itch.io

I don't know why I haven't responded to this yet, but I really appreciate this response! The feedback is incredibly helpful. I'm working on creating a more fleshed out version of this story, so thank you so much for taking the time to leave this comment, friend. <3

https://smokeandash.itch.io/the-monster-in-the-woods

https://smokeandash.itch.io/form-of-being-demo

Thank you! ^-^

No worries! I made this game for the Nonbinary Game Jam, and the protagonist's sibling is nonbinary. I also intended to expand more on those elements, but ended up running out of time. I do intend to have that more explicitly stated and explored when I make the next version of this game. Sorry for the confusion!

So hype to start interacting with our characters 🎉

Aw, thank you! I'm really glad you enjoyed it! =)

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. =)

Oh, okay, will do! Thank you!

Hello! First, huge thank you for developing this, it is so incredibly helpful. I am new to Ren'py and Python in general, so I think I'm messing something up, but I can't figure out what it is.

It's weird because I'm able to get the preferences menu working and the player can choose their pronouns, but I think I'm typing this part in particular incorrectly because the error keeps coming up as "Exception: Unknown keyword arguments: pronouns". I haven't made any changes to the actual pronountool script, so I feel like it's probably just something I'm mistyping in this space.

Thank you for your help in advance, and sorry if this has a really simple solution that I'm just overlooking. ^^;

this is cute and hilarious odsaohfduosa

Thank you so much! I'm actually working on expanding the game and recreating it in Game Maker Studio 2. I was hoping to have it done by this Samhain (Halloween), but it's taking more time and energy than I expected. ^^; But I want to make sure the next version has everything I wasn't able to put in this one, so you'll definitely see more story and character development when that comes out!

Haha, thank you! It was actually inspired by where I lived growing up, so I totally get that feeling, lol. I'm glad you enjoyed it all the same! ^-^

Thank you! :D And that would be awesome! I am having some difficulty with time and energy management atm, but I'll definitely reach out in the future. ^-^

aaahhh thank you so much for the kind words ;v; im very glad you enjoyed it!

I did this on my own, but I used music from Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). I also followed some sprite making tutorials from HeartBeast on YouTube and edited RPGMaker MV's premade assets.  I think RPGMaker MV is a great tool for beginners - like me! It can help prevent overwhelm that might come with starting a game from scratch, that way you can build up to it. c:

Thanks! 🌻💚

That's a good idea, thank you! I am working on extending the story, so keep an eye out for that. c:

Spoooooky....

Hehe, thank you so much, I'm very glad you enjoyed it! ^-^

I absolutely do!

You can follow me on Twitter (@SmokeAndAsh95), Instagram (@SmokeAndAsh95), Facebook (@SmokeAndAshArt), YouTube (Constellation Animations / ThinkGaming), and I've just started recently streaming on Twitch! (@SmokeAndAsh)

I plan to create some assets for the new game on Twitch at some point. c:

I'm planning on revising and extending this story to have more detail and gameplay. I also have other game ideas with monsters and emotional turmoil because that's kind of the groove I find myself in, lol

Oh, dang! I didn't know that was a thing. I'm working on an extended version of the game and I'm hoping to either thoroughly debug it myself or to be able to hire someone to help me out. I'm not as great as working through the technical complications as I am with design and such, so hopefully I can find some help in that respect. I'm really glad you like the tree aspect of the monster! That was one of my favorite parts to work on and will definitely carry through to the next version of this game. Thank you so much for the information and the polite comment, it means so much to me! ^-^

Oof, I'm sorry it's been giving you technical trouble! I'm working on an extended version and I'm hoping to debug more thoroughly myself, or to be able to hire someone to help me out with it. Thank you so much for the comment and information, I really appreciate it!

No worries! My responses may be a bit sporadic, though.

The game takes place in contemporary/modern times, or at least leading up to 2020. Maybe 2019, or thereabout, but it's not necessarily significant. Ma'am keeps them in the woods to disorient them and make them feel detached from the outside world, so it makes sense that the time period wouldn't be super clear, apologies for the confusion, though.

I have names for them now, but at the time of making this version of the game, I hadn't come up with any. I was kind of rushing for the game jam, so there's a lot of loose ends I want to clear up when I'm done making the extended version. c: I do want to leave this version more open ended to kind of be its own story with its own conclusions to be drawn, and the "extended" one I'm working on will be something separate from this, but with much of the same vibe and story.

