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Yes; I basically only worked on it for the last week of the game jam, so I didn't have time to do a branching story.  I have considered going back and expanding it to offer options, though.

Thanks so much for taking the time to check it out and leave feedback!  🐻 

Many creators lately have been dealing with spam posts that link to "other" or "updated" versions. Currently, my official VNs are ONLY listed on this itch.io page, and will continue to be posted only here unless they can no longer be hosted here due to changes in itch.io's policy or terms of service.  

I will make every effort to remove any spam comments that appear on my page as soon as possible, but have this post pinned just in case I miss an instance, or have not yet had a chance to remove it.

Many creators lately have been dealing with spam posts that link to "other" or "updated" versions. Currently, my official VNs are ONLY listed on this itch.io page, and will continue to be posted only here unless they can no longer be hosted here due to changes in itch.io's policy or terms of service.  

I will make every effort to remove any spam comments that appear on my page as soon as possible, but have this post pinned just in case I miss an instance, or have not yet had a chance to remove it.

Many creators lately have been dealing with spam posts that link to "other" or "updated" versions.  Currently, my official VNs are ONLY listed on this itch.io page, and will continue to be posted only here unless they can no longer be hosted here due to changes in itch.io's policy or terms of service.  

I will make every effort to remove any spam comments that appear on my page as soon as possible, but have this post pinned just in case I miss an instance, or have not yet had a chance to remove it.

My apologies; I was unaware the sprites didn't appear clearly.  

I have several eye issues that my glasses unfortunately can't help with that makes my vision blurry at the best of times (glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and frequent ocular migraines), and combined with working on a 13" laptop, I honestly couldn't tell.

I still have the original sprites, so I can re-export them and adjust the settings; I just stuck with the converter's default compression.

I've already addressed the ending in some of my other responses.

Thanks for reading!

Thanks for the shoutout😅. 

My reward is in helping jammers step up and create their own projects along with being a part of and (hopefully) encouraging the community.

As for why I nominated this one, this was my original comment: 

Okay, I've just finished going through all of the non-DQ'ed entries.  I think mine still goes to "All There" by PinkNarcissus for being an all-around solid entry with strong emotional beats and an important message.  

Thanks!  Admittedly, writing good narration and endings are my kryptonite, so I agree wholeheartedly.  I'm also still trying to strike that balance of revealing too much or too little exposition, but it's been fun seeing at what point people realize who/what Al is.  

I appreciate it. 😄  I just wanted to keep it simple and fun, and I fully agree, the ending still needs some work.  I tried to do the opposite of Polar Opposites and pick up the pacing a bit.  I'm still trying to figure out my writing style, since other than the game jam vns I've made, I'm woefully out of practice.

I would have loved a reveal at the end of it that the "life giving fluid" was only intended to be water, and that the result of using their substitute caused a massive orgy among all the wolves once the lifeforce returned, but all kidding aside, I really liked this entry.  Interweaving porn with plot can be rather tricky, and there was a bit of a sudden escalation toward the end of the vn, however it feels like you intend to continue the story, in which case it will probably begin to feel a bit more balanced.  Great showing! 😊

I quite enjoyed this one... the spiritist reminded me a bit of the Wizard of Oz in that he had a better grasp on what was really needed for the patients, still had some manner of supernatural ability, and yet still somehow fell victim to a scam he would have probably recognized had someone approached him with their issue (having his name stolen).  Nice, cozy entry for May Wolf.

I'm not going to reiterate what everyone has commented in terms of the presentation and state of this one... my primary motivation is to try and encourage would-be creators to step up and give making their own vns a try.  When you have a time limit, it forces you to make difficult decisions and rarely do game jam games live up to what the author hoped and intended, especially with a first-ever project.  

I congratulate you on releasing something and having the guts to sit in on the stream, listening to everyone's feedback.  Quite a number of people who sign up for the jam never reach that milestone.

That being said, I urge you to listen to what has been suggested.  Some things may come across as blunt or hurtful, but there are some good ideas to help you improve on your next attempt.  But please, don't give up on making fvns... use this experience as a stepping stone to grow and improve.

