itch.io

Oh! If you're making a new build, it would also be good to do something (up to you what) about the ambiguity of "the closest witness to X is Y".

Usually, it's straightforward to tell if this is a lie; but sometimes the question of "how is a diagonal measured" affects the answer.
I think I had something like:

   _W2_
W1_C

Witness 1 is clearly 2 spaces away from the count; but witness 2 is either 1 space, sqrt(2) spaces, or 2 spaces, depending on how you are measuring distance in the grid system.

Ok, so, I'm still playing this.
It is currently my "on the train" staple.
:)

If you are planning to make any post-jam updates, I would like to add that I have found a confirmed scenario with no way to deduce the final killer.
If the Countess says "The maid is lying", you are cooked, relying on lady luck for a coin flip.

I've also found the scrollbar to be fiddly on mobile; but I understand it wasn't designed for mobile.
Interestingly, that's the only part that doesn't feel smooth on a phone.

Very pretty, the visuals and audio are extremely well polished.
:)

My only grievances are with some of the mechanics:
1) I did not enjoy the grab and wiggle - it felt very repetitive, and was the most common issue (it also trigger my wrist and should RSI; but that's much more of a "me" thing);
2) I don't think the pipes should have ends that go nowhere - it's confusing, and I had to learn by trial and error what the intended solution was (I also think the straight pipes should go either way);
3) in general, I found the game harder and more punishing than I expected - I'd rather fix everything once (or twice) and move than, rather than wait around, *wishing* for rats to destroy stuff (which I should not be rooting for, narrative-wise) so that I can fix the stuff to add to my count to progress (I also felt like the counts were too high considering how repetitive the minigames were);
4) the rat king is too hard IMO and has too much health - my first attempt dragged on and on, just barely coming back from the brink over and over, before finally losing; on my second attempt, I beat him by using a cheese strategy of hiding behind him and smacking (no recoil back there) while ignoring the damage to the clocktower entirely;
5) when time is up, it should interrupt you immediately in-mini-game - multiple times when I failed, I managed to just solve the puzzle a second or two too late, hear the satisfying success noise, and think "oh, I just made it!" before being disappointed;
6) some sort of ending to the narrative would be good - it doesn't even have to be visual, just a paragraph to say whether or not the clocktower settled down permanently, and to say whether the other dolls got back up or not - what would be enough.

That ALL being said, if the minigames got more tuning/playtesting (and there were more of them), and the narrative was expanded, I would absolutely buy this.
The world you have sucked everyone into is too charming not to.
I want to see more of Hickory and the other dolls - a lot more; and I'm prepared to pay to get it.

This was good.
I don't know if I've ever seen an incremental game with a story before...
:)

FYI, it plays pretty well on mobile.
Only issue is the scrollbar doesn't work, so I could only play using autosword as the strongest.
It was fun how, at some point, the objective for me changed from "decrease the HP as fast as possible" to "oh no! the HP is decreasing too quickly, and I haven't got all the upgrades I want! BUY BUY BUY - KEEP THE DRAGON ALIVE!".
XD

I really wanted to get crit chance = 100%; but it got extremely hard to keep everything afloat after hitting 75% (very slow going from there too) - plus all the other stuff at stupidly high numbers.

Thank you very much for your kind words!
:)

Based on feedback from other players, I think I'll change the action to be 1-indexed.
There was too much programmer bias in the decision to make them 0-indexed.
XD

Thank you very much!
I'm glad you liked it.
:)

Thank you for the feedback!
I would say the meta-decision of whether you failed or not it up to you.
You are free to play as much as you want to get whatever ending you want.
If you are happy with 1 run, whatever the outcome, then that's fine too (there are entire games based on this!).
:)

Yes, I understand what you mean.
I have seen some people have trouble telling who is talking.
You have to really pay attention, which is not ideal.
I added the colours to try to help with that; but it might not have been enough.
Two characters (both from your crew) have similar colours to try to show they are aligned; but that probably makes it harder to tell who is whom.

Thank you very much for the feedback!
I saved rendering costs by offloading them to your brain!
XD

If I had to guess, I suspect the failed input was immediately after a [THINK] action.
The problem there is: I treat the text from those actions the same as narration messages - there is no action list available, and you have to press enter to get back to the action list.
However, I've had feedback from 2 (probably 3 now) people that it feels like you should be able to take action at the [THINK] prompt immediaely.
I'll need to rework the system very slightly, and look out for side effects (what if you [THINK] so much that the action list falls off the screen and is no longer visible?); but enough people have mentioned this that I can't ignore it.

The IRL events are interesting!
There are actually 2 different "submarine almost launched nuke" scenarios I'm aware of, and people always think of the one with the guy who defied a direct order.
In the scenario this game is based on, that didn't happen - there was a 3-way vote, the vote failed due to 1 person, and that was that.
The 1 person was also the highest rank IRL, so it would have been less awkward.
I took some liberties to increase the tension of the narrative.

