itch.io

reading your comment had me smile from ear to ear!!! thank you!!!

thank you bean. the general idea for the game is based on a morning where i started off in a really good mood and did a little dancey dance, but at some point while drinking coffee i saw read some news on my phone that resulted in a drastic mood switch. i wanted to capture that deterioration, because it was really frustrating how all of that positive energy could evaporate so quickly.

i’m glad that the 3d type worked well. i wanted to use it for some time, but was unsure because 3d type is always troublesome to implement.

btw. the rotatable camera is something that your games inspired me to include ^^

thank you mirai!!!!! i’m happy to hear that you liked it. i guess i’m not alone in this. i try to get better habits with my phone use in the morning, but it is difficult to stay disciplined >.<

thank you!!!! i’m glad that the visualisation of the mood shift doom scrolling can provoke translates well. the shader contains parts of the sps shader. so in part, the puppy shader helped bring together the video and the 3d section ^^ sneki’s fingerprints can be traced are all over this game ;)

thank you for the feedback on the mouse input. i treat mouse controls often as an afterthought, as i’m such a keyboard baby. as a temporary solution the space key can be used to trigger the quit and continue buttons. if i patch the game i try to incorporate these mouse controls ^^

it would not have turned out so nice without you. thank you for joining!!!! your music is so cool!!!!

The game is a few years old by now, and the pandemic years are long past. But, I like to get reminded from time to time. I had hope that society would not just get back to normal, but keep what we learned: Giving space in public, slowing down, not driving all the time, using a video call instead of traveling to a location. I know that the experience each one had during that time differed wildly. I also remember that hearing live music again was magical. And there was a kind of rediscovery of the world. But, I also mourn the things we lost, that especially quite and introverted people benefited from.

Anyway, I love this pixel 3D style and the ambience was really nice.

that is indeed a consolation ^^ thank you bean!! and, thank you for reading.

I finally found time to play the game up to and including the epilog. Yay.

I enjoyed the story and found it quite relatable. There is a certain feeling you evoked in me with the epilog. This snapshot of a possible future that might bring happiness, even though it is not yet realized. And I appreciated how kind you let Violet speak about the small achievements she made each day.

I also thought the Lain-style shadows during the supermarket scenes were really cool.

Awww, this was beautiful. The interface looks gorgeous. The snake that crawls on mouse-movement, the flowers that gently sway in the wind, and the manuscript writing. You made the 3D assets work so well with the 2D elements.

And, yes, I had to laught at the last sentence xD

Font is also really nice and the extreme drop shadow works well with in this context. It kinda is eerie. The chromatic keyboard lines really add to this feeling.

Great work, and I’m looking forward to see more of these 3D frames, if you so incline ^^

thank you bean. i was looking forward to hear your thoughts on the game and am over the roof that you liked it so much.

i would be interested in how ophelia and audrey continue another story in this setting. i find no.7 and typhoon compellingly believable and the political setting so frustratingly well analysed.

it was this fascinating watching harm.less and mirai create this art on such a consistent level and love how well they work together.

the cynic ending is my favourite too ^^ but it wouldn’t hit as well without otrr. otrr made me feel very powerless and shocked.

thank you for the compliment //^_^//

i too think the story is unsettlingly evocative of possible political scenarios.

It is not really an ending but an additional scene in between.

fuck yeah! thank you <3

She really is!! ^_^

That was enthralling. I had no clue what kind of mystery would evolve here, and I was torn between moments of sadness, disgust, and anxiety.

I didn’t expect to find myself in Tels the way I did. But, her obsessive clawing for knowledge is a pattern that I recognized with myself to a degree.

Bean’s art was beautiful and it’s wonderful to see her artistic skill grow at such an incredible rate. The switch of artstyles in between was really starteling and unnerving. It matched the scene and how unnatural Kit behaved and how scared Tels felt.

The music was fitting the moods very well. The sound had a very particular feel to it, that mixed well with the visuals. And, I liked the small details like the switching colors of the frames, and the fancy “fl” ligature.

This was awesome. It felt to me like a zine coming to life. There are so many techniques in this that are inspiring, the way you moved the screen to were the text would happen, the long build-up of the scrolling animation, the turning of the screen, the dynamic music that changed on transition. And i love the font and how you made it work in such an endearing way for this poem.

I already read your zine “looking on writing black characters,” and I really appreciate the insights you gave there. This zine was no different. I like how nuanced you write. At the end of my read I was pretty angry with the way itch treats a selection of creators with plausible deniability – leaving them hanging and in precarious situations.

My games are still very much in the SFW category, and I learn about new games mostly through my feed and jam entries. That’s why it completely went past me, that the de-indexing was still an ongoing issue (I wasn’t even aware friends of mine were affected >.<).

I learn about new games through recommendations, but when I first started looking for trans rep games a year ago, what i found through itch’s search was very limited. I have to assume this has only become worse over time. This added barrier is especially dire considering how scarce media portraying people from minorities in a fair light is already.

