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Haha, thank you for this compliment! Even though it's fiction, I really wanted them to feel as real and immersive as possible. The reader is experiencing the same emotions as the mc, who is very much being manipulated. I guess it's kinda like a toxic relationship simulator and as such, I encourage people to take breaks if they need to if it gets intense!

Yay I'm so happy you enjoyed the dialogue! Also thank you so much for saying that the dark parts are just "there." That's what I tried to do. I didn't want to justify or even encourage one choice over the other. Sometimes there are no "right" choices.

This is a passion project, so thanks so much for playing and for your kind thoughts!!!

That's actually very in character for Benji to instantly fall head over heels. Tell your mc to watch out lol!

Ahhh! They are PERFECT! Are they friends? I've never played Tomodachi life. This looks very cute :D

Yay! Yeah, it's possible to have just a fuzzy/cozy playthrough depending on choices! Kinda choose your own yandere experience, hehe. 

I'm sosososo happy you enjoyed the game, thank you for playing! Glad you liked the enneagram in the bio, too! I love when people include little bio tidbits, so I thought it would be fun :)

Oh my god, this is the most precious thing I have ever seen! You did such an amazing job recreating him, thank you so much for sharing this! 

Aww, thank you SO MUCH!!! I took a short break between Act 2 and 3, but I hope to get back to work on it soon! 

Hi there! Apologies for the delay, this comment got stuck in pending for some reason?! I love seeing the different ways people respond to Benji and Ellis! But yes, you're right! His actions are more insidious and beneath the surface. Oh! And I'm so happy you enjoyed the argument scene, hehe. I really wanted to have a scene where they interact. Thanks so much for playing <3

I actually said out loud: “this is the greatest day of my life!” Because it was! I have to start with the amazing art because WHAT?!?! I seriously got goosebumps. You captured them with a more realistic touch, and it's SO COOL TO SEE! You’ve honestly breathed LIFE into them! It’s hard to explain, but when I look at the art, they feel real?? There's also a cool graphic novel vibe to it! Also, I can’t get over how perfectly you got their eyes and noses! You are talented, my friend.

It warms my heart to hear you find this game comforting. I’m a huge fan of creepy/cozy vibes e.g. the chill music in Silent Hill or the save rooms in Resident Evil. I wanted this to feel comfy or strangely nostalgic alongside the horror.

Btw you weren’t being harsh at all!! Benji's toxic af. To answer your question, he’s always had controlling tendencies, but it worsened after the attempt. He might not chase you with an axe, but he'll slowly break down your confidence & use your emotions against you. He may be able to take accountability, but it'd require tons of patience & understanding by the mc. But yes. Those gross feelings you’re getting? Totally valid!

Ellis is my homage to gothic horror, and he borrows from more classic horror tropes, which maybe allows us to detach more from his actions? Like how gratuitous gore sorta registers as campy? But he also has his own layers. He’s, like you said, a good listener and more accepting of mc. I’m so glad you picked up on how quick he'll retreat (until he’s “locked in,” that is), whereas Benji will chase you to the ends of the earth. Ellis wants to feel wanted. Benji just wants you.

THANK YOU for the beautiful art and the beautiful feedback! And thanks for giving these two creeps your time & energy. Waking up to this made me dizzy with happiness, and I cannot thank you enough <3

Yay, I'm glad you figured it out! Ellis is very picky, lol! Thank you so much for playing!!!

Aw omg, thank you so much for playing!! I'll do my best on the next act for you!

Yay, thank you so much for playing! The part with mc passing out was to make players suspect/question Benji, but I meant to keep it somewhat ambiguous (probably didn't do a good job, tho). If Benji DID put something in the drink, he likely won't admit that any time soon. However, this scene only happens if the player expresses ANY kind of long-term interest or involvement with Ellis during the bar scene with Benji in Act 2. We might assume Benji felt threatened and took matters into his own hands. I may address this more next act, but I hope this answers your question! Lemme know if you have others!

Aw, thank you!! <3

Thank you!!! Dialogue is one of the first things I notice, and it means so much you felt it was natural. If nothing else, I want the dialogue to be good. I plan to have 4-5 acts, depending on how much I can fit per act! You mentioned being shocked, and now I'm curious. If you feel like sharing, I'd love to hear!

