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Don't Go Into the Dollhouse's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Story | #62 | 4.263 | 4.263 |
| Overall | #99 | 3.842 | 3.842 |
| Visuals | #110 | 3.895 | 3.895 |
| Category: Cinematography | #130 | 3.105 | 3.105 |
| Category: Voice Acting | #134 | 1.895 | 1.895 |
| Category: Music | #203 | 1.895 | 1.895 |
Ranked from 19 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Content Warnings
some disturbing images, references to child neglect/mistreatment, intrusive thoughts
Log Line
Brooklyn loves horror stories—until their life becomes one when their childhood best friend seems to be contacting them from beyond the grave... and inviting Brooklyn to join her in the Dollhouse.
Team Credits & Cast
Written by: Merc Fenn Wolfmoor & V. Astor Solomon; all visuals and coding by Merc Fenn Wolfmoor
Was your submission created with Visual Novel Machinery?
No
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Comments
I played this yesterday before going to bed but oops, I thought we would be able to rate projects until the end of this month, sorry I did not rate back 😭
Still, I really enjoyed my time with the game, the visuals are unique. Both the internal and external conflicts progressing side by side made the story very compelling! I really like the fact that regardless of which ending you get, whether or not Brooklyn can let go of Annah specifically, she still manages to free herself from her demons.
My only grievance is that the choices don’t really feel like they matter at all. It can make you feel railroaded, or even weirded out, particularly those leading to the final choice, where you pick multiple times whether or not these are your real thoughts. But I understand that this was a short jam project and that some players won’t touch a game unless it has choices.
Don’t let all of that distract you from the fact that I really love this game though. At some point I forgot to blink and my eyes were dry AF 😆
I really liked the story! I got invested in Annah's outcome, as well as Brooklyn's decision. The "play the alternate ending" option was a really nice touch! I also liked the "Advice" blog posts that were sprinkled throughout the story - they did a good job of building up Brooklyn as a character and seeing her blog thoughts.
The background images were good at conveying the story, and I also liked the text switch to "How (Not) to Live Through a Horror Movie" in one of the endings.
I think having some sort of background sound or music would have really elevated the experience - something, perhaps, to add a sense of dread or foreboding.
This is also my first time seeing a Renpy game playable in the browser, so that was an interesting touch! However, I did find clicking to be very unresponsive - not sure if that's due to Renpy, issues with my connection, or what.
Overall, though - great job!
Hi, Merc, and Astor! I played and voted for your game on stream and I'm posting here for your own feedback and promotion. Would be happy if could rate and comment your thoughts on my game submitted to this jam! Enjoy and thanks for your consideration. - Kyle
Thank you so much, for playing and streaming! :D (I look forward to playing your game soon too!)
You're welcome! Your story and art style is great. Stoked for your comment, thanks!
They removed my game from this jam (now it looks like comments), but I'd love for your comment on my main game page here: https://bytesizedgamestudio.itch.io/pixel-poe-presents-the-teeth-of-berenice thanks, Lemon!
I really liked the core concept here - making a mistake as a kid, having something bad happen as a result, and that mistake coming back to haunt you as an adult. I liked that other than dealing with the obvious threat, this was also about Brooklyn learning to forgive themselves and move on; I also liked that the ghost ending was portrayed as more bittersweet than bad.
It is a bit of a pity that there weren't any sound effects or music tracks, because they could have really enhanced the experience. I was also a bit disappointed that a lot of the choices didn't seem to make much difference to the story - one or two different lines, and then the story continued on. But I get that it's a jam game and you only have so much time to work on it.
I did have a good time with it overall though, and I really liked what you did with the visuals and how they were often more symbolic or metaphorical of what was happening! Thanks for working on this, and good luck with the jam overall!
Thanks so much!!
The story is very good. I was tense from beginning to end. Congratulations on the writing. What a tense atmosphere I felt here :D
Thank you!
This is really cool! :D
Might've been because of the browser version, but it got really laggy! :0
Anyways though, it was cool, the spliced cgs were an interesting choice, I just kinda wish there were some music! D:
(if you want silence, I recommend just looping a wind track or something, don't need a composer and it's really spooky because you know that nothing's loud right now, but it COULD be, while with just absolute silence you know nothing will ever happen. ^^)
But yeah, this is a really nice game, a bit unique in its visual style! :D
If you don't mind, would you consider possibly playing my game? I'd really, really appreciate it! ^^
Anyways though, good luck with judging, have an excellent day! >:]
Thank you! I have plans to add SFX and music soon (and yeah, I was wondering if the web version is laggy haha I’ve been encountering that too on some other games). Thanks again for playing!
Ohh this was super spooky! I really liked it. Thanks for putting in the option to play both endings, it was nice to be able to see both. The visuals were great, too!
Thank you!!
This is sooooo scary dang it! I have many bjds in my apartment I hope they don't show up in my dream now!!
Haha I hope they avoid your dreams too! Thank you so much for playing!
I kinda dig this kind of aesthetic. The writing and the atmosphere make it scary. Truly horror visual novel
Thank you!!!
I really loved the story! And the visual style is captivating. Such an atmospheric experience!
Thanks so much! This makes me super happy! :D
I like it! The website 'how to live thru a horror movie' and the title for chapter two kind of reminded me of the Scream movies lol The story is very good and suspense is built up in a way that doesn't seem too slow or rushed. I also liked how the background changed so much through the story. Great job! :)
Thanks so much for playing! :D
It's a thrilling short story, and loved that there was a choice to immediately read the alternative ending ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ ) The Dollkeeper is scary D:
ahh thank you so much!!