itch.io

Hi Rachel,

I'm not interested in AI and will not be purchasing any AI made assets. I enjoyed the assets I purchased from you sometime ago that were not made by AI, but I can no longer download them as they have been removed.

Would you be able to reupload the originals please?

Kind regards,

SO

Hello, would you allow customers to use this music for videos as well, or just games? :)

Thank you very much for taking a look! I am happy you love the use of the filters/distortion, I wasn't too sure how it'd be perceived.

(And congratulations for doing so well in the game jam! I also look forward to seeing what comes next for your team!)

Thank you very much for taking a look, Telin!  I appreciate your feedback and encouragement.

Very good points, if I go back to this game I'll take a look and see what I can do.

Thank you!

Thank you very much for your comment :)
I would definitely love to see more vns with silly rap segments! (Brup!)

Ahhh this game is so beautiful in so many ways!

All of the art is stunning, I love the character art (and would love to know how you came up with the character designs!), the background and the walking characters too. The colours made me feel very cold and the tones were just right.

The written story was superb and kept my hooked throughout. I absolutely loved the writing of the characters. 

The crawling part was wonderfully designed, I loved how the text appeared.

What an excellently crafted  game. Amazing.  I can only sing its praises!

All the best,

Ocelot

Ahoy,

What an eye-catching visual novel! The art is absolutely stunning and offers a fresh style I haven't yet seen in many visual novels, with the animated main character moving as she does. The music follows the tones well, and the written story is very high quality.

I enjoyed the story very much. I don't wish to comment on it too much to give anything away, but I felt the hints were just right. 

I would only add that a back button or a history button would be great!

Gorgeous game page as well, so nicely designed!

All the best,

Ocelot

What a beautiful visual novel!

Absolutely stunning visuals, music and character design. I felt that the writing in this visual novel is some of the strongest and most genuine in this year's game jam that I've come across. 

I am stunned how you managed to do all of the coding, the art and the writing for this one. So much talent!

All the best,

Ocelot

Ahoy Quilly!

What a beautiful kinetic visual novel! The art, music and writing contributes to a lovely relaxing mood, which is a refreshing change after playing all those scary entries last night;; I think this is a lovely submission to the game jam, and its always fun to see familiar faces!

I think the team did a great job with this one. 

All the best,

Ocelot

Wow... 

The scariest game I've played through in this jam so far!

I was enchanted by the stunning art, incredible voice acting and the story. The dialogue was written authentically which makes this visual novel a real gem, and the lore was very gripping. I do hope the whole team is very proud of this strong submission to the Spooktober jam.

My only suggestion would be to consider the accessibility of the game, and perhaps have an option for turning off any flashing images/lights. Unfortunately this can prevent me from being able to play some games, or complete them.

I also want to say that I loved how detailed your game page is. It describes and advertises the game beautifully.

I am now going to get a hot chocolate and hide under a blanket for a bit :)!

All the best,

Ocelot

Ahoy there!

What a fabulous entry to Spooktober! The writing in this visual novel was very strong; full of character and humour! The characters are very well designed and interact well together.

I felt the music and the sound effects were spot on and I loved the used of video footage. The take 2, 3... transitions were hilarious. 

Something that stands out to me in this game was the additional effects, such as the red and white font at the beginning and the use of the subscriber/battery mechanic.

I also appreciate how easy the font was for me to read, great choice.

I only wish the game was longer, as I want to find out what happens next!

All the best,

Ocelot

If it is possible, I do wonder how you were able to protect your files in Ren'py. I'm using Ren'py myself for my main game, but I am not too sure how to protect the individual assets so that they can't be so easily found? Do you have any recommendations on how I can further explore this?

Wow!

I was completely gripped with the story! Amazing writing, art, special effects... A truly wonderful experience. I am someone who gets easily scared, and I absolutely detest zombies, yet the horror was just about dialled right that I could fully enjoy and appreciate the game.

My brain is a little overwhelmed by searching through some of the endings, but I made a few notes while playing...

• Cool main menu, adds feeling and atmosphere nicely, love how it changes
• Lovely special additions such as the effects when Leon puts on his Red Rhino helmet, the newspaper with the subtle mention Vtubing, the IS IT PAID?? text (which also made me laugh)!
• Lovely UI with the phone and the map
• The maths achievement. (Also how dare you!)
• The fact that this game is fully complete with multiple endings.