To me the trans fem dev space I found here feels like a trading ring for zines: Very personal, at times transgressive, showing a wide variety of skills, and breaking with aesthetic norms. I’m glad I found this space. It becoming less and less discoverable is really dark.

Thank you for sharing your experience and shedding a light on the issue.

That was pretty scary to me. I scaled the game window to a minuscule size during the ending, because I’m a scaredy cat.

I loved the mix of media, the choice of fonts – especially the one instance where you change it.

You managed to translate these very oppressive feelings and anxieties really palpable.

more fonts are more gooder!!!!

the aspect of a release being absolute i feel as well. but, it’s also a chance to try something that you noticed during development could be interesting, but wouldn’t fit the current project.

That looping text is so good. This “Submission to a jam that only I partake in” seems to become a thing ^^

I liked the first line indent in the history (I know a really trivial detail, but I enjoyed it).

Game dev really is a complicated thing: Drawing you in, leaving you stranded if you are not working on a game, and then it’s over. And the thing you worked and aimed for is over. To me I start to feel detached from my games as soon as I publish them. They have a life of their own now, and I hope they will do well. But I can’t bring myself to going back …

Your artwork is sooooo good. Damn.

I was a bit scared what would happen during the night. That was a tense switch from the day light fun.

That was indeed very sweet. I love how the apostrophes fit so neatly in between u’s and n’s. Thank you for sharing that journey with us.

Your guitar playing on this was rad. Unbelievable considering how new you are to this instrument!

That was intense!

Not sure I can form a complex analysis of what I liked and felt. I liked the backgrounds to start with. Though they were heavily dithered you could still see all the details that went into modelling them. I liked the small facial animations that I could only see through side glances while reading. They made those characters a lot more likeable. I found Nikko’s heavy feelings of having disappointed someone very relatable. We left the story at a point where now I want to know what happens in the aftermath of these events >.< You fiend—leaving us in the dark!!

^__^ It makes me happy that this game started all these comments. The crash of this particular hard drive happend years ago. So, it doesn’t pain me. I was able to recover a lot of the images. Just some of the RAW files were lost—which isn’t too bad, considering I do have the JPGs of most of them.

But the shock back then was pretty big. There are also quite a lot of files that I was able to recover, but would need to edit. And that task was too much at some point, so some images are still not fixed. Having photography as a hobby you accumulate so many pictures. If someone wanted to go through them all it would take so much time. I only do it from time to time, and only certain time frames (mostly to look for a specific motive), and that is really nostalgic and neat. So, I guess I’m still glad I have so many of them. But, I do feel like a hoarder a bit >.<

Whenever I come back to this game to read comments, I’m reminded that I should make a backup. The gaps between them are still pretty large <.<

Thank you so much for playing my game. I’m really really happy that it resonated with you.

Placing the dialog inside the game world is a concept I think about from time to time. But, it seems pretty daunting to integrate it in another game. I hope I find a project were I can use this idea again. Also your comment makes me want to make a game with this idea again >.< We’ll see what 2026 brings ^^

The description of your feelings during the game conversation were so beautiful. Thank you!

I’m glad you made it out of your struggle. The results are really beautiful, and I’m looking forward to see what you will come up with next.

Basicbean send me here, so I had to try this. This is so gorgeous!!! The book frame, the handwritten letters, how you included the game title in the scrawled out text, the hover texts, each of the dressing elements. You draw so beautifully and I love how well you emulated that medieval illustration style.

The game page is great as well and I’m smitten by the font you picked here.

That was such a nice journey <3

But, it was struggle to come to the conclusion. The game crashed everytime old and new touched. So, I had switch to a different browser and then it worked.

Oh, and I was very fond of the polish you put into all the little animations (UI and game world).

That was pretty cute indeed. The art was really compelling. I loved how you conveyed this mixture of kinda cool but also insecure in the character designs. Also impressed by the sheer amount of sprites you drew and how well they worked with the backgrounds.

On a different note: Wow, gatcha games are frightening in how they are able to extort money from folks O .o

<3

it’s been quite a while since i finished my playthrough of this game. i listened to the “leaving the party” podcast recently and was reminded of how much i vibed with your game.

i played it together with a friend and we had so much fun voicing the different characters. the way they are written really made that easy. i continued playing through the game on my own and still kept reading out the voices aloud (a good opportunity for voice training).

i normally look at a character from a distance and at max relate to situations they experience. with ghost i often felt quite connected. she felt like me or how i want to be in many situations. when i read how you imagined her in the art book this made even more sense to me. i love how she is – despite her troubles – a very positive, genuine, and curious person.

the variety of styles between character portraits, bgs, and scenes were lovely. i also liked the ui flourishes like the achievement sprites, and the gorgeous button hover effect (that i only saw in the beginning as i started to use number inputs after a while – shame on me).

gameplay-wise i was really stressed during the first two days and only started to go on whimsical adventures on the last two days. the gender clinic scene was so uncomfortable and it made me thankful that i didn’t need t go through these questionnaires to get my name changed (i live in germany and there was an improvement regarding name changes last year – that is already being contested).

the music was pretty memorable and together with your writing and art you played so many of my emotional strings.

llrpg was my entry point to trans games, so it holds a special place in my heart (especially because it was such a lovely experience).

thank you for crating and publishing this game.