Lol, the pointy irises ARE pretty evil! I wanted something in the design to show they're both capable of being sinister. I've also played games or watched shows where the art was NOT my style, but later got attached, so that's totally real! To me, Benji feels realistic creepy and Ellis more classic horror creepy. It's the "choose your own creep" show lol. Thanks again, and stay tuned!

Hi there! Sorry for the late reply, this comment was hidden due to itchio's auto-pending feature!

There are only 3 endings so far, and they are more of the minor endings you can get depending on choices. They are: Close Call, One Day At A Time, and Same As It Ever Was. If you have those 3, then congrats, you have all the endings you can get at this time. More endings will be added as the game updates and the story progresses!

Lemme know if you have any other questions, happy to help!

Hello!! I'm JUST now seeing this due to the auto-pending feature itchio does for random comments it seems. Thank you so much for playing!!! I'm so happy you enjoyed the routes and the writing. I hope to keep delivering :)

Hi! I am so sorry for my late reply! I just learned about itchio doing auto pending for comments, and saw this needed manual approval which I had no idea was a feature?! 

Anyways thank you so much for your honest thoughts! I'm glad Benji carried the game for you! Totally understandable that the mc wasn't likable. They are flawed and at times, struggle with realizing they aren't a good friend, person, etc. What you're feeling is also how they feel, which is interesting! They ALSO feel like they're rude and feel like their problems aren't worthy of feeling so depressed.

In terms of the reason for their depression, there's hints that they haven't felt supported by family, and it's conditioned them to hide their emotions, which I think exacerbated the problem. I hope to slowly explore this throughout the game. If you have any questions about this, happy to answer!

Oh my god!!! I just learned about itchio automatically putting comments into a pending box, and I went to look and realized all these comments that needed manual approval. I can't believe I didn't see this 2 months ago!!! I'm so sad, but also so happy to see this. Thank you so much for making this, and I'm sorry for the delay in reply!

Yay! Glad you think so! Yep, he's creepy in his own way (or maybe all the ways, let's be real here lol). Thank you so much for playing, and I hope you like the next act! 

Wahhh, thank you so much for making a video! I've had friends say Benji hit a little too close to home for their liking, so you're not the only one. I'm so glad you liked Ellis, though! Thank you for playing!

Yay! Glad you enjoyed Benji's route, and hope you like Ellis's, too! Also, I'm so happy that the pronoun options felt inclusive!  I'm still learning how to code, so maybe some day I'll figure out how to make them even more customizable!

Oh, and please don't feel embarrassed about not commenting. I never want anyone to feel pressured to do anything, so it's all good. I really appreciate the kind words, though! Thank you so much!

I'm so glad you're liking the story and characters, thank you so much! The only other platform I currently have at the moment is Reddit (u/take-a-memo). I'll be sure to post devlogs here on itch.io for each update, too!

Thank you so much for playing and making a video! I don't mind at all, it is much appreciated :)

I really love hearing about how players experience the game, thank you for sharing this! I agree, in the beginning, Benji may not be 100% aware of his manipulation, but only because he’s convinced himself he’s a “good friend.” He’s a little (or maybe a lot) delusional about who he is. He genuinely wants to be a good person, but also…he believes a person must be willing to do anything for the people they love, which could potentially take him to some dark places. And you’re right…he does depend on you a lot, and is trying to recreate that same dependence. Maybe he believes this is what bonds people together.

Yep, Ellis can get invasive, too! He respects your autonomy a little more than Benji, but will still assert control when he feels it’s necessary. Ellis did teach himself how to socialize through books, and it’s true that he’s unsure of how to act or what to say sometimes. You’re also correct about his father! There’s always been a lot of pressure around talking for Ellis. Growing up, I imagine he was probably ridiculed for being more quiet and punished if he said the wrong thing. While he’s naturally more reserved, a lot of it was his conditioning, too. 

This is the first time someone has expressed interest in the mc/protagonist! I’m so happy you enjoy the way they were written. If they were an available interest, they would be very hot & cold, use humor to diffuse situations, and the player would have to be very patient with them (and laugh at their jokes even if they weren’t funny) to win their heart. 

