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Dead Stock's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Category: Music | #6 | 4.677 | 4.677 |
| Category: Voice Acting | #10 | 4.581 | 4.581 |
| Overall | #22 | 4.613 | 4.613 |
| Category: Cinematography | #22 | 4.452 | 4.452 |
| Story | #29 | 4.452 | 4.452 |
| Visuals | #32 | 4.677 | 4.677 |
Ranked from 32 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Content Warnings
Minor Flashing Lights/Sudden White Screen/TV Static, Gambling Themes, Very Subtle Implied Drug Usage
Log Line
Save 50% with Proof of Death!
Team Credits & Cast
[More Readable Google Doc List: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cflzVyYDss2BO7dnhzPo7yu50A0hehYGITC6HX7BUJc/edit?usp=sharing] Art, Design, Writing, Coding, Video Editing, Dying: xiruo https://bsky.app/profile/xiruo.bsky.social Editor, VA Quality Assurance, Croc: Zaerin https://x.com/zaerin_7 Writers: Tianna Ebnet https://linktr.ee/dragontianna Aine https://aiainaine.itch.io/ June https://junekazoo.itch.io/ Assistant Artists: Lavlillac [CG rendering] https://lavlillacaltacc.wixsite.com/lavlillac nicc [Sprite Lineart, TCG cards] https://youtu.be/dywDrslYCJg?si=9C-vOe7Ntp16s9SH Zaerin [Sprite Flat Color] https://youtu.be/M6jvUuarJbg?si=NkVbF40sQ0-ioout Baltis [Souvenir Items] www.artstation.com/baltisdemar Milo [Food Items] https://miloio.itch.io/ Background Artist: Siu Fan Tsang https://linktr.ee/stsword Composers: Midi https://midipotion.com/ October https://linktr.ee/october_stereo Audio Lead and Talent Manager: Phebe Fabacher https://www.phebevoices.com/ Audio Editors: Ralph Villegas [Audio Engineer for Torch, Parka, and Souvenir Snake] https://www.ralphvillegasrecords.com/ Justine Man [Audio Engineer for Lock and Pretzel Dog] https://x.com/www_wingkii Hayden Davis [Audio Engineer for Horse-Face and TCG Spider] https://haydendavis.carrd.co/ Nickolette Kong [Audio Engineer for Magnet and Candle] https://nickolettekong.com/ Mark Mullens [Audio Engineer for Ox-Head and Cat In a Hat] https://www.markmullens.com/ with Very Berry Studios https://veryberrystudios.com/ Sound Designer: Lucero Martinez https://lmarti623.wixsite.com/lucero-martinez Assistant Programmer: Ericeric422 https://github.com/Ericeric422 Voice Actors: Ryan Henning [Lock] https://bsky.app/profile/ryandoesacting.bsky.social Noel Thrappas [Torch] https://noelthrappasvo.com/ Jessica R. Warner [Magnet] https://jessicarwarner.com/ Sammy Kim [Parka] https://sammykimva.carrd.co/ MJ Chestang [Candle] https://mjchestang.carrd.co/ Ren Alberg [Horse-Face] https://renalberg.carrd.co/ Allain Armean [Ox-Head] https://allainarmeanvo.com/ Lee Bergantino [Pretzel Dog] https://www.leebergantino.com/ Sam Grace [Spider] https://samgracevo.com/ Hapyr [Snake] https://linktr.ee/hapyr Jason Daryl-Hall [HatCat] https://www.jasondarylhall.com/voice-acting-roles Resources Used: Shiny Cards by Maurimo https://maurimo.itch.io/shiny-cards Speech Pauses for Renpy by Kigyo https://kigyo.itch.io/speech-pauses-for-renpy Renpy Auto Highlight by Wattson https://wattson.itch.io/renpy-auto-highlight Renpy Chroma Glitch by Gouvernathor https://github.com/Gouvernathor/renpy-ChromaGlitch Renpy Shader Pack by Stella@MakeVisualNovels https://makevisualnovels.itch.io/make-visual-novels-rspv1
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Comments
This game is amazing! Everything from story to characters to art to voices to the minigame are top-notch. Puns are on point too. It's a pity that in my ending, I was still stuck in the Matrix (if you know what I mean). Great job on this.