Once again, WackyWoof lives up to his name!  I know you had this on the "No Chill" meter, so thankfully, I bore that in mind when reading this one, and it was certainly a trip!  I often get quite invested in the characters in stories of this nature when they have been so broken and oppressed, and wasn't too surprised by the wolf's reaction at the end, especially with the side comments made earlier in the story.  The juxtaposition was a bit jarring, but I believe that was also the intent.

I like that it didn't try to sanitize everything or make a "happily ever after" ending.   I like that all the characters had flagrant flaws on display, and that there was no "good guy," yet you still, against all odds, find yourself pulling for the xenophobic otter and his vigilante wolf.  (Again, not endorsing EITHER of their actions, but great job in helping us understand their motivation.)  And it all still fits within the context of the WackyVerse without necessarily needing a direct connection to your other works.

I very much enjoyed this one, even in its unfinished state; the transition between real life and acting was captivating.  I'd expect nothing less from this team 😊

This was technologically impressive first and foremost.  I can’t imagine what goes into making a maze-like puzzle or the sliding pieces that form a picture.  I got Apathesis flashbacks from last years’ jam with this entry, even though it’s mechanically different.  Thankfully, you have the option for the puzzles to be solved automatically with the tradeoff of losing some of the context of the story in order to progress.  

The maze reminded me a bit of the one in FFVIII when acquiring the Brothers’ GF, if I recall correctly (it’s been nearly 25 years since I watched my college roommate play it, so my memory’s a bit fuzzy).  While I do find the mechanic interesting, I’m not good at navigating these types of games myself, and while the option to skip is quite welcome, the penalty of missing out on chunks of the story is a bit steep in a game that is, first and foremost, intended to be a visual novel.  

That doesn’t mean there should be no penalty, though… having an alternate “perfect” ending I think would be a good compromise.  Still, I enjoy your creativity and ambitiousness in both this and your NovemBEAR entry, and look forward to seeing what comes next from you!

I love the whimsical storybook quality of your artwork, and especially the creativity of using the coatrack and crystal ball for the aunt later on in the story!  The length and pacing worked well, and everything oozes with charm.  I believe this was even better than your entry last year, which was also quite good.

This reminded me a bit of a couple of entries from last year, Cruising For Love and Murder and Werewolf’s Prison in concept.  You managed to get a lot of work done in a short amount of time with this one!  

I like the concept and the general direction of the story, but I would suggest trimming down a couple of parts, namely the spider dancing with the bunny, and then after the MC… it repeated quite often what a good dancer the spider was, and slowed the pace quite a bit, to the point it felt the spider was actually the main character at times.  Unless those two scenes are critical to the plot later on, I think making it around a third the size would probably be adequate.  

That aside, I do enjoy what you’re going for, and think there’s a good foundation here.  It currently feels like you could do this as a series, with each release being a “weekly episode” of the series.  Maybe adding a few other tropes of cheesy dating shows would add a little personality, like the “one-on-one” cam interviews with a producer, where they say one thing in front of the others, and say virtually the opposite in the personal interview.

This was an interesting story, and a fun take on Famine/Pestilence.  I surmised pretty early on who the MC truly was, given the timeline of when he disappeared, the prominence of the statue in the story and the fact that the town they resided in had not yet been affected by famine, though I noticed the realization hit at different points for others during the course of the story, so I feel it was foreshadowed well without being overtly obvious from the beginning.  There were a few grammatical errors, but the story is quite solid, and I felt the pacing was great.  

Congrats on your first vn!  It can be a bit overwhelming to step out and make something like this... learning to code, adding music, transitions and cutscenes,

Implementing sprites, and writing are all things that can be overwhelming by themselves, much less putting it all together.  It can be intimidating, especially when your efforts are compared to seasoned veterans and teams working together who have the entire month to finish a project.  Please don't be discouraged by any criticism or negative feedback, but consider it as a place to learn and improve... to me, that's the best part of participating in the game jam to begin with!

