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Andrey

Functionality - 9/10

Creativity - 9/10

Fun - 7/10

Theme - 8/10

Interesting approach, sad that it is short and doesn't really go deep into its discussion and "instruct" segment. Functionally it is pretty good though I've noticed some collision and sequence issues. Ex. you can go through the tree. The bartender doesn't give you a drink despite doing the tickling and getting the money, so I had to do it again. Creativity wise, I like this different aspect of the hero's journey, though it seems the journey already happened for this person, so in that aspect it doesn't quite fulfill the idea of becoming a hero. Fun wise, it has some interesting context and scenarios, just wish there was more of it, or more variety or alternate ways of achieving goals. Thematially, it gets pretty close. Only issues are that the character isn't on a hero's journey as the narrative suggest they are already a hero. Secondly, certain hero's journey aspects are missing. It would have been cooler to start with this character and then have a tragedy happen where the drunkard is the one who ends up becoming the hero and ends up replacing this John Wick Plumber guy.

Andrey

Fun 7/10

Functionality 9 / 10

Creativity 7 / 10

Theme 5 / 10

As a standalone game, not bad though feels unfinished. As a game that is tasked with delighting and instructing on the hero's journey, it is falling short. Fun wise, the beginning was interesting with the overworld, and the exploration aspect was fun though contradicting the hero's journey (at least on the character motivational aspect as the character expresses no interest in deviating from the path to get to the town). Creativity wise, there's quite a bit here, it just ends rather suddenly. I wish there was more. What's not really great is how many gimmicky deaths are in here. This is supposed to represent the classic hero's journey. If instead, these roads introduced various paths to eventually becoming a hero, that would have been much more interesting rather than just dying. Which leads to the theme. It starts off well, but then stumbles. The throwaway death areas both feel cheap, unfortunately, and feel like they have no narrative use. And just as it picks up, the game ends. Even ignoring the hero's journey alone, it is lacking in a 3 act structure to tell its story.
Anyway, thank you for the attempt. There's good stuff here. But I belive you can do better to fulfill the requirements of both the jam and the assignment :)

Andrey

Fun 8/10

Functionality 9/10

Creativity 10/10

Theme 9/10

This was pretty cool to play. Fun wise, it had quite a bit of variety here, I just wish there was more. But I enjoyed tackling each monster. Functionally, it was nearly flawless. There are a few collision issues, especially the "go to bed" part I could go through the room as the walls were not physical. Creativity wise, I think this is very creative. There's a variety of activities, visuals, and settings. Theme wise, this is very close to hero's journey. The player has their own journey of learning and revelation. The stories covered are from hero's journeys. I only remove 1 point mostly because the stereotypical journey is missing some elements that could have been discussed here. Elements like a mentor, and the fall and return, etc.

Andrey

Functionality - 9/10

Creativity - 9/10

Fun - 7/10

Theme - 9/10

Interesting approach here. Definitely a different take on the journey. I really like the visual variety and your use of colors here. Really highlights the emotions, especially dread when the stranger appears. Functionally it is all good though the door is a bit weird, I can crawl up it. Creativity wise, I like what is going on here. Thoughthe dilemma with the gun could have been fleshed out more. And the ending by hiding ended rather suddenly, it did not feel like a legitimate heroes journey. There was an opportunity here to discuss anti-hero vs hero journeys. The anti hero is where the urge to kill comes at the expense of ones humanity but for the safety of others, this is the ending here. But the heroes journey should have been explored legitimately through the hiding aspect. Where she can later come out and attempt to save her parents by throwing the gun to the father or mother (while maybe one of the parents dying, reference to Ben dying in spider man etc.). Fun wise, it was amusing to play though I wish there was more in terms of activities and gameplay. Thematically this is very close though some aspects of the journey are missing. Ex. fleshing out a dilemma, refusing the call, the mentor, and the fall of the hero and their return.

