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VirtualZoo.exe's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Audio | #6 | 3.724 | 3.724 |
| Art | #9 | 4.207 | 4.207 |
| Overall | #39 | 3.476 | 3.476 |
| Creativity | #44 | 3.690 | 3.690 |
| Enjoyment | #62 | 3.241 | 3.241 |
| Theme | #163 | 2.517 | 2.517 |
Ranked from 29 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
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Comments
Brilliant art direction and audio.I learned some new facts about these wondrous creatures placed within the zoo. I will note that the game could be more enjoyable with a wider variety of activities between presentations as during my playthrough, I did feel it gradually become a slog by the 3rd presentation. I also feel as though the theme could have had heavier connections to the story as the current game doesn't feel like it incorporates the theme of the game jam enough. A way I could see it be further incorporated is through the above mentioned addition of minigames between the puzzles and presentations having an animal use it's invulnerable body to accomplish certain tasks. Apart from that though, I can definitely see this expanded upon to include not just fauna but flora and fungi too.
THE MUSIC IS STUCK IN MY HEAD, anyways, love the music, art style. Very unique approach of going educational, I love doing the puzzles and learning new facts. Only 1 small part that might be really helpful for kids or children playing the game is to have a hint button when doing the puzzles! Otherwise, great game, super nice execution and really awesome music. Nice job!
This is such an educational showcase within a game. I had a relaxing time doing the puzzles since I normally do physical puzzles with A LOT of pieces. Great job on the game!
Very lovely presetnation!
the music is good but ill go crazy if i listen to it over and over and over
the rope hates me
ill probably change the review tomorrow since i didnt play much of it!
Don't worry, the rope hates everyone. (Just click and hold below it, haha, don't keep pulling it.)
And I definitely did a bit too much with the music, I won't be offended if you have to mute it for a bit. Thanks for playing and look forward to seeing if you have more thoughts. :)
THAT ROPE IS A FRINGLEDINGLEDONGLEDANGLE LITTLE SHATERONI, (hes grounded)
Danggggg bro that was nice. I played the full thing and I really enjoyed the story. I originally thought it was going to be a horror game because of the .exe which reminded me of Sonic.exe but it ended up not being that. Although the progression of the story is similar to how I would've expected a relaxing, positive-seeming game would transition into a horror game. You start off leaving in subtle details and clues and then the story begins to get more and darker as you figure out what is happening. I think you pulled that off perfectly because I was on the verge of feeling like the gampelay was getting stale, thinking maybe this would be a fire cool math games game or abcya type game for young kids but then you pulled me in with the story and I had to keep playing to find out more. You really did a good job imo with executing that idea, good custom art, good music (I loved the music for the 3rd puzzle that was a bangerrr. Ion kno if it randomized tho), good story, good wrapping up the story all at the end. I played with my younger brother and he said it didn't even seem like a game jam game. I don't really have much criticism. The only thing I wonder is if people skipped the dialogue because I don't see anyone mentioning the story. I don't know if there is anything game design-wise that can be done to prevent people from skipping or if that would even be a good thing to do. But ya thas the only flaw I can think of right now, but it might just be the audience's fault if that is an issue (especially since people tend to rush game jam ratings). Overall, good job with this bro!
I personally composed everything, thank you so much for the compliments. And yes, most people have been mentioning the vibe over the story (I wouldn't be surprised if not everybody played it fully through, happens in jams) but that might be partly because so many people are focused on their shock of the educational genre we played with. :D I believe the underwater theme was your favorite? It was heavily inspired by the docks track in Mario 64. :D
Fun story, I thought I got the inspiration from Mario but searched high and low and couldn't find the track. I posted the underwater theme to the group chat and our programmer helpfully posted the Mario theme I had gaslit myself into thinking never existed and we had a good laugh over it.
Thank you so much for the detailed response, it means more than words can say when someone gives such care to responding to your art. <3
I didn't expect an educational game, but I was pleasantly surprised!
The game is very polished, the visuals and audio work perfectly with what the game is going for.
Great job!
Thank you so much. <3
I really like puzzles so I might be biased, but I had a lot of fun playing this game.
The art is beautiful and the fun facts about the animals was fun to read (I even learned some things 😮). The only problem is I don't see how this game fits the theme.
The game is awesome though and you should all be really proud. 😊
First off, very glad you enjoyed it!
I can also answer the question re: theme as the guy who birthed the concept (also I'm the 2D artist).
The idea of invincibility was really difficult for me to work with because I am someone who very much loves playing with vulnerability in all its forms. So for me, invincibility was always going to be framed as a concept, not something literal because you wouldn't get something genuine out of me with that.
The idea of how invincibility works as a concept here is that there is no way you, or any animal in this zoo, can die. The goal of a lifelike digital zoo was to let animals actually live and not, by their philosophy, deal with the displacement and death in real zoos. A lot of it cannot be explained without outright spoiling the game, but if you want another reference of what inspired the twist, check out the story of the Deemo (2013).
Nice Game, good puzzles and super art work!
Good Luck in the Jam!
Nice game!
The art is really cute, and the music makes it feel very relaxing.
Good job!
Really nice artwork and calming music!
Love the idea of tech and nature, and where humans fall in-between!
Love the artstyle and the puzzle mechanic is on point ! Really cool project. Please keep making educationnal game, there a not as many this day as when i was young and we need more :) Good job !
Very charming and relaxing. It'd be nice if the quiz told you afterwards what the right answer was, since that could be an intresting way to learn about some of these animals
Thank you so much!
I tought about making the game like that personaly, or like it teaches you a bit of the animals before hand, but i knew it would be hard to implement, or even figure out how to do in the first place, so i never ended up telling the others. (when i say i tought to make the game like that, i mean tell the others to do it, i dont do programming or implementing)
Not a game I would normally play, but very relaxing and very nice art! Good work! :)
This was refreshing ! I'm not a super puzzle fan but the setting made me keep going ! This is a great concept, I do not like "classic" zoos, but this one would be way cooler :D
I had a good time playing :)
Thank you alot, i tried your game in class today, and the teacher took my chromebook :(. Great game anyhow!
Oh no D: did you get it back ?
not until the end of the day, so i was stuck doing paper work for 5 hours lol
Oof ! Not sure if it was worth the fun haha
the art is very cool!
puzzles are an interesting choice for games and jams in general, but the experiment is interesting
I had alraedy rated the game but I just had to come back for another playthrough, this is seriously a nice and relaxing experience.
<3
That is so sweet of you. :D ♡
This is so incredibly cute. I love this. My favorite part is definitely the puzzles. Actually, I think the puzzle aspect makes it so unique and actually really fun. I've never seen that in a game. Really really great work
<3