itch.io

Oh my gosh, thank you so much for the comment!  (Sorry for the late reply, I've been really busy lately with finals.)  And also thank you so much for reading the devlogs.  I'm never sure if people actually read them all the way through or not, so it's really nice to know that people do.  (I really need to write another devlog about the flower language used throughout the game, but we'll see if I can get around to it lol).

I really enjoyed reading your interpretation, especially the part about the TV because it's not something I considered.  When I wrote about the TV, I intended it as a way of making it ambiguous whether the events on the TV were really happening or not.  But it is absolutely true that spending so much of your time watching the news can feed into your fears and anxiety.  The news is such a strange thing because on the one hand, watching it all the time can ramp up your anxiety, but on the other hand sometimes you feel guilty for not keeping up with what's going on the world.

It's also very true that when you're a kid, the days pass so slowly.  And then your parents try to convince you to wait until tomorrow to do something, but tomorrow is just so far away.

I'm really glad you liked the friendship between Echo and MC because it is central to the story.  In every iteration, they are friends.  They have an eternal bond.  It makes me feel anxious when friends fight, so even though MC initially blames Echo during Day 4, it was very important to me to make sure that that anger did not last.

It is totally cool that you rambled in your comment.  I love to read people's ramblings about things they enjoy.  But I am especially glad that this game impacted you so much :)  Thank you for sharing.

Thank you!

Can we work on our games before the jam starts? Or can we only work on them during the jam time?

Also, if we later want the game to be paid, should we set the game to have a 100%-off sale during the jam time, or should we set the game as free to download and then change it to paid only after the jam?  Sorry if this is an odd question, I've just heard from other people that if you set the game to 100%-off that it doesn't show up under the free category.

Thank you!

Wow! This is really well done. Also, this story resonated with me: being uninterested in seeing pictures of my friends' boyfriends, not having a mental image of my ideal partner, to more serious things like not being sure I understand the difference feeling-wise between romantic love and friendly love. The quote on this page, "I want someone to hold me, but not the way he wants to," especially struck me. 

Your story was also kinda scary for me because of the red flags the boyfriend kept giving off that the MC didn't pick up on. I wanted to reach through the screen so many times and tell the MC not to meet this boy, that he's not interested in the kind of relationship she wants, that she needs to leave and go home.

The art is great, the font is delicious, and the music goes so hard. 

Spoilers:

I would like to ask that you add content warnings for unwelcome touching and kissing. While the narrative does hint that it's going to happen, I wasn't mentally prepared for it because there wasn't an explicit warning. I'm not mad, and I don't blame you, so please don't worry about it :).

I love how the characters at the beginning don't have eyes, and then you get to the boyfriend, and you see his eyes but they're staring right at you, and then you get to the end with your friend and now there's colors and you can see his eyes but he's looking at you gently.

Overall, really amazing, great work! Thank you for making this vn.

I am extremely normal about this game and about Noah (jump cut to me losing my mind in a good way).  I love the dialogue so much, the way he sounds like a tired introvert who just wants to sleep in the privacy of his own room but MC keeps knocking on the door, trying to talk to him and get inside.  I also like that you made the dialogue smaller to show that he's mumbling to himself.  I love that he always sounds quiet; even when he gets mad and his font goes into boldface, it never feels like he raises his voice, which is just *chef's kiss* so cool.

I love how you show his emotions through subtle shifts in his facial expressions.  Literally just  lowering his eyebrows makes him feel so menacing because it feels like he's very careful at controlling his expressions, which makes me feel that he's a lot angrier than he looks.  Oh my gosh, and the CG where he's standing over you, head tilted, right shoulder slightly up is SO menacing.

Oh oh, and that sound effect of his bedroom door opening sent chills up my spine every time!  

I have some questions about the full game, but I'll ask them on your Tumblr since that's where you asked to have them sent.  (I would also love to draw some fanart for you if I can get around to it lol.)

All this to say, you did a fantastic job at characterizing Noah, at making this world so immersive, and at setting up the foundation for so many fascinating mysteries.  Thank you for making such a delicious yandere game.

Thank you!  And yeah, that sounds like a great idea!

Because I think it'd be a great idea to have that, for people who write books and comics and also for people who want to get recommendations for books and comics.

Thank you so much for your lovely comment!  Sorry for not responding earlier.

There are more weirdcore and dreamcore games on this site that you should absolutely check out if you haven't already.  I really enjoyed playing Eurydice--it's a very short VN with two endings.

I'm really glad you liked the story.  One of my goals when writing it was to make sure that it didn't come off as preachy, which is an easy trap to fall into, so I decided that when the player asks the adults for help, the adults should give them real answers, answers that they believe in, not watered down answers because they're "just a child."  

There's something really beautiful about good endings.  There's this sense to me that friendship is eternal.  The story may end, but the relationships continue.

I also struggle with mental health.  In fact, it has just occurred to me that I have had mental health problems for longer than not.  I am glad that this game was a comfort to you.

This one is permanent, so it won't expire.  

This discord is for all AestheticJam jams, not just Frutiger Aero.

https://discord.gg/eEF9my5fn9

Hey, guys!  I'm starting a new series of game jams called AestheticJam, where each jam focuses on a different aesthetic!  For this first jam, that aesthetic will be Frutiger Aero.

Frutiger Aero is characterized by: glossy textures, lens flare, futuristic technology, water, grass, bubbles, tropical fish, and auroras.  Windows 7 graphics (including the PowerPoint themes) are a significant part of Frutiger Aero.

All submissions must evoke a sense of Frutiger Aero, whether it is just through the visuals or through its themes.