Andrey

Functionality - 5/10

Creativity - 5/10

Fun - 2/10

Theme - 1/10

Sadly, I don't think this game is complete or fully functional. The game has some slight collision issues with the pathing it is choosing, and the area with the room and the "I am a cat" area is broken and doesn't progress. The key collection also repeats the same dialog over and over. Creativity wise, it's hard to tell since it is incomplete. The visuals are repetitive, music is familiar, and animations are missing. The art is also somewhat lacking. Sadly, there's no fun to be had here. Thematically, it doesn't execute on the hero's journey.

Andrey

Functionality - 9/10

Creativity - 9/10

Fun - 8/10

Theme - 8/10

Not bad, I enjoyed the story and it definitely doesn't entirely follow a conventional hero but still has aspects of the journey. Functionally it is almost perfect, there are certain collision issues and certain walls look like walls but you can walk through them (ex. the final boss room). Creativity wise, I like the story here and the approach taken. The bar tender then potion maker than combat specialist was an interesting journey, I just wish there was more of it. I loved the variety of visuals too. Thematically, this is a journey but it is missing some vital aspects of the hero's journey, even one that focuses on transformation or revalation rather than salvation. All in all, I enjoyed it.

Andrey

Functionality - 10/10

Creativity - 9/10

Fun - 8/10

Theme - 7/10

Overall, not bad. The game is pretty functional and even considers a scenario where the player didn't explore the building. Creativity wise, there's a lot of visual variety here and I like the music as well, well done. I liked the boss fight as well. I just wish there was more to this journey. Fun wise, the beginning is alright but the boss fight was the more interesting moment. I wish there were more gameplay moments that help me feel more like a hero going through this journey. Thematic wise, this is definitely the heroes journey though very cut down. It is missing some explicit elements like the refusal, the growth, the fall and return of the hero. So there was room to go deeper. Also missing is the mentor or wizard.

Andrey

Functionality - 9/10

Creativity - 9/10

Fun - 9/10

Theme - 9/10

This is pretty well done, congrats! Functionally it is pretty perfect, though I'd say having many enemies, each of which you need to go through the killing text gets annoying very quickly. Creativity wise, I like what you did with the story and set pieces. Would have liked to see more visual variety and animations though. Fun wise, that last bit was actually pretty amusing, nice creative use of a boss fight. Wish to see more of that. Thematically this is very on point except for certain story beats are missing, like refusal of the call, and the downfall of the hero before their upgraded return. Otherwise, good.

Andrey

Fun - 7/10

Functionality - 10/10

Creativity - 9/10

Theme - 9/10

Interesting approach here, the meta commentary is palpable. The game is somewhat fun, would have liked more gameplay variety like the duck shooting one. Functionally it is sound. Creativity wise, this has a lot of interesting ideas and set pieces. I just wish it went deeper. Thematically, this is one big prank, nice. The only thing is the depth. It could have gone deeper. Especially, since the readings talk about different kinds of pranks. Though that ending...you got me there.

Andrey

Fun - 8/10 

Functionality - 10/10 

Creativity - 9/10 

Theme - 9/10

This was pretty amusing, well done. I would have liked to see some more gameplay in the arcade games, or some more variety, but otherwise an amusing way to handle "gameplay" within the constraints of bitsy. Functionally it is pretty good, though the bathrooms were a let down. Creativityi wise I love the variety here and the stories. I just wish there was more, and more discussion on the topic of pranks. Thematically, this is pretty well done though there is more to pranks than just easter eggs.

Andrey

Fun - 7/10

Functionality - 10/10

Creativity - 6/10

Theme - 7/10

Interesting approach though not much discussion of the theme and concept. Not much in terms of fun though it has a interesting story and multiple endings. Functionally it is sound, no issues there. I like the variety of images and animations. Creativity wise, it is rather linear and it is a retelling of Digital Circus, so...Would have liked to see something original. Now, if it was Digital Circus but also showcasing all aspects of Pranks, and even maybe critically evaluating the show, now that would have been interesting. Thematically it represents pranks though doesn't go all the way in terms of showcasing the prank aspect, even when utilizing Digital Circuis. Pretty much all members of the cast prank Pomni in some shape or form, and you could utilize all aspects of the readings to showcase it.

