itch.io

Oh, I see, very interesting! Yes, I wasn’t sure which decision would benefit me the most, so that design decision was successful because I definitely thought more deeply about the choices. I think that’s a good use of design to make the player weigh outcomes more carefully. To fully hit home with that mechanic, however, I think that after the player makes a decision, there has to be some kind of “explanation” why that was or was not the best decision. I think that both the original idea and the “strategic” mode can work.

Very cool! I really like that you made the prototype both the game and the explanation, well done! Just a minor report: some letters don’t show up in the demo:

Will these events be like mini-games or also choice based?

Very interesting idea and I think well-paired with the genre to show it. Good luck!

I think the concept is great, and incremental games are a good way to show the slow start but large payoff of community action. Great work on having a playable prototype already. I like that the waves float plastic onto the shore. In the beginning, though, I thought that I couldn’t pick up trash while it was covered by the waves. Maybe a way to show the trash through the wave would be good for usability, like making the wave a little transparent. I’m sure much will change, but I would have liked to see the specific stats that would be buffed by the decisions, for example (+2 money/5s) as I wasn’t sure from the text alone. Other than that, I think you’ll have a really engaging game by the end. Good luck!

The aesthetic is impeccable, and great job on creating such a beautiful prototype in so little time. I think that a rhythm game is a unique mechanic in this context, so I’m excited to see how exactly it’s used. The way I understood it is this is a narrative game where the player is pollinating the flowers with the blow action (Nao knows the correct notes), and they meet a bee where the rhythm game takes place (which is a pass fail situation?). I’m curious about what the choices are which will result in the different endings, are they narrative choices or gameplay choices made during the forest walk? Amazing so far, very distinctive and memorable game. Good luck!

Great job so far! I think the UI example is pretty good. It seems very usable, and I can imagine what I’d be doing just from seeing that example. I also like the NPC progression as the campus becomes greener.

So that makes me wonder about the loop and progression. When does a “level” or loop end? Is it individual levels or is it a bigger map? The way I understand it, there will be individual levels like in the video. Does the level end when you reach the mental health and temperature target?

If it’s levels, what will make them harder as you progress? Is it for example fewer spots to plant on, fewer resources, or harder mental health requirements. In all three cases, players options are reduced, so it seems like it would become more of a puzzle game where you have to place the plants “correctly” for maximum gain. Maybe I misunderstood and it’s a bigger map or it gets gradually bigger.

I read in the document that the player builds up green point balance (resources?), which is the main challenge, and it would be great to see how that would work from level to level.

Overall, I think this is a fine idea. I’m sure that once I play it, many things will click. I like the contrast from gray to green and making people happier while reducing temperature. Good luck!

Really, really cool idea, and a beautifully put together document. Great job! I am super excited to play this. I appreciate the in-depth risks and challenges as well. You mention a worry that it might fall short of becoming a serious game, but I think that the specific message you eventually choose to convey, will be memorable enough due to the game’s uniqueness amd get the message across!

Thank you for the comment! I’m sure much is bound to change, but the player will be the Druid that runs around and can help out in a pinch, and collects seeds that the plants drop to prepare for the next wave. Also, in general it’s that you have(!) to use different plants to beat a given level. I hope that even if everything by itself (theme, character, etc.) has been seen before that our specific combination of them and our message will make it different enough from other games.

Thank you for the thoughtful comment. We actually started from “tower defense & city builder”, but I have to admit, I haven’t researched city builders yet. Thank you for the game suggestions, I’ll definitely check them out. (I always wanted to try out Frostpunk anyway!)

This sounds like a really interesting game! So is the player submitting plants and then the game gives feedback if it helped the ecosystem or not; or is it more like a simulation of an ecosystem where they insert a plant and see how it performs? That is, does the player see the ecosystem or are they just communicating via email with customers? I didn’t see a specific loss condition, other than creating a wrong kind of plant, but maybe you can also talk about invasive species by letting the player create something that just destroys everything else. Sounds like a fun mechanic and interesting way to teach about grafting (I hadn’t heard of it before). I’m excited to play it! Good luck!