To start with, the cutscene/title screen graphic is cute!  I also like that, when displaying the character names, you gave them their own unique colors.  Not all creators do that, and especially when multiple ones are introduced at once, it makes it much easier to follow.  (I also personally try to take a prominent color from the sprite amd make the text match that color if possible, though here, the colors are quite similar, so it would be a bit more difficult). 

I did have a bit of difficulty following the story; sometimes I wasn't quite sure of the point of view.  One thing I use to sometimes help in that situation is to set a character when they're thinking as opposed to talking out loud as a seperate character with the same display name, but a darker, more grayish text to help the reader understand.

There are a number of things you didn't have time to work on and complete, and I know you are aware of those, and can add them in the future if you desire, so I won't comment on the backgrounds or music and sounds.

Again, congrats on putting out your first (of hopefully several more to come) vns, and I look forward to seeing more in the future.

Sorry I couldn't catch the stream live, I've been trying to attend all the ones I possibly can, and I always love seeing what you come up with, Gatr.  

I like how you show the delusion and the actual scenes, and I see various hints to the colloquial 5 stages of grief, with denial being quite present throughout.  It's not a one-step/one-cycle process either, especially when accompanied by what would have been such a traumatic situation for the main character to face.  

I feel the pacing and scope was quite appropriate for the length of the game jam, and liked how you handled what would typically be quite a difficult story to tell with a single lone survivor with no one to interact with in a format that is generally dialogue-heavy.

Oh, sorry, it wasn't recorded, it was presented live... several of us take turns reading all the entries on the FVN server, and several people on the stream voice the characters.  Due to the nature of the content and the sheer number of entries (53 this time), they usually aren't recorded except for special circumstances unfortunately, but we did have fun reading it. 🐺

First of all, seperate from the rating, I love hearing you narrate the jam entries!

Back to the subject at hand, this is a decent first project, amd an interesting twist on the jam and wolf themes... hope is indeed the antithesis of those harbingers of destruction.  Keeping the locations and characters limited is an excellent way of saving resources during the jam, whether drawing backgrounds or trying to find them!  I think you have made a solid start, amd look forward to seeing what you come up with in the future!

Nice to see your return this year!  This was certainly a thought provoking story that moved at a brisk, steady pace like a truck barreling down an empty highway.  I love the trucker sprite and appreciate the positive, encouraging message.  

I'll admit, it took me a little while to become invested In the story, but the ending certainly made an impact.  While the poetry itself may not have been award-winning, that was part of the point, the fact they wrote the poems for one another in spite of feeling it to be inadequate was the part that was most relatable.  

I certainly had the feels at the end, remembering back to my last moments with both my parents before they died.  Their last words are one of my most cherished memories.

Good job on a first vn!

The hardest part about the jam is the one month deadline. 😵‍💫

I wasn't able to accomplish a lot of what I wanted to do with my entry, and I feel you were in the same boat... other obligations arose that took priority.  I can say that what you did manage to do is great, as expected from you, Vye!  

I can't comment too much, given the current state, and have to rate based on what's there, but please don't let that discourage you from developing this (and Bearony) further!

This was a good first entry, Barley.  I'm glad you decided to give this a go, and hope you had fun!  There are a number of good ideas here that I think need to be fleshed out just a bit more, but that is the nature of a one month game jam, especially for solo projects, first time attempts, and when you already have a busy schedule!  

Even though the graphics may be a bit barebones, the piercing wolf eyes definitely accomplish their intended goal.  Storywise, I feel the demon aspect may be a little underdeveloped; it's a bit disjointed from the rest of the story.  That's not to say it's a bad concept either, it just needs a bit more integration.

If you need any help or want to learn more about creating fvns, remember we're here for you, and the FVN server is a great place to start.  Welcome to the FVN Creator Community! 🐻‍❄

To be honest, I feel the president in this is a bit more developed than the main characters.  At first, it seemed strange to me that we didn't explore "why" the moon was destroyed and we were all doomed, but upon retrospect, it makes sense that the reason doesn't matter; when you're about to die, only the most important things matter.  