Andrey

Fun - 7/10

Functionality - 7/10

Creativity - 8/10

Theme - 6/10

By itself, the game is pretty good with an intriguing narrative. But considering the theme, it does feel a bit of a miss. The game has a interesting concept and the context for the fetch quests made it intriguing. That being said, I am sure you can find more creative uses of gameplay, since you've done it in the past. Functionally, for some reason this game is buggy. I was able to bug out the dog quest and unable to trigger the key getting from the dog guy. Creativity wise - I like the visuals and animations, this is well done. I just wish the game went further with its theme and gameplay. Thematically, it doesn't really discuss or utilize pranks, besides the developer third wall breaking prank, which only works for those in the know in the class. So as far as pranks go from the readings, it doesn't quite utilize it to completion. It should have had an easter egg that's more pop culture oriented or a secret level. You know what - a "dark" prank would be that you were a ghost all along and that the evil guy at the end finishes the game's final quest - by giving the eye ball to the kid, which is what the "ball" was that the kid lost. Now that would have been a deep cut.

Andrey

Fun - 6/10

Functionality - 10/10

Creativity - 8/10

Theme - 10/10

A pretty informative game. Not much to do or interact with, most of the gameplay is very similar. It is very functional, so that's good. Creativity wise, I like the variety of scenarios and outcomes. I would have liked to see the same creativity in its gameplay. Thematically this both showcases pranks and discusses it, so good job.

Andrey

Fun - 10/10

Functionality - 10/10

Creativity - 9/10

Theme - 7/10

Interesting game and approach. Definitely unique. The game has a interesting inventory and puzzle system, definitely fun. Functionally it is solid. Creativity wise, I like how you did the puzzle system and how you handled the puzzles and rooms, awesome stuff! Thematic wise, it is a bit weird. The theme of solving puzzles in unusual ways is interesting. But pranks isn't really showcased here besides a singular developer prank in its game design. Not much discussion of the reading chapter either. But definitely an interpretation.

Andrey

Fun - 10/10

Functionality - 10/10

Creativity - 10/10

Theme - 9/10

Overall, this was pretty great. The game is pretty fun though gets repetitive, but the nature of the pranks and the multiple endings made it worth while. Functionally, I see nothing wrong. Creativity wise, there's a variety of colors and visuals, so well done. And text animations! The pranks and endings were nice too and the final ending was a good commentary as well. In terms of theme, I think it is very close to fitting the theme. The only thing I have is that the final lesson at the end could have discussed it a bit further, but otherwise good! Though...would have been interesting to actually see the universe end in the game with a cutscene..

Andrey

Fun - 9/10

Functionality - 8/10

Creativity - 8/10

Theme - 7/10

Not bad, definitely a serious topic and an emotional one. The beginning is rather fun and I liked the computer and garden sequence. Functionally, it has bugs in it and weird interactions. Creativity-wise, I like the variety and the dream sequence was interesting - though visually it could be spiced up. The theme is a little weird. I don't quite see how "pranks" is utilized here - unless the whole point is the parents are the way they are because they are pranking you the whole time...in which case that's kind of dark, haha. I believe both the office and the home had the opportunity to go deeper, with the office maybe being "friendly" pranks, while home being more hurtful, and there could have been discussion about that. Otherwise, not your best work but not too bad either.

Andrey

Fun - 9/10

Functionality - 9/10

Creativity - 10/10

Theme - 9/10

I actually really enjoyed this, nicely done! The visuals were great and there's some good story telling here with nice variety. The story was fun to go through. The gameplay is a bit wanting, would have liked some interaction and activities, but otherwise good. Functionally it is pretty close to good - some transitions require very precise areas to hit so that could be fixed. Creativity wise, I like the story and theme and the ending was great in terms of pranks. This was funny to go through. Thematically I think you hit it with the prank theme. The only thing I'd say is in the beginning would be good to have a little moment of  a "stereotypical" prank of some astronaut pranking you - and then go deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole as you have done. Anyways, Awesome!

