Very cool little thing with a mysterious ending! Took me 56 minutes to solve (I timed it). I love the art direction though sometimes it was unclear what I could click on (I got so stuck on the number of episodes puzzle bc I didn't realize there was a thing on the floor.)
I'm glad it's helpful!! This is really just the foundation for you to experiment with whatever you want. Gradient maps + blending modes are powerful!!!
Very fun and interesting take on the jam theme. I could envision a mechanic like this included across an entire creature collector--let the player figure out the monster's info on their own! I thought the clues were generally quite straightforward but there's only so obscure you can make them when the framing device is "letters from friends excitedly telling you everything they saw" :'D I loved the little monster sprites, would love to see them on my gameboy!
I skipped the F//F portion because I plan on reading all the entries and I haven't gotten to it yet, but I enjoyed your thoughts on running the jam and what went on in the judging behind the scenes.
I think the question of "Where's The Toxic?" is very interesting because everyone has their own interpretation of what that theme means. My approach when reading has been, "this person submitted this entry to the toxic yuri jam, so that means they consider this to fit under that banner. What about this VN do they consider toxic?" It's been an interesting exercise under that lens.
Working with a composer was one of the most enjoyable parts of the whole jam! I knew I wanted to make a throwback to Sound Novel style games so the music had to be good and I basically told my composer "here's the story, here's the theme, go ham" and they delivered bangers that made me really wish my game was a good home for them :'D but understandably that's not possible for every participant. I think people did some really great work with the resources they had.
Thank you very much for helping to host and run the jam. My #1 goal was to learn as much as possible and I learned A LOT. A lot!!! That is worth more to me than $501 ;)
Thank you!! I think it's forgivable for indie devs with jank systems to not achieve all accessibility, but there's lot of little considerations to make and more information is better than less. The fact that you put your effort into making an accessible point-and-click design is really admirable and I'm sure it's going to help someone out too!! I sure couldnt have achieved this much without all the heavy lifting Ren'Py does haha
An engaging puzzle design with a compact narrative, that fits a lot of characterization for what little space it has. The only real complaint I have about it was that I didn't understand how the mechanics worked during the tutorial and did some blind clicking around before I understood, but after that it was easy to get on a roll. I would also appreciate it if the "scry targets" number were larger and easier to see; I have a visual impairment and the low-contrast number is basically impossible to see so I mostly just had to trust I'd found everything.
Otherwise the presentation, art and take on the investigative genre is really fun and fresh and I enjoyed that if felt very much like uncovering a story, not just a puzzle! I was also satisfied with the order in which I chose to pursue some scenes that had multiple alternatives, but I wonder how it may be for people who decided to go a different route.
Hello again! Replying just to let you know my composer has put the OST up on their Bandcamp if you're interested in the newly mastered tracks! Thanks again for your lovely comment about their music!
Thank you so much!!! Yes, I had the help of the immensely talented ArcanaXIX and if you liked their work here you should absolutely check out their VN/point-and-click hybrid Amadeus: A Riddle for Thee. I've known Leo for a long time but their work on Amadeus is especially impressive to me, so I said "hey you know that weird gritty layered style you did in the prologue track? Do that but like toxic yuri." And they absolutely JUMPED at the chance to make this bonkers soundtrack. And I was so honoured to have them!!!
I'm glad you enjoyed it despite the unfinished state. I really can't wait to share the finished version! You also won't believe what a bottom-of-the-pit awful day I've had today so I was really happy to read your comment, it made me feel a lot better.
Really fun game concept for nosy bitches who love to snoop! It took me just under an hour to find all the accounts and hashtags. The fictional drama was very entertaining and believable. And a lot of content for a game jam game! I would love to keep exploring for hours if it were ever expanded.
I also liked that the solutions to the puzzles were all words you obtained in actual context. Not to complain about games that likely inspired this one... but one thing I didn't like about Golden Idol and its similars is how often you obtain a word needed for the solution to a puzzle by clicking on something totally unrelated that just happened to be the same word. In this game the hashtags and account names being used are all clearly in the context of the drama being discussed and thus felt relevant to find.
A small note for accessibility purposes, right now the symbol for a new puzzle in the DMs and the solved puzzle is an identical circle of different colors, it would be more accessible to colorblind people if they were represented by different shapes.
And, also... I couldn't figure out how to quit the game when I was done 😅Esc didn't work, I had to use the Windows key to close the game manually.
Overall, great job, I can't believe it's a jam entry! I had a lot of fun with it.
Congrats on your first project! This was amazing. I loved the dreamy fairytale vibes and the colors and textures and the variety of expressive sprites. The progression of the toxicity until it became truly unhinged was great pacing! I really liked this one as a refreshing take on the theme compared to those that are very dark right off the bat (which are also enjoyable but yknow, variety!)
The theatrical presentation is absolutely intoxicating. I can't believe you managed something so engrossing in the span of a game jam! I had my breath tight the entire time totally enthralled. I can't even begin to touch on the story because all of it just filled me with so much.... art. Poetry. It reminded me very much of my favourite band/theater troupe who does shows combining music, circus and poetry. And one of their mottos is "Poetry Prevails". That's how I felt about it. I came into this jam thinking about ways I wanted to stretch and tear the medium and you did something phenomenal with it. Absolutely stellar performance.
