"... but one day it will spin without us." -me, right now
I like the game concepts, and how they show blatantly damaging things alongside more everyday actions (like drilling oil, to driving). Not everything bad for the climate will be as obvious and easy to cut back on or ban, many of them are integral to modern society, that's a really good message. The theming seems pretty good, but it seems like, realistically, you should be trying to fail the minigames, or you're just an observer of humanity and the gameplay is just for the player's entertainment.
The fact that when you lose it lets you try the minigame again makes it seem like it might play as a scripted campaign; playing each minigame once until you've done them all (there's also an argument to be made that that itself is a message, like that no matter what, you have to pour that toxic waste into the water), which is something that other warioware style microgame playlists never seem to do, so it's an interesting approach (assuming that's the plan). Even if so, I'd recommend some form of random endless mode. The scope is based entirely on modular microgames, so when push comes to shove, I can't imagine it being too short on time and releasing in a noticeably unfinished state, you just might have to scrap some games.
As for commentary on the prototype, I'd recommend removing the "!" after the time, but that's about it. It seems like the framework is there, and all you need is the games, and art.
This is a good concept, with pretty good impact and theming. Nice work!
Krill.
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I like that at the end of the narrative example script it emphasises the power of the people to set things right, assuming "the people" is a guy with a magic plant gun, and "things" is the soil quality, but the message works. My main issue with the dialogue is that it's heavy handed, at least for the introduction. It seems to me like it's basically "this soil is bad" "that's because of humans", made into real dialogue, but not softened.
The demo is great. I'm not sure if there's a way to close the ammo screen without filling the cylinder (I'd recommend closing it with "R" again, and using just "E" to chamber), and it's not always clear what each seed does (which I'd recommend fixing with a tutorial or descriptions). I understand that this is obviously a demo, and these are likely just not implemented yet, but I have to bring it up.
This seems like a well scoped, high impact game. By putting the player in the shoes of people forced to make sometimes easy, but usually tough choices, it highlights how some people are just forced to lose something to chance, and how those choices and opportunities aren't afforded to everyone. By being a text based game with (seemingly) binary choices, and 9 choices for each of the 3 characters, it keeps the scope somewhat reasonable, despite being a solo project. Also, the GDD is very dense and well formatted, the best I've seen so far. It's good that there's no lose condition - you can strive for better, but you can never do so poorly that you die, which I think is good for keeping the tone from getting too heavy (plus, most people wouldn't actually be killed by a heatwave unless they made terrible choices or got incredibly unlucky)
It's a little disappointing that there's no indication for the visual or writing quality, or direction aside from the key scene, which demonstrates more of an impactful moment rather than general vibe (which is what it's supposed to do, I know), but it's otherwise a good document which demonstrates a good plan for a game.
This looks like a fun game with a good concept and story. The idea of unlocking memories (which I'm assuming is how the logs work, on account of seemingly being from the robot's POV) is pretty cool, and the ending twist is well done.
The jumping in the video demonstration seems a bit jarring with the floating, which might take some getting used to when playing, but the movement seems well implemented.
It would be nice to know exactly how the scientists started a war though? It's implied that it's because they made the robot public, but is a robot that plants seeds would be worth starting a war over? If so, it would be good to make clear how.
I like the prototype video, it seems the game is coming along well. I'm optimistic about this game
This game/project is fascinating. And fairly ambitious for a team of 2. I like the idea of a game (or website with game aspects) being run and managed by a self-sustained version of its character (The Little Guy (who I love)) that is actually out there, living free in the real world. There's a bit of an anti big tech, off-grid message, not sure what that's about but okay, go off I guess. Game Little Guy's capabilities being tied to real Little Guy has the potential to be annoying (as it's entirely out of your control (unless you find the real Little Guy)), but is conceptually very cool, and I love it.
Rock on, you two! Make Little Guy real.
I really like the core mechanic - seeds with 2 functions, and with offensive, defensive, and puzzle-solving abilities. (not to backseat design, but) Maybe lower the number of seeds (possibly by merging some) or offer only a few for each level to avoid overwhelming the player with choice and having them never use most of them, thus forgetting about them when a puzzle requires something specific. It would also be good to introduce the seed types slowly, but not so slowly it's boring, maybe 2 per level (ideally staggered) until they have them all, or make them use the ones they have more, and introduce them slowly (which requires quite a lot of levels). If you want to let the player know about the scientific principles behind the seeds (since it seems important to the group), but you don't want to distract the player with it if they don't care, you could have information panels or descriptions when/if you find them.
While the game is very planty, and very plant-a-seed-ey, there's not much of a clearly environmental message; there's more to the climate than plants, and more to industrialisation than robots, but I think that putting your focus into making a better game rather than a better messaged game is a good move, at least in this case.
There also seem to be 2 different narratives, either you're a forest spirit manifested to reclaim the land, or you're a gardener recruited into an organisation to collect seeds, which then gets distracted by Moonsanto (good name, legally distinct). Both seem like pretty good narratives, and they're not necessarily contradictory (there could be some possession or something), but it would be good to clear up.
This might be strange to say in a game jam, but this is the most "game" of a game I've seen so far, which is definitely a positive. I greatly look forward to playing this at the end of the jam, as it actually sounds like it will be quite fun
This is a very well made and presented GDD. The game idea, direction, and intentions are clear, detailed, and inspire confidence in the project, especially given there seems to already be something of a working prototype. The premise and message themselves are amazing: that real change isn't personal, but systemic, and yet those systems can be changed by people, and even realising that being a large part of the progression. The scope of the game seems fairly large, but that's including everything intended, with the understanding that much of it can be cut or put on hold if need be (which is quite well detailed). With the rate of progress already apparent this early on, and despite the smaller team, I have faith in this project, and I can't wait to see it when the jam is done.
I like the concept of being effectively the settlers of a bunker, and the art style seems like it will be full of character (at least based on the references). Plus, I love a good rpg game, and the ensuing excuse to yell at your friends over minor issues. If it's a standard tabletop, setups, cards, and player discussion, the scope shouldn't be too tough to manage as long as you remember it needs managing. Although again, not entirely confident I understand the game's medium. I'm also not entirely sure how this will tie into queer ecofeminism, but I'm excited to find out, and the idea of losing skills or information over time is very cool.
The way it seems to be described, it might be good to look into (and maybe pull from) an rpg game named executive decision (https://www.gregstolze.com/execdecis.html).
Basically, it looks good :3