Andrey

Fun 8/10

Functionality 8/10

Creativity 9/10

Theme 9/10

This is quite the game, there's a bit going on here, but later you can tell it is unfinished. It is pretty amusing in the beginning and there's a nice little third wall moment with the couch, just wish there was more of that after. Functionally, it is good but there are 2 moments that make it rather tedious. Moment 1 - the bed shouldn't be a sleeping item once the player is past the beginning portion and is doing other game activities. It should ignore the player. Moment 2 - When restarting the game, doing the door knob over and over is annoying. There should be something different here. Try doing another level instead of restarting the game all the time. Creativity wise, I like how everything looks and is animated. There's quite a bit of charm here. Sadly, it kind of dwindles once you go outside. Thematically, I like the story here but it doesn't go anywhere past the house. Texture wise, quite a bit is explore here - well done! Not much discussion on the topic though, which wouldn't be bad if the other half of the story was more impactful :)

Andrey

Fun 7/10

Functionality 9/10

Creativity 8/10

Theme 8/10

Not bad, has quite the story. Fun wise, it is interesting but could have found some unique approaches to the talk and collect activity, it does get repetitive quickly. Functionally it is pretty good though I'm removing a point for the game not clearly addressing the locked door. Creativity wise, I like the story and theme -however, was expecting more in terms of the depth and interaction (within the bounds of bitsy). Thematic wise - you get pretty close to exploring  all aspects of texture. Though the music and sound effects remain unchanged and repetitive. There was also opportunity to explore more with text. Otherwise, not bad.

Andrey

Fun - 6/10

Functionality - 8/10

Creativity - 8/10

Theme - 8/10

Not bad, the story was definitely a meaningful one. In terms of fun, it needs a bit more work. Would have been cool to have like a "imagination" sequence from listening to music, and a "gaming" sequence from playing the game. There are creative ways to achieve that in Bitsy. Game is generally well functioning though some items that are physical you end up overlapping, and some that you would overlap end up blocking you. Also there's a level that is missing animations and audio, it feels like there should be? Creativity wise, I like the use of memories or rooms. But I feel like more could have been done with animations and colors and sounds. I do really like what you have done with the sound effects and music. I especially like how you emulated a ringing phone. Thematically, it gets close. The story itself doesn't quite sell me on the idea of texture, though it tells an important lesson. The game itself does tackle ideas of texture, though could have gone deeper in terms of analysis and its implementation in the game. Otherwise, I think this was good.

Andrey 

Fun - 9/10

Functionality - 9/10

Creativity - 9/10

Theme - 7/10

This was actually pretty amusing, good job! The game is generally fun though would have liked to see a bit more variety, kind of like the boss fight level. Functionally it is good though that last part was weird as you were flying up into the air and going around to get to the red door. Creativity wise, this might be the first side scroller - so I'm loving that aspect. Though again, would have liked to see more conundrums and variety of confrontations. Theme wise, the game itself doesn't seem to discuss texture, but it displays it. However, not all sources of texture are used in this game - missing are sound effects and text(+ text effects). But I did enjoy the tower climbing aspect.

Andrey

Functionality - 10/10

Creativity - 10/10

Fun - 9/10

Theme - 9/10

This is a pretty cool game. I really like what you did with the theme and how you twisted it in interesting ways. This both has the conceptual and applied stances of the idea tackled, well done! This is a very functional game, I love it. I really like the story and how it evolves, with sounds and colors. This is a pretty fun game, I just wish there was more moments like the note and texture level. Thematic wise it is really well done. My only comment is that it could have gone further. One texture you could have explored (this is an advance idea) is the texture one can imagine in their head. All in all, awesome stuff!

Andrey

Fun - 10/10

Functionality - 10/10

Creativity - 8/10

Theme - 9/10

Overall, this was pretty cool. I like the theme and the subtle messaging behind it. Fun wise, this was pretty fun though I would have liked some kind of moral wrestling of the player, though that's hard to do in Bitsy. Functionally, this is functional and works well. Creativity, I like that there's a collectathon here but it would have been good to have "not collecting" be part of the ending. I also miss the dream sequences you did - so some variation from collecting would have been cool (there's an opportunity to play with the idea of "gaslighting" here, which is how the player might convince themselves they should go to heaven). Theme wise, there's a lot here. Animations, color, sounds and music. This is very well done. I would have liked some more variety of colors and visuals, but otherwise, good. Oh and maybe an ending cutscene of some sort besides text.