Thank you sosososo very much for playing this game, and your analysis was incredible. My cup is filled to the brim! I hope you have a wonderful day!

If I had an Ellis blushing emoji, I’d insert it right here —> ___. Whether he’s friend or foe in your playthrough, thank you for appreciating our resident “wishes he were in a gothic fiction novel” creeper 🥀

Comments like these make me wanna cry my eyeballs out. I know this is just a game, but it’s very important to me that mental health themes aren’t minimized or sugarcoated to be “palatable” and are handled with a level of rawness & respect. I appreciate that you appreciate this. It truly means so much to me. Thank you thank you thank you and stay tuned for more!

Wandering the desolate world with poems popping up like intrusive thoughts eventually felt like finding water in the desert. Your ability to write words both painful yet healing is the most breathtaking part of this game poem.

Thank you for creating something so raw & honest...I’ve talked to fellow creators about this fear we sometimes have about being punished or vilified for simply being honest in our work...exploring themes that either get watered down or ignored altogether. Thank you for reminding us we can express even the hardest & heaviest of things. This game now has a special place in my heart.

Beautiful, eye-catching art and design! The story was interesting and revealed in a way that felt smooth and easy to follow along. Zehir's duality (going from hateful to soft/clingy) made me so curious about his backstory to make him like that. It was very intriguing, some of the dialogue broke my heart, and the amazing voice acting made it so immersive. All in all, I had a lot of fun, thank you! Best of luck on this and/or any future games!

Awesome, thank you so much! And thanks for creating this jam, appreciate ya!

Hello! I saw that pre-existing projects are accepted and just wanted to double check this included games published prior to the jam (and not just a pre-existing project we've been working on). I’d love to submit a previously published game that I updated earlier this month, but wanted to make sure it was okay. Thank you!

Yay! Thank you for showing Ellis some love! Only 3 endings are currently available right now (2 main route, and 1 stranger route), so you're probably not missing anything,  but please let me know if you ever have any questions. Thank you SO much for playing and the kind words, btw :)

I LOVE walls of text, so no worries there. And as you can see, I’m prone to writing them myself.

Glad you like mc’s agency! This game is essentially a character study, so I wanted choices that build (or even regress) character. We’re human, change our minds, or have lapses in judgment, so I also wanted to give chances to take things back, too.

Now, onto your questions! I plan to continue weaving bits of backstory, but happy to expand here as well. Benji became a parentified child early on, taking care of the house and mom's emotional needs (his first codependent relationship). This doesn't mean his behavior is excused by family trauma (we should still hold him accountable), but he’s definitely repeating patterns. 

I’d say Benji’s always been a caretaker in mc's life, but in smaller, subtler ways. Mc was his consistent source of attention, so there was likely some possessiveness. But after what happened, his guilt/fear exacerbated his tendencies. Mc was in and out of depression, so they didn’t have energy to stop him from taking the reins…might’ve even felt like a relief. Eventually, mc realized it wasn’t actually helping, and started to feel less like a person and more like a stove that needed constant checking.

Lastly, I think Benji’s ideal situation can shift depending on his development, but ultimately, he wants to be mc’s one and only. Platonic, romantic, doesn’t matter, as long as they need him and ONLY him. He would burn the world down for mc, but he also wants that in return. He’s not at the world-burning desperation yet, so right now, he just wants old mc back. But if continually pushed, who knows?

Hope that answers your questions! And please don’t worry, I enjoy these discussions so much! Also, I totally understand, most social media stuff scares me, too. 

You're not being pestering at all, happy to help! I'm still writing the endings, so if a guide were made, it'd be best to wait until the game's finished to avoid any confusion. Since the story is still ongoing, there aren't many endings yet! So far, you can only get three: two for main route, and one for Stranger (which is the one you already got). 

Hope that helps! Please don't hesitate if you have any other questions :)

Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed the visuals/atmosphere as well as the mc! I wrote the first two acts to be slow-building and more subtle (aside from a few select scenes) in terms of horror, so I'm glad it still comes across as scary. Thanks again for playing!