When the characters are looking for each other to spend their last moments together, perhaps some sepiatone flashbacks to events from their past as they're going to meet would help build that relationship more, like the first time they met, a fight where one left for a bit and the other was afraid they had lost them forever, a mundane moment that suddenly takes on much more meaning... just something to help us get to know the characters a bit more and become more invested.

ironically, your entry reminds me a little of my final two-day entry from last year's jam, Replay Video 😅

I was responsible for streaming this one on the server, and did my best to narrate it in the most serious, deadpan manner I could muster.  

This was certainly a trip!  Probably more than the other entries I've read so far, this one explores animalistic traits and instincts... so often in fvns, the characters could be replaced with humans and make virtually no difference narratively but that's certainly not the case here.  And the "full moon" as the light in the dark was inspired.  

This one was certainly a trip... I love stories with both serious and outlandish elements that feel like a fever dream, and this delivers.  Needless to say, the artwork is expressive, and I like how the owl and mc learn to converse together.  I look forward to seeing the final product as well once music is added, and the roughbedges are polished, but it's easy to see this as one of the most notable entries of the jam this year.

Catfish for dinner...

I love the style of the artwork for this one, and the current story direction is quite lovely.  Maybe because I volunteer at a food bank and have seen and heard so many stories of homelessness and hardship over the past few years, I instantly connected with the main character and the wolf on a number of levels.  And the tail wagging was so cute!  Keep up the amazing work!

A murder mystery... in SPACE!

This was a fun concept, and I enjoyed how you gave the provided sprites such eclectic personalities, suitable for this type of story.  

Ironically, one of the things that removed me from the story a bit is how the backgrounds and cutscenes sometimes felt more like a victorian dinner party, and peeping through the lock made me stop to think, would a spaceship have traditional doorknobs and locks?  Wouldn't it be more, like, computer operated?  Especially the captain's quarters? 😅  

Still, a mish-mash of concepts like that can work well, but feel it perhaps needs a little more integration into the story, just to be a bit less jarring.  I still enjoyed this more than the couple of thematically-similar entries from last year, which I also enjoyed.

I enjoyed streaming this one, and loon forward to what you come up with next!

I tend to struggle with these types of games, so I caught what I could of the stream.  What you were able to achieve is technically impressive for Ren'Py, and far above my understanding or capabilities.  I appreciate you using our sprites as well... I always love seeing what everyone comes up with, whether they use the jam provided sprites or not, but I enjoy watching how they can be adapted in such unique ways.  I would love to see how you can build on this and polish and refine the gameplay and assets in the future, and hope to see more in the future.

Presentation-wise, I mostly enjoyed this one, but did struggle a bit with the text effects... if it is difficult or distracting to look at, it effectively loses its purpose... flashy effects are best done in small doses to emphasize something very mportant.

The story was decent, but it also left me wishing to explore more of the absurdity of this world, especially with the visuals of the outdoor laundromat... it would be nice to either lean more into that world building, or alternatively, to avoid it and focus more on the two main characters, I believe.  I do love the color choices, and the sprite animations do help give this entry its own unique identity.

I appreciate getting a bit more insight into the backstop of Moonlight Castle.  I'm not fully up-to-date on the most recent releases, as my reading time has been a bit more limited lately (funny how when you work making assets for visual novels, it's a bit harder to find time to enjoy them), however I do know how these main characters relate to the story.  

I like the sprites here, and am impressed at the number of poses and expressions they do have, considering the time limit of the jam.  Of course, I also realize why Patrice wore the same outfit to the party that he went to the gym in...😄  

I feel like the story was just a bit too long and drawn out in some places given the scope... I notice that many times, developers of longer vns tend to have this issue when working on shorter jam stories, either trying to fit too many elements within the story, or having trouble keeping a narrow focus on a single issue.  