Andrey

Fun - 7/10

Functionality - 9/10

Creativity - 7/10

Theme - 7/10

Overall, not bad. The game is mostly walking, so it does get boring rather quick. But it has an amusing narrative to it, and the ending was rather funny, so there's that. Could use some mini games, like maybe putting a scarecrow together using random items you found (and apparently stolen). Functionally it is pretty good though I would have liked some more interactions and ability to explore. Creativity, the theme is rather topical and creative, with an underlying narrative. Would have liked to see it go further and have some variation in gameplay besides walking. If feel like having an "investigation" part as Act 2 would be cool, especially if your character remembers having items differently and doesn't recognize them as what the others recognize them - I think that would have payed off the ending a lot more. Thematic, I can see bits and pieces. Definitely there's a lot in terms of music and sound effects. But could have used more exploration of colors, animations, and text animations. But overall, I was very amused by it, good job! 

Andrey

Fun - 8/10

Functionality - 10/10

Creativity - 9/10

Theme - 9/10

Overall, I think this was pretty good. The game is rather amusing and interesting, though would have liked to see some creative use of "quests" besides fetch quests (though bitsy really is ultimately fetch quests but there's ways to use that and hide that aspect). This is a very functional game, I tried my best to break it. Creativity, it has quite a lot going on. I do think, due to the nature of the jam, it is restricted in many areas - but I see the potential. I would have liked to see some kind of twist or variation in progression or gameplay after the 3rd fetch quest though. Theamatic wise, I can see why this was chosen - there's lots of opportunity for tackling the texture aspect. The only thing that is missing is probably more exploration of sound effects, there weren't that many. And maybe some more animations and colors. Otherwise, well done.

Andrey

Fun 5/10

Functionality 9/10

Creativity 7/10

Theme 6/10

A worthy attempt, though falling somewhat short of the spirit of the game jam. The game is rather depressing, with not much in terms of interactions and mechanics. Though one could say the focus is the narrative. So ok, but Fun is a factor we are grading. Functionally, it is pretty good, though there are some places where there are no collisions when there should be. Some places where the exits and entrances aren't entirely clear. Creativity, the story and the environments definitely have hints of thought and creativity. But as far as the depth and the design goes - there was definitely room to go further. Thematic wise, it focuses a little too much on depression and ending ones life, than it does on the topic of Empathy. Particularly sad (probably intended), is the lack of hope and solutions for the character - which as humans and children of God, we should encourage hope and overcoming our struggles. Food for thought. Anyway, good start. I would like to see you go further with the upcoming jams.

Andrey

Fun - 5/10

Functionality - 9/10

Creativity - 4/10

Theme - 2/10

Sadly, this doesn't quite fulfill the game jam requirements set out for this exercise. The game is standard and seems to have hints of excitement to come, but the collectathon portion gets repetitive quickly, and the game ends too soon for it to really pick up steam. Functionally, it works, but you can skip the beginning person without getting the "context" and goals given to you for the game, confusing the player who just walks through the door. And the pick-ups each that keep repeating the same message get rather annoying. The theme isn't clearly tackling Empathy, nor is it discussing the chapter and the concept, providing an argument and new POV angles of what was covered. The initial concept is intriguing, and I like the visuals. The story beats in general are actually interesting. However, it really needed to follow through on what it subjectively promises. There was an opportunity to have an "inner thought" dialogue for each asteroid the robot destroyed, which could have been a narrative avenue for discussion.

Andrey
Fun 7/10 

Functionality 10/10 

Creativity 9/10 

Theme 9/10

I'm surprised how structured this is and how easy to follow it is. The visuals are good and the examples of empathy has some depth to it. I would have liked to see this evolve further, showing both the uses and misuses of the device. Maybe a use of empathy that is applicable and useful, like the mom and kid, but also empathy that is used as a weapon. All in all, I think this could actually be its own game. Good job!

