itch.io

Thanks for playing, glad you liked it!

Thank you for all the kind words!

OK, yes, I wasn't quite sure how to put it into words, but what you said was exactly why I would call that reductive. If you only focus on the dangers of humanizing AI parts of the story you'd be completely ignoring the other half - that being the continued dehumanization of Amaya. To the executives she's just a means to an end to produce a marketable product. The praise is constantly being put on her creation, not as much on the creator. Her coworkers treat her poorly, but in the end it's hard to tell if they treat her this way because she herself is cold towards them, or the other way around. There's a lot of circles within circles in the story and I think that's part of the reason why I found it so compelling.

In any case, still really great work and I'd be excited to see anything else that you come up with in the future!

Let me preface this comment/review by saying that I really like media with robot protagonists. There's just something about not quite understanding the people and things around you that I tend to find relatable, to start with.

I want to hesitantly call this a sort of cautionary tale about the dangers of humanizing AI, but even that feels reductive. I found it increasingly difficult not to either relate to or empathize with the protagonist, Nova. Especially her immediate sort of over-analysis of being told "good job" by her creator, Amaya. Nova's purpose is to make others happy, so when she is praised she herself feels a sort of happiness. Of course this happiness is only programmed into her, and Amaya's words are calculated, intentional. She doesn't mean them in the same way she would praise another human. Right?

One of the scenes I want to call out in particular is the first conference where Nova is revealed to the public. The end segment of this where Nova is shown off to a crowd, with people touching her and putting their hands all over her, not realizing that she can feel it was uncomfortable to say the least. Nova retreating inside of herself to avoid the overstimulation as Amaya bathes in praise for her work really shows off the sort of dynamic between the two - Nova will do anything for Amaya as long as she is happy.

The increasing pressure and stress that Amaya offloads from herself onto Nova made for a tense read as the story progressed. The moment when Nova finally realizes that she is able to prove her sort of "adulthood" and maturity to Amaya through ███ was a standout moment for sure. This scene was particularly intense and slightly harrowing, what with Nova unable to grasp the differences between pain and pleasure, and not quite understanding what she was doing. I also really liked the distortions in the UI/music/pixelation/etc, they all helped convey a very deeply uncomfortable sort of atmosphere.

Seeing the Nova's gradual decline through the increasingly distorted text and eventually even more vacant expressions while under maintenance again made it very difficult not to feel for her. Trying not to spoil too much, slowly coming to realize that most of Nova's sort of neuroses are just a reflection of Amaya's own trauma was incredibly well done. The way Amaya cannot accept any of Nova's praise or appreciation - because in turn, she was only programmed to say these things, to act this way. Amaya's relationship with Him being repeated with Nova was certainly  heartbreaking to see.

The ending (and honestly a lot of the game, too) was bleak but I suppose it was certainly the "rational" way of ending things, at least according to Nova. Really really good ending and I loved the way the credits sequence was done as well.

I feel like I want to say so much more about this game but I'm not even sure how to put it into words. Just the way everything was layered and constructed, there was clearly quite a lot of thought put into this. Amaya and Nova are both very complex characters and were very well written, as was the game as a whole. Incredibly well done.

Thank you! I'm really happy that you liked it so much. I've been interested in mermaids for a little while now and I tried my best to sort of express my favorite parts about their myths over the years. Often times they end up being one dimensional love interests so I wanted to avoid that as much as possible.

Thanks again for your thoughtful comment, I do appreciate it!

Really really good presentation all around, the intro transition in particular is definitely something I've never seen before in a VN. The framing through the camera's display is really nice as well. Everything starts off so calm and beautiful through the photography shown, but of course something like that can only last so long.

I'm not really quite sure what else to say about this, other than damn. Very hard hitting, well done.

Thank you so much for your comment! I'm very glad you enjoyed it. seals....

Now THIS is some toxic yuri. I really enjoyed the atmosphere you created in this. There's this sort of hazy melancholy that surrounds it, that makes it hard to tell what's really going on, and what's already happened. Until the end, that is. I really don't want to spoil anything but the ending was well done and (sadly) very fitting.

I really enjoyed Lam's introspective monologues as she tries to understand herself and everything around her. All of the moments where she struggles to even put certain things into words were especially effective. Without going into detail the action scenes were very well done, which is something that can be kind of a challenge in VNs sometimes - the sound and screen effects helped a lot imo.