Great job on already having made a prototype! The aesthetics and tone make me very excited to play your game. I also appreciate how you thought about what can be cut depending on how development goes. I think the message that banding together to create change is great. One of the core resources you mention are sympathy points, but they are invisible to the player, so I wonder what happens if the player chooses money every time? Is it that if they choose only money that simply nothing changes or do they get to selfishly build something with that money?

I think metroidvanias could have a lot of potential to communicate through environmental storytelling. Like for example the later levels being in a data center and showing how and why they are wasting so much water. Something that I don’t quite understand though is what does the player do with the copper wire they collect? Is that just a win condition?

I hope you find a team soon!

Nice! I think the direction you are taking is a great way to integrate an established genre with a meaningful message. If I understood correctly, the game will be specifically about plants which can be found on the West coast. And call to action will be to apply the same knowledge they gained in the game in real life by reporting those species? That sounds like a genuinely impactful game! It sounds like the game will mostly be in the botanist’s shop where the player will identify plants by reading about them. How will their impact on the environment be shown, through the narrative or some kind of visualization? I also think the scope is really appropriate and that you’ll be able to make a cool game. I look forward to playing it!

Amazing as always, I really enjoy the exploration / expedition feeling! But I wonder if it’s just about finding the upgrade points or if there’s something else?

The game really drew me in, I love the style. I think the core loop is actually really fun! I made a short podcast episode about it.

I really loved your game! Especially the way you used the “narrative” blocks to include lore and pace progress. I made a short podcast episode about your game on substack

I think that’s a really cool and rare setting, I feel like I haven’t seen that anywhere. Combined with that herb mechanic it sounds very immersive. Good luck with the development!

That’s a really interesting setting! Are the spirits based on the native american culture or another one? Btw, I made a small podcast episode substack and talk about your game in it.

This is actually really fun. I love using the positioning within the room to my advantage, and I can totally see building towards specialized decks that fit some classes like mage or warrior. Really cool demo

This is awesome! The setting gives me a kind of ancient god of death vibe. It feels really unique. I hope the development is going well, good luck.

Really fun game and very pretty. Would the full game revolve around folklore gods and horror?

Incredibly cozy game where you help people enjoy Christmas. The warmest game with the coolest palette. What inspired you to put a quiz at the end?

Loved the way you iterated on the enemy types! Very cool design. How is the full version coming along?

Damn, the red monster rooms are tough. Does anyone have tips how to beat them or literally just grinding as far as I can and hope for the best?

Really fun, I hope you add a other boss! Do you have any ideas for that yet?

I beat every level and there are really neat concepts in this game, I think you did a great job!

Damn, you did it again, might be another jam winner. Really great job!

Thank you so much! Yes, I thought the leader board would make a difference, and then I spent too much time to get it to work. I’m very glad you liked it!

Are you trying to get me to grind the game again?? 69 is a crazy score, I really appreciate you playing it that much!! And yes, you are right, the boxes should either just appear by themselves, or at least be clearly flown by the yokai. And yes, the too close to the edge is definitely sucky. Fun fact: for some reason they don’t spawn on the left side. Thank you again for playing!

I can’t rate it unfortunately because I couldn’t play it in my browser. I couldn’t read the instructions because of the parallax effect moving everything. If you update the game, let me know, I’ll give it a try!

Thank you so much for the feedback and you are right. This was my first time coding and I just didn’t figure out how to make the hitboxes smaller when moving in time.

Thank you for giving it a go! To reach 59 points there were three main points:

1. Coffee
2. Sounds for focus on youtube (I recommend that guy that plays that weird brass instrument in the Forest)
3. Staying in the center, don’t get greedy with the boxes!

That’s a lot of pizzas, I say

Tricky but really fun! I got 1200, what’s your high score?

The children yearn for the mines

What? No solitaire on work pc? This job sucks! Great entry!

I’m happy my feedback helps! Of course, it’s not something that needed to be in the game for the jam, as I said, still top score in my opinion. I just started to code, and there were many (many) things I had to throw out, too. Also ended up with an ultra-hard game accidentally. Good ol’ game jams.

Awesome vibe with the art and music. I screwed up and died on day two, how many days are there or is it like an infinite game?

real

Dope style, yo! The break dance has a really cool animation

Thank you for playing! Yes, I agree, e.g. a health bar that decreases while you are in contact with a yokai would be good or combining health with the score somehow. Right now it’s definitely too hard and insta-dying is frustrating!