Design Statement
This jam had a pretty interesting theme. Instead of a word or a phrase, we were given a piece of music and told to interpret it however we wanted.

When we first listened to the track, we noticed how the rhythm slowly changed. It started out quiet and simple, but as it went on, more sounds came in and the whole thing started to feel warmer. To us, it felt like winter gradually turning into spring. That's how we came up with the idea for Primavis.

We didn't really want to make a game about fighting against winter or overcoming challenges. We wanted players to experience the change of seasons and enjoy watching it happen.

In Primavis, you play as a bird traveling alongside a child who represents spring. The child walks along a path through winter, and the bird stays by their side. Along the way, they come across things like a dead tree blocking the path, a lost baby rabbit, and a fork in the road hidden by fog.

One of the main ideas behind the game is that these obstacles will eventually work themselves out, even if the player does nothing. You can interact with things as the bird to help them happen sooner, but you don't actually have to. The only things you really need to do are dive down to the child at the very start and fly out past the cliff at the very end — those two moments are what carry the story forward. Everything in between is yours to take at your own pace.

We went with this approach because we wanted the game to have the same kind of pacing as the music. We didn't want players to feel rushed or get stuck trying to solve something. So we removed fail states, kept the controls down to three inputs, and avoided text tutorials as much as possible. We also tried to make sure the game keeps moving forward even when the player isn't doing anything.

At the end of the day, Primavis is just about watching winter turn into spring. You can help it happen a little faster, or you can take your time and watch. Either way, spring will come.

Game Instructions (launch steps, controls, and gameplay overview)
Controls

Left Click — Move / Interact
Click anywhere on the ground to fly there. You can also click on things like branches or leaning trees to land on them. At the beginning of the game, you can click on the child to protect her from the snow with your wings. Click her again to stop.

Right Click — Cry
Make the bird call out. You can use this to wake the child up, get her attention while she's walking, or hear nearby animals call back.

Mouse Wheel — Zoom / Altitude
Scroll to zoom in and out. The closer you zoom in, the lower the bird flies. Zoom all the way in and the bird will land, letting you walk around instead.

Tab — Encyclopedia
Open the encyclopedia to see everything you've discovered so far. Press Esc again to close it.

A Little Tip
Most of the obstacles along the way will work themselves out if you just wait. The one thing you do need to do is dive down to the child at the very start, and fly out beyond the cliff at the very end — those two moments are what move the story forward. Everything in between is yours to take at your own pace: there's no way to lose, and nothing you're required to solve.

Gameplay walkthrough video
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/16i_l41P4axKI9g3O9P9u5hqE8sr7W5nm?usp=drive_link

Did your project use any AI tools or assets? If yes, please specify.
Yes. AI tools were used to assist with programming and to create some 3D models, animations, and UI icons.