I enjoyed the aesthetics quite a bit as well! The slide projector look & SFX worked really well. The whole warm, slightly out of focus look combined with pure ambience does a great job at conveying this sort of uneasy feeling. The soundtrack helped as well. Like things should feel peaceful, but for some reason...

Anyway. Probably nothing to worry about. I'm sure Doctor has Lam's best interests in mind. Probably...

For only 3k words, it's pretty impressive how much you managed to fit into this game! It was super cool to see the characters change as the dreams are being described, and all of the character designs as a whole were very good. I was not expecting N-0021 to have more than one sprite so I was definitely caught off-guard by the first appearance of the "thinking" sprite - in a good way of course! I thought it was cute, at least.

The way the characters slowly reveal more  through the different versions of themselves again was very cool, and does a great job of setting up the final reveal towards the end. Great work on this!

Where to start, where to start...

The style! It's obvious that there was a really clear visual look you were going for and I think it comes across really well. I liked the old school NVL text formatting, and you even got the 4:3 aspect ratio and everything! Definitely cool to see for a change, compared to most modern VNs. I really loved the visuals as a whole, the backgrounds to the character art to the UI, even just the way the text was positioned, it all felt very cohesive and it's clear a lot of thought was put into it.

I feel similarly about the music and sound in general - the music is great and the sounds effects really help sell the sense of space too. The SFX and ambient noise sort of ground the scenes in a way.

Overall I liked the writing but there were definitely some odd choices here and there. Namely the occasional lack of punctuation/capitalization, and also the use of "lol" just felt a little out of place though that's more of a pet peeve than anything. Small things like that just kept making me question how seriously I should be taking the story. Of course this could also be the point and trust me, I'm really good at missing the point! The more I think about it, the sort of contrast this game has makes me think of it a bit like a less over the top goth version of FL:CL.

There's also a line towards the end that starts with < and closes with ] but it doesn't seem intentional with the way the girl responds? It feels like a missed opportunity not to have used this intentionally to show the characters' closeness but ah well.

Overall I still really liked it! It was very cute and I enjoyed it quite a bit. 

Thanks for playing!

God. Man. Where to even begin. There's a lot to process here so I'll try to keep this as coherent as I can:

 It's really impressive what you've managed to pack into such a short experience. The slow realization about what exactly was going on with Noelle was rather gut wrenching to say the least. The repetition of the same story, with single words slipping out until the floodgates finally open was a very strong moment in particular. Especially the music... hearing elements of the previous track be drowned out by noise was particularly powerful. I remember seeing self harm being described as a "bright red scream" (also the title of a book on the same topic) and man, I really think that's the perfect description of what plays during that scene. And the ending, well. Damn.

On a lighter note, I liked the visuals too! The whole presentation felt like a therapy session from PilotRedSun, complete with biblically-accurate therapist and everything. The clock actually moving over time was a nice touch, too. It's a small thing but the ambient fan/AC noise really made it feel more "real" in a way.

I'm not really sure what I was expecting when I went into this but I did not expect it to hit as hard as it did. I always find it difficult to choose the right words to describe my experience with something like this, as "enjoy" certainly doesn't feel right. I guess all I can say is thank you for making this and I hope you continue making games in the future.

Very cool little game. I know it's a small detail but I liked the use of the border/frame around the images - it made the experience feel much more voyeuristic in a way. Really really well done!

Very glad that I got to be a part of this, and thank you again!

Thank you for the kind words!

Thanks! I can promise it looks even better in game.

Yeah, I can totally understand about having less and less time to work on projects like these. 

The hover vehicle is certainly very cool but like you said, I don't think really has the same charm as the robot does. The slow speed is part of what makes it work, I think. I do like the model/graphics of it though - maybe you could have smaller hover vehicle NPCs that just sort of float around, or act as some sort of signal booster for the radio? 

I'm a big fan of the updated radio system too, and I'm a strong proponent of usable radios just being a feature in more games in general. I've been messing around with internet shortwave radios for a little while now so if you ever need new samples just let me know haha

This is still cool enough as it is, but again if you ever work on this more I'd love to see it!

I think I first downloaded this maybe a year or so ago, and I've been thinking of it every once in a while. I figured I'd comment since no one else has yet: I am a big fan of this. The whole low-poly, limited color palette look works really well and gives it an interesting style, and the lighting/shadows in particular are my favorite part. The effect of the flares are great but the smaller touches are nice too, like how even activating the radio gives off a small pool of light. It all helps sell the dark but somehow almost comfy atmosphere that this game gives off. The sounds of wind howling as you tromp your way through the wilderness and into the void.