It is a ranked jam, but there are no prizes, only bragging rights.  Games can be made by teams or individuals.  No AI content.

The jam lasts from March 14th 2024 to March 25th 2024.

Link to the jam page: https://itch.io/jam/aestheticjam-frutiger-aero

Link to the discord: https://discord.gg/cQycNTfS

Thank you! Originally, I had it say, "I don't remember this part? Do you?" But I later decided to use that idea for the mystery door and redid the hallway's phrase.

I like to imagine that the person speaking to you in the hallway is standing right behind you.

Thanks!

Excellent game. The music, the visuals, the friends--everything is top-notch.

I'm so glad you liked it!  Thank you for commenting!

Thank you very much! And I'm not offended at all. It was my first time working with Ren'py, so I definitely faced a lot of challenges, but I'm glad that the game turned out well.

Thank you so much!!

AAAHHHH, thank you so much!  I really enjoyed watching your playthrough! Concerning the rejected names, I think the game kept rejecting the shorter names because the conditional statement was only looking at the letters of your names in order, so it rejected the shorter versions of your name while accepting the longer ones, if that makes sense.

I liked listening to your different theories about what was really going on.  I might explain my own interpretation of it in a devlog later, but it might be more fun to let everyone have their own interpretations of it.  For me, the reason why there is no explanation in-game is because I've discovered that some of the eeriest experiences I've had in gaming have been from games that never explained the mystery in full.  The game just drops you in the middle and expects you to find your way on your own.  That's what I wanted to do with this game.  Which version of the apocalypse is the true one?  How much does everyone remember from their past lives?  Where is Echo?  That's never explained, so you have to find your own way through.  

Again, thanks so much!

My favorite kind of fuel.

(Glad you liked it!)

You have no idea how excited I was when I saw that someone made a video out of my strange game!  Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I went with a child's perspective for this for two reasons. One, weirdcore and dreamcore rely heavily on nostalgic and childish imagery. Two, I felt like telling the story from a child's point of view would let the player take the apocalypse for granted.  As in, of course the world is ending today, of course we will celebrate it.  What else would we do for the apocalypse?

Once again, thanks so much!

Very surprising twist. Also, I really appreciate the use of flower language in the ending names.

Really enjoyed the story! It would be really cool if you included an ending guide. I played through it twice, but I got the normal ending both times. I really like the music and art style as well.

I really enjoyed this! He's so dorky and considerate and cute. Also, I really like the dark academia background music you chose. I got the normal ending, though I'd like to try getting the other endings, too.

Arthur: ...

Arthur: Thank you.

(Glad you like him!)

I love liminal spaces, too!  For me, they give me a sense of comfort rather than fear.  Glad you liked it!

I used Twine, specifically the Harlowe 3.2.3 format and the Harlowe Audio Library to get the music to play. 

I'm glad you enjoyed it! It was important to me that I convey this liminal moment with as few words as possible while still giving the player a full image of their environment. 

Thank you very much! I enjoyed the challenge.

Thank you so much!  What had happened was I left a .wav music file in my music track passage. I had commented it out (or so I thought) when I used a different music file.  Anyways, the problem has been resolved.  Thanks again!

Thanks so much! I was trying for a mixture of comforting and creepy, so I'm glad it came through!

Hello!

I am a game development student focusing on environment and narrative design, and I've decided to open commissions for environment art!  If you're making a visual novel or a 3D horror game, I can help you!

What I can do:

2D Art--Environment concept art, sketches, background art (drawn in Photoshop or a screenshot of a 3D rendered environment)

3D Art--Static 3D models (including foliage) in a realistic style, with or without textures.  I would also be open to modeling objects for a PSX style game!

Here's my portfolio: https://www.artstation.com/michaiahsamples1 (Each of the images below can be found on my portfolio as well.)

And here is my commission page: https://artistree.io/request/holabonjour  Please note that I am only interested in paid commissions at this time.

(Below is an example of a 3D rendered environment, using only models that I made and textured.)

(And here is an example of my 2D concept art.)

Feel free to ask me any questions you may have!  Thanks for stopping by!

Really fun!

Hello!  Are game demos acceptable for submission, or does the game need to be fully complete?  Thank you!

Beautiful game. I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the way the tension builds and then the peacefulness after the filter finishes. Really well done.

Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked it.

Very fun! I loved the puzzles, but I especially enjoyed getting to rescue all the animals.

I'm glad you enjoyed it!  Thanks for playing!

Really compelling story, and walking back through each of the paintings felt very meditative. It gave me time to come to terms with the stories I had just heard and with the people who had moved on.  This game was way more chill than I thought it was going to be, and for that I am very glad.  It was weird, and scary at times, but it also felt calm and reflective.  There was no rush.  There was only one part where I had to go really fast (you know the one), but other than that, the story and music, the puzzles and dialogue, really made me feel that time is solid in this place.

!SPOILERS!

By the way, I read one of your previous comments that explained that the character did move on when they went through their painting, so I'm very glad about that. At first, I was horrified because I thought that our character had been sucked into the painting and trapped there.  But now that I know for sure that our character got to move on, I feel relieved.

!END OF SPOILERS!

Anyways, fascinating game. I really enjoyed it.

I really enjoyed playing this game! The blend between nostalgia and unease was really well done, and I really liked the player-character kept switching from feeling like they were in a safe, familiar place to feeling like they were trespassing somewhere strange and that someone was watching them.

Anyways, here's the video of me playing it. I hope you continue working on this game.  It was very enjoyable, and I got invested in the storyline. 

Edit: Changed some spacing the placement of the video