I felt the game page and the endings guide was a great bonus, and I used the guide for the true ending after managing to get 4 alternatives!

Full applause to the whole team responsible for making this very solid entry to the game jam!

I also feel it is worth commenting that that it has been great to see so many encouraging comments from NOVA Swarm on other entries, and the fabulous Twitch streams too which explore some of the submitted games. I think this support goes a long way in contributing to the vibe which makes the Spooktober game jam really great.

All the best,

Ocelot

Ahoy there!

I think this is a great submission :) I enjoyed your use of a sketch-style for the art, with the black and white contrast. The story intrigued me and I enjoyed the ending!

I felt the music fitted the scenes well and the sound effects were precise and contributed to the atmosphere. 

I agree with NovaSWARM's suggestion in regard to using the Narrator for the *actions*.  I would also like to add that you may wish to add trigger warnings regarding the physical abuse that occurs. This can sometimes make it easier for people to share your content with their community.

How did you find the game jam process? Do you have any more game jam projects lined up? :)

All the best,

Ocelot

Wow, the description in the writing is a great quality and produces a great atmosphere. So far, this has been some of the best writing I've stumbled upon in this jam!

Honestly, I feel that there is a great deal of professionalism in this visual novel. The art is fantastic, especially the backgrounds but also the character art as well. I loved how near the beginning the silhouette approached us, very creepy, fantastic. There's some little clever moments in this game where I feel that the team are very confident in creating a beautiful, haunting visual novel.

I do recommend next time to have some place-holding music. Even if the music is not what you intend in the finished piece, place holder music would have bolstered the atmosphere that the team worked tirelessly to create.

Lovely game page too, it describes the game well and makes it easier to learn more about the team. Again, with that feeling of professionalism.

Lovely work, I look forward to seeing further projects from these team members.

행운을빌어  / Best of luck!

Ocelot

Ahoy!

What a cool submission! I am surprised it doesn't have more comments! 

I love the blue-purple colour scheme that the team chose. The backgrounds, the tarot cards, the UI assets all matched the theming very well. I thought the backgrounds and character designs were well made and helped tell the story.

The UI is nicely designed in aesthetic. Next time it may be helpful to have a back button in the menu, especially because it was easy to accidentally skip the text. I can sometimes feel motion sickness from reading text that is moving, so I would press enter intending for the text to appear fully in the textbox at once. Unfortunately, on some occasions instead of the text fully appearing, it would skip entirely. This was a pity as it is clear the writers worked very hard to create a full and complete story here with a strong theme.

The finding things mini game was cool. I enjoyed exploring the rooms and found it simple enough to do. I do feel the game may benefit from further mini games or things to do to interact with the linear story. Perhaps something with the tarot cards?

From the game page, it seems like such a big team was involved in this. I would loved to to known more about the team, where to find more information about them, and how they contributed to the game. 

I do hope more folks stumble upon this game and send comments on this, because its clear there's been a lot of effort and I feel its a strong submission for the game jam :)

All the best,

Ocelot

Ahoy there!

I liked the dialogue in this one! I thought it carried a lot of good humour and nostalgia for the past. You made a very clever point and click - candy search system, and I love all of the art you've incorporated in this. 

Next time you submit a game, I highly recommend you add more screenshots to entice more folks to play your game. Why not show off your backgrounds and the dialogue a little bit? There's so much art you've managed to do for this game, it's quite an impressive feat.

All the best,

Ocelot.

Ahoy!

I feel you, I was also very sick during September. This game has so much potential, I love the UI design personally, and would love to enjoy more of this story! It reminds me of quite a few successful indie games that I love, so I do hope you'll continue working on this.

Great atmosphere, interesting premise. The audio was a great contribution to the game. Rest well, and all the best of luck for continuing the project!

Ahoy there!

What a story! Excellent story and plot design. I enjoyed the haunting conclusion.

I am also impressed that you used Unreal for this. I am only starting to learn Unreal and I think you must be quite skilled to pull this off so nicely.

I thought the music was spot on, especially the menu music, with the tracks fitting the theme and the story very well.

I loved the hand-drawn character sprites, my first impression was that they were very cute and varied from each other.  I think that Nova SWARM's suggestion of adding a black outline is very good. 

My favourite background was the background of the school with the candles glowing in an eerie green light. Transition effects between backgrounds will help smooth the gameplay experience when we enter a new scene.

