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A jam submission

The Velvet GroveView project page

They are programmed to please!
Submitted by Path & Stride Games — 44 minutes, 23 seconds before the deadline

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The Velvet Grove's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
GAME DESIGN — How good is the game balance or concepts there in?#113.6963.696
FAVORABILITY — how much do you personally like the submission?#113.6093.609
UTILITY — Does complexity inspire game prep? Or Is it very "Pick-up-n-Play"?#123.7833.783
Overall#193.6273.627
LAYOUT — How well does the module get across information?#213.6963.696
ART — How good is the art/graphic design?#263.6093.609
WRITING — How does this read? does it emanate with horror, humor, drama...?#263.5653.565
THEME — How well is the jam theme used?#273.4353.435

Ranked from 23 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

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Comments

Submitted

Art: The art direction here reminds me of so many sci-fi brothels it immediately engages me.

Writing: I feel like I've only seen one other Mothership product breaching this subject, and I gotta give you props not just for going for it, but being respectful while still keeping it aware of how horrific it can get. Really glad you kept consent at the front but still acknowledge that coercion is not impossible.

Game Design: The map & icon design is a lil difficult until I get to the bottom bar where the icons are. The legend could be in a more visible place, but that's just my 2 cents. Otherwise, it's concise and I can still work really well with it.

Theme: While this doesn't utilize myths in the traditional sense, it does give me strong vibes of Circe's island, especially how the guests can be stopped from leaving by pleasure or power. Art imitating life and vice versa as it were. 

Layout: The layout here focuses more on information delivery than presenting the vibes of the place described. 

Utility: This feels ready to go for either Shore Leave or a module. I would need a couple read throughs, but not a whole lot of work Warden side! 

Favorability: I enjoy modules that broach this area of pleasure/vulnerability, and in the past I have seen this area done badly. This is one of the best ones I've seen in a while, and the extras included supplement everything included beautifully.

This is good shit, and I think a worthy inclusion in the Triptech jams! 

Developer

Thanks for the feedback! The Myth is supposed to be Calypso from the Odyssey, but there is thematic overlap with Circe as well.

Submitted

Art: Outer panels are all really nice, inner spread is less appealing overall, though the map icons are nice.

Writing: Good concept, as long as everyone in the group is both okay with it and capable of roleplaying this kind of thing without being creepy about it. The writing is decent overall. Clear enough, a little bit of character development. Maybe more explanation needed of Iris's ultimate ambitions? Is it just to make ever-more-irresistible nymphs to make more money for her club? I feel like I'd want to have her running a honeypot spy network or blackmailing corporate execs or deploying robot mistresses to manipulate politicians. Depending on the PCs' preferences, might be too gendered... where are Satyrs? Some typos in the menu: pinnaple, whine.

Game Design: Everything works, I think. If I'm going to quibble about anything, it seems highly unlikely that anyone's going to find the password on the inside of the cat's collar because what reason would they have for removing it?

Theme: Aside from naming the sexbots "nymphs" there's not a whole lot that's mythical here. It's not a stretch or anything, you did the theme, but it's only integrated in a superficial way.

Layout: Using directly-connected location text boxes instead the usual map-and-key saves space, but is the reason the interior spread isn't as visually interesting as the outside. I'm not sure what you did with the Nymph/Security stat boxes is the best idea. Maybe put all those in one place and assign them to locations with an icon system like you did with the doors/stairs/corridors, instead of the dotted lines.

Utility: I see no serious barriers to just dropping this into a campaign and going.

Favorability: I think it's good. Wouldn't use it because when I'm roleplaying these days I'm usually running games for my 13 year-old son and his friends. If I did run it, I'd work it into a bigger plot about a spy ring seducing VIPs.

Developer(+1)

Thank you for the comprehensive feedback! I would say it is also based on the story of Calypso and Odysseus, at least that was the original idea. Iris, like her greediness suggests, is after money in the end, though she definitely has dealings with companies that could use the data for nefarious purposes (insurance companies etc.) Expanding her ambitions beyond that could be a possibility but I am not sure I can fit everything effectively.

Also, though not explicitly stated, The androids can be of any gender.

Submitted

I always am in need of shady locations and this is ideal. Highly usable, great mechanics for a downtime location or an adventure. Bringing the colour palette together a little more could be good, but that might just be a matter of taste. You have made an evocative location and packed with useful details, this is one of my favorites in the jam, great work!