Oh, I did.
Though, I am tempted to ask for a "soundtrack" that is just all the audio voiceovers!
XD

I realised when I woke up that I didn't actually say how the bug happened! Sorry!
In the box-pushing room, I didn't push it closer to the wall, just straight ahead.
I climbed the box, and jumped to try to parkour climb the top of the wall (I may have accidentally released space and then quickly grabbed it again - causing a failed and then another one to start? I can't quite remember).
This mostly worked, except I climbed "into" the floor.
I was able to walk with eyes at about floor level (could see above and below), until I reached the door to the next room.
That's when the fall into the abyss happened.

Also queue is in the general language (at the shops, at the bank, etc.); but I appreciate you trying to avoid the programmer bias.
One of the puzzle games in this jam required knowledge of binary to clear the very first room.
I left a comment that was like "you realise that non-programmers will not be able to play this game?".

Interestingly, another GMTK game jam entry!
The rule seems to be 1 per year.
XD

https://notlordb.itch.io/idle-racing

The other incrementals I've played were either way too boring (nothing really going on), OR way too intense as a way of trying to overcompensate.
I remember a train one from last year, where there was just constant noise being spammed from like 5 or 6 different things.
It was supposed to make you feel like stuff was happening, I think, but it was just annoying!

Is it just me, or are you getting better at this?
I agree that the voiceovers are quite entertaining.
Though, I'm genuinely not sure if points should be added or deducted for the "wall running" joke.
XD

Speaking of, I personally would like a different button for wall running other than the jump button.
Sometimes I got the angle wrong, and just jumped into the lava while skidding down a wall.
Maybe shift? Or make it remappable so people can have either?

Also, I am sure this will not surprise you, but there may be a couple bugs left in a game that was made in less than a week.
Behold my glorious fall to oblivion!
XD

Good job. Make more. Join us for the Patreon jam!

This is really good. The 2nd incremental game in my life that I actually liked.
Max creativity points just for figuring out how to save your submission!
XD

Only thing I would like to see different is a tiny explanation somewhere (in-game) that the conveyor belt does not auto-fire without the upgrade.
Before I saw the second upgrade, further down the list, I assumed it was a bug.
The term "conveyor belt" rather than "queue" already sounds like it is moving on its on.

Other than that, no notes.
I'll stash it in my favourites box to finish another day.

More feedback:

1) I just can't stop playing it! It's my go-to now for whenever I have a random few minutes to kill. I just keep it in a permanent tab in my mobile browser. I've gotten good enough to beat the story almost every time (mobile controls + samurai + don't waste point on special); and I can easily say "just one more run". I would suggest allowing key remapping for the PC version. I genuinely think being able to use two hands increased my ability and made it more fun.
2) Having played it on mobile so much, I would like to ask that the buttons be widened, or placed closer to the edges of the screen. I'm extending my thumbs *juuuust* a little bit more than is comfortable to try to reach the middle

I got so far... and then accidentally fireballed myself to death with a massive combo going.
XD

This is a well polished game with a simple yet addictive mechanic.
Only thing I would suggest is some subtle ways to make the game harder.
With the aggresive deck, it seemed like I can just alternate rows with attacks and win easily.
The mirrors help with this - so more stuff like that would be good.

I like the idea of this loop, and the environment is very pretty.
The flood is also so beautiful to watch coming in.
:)

I just think the actual shooting stuff on the ground part needs some refinement.
It didn't quite feel right to spend so long trying to shoot a tiny bush with a gun, and the small mushroom seemed indestructible!
If this were expanded, I think I'd prefer to be hunting monsters or bandits in the woods, rather than shooting tress and rocks; but I understand that is way too much to ask for a game jame.

Side note: I can keep shooting and reducing health as the water rises.
Might be a way to exploit this for extra EXP/loot.

The water is beautiful, let it come...

This is a nice little puzzle game that is well polished.
The cut motion, in particular, is so smooth and feels really good.
:)

I was going to say that it's a stretch for the theme (based on the wordplay alone), but then I remembered the giant clock on the wall and went "oh yeah...".
XD

Only thing that I would suggest is some visual indicator to tell the entry and exit doors apart, aside from proximity - or just making the exit door more prominent in general.
There was one level where I couldn't figure out what to do because (as it turned out) I didn't see the exit door, and I thought I had to go back to where I came at the start.

Unrelated, but for your reference, I got stuck on the following level.
Doesn't seem possible to get the block on switch.
Doesn't seem like it would help (unless it alters movement patterns).
Doesn't seem possible to take out the guy on the right and the two down below (and forget about getting to the door! XD).
Not saying it is impossible, mind you, just that I have given up.

