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Note for the Lightless's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Community's Voice | #61 | 3.429 | 3.429 |
Ranked from 35 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Creative Vision / Rationale / How Did You Incorporate the Theme
! EXPERIMENTAL GAME MECHANICS - USE MICROPHONE to make the achieve the same note as the note you hear !
Notes for the Lightless was conceived from a simple yet deeply resonant question: What if generosity was a mechanic and a message?
Through the mechanics of singing, listening, and light-sharing, the game externalizes this emotional process. Each creature the player encounters carries a unique sound which is a metaphorical need, and helping them requires precision, care, and intention. The act of listening deeply and responding with the right pitch becomes a poetic representation of empathy and understanding.
The theme is further reinforced by player choice: Who do you help? How much can you give? What if you can’t help everyone? These moral tensions are not just narrative, they’re gameplay. They prompt players to reflect on how they give in their own lives, and at what cost. It all comes down to a very important and basic question that we often forget to ask, how is our generosity perceived? Is it doing good or bad or..?
By making attentive generosity the core mechanic and embedding it in both the narrative and the sensory design of the game (voice, light, and music), Notes for the Lightless invites players to feel the burden, beauty, and consequence of selfless giving.
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Absolutely loved the concept! Y'all also nailed the aesthetic and style of the game.
It took me awhile to get to the egg/flower at the end. Art & design wise I cannot imagine the ammount of effort that went into designing this game in such a short amount of time. Was this a solo or team effort? Either way I salute you. The only issue I had was I could not tell if it was using my live voice sound or the recorded sound when I pressed 'Q' , if there is a musch clearere instrustion about the steps or a tutorial (I know in most jams we do not have time to make proper tutorials) that would have helped. But otherwise this was an interesting & beautiful game, nice job.
P.S thank you for trying my game earlier, have you tried my quick fix version, the instructions on how to play are on the main page. https://danes09.itch.io/charity-drive-quick-fix
Loved the character design! Got big flower and two flower kids happy, took me quite a few tries to get the notes right. That's good training :D
An unconventional, yet admirable mechanic requiring the usage of a recording device. Those without the melodic voice of a well-tuned instrument may need several attempts, though the detection of pitch appears to be lenient enough for most. However, it was unfortunate that serenading several creatures in quick succession felt slightly unresponsive.
Hi it's Chris!
I'm so sorry I can't really leave valuable feedback because I don't have access to a mic..
That being said, I loved the poem and the intro as well as the green night full of stars. Everything feels so poetic. And who couldn't love our little penguin with antlers? I pretty much walked around everywhere I could, using the E button to play morse code with myself.
Hopefully you get some good feedback from other jammers, but seems like you did a wonderful job!
After some reflection, I have decided to rewrite this post. The original provided little feedback and was more of a creative expression.
Note for the Lightless is a powerful game concept. It presents a world that requires a calm, gentle but strong demeanor to navigate. It teaches you how to be comfortable with your own voice. It shows what giving gives depending on who you give to. It encourages you to listen.
If this game were to be expanded upon, my suggestion (which my original post was inspired from) would be to have an antagonist (deep, male voice) that warns the player of the dangers of the lightless ones. I feel this would add to the worldbuilding in that the narrative follows the scene instead of being derived from an outer perspective about human greed. It would make the darkness unsettling as your perception of these creatures starts with fear. It would add a lot to the experience having two higher voices (one encouraging, and one discouraging) speak to you through verse as you sing to the creatures.
I also support the idea of everything being extremely dark. You could use bioluminescence to light the path you walk and create a radial wave when you sing. Maybe this wave brings the creatures to you instead of them being stationary. Maybe the volume of your voice allows it to spread farther. This as a game mechanic would create a layer of difficulty and uncertainty about what will show up. Perhaps there are bioluminescent marks on the creatures that make them look terrifying until you sing their note, revealing the cute, glowing forms that we see in the jam version.
I was inspired to sing and write poetry because of this game and its star developer. I need games like this. Thank you for making it. Let's make more of them!
It's really interesting and unique. The whole premise of it is pretty touching from the start and the poetic signature and undertones are really refreshing especially for the jam.
Maybe more on the reactions/interaction and way it is even between giving would be a nice addition.
Nice stuff, I wonder how cool even just some more things from you guys would look like.
Thank you for your feedback! It would really help us when we develop the game further!
Loved the glittery skybox. The voice acting added a lot to it as well. The singing mechanic was interesting. Overall very enjoyable.
THANK YOUU! I made the sky animated material myself, it was so much fun!
I'm not much of a singer, but very interesting concept!
That's such a cool and unique concept. GG🎉
You made a nice game , loved the musical interaction
I genuinely enjoyed singing notes, it’s one of those rare experiences that lingers emotionally long after the game ends. The way you’ve turned generosity into both a mechanic and a message is powerful and refreshingly original. As someone who loves singing, I found myself completely immersed, it’s definitely something I could keep playing for hours.
The musical interactions, the moral tension in deciding who to help, and the way empathy is implemented into the gameplay… it’s all so beautifully done. This is the kind of game that deserves to be known by more people. If you ever decide to expand it, I’d love to playtest!