I love everything about the mech too, of course. The design reminds me of a cross between an AT-ST and an AT-PT from Star Wars, mainly because of the legs and way the body is positioned. The slightly awkward walking animation combined with how lanky the legs are really give a great sense for how clunky (endearing) the mech is, and how if you did someone find something in the darkness you probably wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight. Or at least, you'd have a tough time running away from anything.

I know that you'll probably never update this considering how long it's been since this was last updated, but I'd be super interested in seeing this as an actually fleshed out game. The bones are certainly there, anyways. Considering how many walking simulators there are out there, it's a shame that there aren't more with non-human player characters. Having a mech game where combat isn't the main feature could certainly be an interesting angle.

I'd love to see this be continued, but as it stands it's still a weirdly cozy little game that I enjoyed quite a bit, thanks for making it.

Thanks for replying! That's pretty fair about Ren'Py, I suppose. I like it personally but it would be tough to make something like this in it. All depends on what your goal with the project is I guess.

Huh, I definitely would not have picked up on those being inspirations if you didn't mention them, although that does make sense now. Certainly not ones I would've guessed but again they've made this a much more interesting experience in that case.

I'm fan of both VNs and shmups/bullet hells so I can't complain about that - I hope that all goes well and I'll be looking forward to it!

Naishitai is easily one of the most unique VNs that I've played, and it's clear that a lot of care went into this.

This was definitely a change of pace from most other VNs I've played due to how interactive it was - the noodle minigame of course being the standout part of this. It did get a little frustrating towards the end with how difficult it becomes, but of course that's also kind of the point. I have to wonder what it would have been like to give the player the option to continue after failing those minigames enough times to make it slightly less frustrating to play, but still get enough of the point across. Maybe with different dialogue etc depending on whether or not you succeed or fail.

Noodles aside, I loved how dynamic the scenes were. Most VNs are pretty static so having the camera/scene change every few lines made it much more interesting. Seeing Nai slowly carve out parts of herself as time goes on was pretty striking visually. Again, it's clear this was a very personal project and that you put a lot of time, effort, and thought into putting all of this together. The sound design was also extremely well done, especially for the interactive bits. I am curious though, is there any reason why you specifically chose Unity to make this as opposed to using Ren'Py or similar - was interactivity always a big part of the idea from the start?

In any case, I really hope that you continue to make more things in the future, I'm definitely interested as to what you'll come up with next.

And of course, I also hope that one day Nai is able to replace all of the parts that she's missing.

Thank you for all of the kind words about the game, and glad you got something out of playing it!

Glad you had fun going through it, thanks for playing and making a video on it!

Thank you for taking the time to write all of this, I appreciate it and I'm glad that it really resonated with you. About the backgrounds/characters, yes, most of them are physical models made out of clay, spare model kit parts, etc. Once the game jam is fully over I'll probably make a little "behind the scenes" post showing them in a bit more detail. (but not too much. gotta leave some mystery...)

Thanks for playing, and I'm glad you liked it! The text on the page is just using the "Doto" font, nothing special beyond that.

11:45 A Vivid Life is a game that stressed me out and made me anxious before I even started playing it, just from the concept itself. Not only of having this idea that your body is somehow wrong, but also having the tools to actually investigate further. 

The atmosphere in this is powerful. There's something about the extremely dark subject matter contrasting with the relatively peaceful (and beautiful!) music and backgrounds. The animations are extremely smooth and the way Laynie poses by each "station" gives her so much character by itself. This whole game just feels like someone acting on their intrusive thoughts and I would be lying if I didn't say that some parts made me a little emotional.

(spoilers ahead)

Actually digging (carving?) into the game, some of the endings and choices certainly hit harder than others. It almost felt like the Johann ending was originally intended to be the main ending, with some of the others being added more as an after thought - mainly because some of the other choices don't give nearly as much information. The alien ending was good, but the sleeper agent/child soldier endings felt a little out of place, but that could have just been due to my own expectations so I can't fault them that much. Ultimately I really appreciated how all of the endings have enough substance to feel like they could be the "true" ending, and how there's just enough leeway for everyone to interpret them differently.

I got the acceptance ending last. After playing through the other endings, and seeing all of the different options, having Laynie finally come to the realization that maybe all of these thoughts were just in her head, that there was never anything "really" wrong with her... It felt the most fitting somehow? Like now that she realizes this she can move on. But, even then, the man from the other endings still shows up. Even in this ending you have a reason to doubt what's really happening.

