itch.io

Oh, geez, where to even begin with this one.  It's a melancholy ride with a steady beat and a wrenching finish that sticks the landing and left me in tears but feeling satisfied and happy at the end.  I'm gonna be thinking about this one for a long time.

Implementation: Stellar.  A great metaphor for Light In The Dark without being literal light in literal darkness but definitely appropriate.

Story: Grounded, real, heavy-hitting but not self-indulgent.  The cast establishes itself quickly then gets out of their own way to let the story sing.  Everyone has a distinct voice and a unique relationship with each other in a way that feels realistic and intentional.

Presentation: The black-and-white backgrounds was actually brilliant; what brings the color and life to the world is the characters so it made sense that they were the only things in color.  Each one was vibrant and alive and the backdrops were just that against their drama.  The music was a little cheesy but it felt appropriate (especially for a month-long jam).  The modified text speed, however, was my favorite part of the presentation.  That really helped with the pacing of the somber moments and really punched at the heartstrings when they needed to be plucked.  Excellent work.

Creativity: A great way to work within the theme in a stoic kind of way.  It's self-contained and simple but clean and striking.

I did actually cry at this, you did an excellent job with it.  Thank you for submitting such a beautiful little piece!  I know the characters themselves cringed at it but I LOVED the poetry they wrote to each other, it was very, very raw and absolutely dripping with metaphor and meaning and auigfhhaf I just loved it.

A striking thumbnail for a striking VN!  The use of visual discordance was really clever and definitely caught my eye, I'm glad I read this one.

Implementation: A stranger reaching out with a solution to a problem feels fitting to A Light In The Dark.

Story: This was a fun and unique little piece of fiction!  The setup of the main character's predicament was bizarre and very much grabbed my interest.  I do wish the MC had a little more agency, though.

Presentation: The fact that almost everything is flipped was a really strong visual metaphor / theme, I loved that.  I'm not really sure I understood everything Mine did specifically (beep beep - is that a Revolutionary Girl Utena reference?  I don't think it is) and the erratic and self-deprecating humor didn't always land, but it had a lot of enthusiasm and was still fun to read.

Creativity: Like I said before, I think the flipped perspective here was absolutely brilliant and a cool way to work within the medium.  Really creative thinking on a month-long time crunch tbh

The wordcount padding was actually pretty fun and silly, but I wish the actual story of the VN was a little longer.  I disagree with wordcount limits in creative writing endeavors but I do understand why this one is implemented here in this jam; sometimes stories can be told in a few words but the point of a jam is supposed to be to challenge yourself.  Also, was the recoloring of Mine to green purely for the "red flag" line?  If so, that's hilarious

This was a very charming submission!  I really, really loved the worldbuilding in this, it was well-handled without beating us over the head with itself.  The interpersonal dynamics were varied and fun and the characters each had their own unique voice.

Theme: I felt like it was an optimistic look at a kind of bleak start that resonated with the Light In The Dark theme.  The whole cycle of rebirth that was present throughout felt good.

Story: An excellent imbalanced romance, with a satisfying conclusion!  You were able to play with some power imbalance clichés without making it feel icky and it was handled well.

Presentation: The drama of some of the scenes could have benefited from some CGs but, since this was a Jam entry, I'm not knocking any points off for that.  (And I do realize the irony of me specifically saying "this could have had more art in it" lol)  Other than that, there were some minor grammatical errors that I found but did not disrupt the story or feel.

Creativity: I really loved this take on Famine and harvest and stuff, I adored the pantheon that was created here and I especially applaud your restraint in not answering all of the possible questions about it!  It felt like a sample of an existing world without feeling like we're missing anything just by consuming this Jam entry.

Really great work, thanks for submitting!!  I really loved this one.

Just finished the second update and I am HOOKED; the world is really fascinating and the character writing is strong as hell, I'm fully on board for this project.  I'm really excited to see where it goes and I'll be watching it with bated breath!

Hey, thanks for the review!  The comment about the First Controversy made me laugh lmao; I'm glad we settled it privately and I am glad I got to participate, so thanks for cutting me some slack on that!  Your criticisms are really helpful and I'll be taking these words moving forward in my future projects.

What's ICO:ML, though?  I'm not familiar with that acronym and now I'm curious 👀

Following up on those heels, I've got for y'all to use this Strawberry Bear!  The .psd file contains separate layers for each emotion, as well as shirtless and clothed versions!  You will also have the option for a stupid graphic on the tank top if you want, but that won't look right if you flip the sprite.

Check out my Dropbox folder here for .pngs of each layer and the .psd file!

That is a HELL of an opening line tbh

And the rest of the VN continues to deliver!  I really loved the prose, it was a really appropriately heavy for the subject matter.  I really loved the atmosphere you were able to capture with royalty-free images and provided sprites.

I would have loved to see Jo's reactions or have her on-screen, but I understand the limitations of the jam.  I think it was a good entry within the confines!

First of all, congrats!!  It's a beautiful little VN and I had a great time reading it.  My only question at the moment is: how do you feel about fanart of Warren?  He's so handsome, I want to see if I can capture him, myself.  :3c

An absolute masterpiece in my eyes.  The entire experience is handily in professional realms, from the UI to the artwork to the soundtrack.  I was afraid the change in styles between the CGs and the actual sprites would throw me off but both styles and renditions of Warren have so much charm and personality!  I found myself so enraptured with his actual sprites and how expressive he is!  oh goodness my heart

My only critique is that I can see where this would be more interactive, had you not had to make the whole thing in a month.  The bit with the Gizmos is absolutely a jumping-off point for the player to engage with the world in a really fun way, Warren's tower itself would be a whole slew of fascinating exploration opportunities, and the solution to the climax would be such a satisfying contribution the player could make!  As it stands, however, the kinetic novel approach is appropriate and still a good experience!

I am very hopeful this team stays together because y'all obviously work GREAT together, I'll be eagerly watching what you can put out in the future!

Done!

Ah, thank you!  I've updated the PC version.  I haven't really considered an Android version?