Only small note: the environment sometimes felt a bit too dark visually. Maybe a touch more contrast could help highlight the beauty of the world you’ve built. But overall, this is such a strong concept and a lovely, meaningful interpretation of the theme of generosity. 🌌🎶
I honestly am so glad to meet a fellow singer! Because it is also an educational game, it seems people aren't able to finish it, cuz vocal control takes time! So this really means a lot to me.
And yess, I got that a lot about the world being too dark sometimes, it was originally intentional but if I treat this as a playtest, that intent isn't working so gotta change it!
Great game. The main idea is very original, too bad i have no musical ear. Also I was jumpscared by plant when i played wrong music
HAHAHHAHAHA That's hilarious lmaooo
Generosity Game ❌ Horror Game ✅
I really hope I didn't wake up my neighbors while making random noises playing this. It was really fun even though I struggled making the correct note most of the time (I need a vocal coach for sure). The little red dragon walks so loudly I kept running away from him thinking he's gonna stomp me hahahaha. I then gave in and walked straight into him accepting my potential demise. Only then I realized he's a friendly NPC, sorry for judging you little dragon
Ajajajja beauty of acceptance fr, but that dragon is mean to other animals! They eat the animals you revive!
Very unique concept! I feel like it's rare for the microphone to be used as an input device in games, let alone for pitch matching, so kudos for creativity! I do feel like the singing mechanic got a bit repetitive, especially since I didn't know who I had to sing to, so I just did everybody. Maybe adding simple melodies would help give a bit of variation? Or maybe the creatures you sing to can help you spread light to others in some way? Idk just some thoughts!
The world is very pretty. The environment had a nice mystical ambiance, and all the creatures were very cute! Though the world was a bit dark for me. I get the point is that the world starts dark and lights up as you sing to creatures, though I had some trouble navigating, so maybe bump up the lighting just a bit.
Overall, great job! Love the experimental nature. It's always fun to see more unique entries.
Woahh thank you so much for the feedback! We can definitely have some player freedom for the melody (also makes it less frustrating ig?) And yess, if we have the chance to continue our development, the creatures will have different reactions and personality. Right now there are 2 major creature,
1. player gives generosity and it pays back with monstrosity of eating the others we try to revive
2. player gives generosity and it reacts in a way that 'please help my babies too'
So the idea you gave, definitely fits into the narrative and would love to incorporate it!
Thank you for playing and giving really great ideas!
Incredibly creative mechanics, and really thoughtful implementation with the theme in mind. Mirroring is a great social mechanic in the real world; seeing it in a game and the direct consequences of our actions forces you to think about the weight of who or what we give our attention. A bit too dark, my eyes were getting strained trying to see.
Omg I'll pump up the light, I'm so sorry. I've been getting a lot of complaints about it ahahahahah
I love how you're one of the people who understood the underlying message within the game! Really appreciate it!
This is such a unique concept, I see very few games with this sort of voice mechanic. Unfortunately I cannot hold a tune to save my life, so I wasn't able to progress too much, but it's still super creative! My only critique is the visuals are a bit too dark without the light feature, but aside from that, this game really stands out from the rest and would be a blast for those who sing/want to learn to sing — this last part is vouched by my sister who is a singer LMAO
AHHAHAHAHA I love your sister, You too! but your sister a bit more ahahhahahah
and yess, I really gotta turn the light up a bit omg
you took the idea of intentional listening and mirroring - and pushed boundaries with it! i absolutely love the idea...the visuals and the symbolic creatures....everything.
you both should be so proud of yourselves! i have such a soft spot for experimental games purely for its intent to break new ground - and this has managed to take execution this far! the obvious feedback that you already must have realised is it stops people who find it difficult to match pitch to have an immersive experience. (also, yes, made in just 3 weeks, damn!) there is something about musical notes that can create universal human connections like nothing else can... a language that transcends most barriers!
even though it might not have completely come through, i also loved the intent of showing the grey areas. "some creatures react with warmth, others with pain"
really, i feel like repeating this: i hope you guys are proud of yourselves, and i hope to play a polished version of this whenever you guys get there!
Okay so I read this like atleast 7 times before I'm replying to it cuz of how much I love to see/hear this from you! You understood our intent and our reasons so well OMG, and honestly that makes a developer/designer feel so satisfied because our goals have been met, so THANK YOU SO MUCH for playing our game. I really appreciate the feedback!
i'm glad! in game design, you need to create a cohesive space of possibilities; and that is just so challenging by itself! we all usually start with such meaningful intent but so much can get lost in translation...that is exactly why i always try to grasp the designer's perspective! also i see you are getting positive and constructive feedback (well-deserved)...i hope you are excited to continue working on this!
I am, I would love for the game to find its way to it's audience as well
The voice over intro is a really good touch. The use of microphone is definitely a unique mechanic. The cute art style mixes in well with the night background with pretty stars. The immersion is further enhanced by the night sounds ambience.
Good job and thanks for sharing!
HEHE thank you! We tried doing some world building, let's see how it goes!
This is a very cool game mechanic! The aesthetic is also really beautiful. I loveeeee the little character we play. I was a little confused about what to do when the red guy was just endlessly following me for some reason? Very unique experience tho!
Ouuu the red guy! HAHAHA
That part is supposed to teach the player that not generosity should be given with knowledge as it can harm someone/something if given to the wrong creature.
interestingggg! I didn’t understand that but it's cool:))