One important note, is the white flash is a little fast/sudden for me to handle, and could be possibly triggering for someone with epilepsy. 

I hope you and the team enjoy continuing this project after the jam!

All the best,

Ocelot.

Ah! It's a real shame the game is so short. It looks like it would have been very interesting, especially with the eye-catching UI as _null_ mentions. I was ill during the jam and I know how time can just run away from us sometime.

Will the team be continuing to work on this? If so, what are your plans for it? :)

Ahoy there!

I really loved the idea behind this story. The mirror fixing puzzle was very cool, and the characters were very distinct from each other through the art and the written dialogue.

I liked how the characters had interesting poses and good shading. The backgrounds were detailed and the subtle animated dust effect was great. I felt Merit stood out quite well, I liked her mask!

If the team wishes to update the game, it might be worth adding a save option. I wanted to save the game at a couple of points, realising there was a timer, but it was not possible. I was also disappointed at my choice in the end and that I would have to restart the whole game before choosing the other choice! (but that does mean I am quite curious about what would the alternative would be... I was engaged with the story!)

It might also be helpful to allow players to click to allow text to fully appear in the dialogue box for faster readers. Finally, smooth transitions between the new scenes would make scene changes less jarring. 

I think my favourite character is Priest Sophtah. He seems like an ever so patient servant to the Pharaoh. 

It feels like the team worked really well together on this project. I hope this submission can gain more comments/ratings/feedback because its a lovely entry and your efforts deserve to be recognised!

All the best,

Ocelot.

Ahh, the cats are so cute!

I love the animation style.

What a fun, quirky, bizarre story - all three attributes that make for a good Halloween themed story I  think ;) 

If you go back to polish up the game, it might be cool to add music and possibly show more evidence of the baby being annoying, such as pulling on the cat's tail, etc. I think the cats swearing detracted a little bit of the overall theme.

Really great submission, I think this is lovely and stands out well. I'm very keen to see what you do next!

Ahoy there!

Very cool concept! I ended up dying early on because I wanted to check what was behind me while trying to get home, I'll have to play again and see how far I get in the future :) This is only your second visual novel? This is very good and impressive for a second attempt.

I have to say also, the art of the characters is fabulous. Looking at previous comments, yes, yes you did a great job with this one!

To improve next time, it might helpful to change the font. Unfortunately I struggled to read it. I have made a few visual novel projects with Tyranobuilder, but I find the software ends up struggling a lot and corrupts itself. It might be worth while looking into alternatives such as Ren'py for future projects.

All the best, keep dev'ing! Lovely ideas, great submission :)

Ahoy there!

I really enjoyed playing through your game, and feel happy to read through the comments that your team will aim to complete it in the end. The story and the established genre are very strong elements to this project - its easy to follow the adventure, the characters personality are clear and I enjoyed reading through this story on my stream!

I felt that something that could improve the team in the future is having an editor on board to keep the writing tidy and feel from grammar mistakes and typos.

The art, the design... All of the team members clearly worked very hard to make a solid demo here.

Did you enjoy the Spooktober jam? Will you be giving it a go next year too?

All the best,

Ocelot

Hello Melancholy Marionette,

Thank you for your extended comment. Your insights and feedback has been very helpful and motivating!

 I've long wanted to write emotional, respectful and sincere stories featuring main characters with anxiety. I also have had anxiety and depression, and I am neurodivergent. I appreciate how important it is for diverse representation, and I hope that other folks can continue to feel confident representing characters who share our various experiences <3

I hope you can take a shot at this kind of thing if you'd like to in the future. From the very beginning,  I tried to limit the characters and the setting to what I had available. Originally I had planned for five characters, including 'Birdman' played by my brother, which would have been about a character whose focus was about completing contracts and fulfilling responsibilities,  and a tiger which I'd film at my local zoo, which would have been about making the most of limited time. I think one of the best things about a game jam, is that it does force you to limit yourself and the breadth of your ideas, to aim for a project that is possible to complete. The process of filming something, then editing the footage and ensuring it all works is very time consuming though, which makes it much more viable in a longer  game jam like Spooktober.

Regarding  lack of in-person contacts... I would consider contacting local amateur acting clubs or organisations, or general creative spaces if there are any nearby. If not... Why not a game that involves video calls between various characters? That way the world is your oyster! You could also consider using stock footage on websites such as Pixabay.