I'm ace and have been involved in ace communities for over 15 years now--I choose not to label my romantic orientation anymore (long story short: I experience romantic love and don't consider myself aro, but clearly I'm so ace that other people consistently fail to interpret me that way: I'm constantly being told how beautifully platonic my love is even though I experience it as romance.) so "ace" is my full identity as of right now. But I completely understood the perspective portrayed here. I also struggled with identifying with or understanding "romantic love" in movies and songs because they fail to capture my feelings.
Maybe Avery is a bit of a caricature but... in a way that also contributes to her nuance. Sometimes people think they're in love when really they're just infatuated or physically attracted. Either way, I think she shows plenty of food for thought in what her emotional needs drive her to do.
I enjoyed this one a lot! The art was so cool and the CGs were so effective! Jinx is an ass but in a way that's really compelling and enjoyable, and Avery has a surprising flaw for someone who seems so sweet. Despite this whole jam theme being "toxic yuri" in the end I kinda wanted to see it work out anyway... But the ending was a pretty inevitable conclusion, I think! Edit: I forgot to add that I loved how the Shakespeare was interwoven with the actual story and made those moments feel more meaningful, and not just as theater set dressing!
I enjoyed reading the author's notes and backstage art. I too reused characters I've had for years in my jam entry and it's a little scary to think this is the first way they are presented to the world. But nothing stops you from making more and more! And I think Jinx and Avery deserve that. Also good job on the music even though you felt amateur about it! I really liked it!
I have to admit this one may be beyond the limit of what I can handle, but I loved what I did play of it. The art direction is great, the character expressions are so emotive, and Eden is the perfect mix of intimidating, disturbing and alluring in a way that makes the whole scenario click.
Hey if it makes you feel any better, like halfway or two-thirds in when I had been putting off my dinner to play it i thought "no i gotta eat SOMETHING" and got up to get a bowl of cereal :p if anything you did the opposite of fuel it!
I also have a sleep disorder (probably narcolepsy but since my ADHD stimulants already treat it the doctor hasnt felt the need to press it further) and other complicated health conditions that make living alone very difficult so, I found it very relatable. There's a tendency for disabled people to feel helpless and like unless there's someone there to take care of us we are doomed and therefore the possibility of abandonment or caretaker abuse is very real and scary. But even the scenarios presented here are quite empathetic though they play on this fear.
Lovely little story with a soft touch in spite of all the difficulties. As a disabled person with many of the same issues as Aiyana I was a bit afraid of how potentially triggering it could get but I was drawn in by how real and empathetic her portrayal was, as well as Emma's understandably limited perception. The note at the credits touched me, I know exactly what that kind of situation feels like and likewise I was glad for this jam being the one thread keeping my sanity together through difficult times. You managed to make something really cool and touching with the time you had. Also I love the color palette!
I also just saw it was your birthday as I scrolled down to post this comment. Happy birthday! I didn't grow up in the South or anything but I had friends who did, and I absolutely caught the vibe.
Incredibly creative presentation, expressive character art, and resourceful use of limited scope! I hope you take this as a compliment, but as a Brazilian I am a huge fan of telenovela drama between women, and this felt like a classic alongside the greats like the bathroom fight from Celebridade. My friend once posted a gif of that scene with the caption "you construct intricate rituals just to touch the skin of other women" and that's exactly what this little piece felt like, except Gayer. Congrats!
Only thing is I wish there had been an accessibility setting to make the text easier to read--I've recently been diagnosed with a corneal disorder that can't be corrected with glasses, and the text is very blurry for me even accounting for the special effects used. That said, I really like the transcription/caption-like quality of the sound effects described alongside the dialogue (again, great use of limited scope).
Oh, one last thing, your README file says to use SHIFT to toggle auto, which didn't work for me. I see now on the store page that it should have been Ctrl.
Thank you so much Lunar!! I had a lot of fun with the art, I knew I had to rely on photo backgrounds so I had to figure out how to make them work for me. I'm really glad the captions helped you!! (Although I think I missed a tag or two, I gotta double-check)
Thanks for all the support, it was awesome sharing the jam with you~
Congrats on the great achievement!! Y'all did such an incredible job within the time limit, and I know implementing things like the animations and bubbles was very technically challenging, but it looks so great and so smooth! I wish I could have seen just a little more of their relationship's history in the intro, of course we get dropped right into the boiling point of it--but still it was intriguing and very palpably tense. The background art direction is wonderfully chilly and isolating. And the character art is so charismatic and emotive. Wonderful stuff!
It was so fun to make these games alongside you, thank you so much for the support and congrats on finishing <3
Thank you so much!! I personally haven't watched Dragnet (though I do know about it) but I have watched lots of similar shows and movies. I love the detective dynamic so I'm happy I was able to capture it for you!
I had a lot of fun writing these two mysteries in tandem and I'm especially happy to hear that from someone who isn't already familiar with the characters (as most of my friends are). I hope you will come back to experience the rest of the story when it is fully implemented <3
Thank you soooo much Leo, your creativity and collaboration was so so important to getting this finished, gave me a whole second wind in the later half of the jam. I'm so glad you enjoyed it!!!