This is a great little hidden gem!
Creative, fun puzzles that fit the theme well with a nice twist; and just the right difficulty level - and actually some narrative/lore!
Well done.
:)

Things I would suggest looking at:
1) in general, it's better to have puzzles that don't require just racking up steps to complete - use that sparingly if you make more because "I know how to solve it and I'm just waiting for the countdown" is only fun once or twice;
2) the RHS of the counter (the Y of X/Y) disappeared sometimes (especially with >100 steps banked);
3) it's not clear that math operations don't work in the dark world - everything else has visual feedback about how something has changed, but the "+1", "/2", etc. all look exactly the same as they did in the light world - I actually thought there was a bug with the final level, but I pushed on, believing in your claim that you playtested everything properly.

This was very good.
It took me a few tries, but I did save the universe (or something) in the end.
:)

I was a bit confused when "Enter the anomaly" was just "restart" - it sounded like an extra/bonus level or something.
Also, I would suggest having mouse aim off be the default.
It sounds good, but it was actually more annoying than helpful as a feature.

Thank you very much for the detailed feedback!
I plan to take everything onboard for a post-jam update (eventually...).
:)

To be honest, I have no idea how you (and a couple others) got the good ending so easily.
Some people got it first try, while others failed 4 times and gave up.
I *suspect* the people who got the good endings read all the [THINK] text, and the others didn't, but I don't have proof.

I originally wanted the game to be longer; but, as I'm sure you understand, the dialogue took a lot longer to write than I thought, and the deadline loomed.
It was originally "10 Decisions to Doomsday", then "6 Decisions to Doomsday", then finally "4 Decisions to Doomsday".
I decided that I would definitely prefer to make a short polished experience rather than a long one that was buggy or incoherent.

0) It hadn't occurred to me to make a [THINK] option about the ranks; but that's easy to do.
1) I noticed the scrollbar was broken about 1 hour before submission, and I hadn't put the music in yet, so I left it - but I do want it back.
2) I saw someone else naturally try to do this in a live playtest, so I agree that I should work on this.
3) Starting from 1 is probably a good idea - starting from 0 is too programmer-biased, and not everyone who likes games is a programmer.
I'll probably do that rather than highlighting the text for the update to this game, mostly because it's easy; but also because I feel like highlight and selecting text doesn't quite work with a terminal that (is SUPPOSED TO) show command history - that seems like more of a visual novel interface.
I am thinking about how I might extend/rewrite this to support visual novel style protraits, so I'll keep it in mind - it's definitely more common than what I did with the numbers.

Also, thank you for your kind words about the sound and inspiration!
My general hope is for people to be pleasantly surprised when they play.
The "I had no idea a text game make me feel that!" feeling is the desired feeling.

Thank you very much!
:)

Thank you very much!
:)

The nuke ending is by far the easiest, if you want to come back and try it.
There are actually 3 unique ending screens, and the peace ending is the hardest to get (or... it was supposed to be... <_<).

I refer to the disclaimer again: this game is a work of fiction.
If you achieve peace in the game, then eternal world-wide peace reigns until the end of the universe (probably...).

Thank you very much!
:)

I put the "[LOCKED]" options in there with the hope that it would make people want to try again to see what else they could do.
You're not a failure for trying over and over - exploring the options is part of the fun!

Thank you very much!
:)

I really appreciate that you noticed how the music and sound moved the story.
Working with text, there is extra emphasis on music to help establish mood.
Congratulations on getting the good ending on your first try.
I don't know how so many people are doing that actually, so good on you!

Thank you very much!
:)

I was actually thinking about how I might want this on a computer screen in future games.
I'll need to think about it, because it's all top-level UI/HUD stuff at the moment; but it is something I want to do!

Thank you very much!
:)

Forgot to say thanks.
Thank you for playing!

I did try squeezing the thrall down the right passage, but it turns to stone, needs to be pushed, and always ends up flush with the right wall; thus leaving no space for me to get behind it and push.

I agree with windsach.
I lost track of time in my rush to review as many games as possible.
Top tier. Favourited. Followed.
Nothing more to say.
:)

This is a nice little game.
Good job!
:)

I agree with what others have already said: the game is well polished, the difficulty of the puzzles is very good (maybe just slightly too easy on average?), and some of background track from Pixabay would help.

For my personal progress, I got stuck on this level until my kid woke up, and now I must do parenting stuff. Based on other comments, this sounds like the last level; and I just needed to figure out that doors are blockable? I don't think you did anything wrong with the puzzle design. I just didn't time to figure it out before IRL commitments got in the way.