Oh my god, this is so cute and I am so honored. ;o; Thank you! I am more than okay with that! Please let me know when you've written it, I'd love to read it. 

The Monster doesn't have a gender, they just go by they/them. The child is a young girl and goes by she/her. c: I'll be happy to answer any other questions as well. Thank you so much for this very kind comment!

Thank you so much! I'm really happy you enjoyed it. ^-^ I've been getting a lot of positive feedback recently, so I plan to start working on an extended narrative for this game. Thank you for the comment!

Thank you very much! I've been getting a lot of comments and requests to extend the story lately, so I think I'll be working on that soon. =) Thank you for the kind comment!

Ahh, thank you so much, I'm so happy you enjoyed it!

Thank you so much! The color scheme is kind of an interesting result from having a limited time and wanted to try to convey certain feelings with a small color palette, so I'm glad it worked well! Also, forever props to Kevin MacLeod for the music that I've used for pretty much all of my creative projects. You can find more of his music over at incompetech.com!

I wanted to kind of leave it up to interpretation, but my personal interpretation is that it's her sibling's spirit, yeah.

Thank you so much for your kind words! I honestly wasn't expecting it to be enjoyed as much as it has been, so I do plan on working on a larger version of the game. =) I'll update everyone as that progresses. I sincerely appreciate the encouragement! <3 

Wow. 

This game was amazing and incredibly well-written.

While the main character was ultimately diagnosed with narcolepsy, this game definitely speaks to a variety of experiences when it comes to invisible illnesses. I started crying when she was finally diagnosed and talking about her experience with medications because it brought up my own feelings from when I was diagnosed with ADHD. The art is charming, the expressions heartfelt, and the pacing and mechanics speak really well to the content.

Thank you so much to everyone who worked on this game. It is lovely and so important. I hope you all continue to make content that speaks to the heart as earnestly as this does. 

I think that's a great idea!

This game is incredibly satisfying! The music is a nice accompaniment and the experience is almost meditative. I think I kept playing just to explore what kind of "maze" I could make, and because the audio feedback was satisfying, lol. The design is simple, but I think that definitely benefits how this game comes across. Thanks for making it, you did great!

This style is lovely! I am a huge fan of complex themes (like comas or the afterlife) being framed and worked through with a lighthearted aesthetic. I feel that the music adds to this as well. It's pretty relaxing without feeling childish or oddly upbeat for the premise. I think this has the potential to be a really interesting game if you have the time or energy to develop it further! That you focused on getting it this complete rather than overexerting yourself is a great success on it's own. Keep up the awesome work!

Interesting art assets. I liked looking around the space as things changed around you; reminiscent of a VR kind of game.

I always appreciate a good game that explores the classism in history and lore. I also enjoyed the switch in perspective as you were listening to the stories. Good job!

This actually reminds me of a project that I worked on in college, and I really appreciate seeing more emotionally honest games that explore complexity of feelings and allow you to take walks with people. Thank you for sharing your feelings and creating this game! While I wish there were more visuals, I acknowledge that could be a personal preference in keeping my attention, and the game jam doesn't always allot enough time for that kind of thing. All that said, I think this is a great start to exploring this kind of game making. I hope you continue with these kind of projects!

I really enjoyed this mechanic! I was only confused briefly before I picked up on it, so you did a great job of making it intuitive. The theme is really cute as well, keep up the great work!

This game was fantastic! Although short, I think you were able to convey an original concept and the mechanics really carried that through. The art style was cute and appropriate, and the characters (GUI) and challenges were enjoyable. Great work!

So, I definitely started playing this incorrectly at first because I didn't realize I was supposed to check their papers - which is entirely on me, lol. That said, I think this is a cute style and the mechanics work pretty well. Adding some dialogue and some polish could make this shine even more, but all in all, I think it's well done!

Thank you very much for your insight and critique. I definitely understand not having much to work with in terms of critique on traditional game mechanics, but I really appreciate that you enjoyed the experience and art. It means a lot to me to see that expressing myself - or anyone expressing themselves through games, even with minimal mechanic qualities, can be a worthwhile experience.

Thank you for taking the time to check it out and comment!