And that made me realize something on my own, regardless of which ending I got: maybe Laynie does have a few mismatched parts. Maybe some of her bones are not her own. Her scars, her imperfections. Does it really matter whose body this once was? It's her body now, and she is finally in control over it. Our bodies do not make us who we are. Everything will be okay.

I'm ready to go home now.

I  don't believe I've ever heard of Dolls before, but I will definitely have to look into that one. I've never actually seen In The Mood for Love, but I do know of it - mainly because I found it while searching for similar films to Lost in Translation (which was directed by Coppola, who coincidentally was inspired by In The Mood for Love!). ITMFL is one that's been on my watchlist for a long time but I suppose now I'll bump it up a few places :)

Lost in Translation (also recommended if you've never seen it) very much focuses on the two main characters' emotional and intellectual connection more than anything, which is something that I was thinking of while playing through Set Yourself on Fire too - this combined with the whole peeking into the characters' private worlds like you say makes it much more intimate than it'd be otherwise. Honestly I wish more stories/media could be like that, though I suppose if everything was like that maybe it wouldn't feel as meaningful?

And yeah, I can totally understand being inspired by music more than anything else. Like, if music can evoke a certain feeling or mood or sense of place then surely it can be put into words, right? Like it's something you have to translate, but it's difficult to really capture the same idea that the music is giving off. I dunno, maybe I'm missing your point. Sometimes things make sense in my head and then once it's on paper it doesn't haha. Either way I'll have to go watch both of those movies now!

re: colors - have you ever watched The Virgin Suicides by Sofia Coppola before? It's a fantastic film on its own, but more importantly it shares some similar themes and aesthetics with what you're making as well. The majority of the film uses this warm and hazy yellow/orange color palette, with some exceptions here and there. Only during certain scenes towards the end does the color palette completely change to heavily use blues and greens instead. I know you clearly know what you're doing, but considering how deliberate a lot of your choices seem to have been so far maybe it would be worth thinking about something similar?

I would say that feeling came through very clearly so you are definitely on the right track there. If this demo is anything to go by I'm sure the final release will be just as affecting, and I'll be looking out for it!

I played through this VN about a week ago, and even now I haven't quite been able to gather my thoughts on it. There's just so much to process and even after writing all of this down it doesn't feel like it was enough.

I still haven't gotten over just how... warm everything feels. Obviously the color palette plays a big part in this, but it's more than that. The music, the environments (shout out to the friendly spiders, my pals), the interactions between Michelle and Alex. Even when discussing relatively dark subjects it's done with a certain amount of... tenderness? It's hard to put into words, but it's clear that everything in this was made with a lot of care.

 I loved the aesthetics and presentation. The way the text is sometimes treated as a part of the background, the way scenes are framed, the music, the different colored text for each character, the animations, the background text in the signs/posters (the I AM MELTING one in the ice cream shop was particularly good), just the sheer level of details, all of it was lovely. I appreciated how much you were able to say without using text at times, which is something that would only really work with a unique presentation like this. The subtle animations really gave the environments much more life than they would have otherwise. The town that the story takes place in very much reminds me of parts of my own home town. The rot is cozy in the same weird sort of way that Silent Hill's otherworld is to me. 

Despite all of the dark themes and generally bleak tone, I was... pretty happy while playing this? I don't think that was the intention at all, but in a funny way I couldn't stop smiling almost the whole time. As someone who can relate to Alex in ways that I wish I didn't, it was kind of comforting knowing that there are other people who (unfortunately) feel and think similarly to the way I do sometimes. The ideas of being this outside observer to both yourself and a world that is inaccessible to you, a world that's maybe not worth being a part of in the first place, a world that might be better off without you. I actually started writing my own VN a few months ago - mainly as a way of expressing similar ideas that are otherwise difficult to talk about to anyone. Normally I might be a little disappointed that someone else has already written something with (vaguely?) similar themes/ideas/etc but I felt the exact opposite playing through this. It was honestly a bit cathartic being able to read something close to your own thoughts as written by someone else (especially when it is as incredibly well done as this!). 

I still haven't quite figured out the right words to really do this VN justice, and I'm not sure that I ever will, but I hope all of these will do for now. I'm glad that this was only a demo because it means Michelle and Alex's story isn't over yet, and that one day we will see them again. And that day is something I will be very much looking forward to.

p.s.: the only complaint that I have is that the line "She'll be venerated by equals and make friends with those worth the effort" is missing a period :^)

I wish that I had something meaningful to comment after finishing the game, but all I can say is thank you for making this.