Omg. What a talented team! This game was packed with so many cool features and details! (Not me getting called out for save scumming lmao <.<) Fantastic game! Also Lock <3 ^-^
I'm really surprised by how much is in this game a month long game jam. The UI was very high quality and there was a lot to do. I'll admit I struggled to get attached to Lock (he was a bit much), but this is still very impressive and I liked the minigame in between each free time.
Thank you so much! Cause there's an emphasis on shops and buying stuff, I tried to put a lot of focus on the shopping aspect and 'things to do' in the mall. And I'm glad you liked the UI as well! Graphic design is not my passion but it could be, WHEEZE
Lock is for sure a bit much, I do not blame you for keeping your distance. TBH, I would too lol
I actually loved all of this. This is crazy work for a month. You guys are crazy.
I was pretty engaged from the beginning and I enjoyed all the little interactive bits that the game had to offer. The characters were nicely written and the voice acting really elevated the experience for me! The premise was simple, but the execution of it was great and it had some nice twists. I quickly lose patience with many visual novels, but I never had that problem here.
The only thing I wish could happen are some animations during package collecting, like transition between tiles or eating and there was a part around the end where there was so little sound I thought my game muted for a second, but those are my only (admittedly) nitpicks.
Again, you guys are crazy.
And Lock is a baby. I put him in a box.
PFFTHH Thank you for playing!! I'm also someone who's eye starts twitching a little if there isn't enough stuff going on during a game www-- curse the current online short-form media and attention span reducing atmosphere...
I totally see the package collecting game's faults for sure LOL, Renpy isn't exactly built for this.. so when you're walking in a straight line, it's so easy to like... Not See Anything Happen. orz Sadly, that seems to be how the cookie crumbles. Or like, how the game engine........ defaults.
The audio at the end is definitely quieter... I had do a few stupid things in order to get the dialogue at the end to display like I wanted it to, which probably contributed to that. But not too hard to fix!
Again, thank you so much for playing! And yes, keep Lock in the box. :3c
Without a doubt, this has been my favorite game of the Jam so far! It's been so fun to play, I didn't even notice hours had gone by because I was so invested. The mini-game is so fun, the cards add so much, and the characters are so loveable! I can't believe this was made in only a month! It completely blew me away and I really loved playing. Gonna tell my friend to play toooooo >3<
;;7;; !!! Thank you!! I'm honestly so happy that you're having fun with it! JLKSJFG It was a lot of fun to create and yea... the cards are the best part. (Don't tell the pretzel dog I said that LMAO)
It was amazing, thank you so much for making it! If this was a webcomic, I'd be invested for 50 chapters :3
This is so delightful! Super impressive how much you accomplished in just a month's time, and I really appreciated how much this entry reminds you this is a game jam, rather than just a novel with visuals. Amazing character design, an engaging story, and a terrific soundtrack.
Sartre might've claimed Hell is other people, but it brings me great joy to see someone else acknowledge the real truth: Hell is a Shopping Mall and an Underpaid Retail Job. Phenomenal work and loads of praise to the whole team!! ❤️
PFFHLKSFT Thank you so much!! qwq
I have a bad(?) habit of adding in 'gimmicks' to games that I come up with, and the package collection thing is definitely one of them LOL. But yay! I'm glad it's doing it's job! I wanted to make something simple enough for a jam but interesting enough for it to be played a couple times without being too tiring SDJLFGKS
Thank you, thank you for playing!! ;;7;;
Superb entry!! Just like with your entry last year, I'm impressed with just how much you managed to accomplish during the jam!! The character sprites are adorable (especially lock and spider card lady), the VAs are great throughout (hi allain!), and the music & bkgrnds / fx really bring it all together into a cohesive liminal 80s vibe. Tied with the great writing and tight concept, it really feels in line with Infinity Train at times as a result, in the best possible ways. I played through two of the endings (remembered & false memory), and am definitely excited to go back and try for the third at some point soon. Plus, incredible job going above and beyond with the item mechanics, minigame, and ending animatics - ridiculously impressive!!!