This is very well polished.
The controls are smooth, the visuals and music combined to give a nice "go, go, go!" sort of vibe.
Well done!
:)

Three things that I would suggest changing:
1) the red text on the black background for the game page is hard to read - I would suggest a different colour, or at least bolding it all;
2) I think you're aware of potential volume issues, given the volume warning ,but I found the high pitched SCREEE at the end particularly loud and jarring - I would turn this down;
3) I think it would be good to "massage" the randomness a bit; truly random experiences are often not as fun as partially random ones- e.g. I got a very hard level for level 2, which was a bit rough because I was still learning the controls, and (later on) I got the same level 3 times in a row, which was a little boring.

That was really fun, and really well polished (except for the tutorial bug)!
:)

I really like how the tougher enemies (that take 2+ hits) bounce the heart back to you.
That seemed like a fair thing to help balance the mechanic of chasing the heart.
Similar to how touching enemies doesn't damage you.
That's nice because you have to get up close to get the heart back.
Well done.

Only thing that bothered me was that the heart would fly off in a direction I didn't expect if I tried to shoot while moving.
I suspect there's something funny with the vector addition, or something; but, otherwise the controls were super smooth - enough that I just developed a habit of pausing very briefly before firing (a split second was enough for the shot to match my intuition again).

I struggled the overcome level 3, but I got there in the end!

Overall, I liked it; and, yes, your girlfriend's pixel art is good.
I've seen better; but I don't think I've seen better *for a first try*.
So, take that as a compliment.
:)

I liked the mechanic (although, I had to figure it out by trial and error, passing the first few levels by pure luck, it seems).
I must also admit that the puzzles were mostly too hard for my sleep-deprived brain at 11pm, so I just skipped most of them.
:P

Thanks for including that option, though.
I was keen to see how the story ended; and I've been frustrated in story being locked behind a skill barrier in this jam already (a lot more narrative in games this year compared to last year).

It seems like you already know by now; but there's a glitch with the ending cutscene where it flickers/repeats/jumps.

I liked it. It was fun and nicely polished.
:)

It took me a bit to figure out that you *have* to play all your cards at some point.
I know you wrote in the descriptions that they go back to the draw pile; but it still didn't click in my head - I thought I'd get to just *not* play the last 3 cards in my hand, and I had to carefully pick which ones.
But, it's even trickier - strictly about the order.

I also sometimes had a visual glitch where a card I was hovering over would flicker rapidly; but it wasn't a big deal.

That was pretty damn great!
I don't want to stop playing.
:)

Just a few things from me:
1) the music cut out pretty quickly and didn't come back - but I still had sfx;
2) in my first run, I killed the 2nd killer, and no more suspects were flipped over, so I figured I'd found them all - then I determined everyone was telling the truth except the maid ("I didn't kill the count!" only verifiable by process of elimination) - I think there might be a bug somewhere, either in suspect not being flipped, or 1 too few liars or something; which leads me to
3) I would really really like it if you get the whole puzzle revealed when you fail (similar to minesweeper) so you can see what mistakes you made (and if there are any bugs... <_<).

Very good work.
Favourited. Followed.
See you next time!
:)

Oh, you're welcome!
Just be careful about how/when you expose the dictionary.
If you're not careful you could make it very easy to cheat.
>;)

That reminded me of The Stanley Parable, almost.
It was a decent comedy game, and quite impressive to complete in a jam time limit.
Also, your voice sounds good as the narrator, no need for the self-deprecating comment in the description.
:)

I found the mouse sensitivity too high; accidentally turning 360 degrees when I wanted to turn 180 degrees occurred several times for me.

I'm also not sure if the games were meant to actually be playable?

Some comments suggest that they had fun counting the stuff in the second room; but my clipboard was mostly obscured.
I counted only "darts", "balls", and "football" (players, I assumed).
Then, I got scored, and saw all the other categories, and I thought it was a joke about how badly the entrepreneur had set things up for the customers.
Same with the gun golf - I found it pretty impossible to play, and I thought it was a joke again.

Were they jokes, or was I having a unlucky day?
I noticed a decent amount of lag between levels loading, so maybe bugs?

Well done on your first game jam!
The game has good look and feel to it.
The fact that it runs is good enough for a first jam (once again, we had about a 66% dropout rate this year); but the polished feel is extra nice.
:)

The main thing I would like to see is a different/bigger dictionary.
The words "rip" and "I" were not in there.
I got "tram"; but (and this is a challenge with all these types of word games) once I stop trusting the dictionary the game changes to "what's the bigger word that I think the dictionary will *actually* have?" .

I thought that might be what happened (minus Cole kills Chloe - totally missed that - thought she died as an accident); but I wasn't sure.
I was thinking one of the following must be the case:
1) Cole killed himself;
2) it is deliberately ambiguous as a dramatic ending;
3) it is unfinished.

Hahaha, fair enough.