HTML5 [the game can be played without downloading], let's you go as simple or detailed as you want. Worth checking out.

RenJS - doesn't require programming, supports HTML5 and different plugins if you felt like adding some more features. Beginner friendly.

Possibly. As far as I'm aware both our current and a potential new engine let us make mac builds. If we can find testers after the game's finished, there's a high possibility we'll create a mac build. And one for linux and android, too.

It's not dropped! We're working on it. Just veeeryyy slooowlyyy. Someday we'll finish. Just not this year.

Sorry 😔 

But you can be a secret agent.

Not yet. We'll release a devlog when it's finished.

A greek girlie watching the olympics lol Nice comparison.

It's not entirely your potato laptop. We're actually looking into potentially switching to a different engine to optimise the game since it does lag a bit. We'll see how it goes but worst case, there would be probably a version without transforms so it's faster.

I am reflecting on my mistakes (o_ _)o

The bee isn't real, it's only mentioned. Do not believe in bees.

Okay, I switched to renpy 8 instead of 7 and it seems to work properly now [though it's heavier than before].

I used itch for so long, can't believe I forgot orz Thanks.

Glad to see you like Riley, we never planned to give her a route, though, so I won't promise anything. The way the game is structured technically allows for more routes later but right now it's pretty unlikely, sorry.

I know this pain orz

We'll probably release a version without atl [transitions and stuff so it looks fancy] when the game is finished as that seems to be the main reason it's slow. Unless we find an even better way to optimise everything.

I'm not sure what you mean by apple.  If mac - we could make a build when the game's finished but it would either be untested or we'd have to find someone who could test it for us. If you mean iphone - it's extremely unlikely.

No idea ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I only know why it didn't work for many people.

As you're well aware, many people see a black screen. I looked into the files and it's because of the file names, which are in russian in the script, turn into gibberish depending on your locale. So either change your locale or wait for the dev to rename the files used, this time using only ascii characters.

Yes. There are also no plans to add a pronoun selection screen as it would change the latter parts of the story too much.

I checked the game and everything seemed to work properly. No problem with the files.

That means it succeed even without all the visuals, yay :D Glad you liked it.

Of course. RPG maker allows for the use of dialogue sections and descriptions so as long as there's a story that takes a significant part of the playtime to read, it's fine.

This is not a ranked jam so there would be no results. It was planned to be very casual. 

Hmm... Since starting earlier is allowed, updating an older project should be fine as long as it's a major update and not just, say, bug fixes. So if your chicken thinks a lot and the pre update version is clearly different from the post update one, it's fine. 

Certainly. As long as it's a game, it's fine and tabletop games or TTRPGs definitely fit that requirement. Whether you have to print something or not doesn't change that. 

It doesn't have to, though it's certainly encouraged. Any game with birds is good, though. 

Any chance you're planning to add a version to download or will it remain web-only?

Finally found some time to play it and what can I say... Giving out chickens surely can be considered diplomacy and the dragon, which is great, would certainly agree.

Haha, I'm glad you sympathized with them despite the story being so short. 

The cartoon in question in Nu, pogodi. The main characters there are also called Volk and Zayats. They're a known pair which is why they suit the jam theme.