That was delightful. I liked the audio design and music. The thought experiment that this story proposes comes to a nice conclusion. There is something hopeful about the idea that in the end it was always you.

That was a very well written essay. I liked the visuals and music you picked. It is interesting to hear others describe their relation to magical girl media. As a pre-teen I was really drawn to Sailor Moon. This affection also came with anxiety that others could thinking it was cringe. I missed the chance turning to magical girl media in earnest during my teen years. I was able to read my sisters manga at least. But I think I didn’t apply these fantasies as a possiblity for me. I enjoyed the vibe but I felt a distance between me and those stories.

thanks again cyps for playing. i’m glad to hear that this little story succeeded in reinvoking past conversations that just felt right ^^

Thanks for reading it all. I’m glad I was able to share some of these thoughts about the process. I only discovered some of the mirroring of the music and story only while writing this postmortem. Sure, I did have an idea what I wanted the music to do, but connecting it to the emotional journey I went through during the conversations I had was something I didn’t realize before. I’m glad that this reflection helped with depening your connection to the music as well ^^

It is remarkable that even though the 3D aspect of the game is one that is pretty unique, I didn’t mention the process of asset creation at all >.< But, I remember taking all these screenshots in the process and being really motivated by how everything came together step by step.

It really has a lot of similarities. While writing I thought mostly of other conversations, because they happened in person. But, forming the friendship with Snek really is inseperable with the development of 2cmb. Next entry I should mine that even more : D 2cmb sequel: Two bowls of vegan pho please ;3

I went to Japan last year—for the first time as an out trans woman. And I related a lot to Haru’s anxieties. I ended up just using the men’s section as I had only started HRT. Playing the game I was reminded how anxious I was each time. I tried to ignor the other guests and they did the same to me, which made it okay-ish—though I was asked to go to the women’s bath once (which felt quite euphoric even though I had to still go to the men’s bath after all). It was still worth it, as it is so much fun to use all the different soaps and shampoos and sit in the hot water while also being outdoors. But if I want to travel to Japan again and use an onsen I would be really unsure how to decide. I would be off in either section. So, I really appreciated the hints to book a private slot or go on the very outer edges of opening hours.

I don’t remember the ending number I got, but I was really touched by the encouragement and help Haru received from various people during my playthrough.

The art on this was luxurious!! Your story highlighted the struggle of navigating this gauntlet well: Picking a save answer and trying to put as much compassion into it without endangering you or the other person. Or going with an answer that will cause you harm in order to help someone else. I really liked that your speech highlighted how capable the other teachers are, and how these arbitrary boundries make them drop all of that, because they believe it is the right thing to do …

It is so sad to read this, because navigating relationships in general can be challenging already. But then adding to that the masquerade, the stress of dropping the facade, and the risk of hurting others … that is quite a lot.

On another note: I loved how you included the dress up UwU Also, also: Loved your voice acting <3

The mixed media style looked so great. I thought the idea to print out the pictures and adorning it with washi tape, stickers, and colors was really beautiful. It gave the whole story such a dreamy vibe. When you showed the actual colored photgraphs during the exit interview it wonderfully contrasted it. It made me realise the story took place in a (fictionalised) real place. I really appreciated this glimpse into an area I have little to no knowledge of.

The writing had such a literary feel to it. I’m not sure I always understood where in the timeline I was at a given point. I think there were jumps forward and backwards in time, but I realised this only pretty late into the game. It felt very mature and surprising in tge context of a visual novel. The “lighthearted” visuals — to me contrasted — the severity of the text. The three protagonists’ different ways of being dishonest with each other and rationalising it to themselves hurt so much more than the abandonment of the island. That was some really skillful writing.

I liked the music a lot. It was used sparse but to great effect and gave off such a lonely but calm atmosphere.

I wished for those three to end up in better places … seeing them where they are at the end of the story felt very crushing — especially the result of Alba’s (in)decisions. Again, great characterisation and writing.

Thanks a lot! I really like that everyone is sharing their thoughts and stories about this. Your’s is a really cool take. It’s so true that the second time around you are much faster and often times can get rid of flaws of the original draft.

Thanks again for playing and taking the time to comment <3

Thank you for playing my game, and thank you for sharing your thoughts and history with me!!! I’m so happy that this little jam entry was able to connect with people.

It is funny, that now that I made this game, I find myself thinking more about old pictures and projects I made. Some of the music I composed can’t be edited anymore as I don’t have the software anymore. Sometimes I never exported the songs, as I felt they were not ready yet. But, now I only have the memory and the disconnected files left. I recently exported more unfinished projects. Not sure I have a clever file structure for it, but it is nice seeing the progress and being sure, I can listen to it, even if I lose a virtual instrument plugin, due to incompatibility …