Developer (1 edit)

I am glad you enjoyed it! Can you elaborate a bit on what you mean about the colour palette?

Submitted

For sure. On the first spread, it looks like you have 3-5 different shades of blue, 2-3 shades of yellow, and 1 different orange. Bring those numbers down would do a lot for conistency I think.

Developer(+1)

I was using the 4 color focus for the most part which does have 2 shades of blue. I cheated a bit with the "never leave" to give it some contrast. Otherwise if there are more instances I might have missed it or it might have been an Affinity thing that sometimes changes the colors a bit during extraction.

Submitted (1 edit)

I was worried given the subject matter, but this is tastefully done and the theme mostly serves as interesting set dressing. I think it is realized well and this is a solid module, but I think I would have liked maybe a twist or subversion. Though maybe it's better for a shore leave setting to be a little more straightforward.

Also, the collar puzzle solution may be a little too obscure. Maybe I missed a clue, but I think it may be hard for players to know to take the collar off. 

All-in-all though, this is well-executed. I agree that the second page needs more of the personality of the first page, but it still looks good.

Developer(+1)

I was worried that making things more complex might take up too much space for me to also include it as a shore leave location. That said I do have some space to play around with, but I might just flesh out what's already there instead of adding extra stuff, like a new room for example.

I think the puzzle is not obvious at first glance, but being able to turn off the NYMPHS completely is quite the benefit.  Players might make a connection there, as passwords like these might be an important date, or perhaps the name of a pet, since the cat is something that would probably  grab their attention. It can also be "solved"  by a character that can do some hacking , with some risk involved of course. I didn't have time to playtest it yet, but adding some sort of stronger hint is not out of the question.

Submitted(+1)

Hell yeah. Now THIS is Mothership. Think you're getting a sexbot lap dance at a fancy gentlemen's club? Well NOT TODAY, bucko!

The font makes it a bit hard to read, but it looks good and I think it'll be a good time for the degenerate players out there.

Developer

Haha Thanks!

Submitted

To start with, visually the first page is great. The cover art is awesome, I love the menu design, the art on the front fold is killer. I love the names of the items on the menu and the build a nymph is very clever.  You did a great job of integrating an ancient myth into a sci-fi setting. The second page is, I think less visually appealing, but is very playable. All the information you need is clearly laid out and on the page and the design is accessible and gives us everything we need to play a session. From a color, font and "feel" I think the second page could be revisited to make it feel more like the inside of an erotic club. Perhaps you could incorporate the curvy neon light lines from the front instead of the hard right angles and flat colors? Or they could be more cord like or S&M themed. I don't know. 

I personally haven't run an overtly sexual adventure at my table (which is three couples), but I think the hook of rescuing someone from the testing chamber would completely work with my group without anyone being put off in any way. I think you've struck the right balance on a tricky topic where it would be fun for most people is what I'm trying to say.  Great job! 

Developer(+1)

Thank you I appreciate it! I could definitely add some more neon somewhere...

Submitted(+2)

Its a cool idea, a downtime location that draws the characters in to relieve stress but has a kind of modern sinister AI seduction racket going on. I found the menu on the back pretty unreadable, a script font at that size, light on dark was a challenging decision to justify. Some of the writing suffered from strange arrangement and could have been more brief and more evocative, though overall I like the subject and how it was presented. I am stoked you chose the Nymph as your ancient myth, its a classic and doesn’t get enough play in adventures. Solid entry.

Developer (2 edits)

Thank you for the feedback! I think the menu suffers more in terms of readability in the Services section, because the font size there is smaller (not deliberately).

Update: I made the menu cover the whole width of the back cover page, and increased font size, it looks and reads significantly better.

Submitted(+1)

With erotic themes, striking a balance between horror, deliberate allure, and care for player consent at the table can be quite the challenge. I believe this does a fantastic job with expectations from the cover onwards! Nymphs, sirens, and beguilers are so iconic that the theme really spoke for itself and what follows with "The Operation" explanation and hooks is fantastically ripe for Warden development. 

While in theory, short, this has a lot of potential as a location with complications and if not should be a memorable experience for tables that will appreciate and responsibly engage with the content. 

Developer (1 edit) (+1)

Thank you! Because of working with a theme like this, I put a lot of effort into making something that respects player and character agency, and I think the disclaimer on the first page really is necessary to get the point across to the Wardens.
I would recommend using it as a downtime location until a PC is beguiled (if they choose to be susceptible), and then introducing the adventure - if used as part of a longer campaign.