If you'd like to, you are allowed to. You can use whatever engine you're happy with. What we want to make clear is that our people (our instructor and student volunteers) really only know Unity very well (a bunch of people have used a few different engines, and we're good at figuring things out, but we only focus on Unity). So we will try, but we may not be able to help you when you run into problems. If you're good with that, we're good with that.

Great work. This is a well designed game for a Jam. 2 basic mechanics that are totally complete and function, and even somewhat polished. That's a good concept for a 48 hour game. The graphics are bright and fun, and we loved the animation/feedback during the combo play. We felt, though, that there could be more fanfare--more fun, positive reinforcement when you do something good. Good work on the music too. Overall, solid job here.

Very smart game. Very challenging to play--maybe a bit too finicky at times. But the level design was really clever. We loved how effectively this connected to the Jam theme. The game really teaches the player very clearly and very quickly. The one challenge we ran into was that sometimes it was a bit hard to see what we needed to in order to succeed--e.g. the projectiles fired by the blocks. Overall, very well done.

Really solid game jam game. We found the platforming maybe tuned a tiny bit high in difficulty, but there was some interesting design choices in terms of movement puzzles (we liked that mushrooms worked both for and against you). The graphics are cute and the piece is solid. The main thing we struggled with was some confusion around what, exactly, was going on sometimes. It wasn't always clear where we were going or why and why this or that thing was sometimes lethal and sometimes not. Overall, though, this is a good little game.

We really loved this game. The graphics are great, it has a really fun narrative, and the overall feel is really solid. We also applaud you for being so ambitious: 3 minigames is pretty tough to pull off. Our only real critique is that some of the gameplay was hard to understand (in spite of the really detailed tutorial, which was a great idea). Overall, well done!

Unfortunately, the game lacks most of its intended functionality, but don't be too discouraged by that. We saw the design plans and they were good ideas. Plus, we like the look and feel of the piece (very reminiscent of a GameBoy game), and the fact that it is functional at all is an accomplishment for a Game Jam. You'll learn and move on from this!

For a Game Jam, a really impressive title. Lots to play with, all the items are recognizable, more than one solution, great graphics, great music.

so sorry I missed this! Unfortunately, we are focused on our students for this one. Thanks for checking in, though.

For a game jam, this is really excellent game! This works on multiple levels. It's actually quite a sophisticated design for a short time of development--we love the two-part gameplay. The aesthetics are consistent and really fun. The sound is good too. We found the game well balanced, given your short development cycle. And we loved the tone as well. This is a game that could certainly be developed more with different level design and more mechanics with different kinds of currency and power-ups. But you have a great core game loop. Great job!

Excellent work! We love the core concept and the main gameplay loop. It's really creative and very stress-inducing, as it should be. We think the artwork and the sound was solid. The level design was really smart too. If you were going to do more work developing this game, we'd suggest that you work on balancing the difficulty: we found it just a bit too difficult. Also, right now, this seems to be a one-solution puzzle--it might be interesting to give options to solve the level--but that's certainly not required. Overall, no real problems here. Just very well done for a 46 hour game!

The scores don't really reflect how much we appreciated this game. We thought this was well conceived, well designed, fun to play, and has solid artwork and sound. The scores are really in comparison to the other games in this jam. You should be proud of this--it was well done! We had fun playing it. If you were to work on it more, we'd encourage you to do some clearer feedback on how things help you grow and/or make you shrink. We also think you'd definitely (in the long run) want to add further mechanics--but that's not reasonable for a jam. You have a polished and workable core mechanic. Good job!

Really creative, smart game design that requires imaginative problem-solving on the part of the player. The artwork is solid, and the music is really good for this particular world. If you had more time, we'd love to see some fleshing out of some concepts and clearer player feedback on the teleportation mechanic. E.g. you could do indicators of whether you're pressing B for the first, second, or third time (such as using different coloured outlines). But given the time you had available, this is really strong work. We enjoyed playing it!