I'm delighted you liked the style and narrative of the footage. I'm certainly inspired to keep going with it in the future. 

Once again, all the best,

Ocelot.

(Glad you liked the rap segment too, haha!)

Thank you for saying my game is charming! Waking up to these comments today has truly been wonderful. I appreciate you taking the time to play my game.

All the best,
Ocelot

Thank you very much for taking the time to play my game, and for your comment.  I appreciate you enjoy the concept with the videos! This was an idea I've had for a while and I would certainly like to have another go in the future!

All the best, 
Ocelot.

Goodness me, I've had this exact experience with some of my projects. This game really hits home in a very beautiful way, beyond the melancholy. An incredible achievement to the team!

What a novel idea :)

Galaxy Cards is a very cool game, nicely designed! How quickly did it take you to decide on the mechanics for this game? I agree with Woahjess' feedback and I also really enjoyed  the concept.

The game works so well, too! I think you should be very proud of this accomplishment.

My scores;

First time round: Total Earned;  642,211

Second time round: Total Earned;  2, 235, 378

I spent a long time on this game and really enjoyed it, it is possibly one of my favourite games in this jam ^^ I think you've hit the theme perfectly and most importantly you made a fun game with a clear direction and goal.

From the comments, I'm gathering that you might return to this project and update it? (Please do!) If that is the case, I think the fuel shortage was possibly too painful, so it might be an idea to work on that.

This game was a wonderful achievement, well done, especially as a one person project on a very short game jam! 

Aww, this game has a lovely foundation! Will you ever come back to it? I love the potential story concept of this game. This is an amazing achievement for one person in such a short game jam.

Very cool game :) Some nifty ideas and concepts and I liked finding the runes in the sand. I can't believe you were able to make this all by yourself in such a limited time.

Is this your first game jam? Or have you participated in other jams before?

Ahoy there! It seems we both made visual novels involving spaceship crashes! 

The background with water, sky and mountains was very pretty and well made, I Iiked how glassy the water looked.

A few elements I particularly enjoyed were the duck sounds, the ancient duck scrolls and the shonen powers, haha. 

Ahh, the little astronaut is so cute, especially when it falls on its face T__T;

I love the design and I feel the simplicity gives it a lovely charm. I enjoyed the little introduction to the game too, such a nice touch and impressive for a short game jam!!

I'm happy to read in the comments that you'll be continuing to work on this project. I feel it has some great potential.

Ah! It looks like this game would have been quite cool. We all love a heist, eh?

I love the portraits too, very intriguing.  Curious about this project and will follow you for updates ;)

Gosh this game is addicting ^^;

Brilliant concept, I love the urgency in the game and the fact that you need to learn it a little bit before you can 'get good'. Collecting the items and making decisions on what items weren't necessarily worth the risk was quite

Very enjoyable game.

Ahhh, this game was so pretty! Wonderfully detailed backgrounds and I like the animation following the character and the walking sound effects. I think the spirit split mechanic is a very cool concept, and I am curious how the team came up with the idea!

At first, I found it a little difficult to tell which areas were forbidden/poison/plane of death, so if you folks come back to it, it might help to consider animating the area so its easier to see.

Very impressive for 72 hours of production! A charming game.

Thank you so much, Woahhjess!

I caught up on your stream this morning and truly appreciate you taking the time to play through the whole game and summarising your points so nicely and clearly, and then taking the time to make this comment too!

We focused on using the MOSCoW method to prioritise what we thought definitely needed to be in the game, to ensure that we had a complete project. I thoroughly enjoyed crafting the story and am delighted you found the ending to be beautiful! Drawing is not my strong suit, so I'm very happy you like the characters! I love jHomps' choice of colours in the game and I do feel he guided our art direction very well.

Your feedback is also very helpful for us if we choose to go back to this project. I have a few ideas on how I can improve the differentiation between Granny and Grandma in the writing, and I am sure we can polish up the constellations too :)

Thanks again! This has been my first attempt at a game jam, and I have absolutely loved it. 

I'll be keeping an eye on HF 2024!

Thank you for the comment, Telin!  I'm glad the game was enjoyable for you.

I hope you'll play some more visual novels soon, its an excellent medium for storytelling. Perhaps if jHomps and I go back to the game again after the jam, we can make a toggle option to turn off the speaking noises if players wish to do so. I'll also see if there's more of a way to distinguish between Grandma and Granny, I have a few ideas ^^