Hi, thank you so much, and I'm honored you want to follow along! Other than itchio, my only other online presence at the moment is Reddit (u/take-a-memo). It doesn't come off as weird, at all! Thank you for asking :)

Firstly, thank you SO much. Reading this felt like a warm hug. 

So, so grateful that the protag resonates. I wanted to write a protag and characters who were complex and flawed. There’s no message or moral of the story. Just an exploration of human relationships and what they’re capable of. For better or worse. Oh, who am I kidding. It's for worse or worse. This is a horror story.

Honestly, I wrote Benji thinking people would hate him. He feels the most loved when people cling to and need him, so that's how he shows his love (and wishes protag would show it that way, too). He’s horrible for sure, but like you said, that yearning desperation is weirdly refreshing in a world that feels detached and indifferent. I think that’s why these dynamics get explored in fiction and scratch that itch so well. 

Protag and Benji are avoidant and anxious, respectively. They are oil and water, but they also have their own guilt and trauma that binds them. Benji’s trying to be the friend he believes he should’ve been. Protag is trying to be the person they think they should be. These things conflict constantly, and I think it could become a love/hate dynamic (if it isn’t already). 

Ellis reads a lot of old books, so the way he talks and behaves is informed by them. He was a sheltered kid, so books were his window to the world. I’d say his parents were pretty old-fashioned and eclectic as well. Despite his stoic countenance, he has big emotions that he doesn’t know how to express, so they kinda explode. Not as much now, but it still happens, as you saw at the end of Act 2. Thank you for inviting me to the wedding, btw! Wouldn’t miss it for the world!

Love your visual of Benji as the dog and Ellis as the stray cat. Spot on in so many ways! I have a rough outline of the endings, but there's one that may involve all three, though I can’t say more than that. While developing the characters, I actually had a thought that Benji and Ellis would probably be pretty compatible. I could see Ellis’s desire to preserve/protect being received well by Benji. I think Ellis would be more open to polyamory than our super jealous/possessive Benji, though. 

You seem to have a good understanding of these characters! I honestly love when people have their own theories and head canons, so please always feel free to share or ask questions! I will never tire of them, honest. And I think it’s probably every developer’s dream when fanart and fanfics get made. There’s already some amazing fanart of Benji and Ellis out there that I still cannot believe exists. But yes, if you ever create something, please feel free to share (only if you’re comfortable, that is). I would LOVE IT!

Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed all the elements and that they came together for a fun experience. That's really all that matters to me in the end.

Hehe, and I'm sure Ellis would love to hang out in your pocket, especially if it contained all of his favorite things (and most importantly, because it's YOUR pocket).

 I'm so excited to get started on Act 3, and I truly appreciate your thoughtful encouragement! I'll definitely remember to have fun and try not to rush the process.

P.S. Winter is a great name, and I'll bet Ellis thinks so as well. Maybe I'll add a fun little easter egg for it in the next update :)

Hi! Thank you for playing! Haha, and yes, Benji definitely won that round. Poor Ellis T_T

I'm so glad the game felt balanced and that you had fun! Hope you continue to enjoy future updates :)

Thank you!!! That means the world to me!

Wow, thank you so much! That's such a relief to hear, because I'm constantly picking it apart in my brain.

The protag was written as a recovering people pleaser, amongst other things, and unfortunately, Benji knows that. But hey, he knows best, and it's "for your own good," right?

Thanks again for playing and for the kind words :)

Thank you, Raine! It means a lot when people take chances on lesser known games as there’s already tons of amazing ones out there! I’m so happy you like Benji!

I’m also grateful you found the mental health issues honest and relatable. This is so important to me, especially when writing about experiences that are often invalidated in real life.

Anyway, thanks again for playing and sharing your thoughts! Hope you continue to enjoy the game :)

Oh, I see Ellis is growing on you, eh? Shitty Benji vs Sweet Ellis is kinda funny!

Discord makes me nervous as I don't know much about it, and I wouldn't wanna do a bad job. I've heard about devs/artists getting destroyed due to stuff that occurred in their discords and honestly, that kinda scares me. But I'll look into it for sure.