Huge congrats to the whole team!
Thank you! Aaa I'm so glad everything came out as cohesive! I really do put all my everything into Spooktober-- usually taking a week off from work at the start... so. 🤣🤣
I really wanted to emphasize "cool mall with lots of neat things to buy" since part of the theming is like.. the draws of consumerism (and also gambling) so everything needed to be kinda interesting and stuff people would wanna earn money to get :P
Then when it came to the ending, since part of the story is resolved with the final scene ww, it also needed to be strong enough to end the story on a high note! I think I blacked out while working on it HSJDN I only came back to reality when I was done... 🤣🤣
Thank you again so much for playing ;;;7;;; !! And also for going through and getting both endings too! <3
Really, really impressive work for a jam! The presentation is fantastic, both when it comes to grahics, character work and sound design - I especially love the 80s influence. The story is also very extensive considering it was made for a game jam, I spent quite a while trying to uncover all the secrets and interactions which was really fun. I did grow worried about how much the stakes were rising but I feel like the game handles them responsibly while also acknowledging scope, so kudos to the team! The gameplay itself is also really cool and I love how it uses Renpy features to achieve a fun game loop. It does get a bit repetitive so 1-2 extra maps would have been nice, and sometimes you do get stuck on a dead end where you can't help but run into a mannequin, but I'm assuming they are nonlethal because of that.
Also, there's a voice line where Lock asks "Are you sure you don't want to read it?" instead of "Are you sure you don't want to keep it?" when Torch reads his letter. (Not sure of the actual line but you might want to check that out!)
All in all, a really interesting concept with a very fun and well presented execution. Thank you for making it! This universe is really cool and if you ever make another game related to it I'd be thrilled <3
Thank you so much for playing! ;;7;; Honestly, because things were getting kind of high stakes, it took a while for me to come up with a decent ending lol 😭😭😭 I'm glad you enjoyed your experience though!
And dw-- I also realized after having to test the game over and over (and going through the whole thing multiple times) that the maze minigame does lose it's novelty after while WHEEZE I kinda chalked it up to "haha now its like an actual job, huh" a real its a feature not a bug moment BSJDNFM
Also, about the voice line mistake... I know :(((( It's not the VA's fault! He read it correctly, I was the one who realized too late that there was a typo in the lines and then it was too late to rerecord at that point 🥲🥲 I figured I'd change the script at least so it'll maintain the logic lol
But yea! Thank you so much for playing!! Honestly after finishing I've been thing about the world building a lot ww Everything is making me want to revisit it
It was really fun playing through this :D
even the part where I went all in and lost all my money LOLAlso I found it very cool how the minigames and interactive elements pushed the themes present in the narrative
The character dynamics and interactions were charming + the voice acting & music really elevated everything, makes me feel inspired to look more into working with voice actors as well hehe (loved the colours in the CGs too)
Props to you and your whole team for real 🫶✨
Aaa thank you so much!! ;;7;;;
I know minigames can be hit or miss with people HSSJDJFK so I'm glad it was incorporated well into the themes of the story! (That was the goal lmao)
Ueue Im so glad you enjoyed the characters, voice acting, and music! Putting everything together felt like magic HSHSJDN The team did a really good job!
Thank you again! ;;7;;
So torch, so postage, so sugoi (really great work; I was not expecting to lose all of my money to the god of gambling; and the card art was cute as hell).
this is why you shouldn’t go all in… /lh
Amazing and very polished game. I really love those shops at the mall! Each shop has a different design and they are very unique. The characters are all great and precious, too. And the GUI. the GUI!! They are really cool. All the VAs also did great.
My favorite card is taking breaks.
Thank you so much! ;;7;;
I really wanted to sell (ha) a complete mall experience and have the wackiness juxtaposed with more serious stuff from the letters. I'm so glad you had fun!
And yea, the gui this time was 🤸 the heart and soul LOL
HAHAHA. Finally, I can spend all my minimum wage on gacha, and no one can stop me!!!
All the little UI animations and sound design are very satisfying too!