That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it, though!  It gave a new perspective on Patrice and Liam; their characters feel a bit different to me here than in MC, but I also feel that it's intentionally so... we change a bit with time, and depending who we interact with (though Liam is still definitely a little gremlin. 😅)

Thr overall vibes are a bit different than MC as well,  but again, I don't think that's a bad thing either... the focus is on a different character, after all.

Your team does a great job, and it's been a pleasure watching you come together and grow.  I hope you continue to do more and greater things in the future!

You hit this one out of the park, Kraaj.  Admittedly, I felt a bit more of a connection to the characters from your entry last year, but I also admit it is like comparing apples and oranges; this is a different beast entirely and is quite excellent.  

Typography is one of my favorite niche interests from years of creating ads and page layouts for newspaper and magazine, and the impression that you are able to convey with your presentation was amazing.  It was uncluttered and minimalistic, but still conveyed the perfect tone and personality for the narrative, which is a difficult balance to strike.

You hit this one out of the park, Kraaj.  Admittedly, I felt a bit more of a connection to the characters from your entry last year, but I also admit it is like comparing apples and oranges; this is a different beast entirely and is quite excellent.  

Typography is one of my favorite niche interests from years of creating ads and page layouts for newspaper and magazine, and the impression that you are able to convey with your presentation was amazing.  It was uncluttered and minimalistic, but still conveyed the perfect tone and personality for the narrative, which is a difficult balance to strike.

I would love to see this narrative expanded just a bit more, but what you managed to complete was very well done.  I would like to see just a bit more world building if you want to keep it short, or could see it as a spinoff to a larger story about what happened before the current circumstances.

I appreciate the feedback!  I did have a bit more fleshed-out ending originally, but simply cut it completely due to running out of time to rework it.  The part that I most messed up is forgetting to code the final transition between leaving the jail and going back home... I had around 20 minutes left to upload my game before the deadline, and ran out of time to playtest the final scene.  (I literally drew the jail cell background at 11:15 p.m. with the jam ending at midnight for me!)

I wanted the literal interpretation to be the cellphone lighting up in the dark, wanting to subvert the idea of the light in the darkness always being a good thing, with the more figurative interpretation being his friend was the actual light in the dark.  The message was intended to be that things are not always obvious to the ones closest to the situation, but more clear to those removed from it, the difference between experiencing things emotionally versus logically.

Writing admittedly isn't my strongsuit, but rather an excuse to get to do the other fun stuff I enjoy doing, so I'm just thankful I was able to convey the message at all. 😅  Thanks for taking the time to read and review!

No worries!  I specifically asked for a disqualification as one of the sprite artists due to knowing the theme well in advance.  I didn't start planning until day 1 of the jam and followed all the rules, but personally felt it would be unfair to compete, even though I was allowed to.  I just wanted to make something for the fun of it, and had planned to do so from the start.  Glad you had fun playing!

It was a pleasure to stream your game!  There was a lot of work that went into this entry for the jam, and the length was quite ambitious.  There were a few minor grammatical issues that I would recommend revisit g at the end of the judging period, but nothing egregious; like my own games, it's just hard to notice them sometimes until you see them on stream.

I don't necessarily believe you don't have room for both the A and B plot lines in your story, but in this case it may be better to focus on one a bit more than the other. It may be a bit stronger narratively to focus more on the relationship with the mother or the voice of the forest, and use the other plotline more as a means of reinforcement for the main one.  I think it may just be that it's a bit further into the story before the voices become central to the plot.  That being said, all the pieces that are there are decent.  Some of it also comes down to the difference between writing a short story or a longer novel... in a short story, juggling multiple plot points can become difficult.

I personally don't mind the reluctant chosen hero trope, but I've learned it is usually best not to quite spell it out so literally.  Even so, many beloved series tend to do just that, so you're in good company at least.

Also, as one of the jam artists, thanks for using our sprites!  I love seeing all the creative characters everyone comes up with, but it's also nice to see our handiwork pop up from time to time. 

Good job, and I look forward to seeing more of your work in the future.  And congrats on making it through your first game stream!  It can be a bit intimidating (I know mine was during May Wolf last year), but just bear in mind that we're here to help each other grow and improve.