The illustrations stand out wonderfully - especially the contrast between the black and white sketches and the vibrant plant on the windowsill.
The narrative is told in a subtle way, leaving a lot to the imagination, but steering just enough to give a strong impression of the emotional state of the player.
When the calls hit the answering machine, my heart sank! What is excellent about this game is the way it eases you into the story, and you don’t quite realise how invested you are in it until that point.
As mentioned before the one sided conversation was interesting and risky as the player doesn't know what the protagonist was going through. Then again some context clues were provided through how her friend. I'm guessing a bad break up?
When the friend stopped responding it was immersive since we felt the only connection to the outside world, to others, and it is momentarily gone. We are then left to our own devices. To only focus on the plant. I think there could have been more context clues to help with the intrigue. Though understand we have to make sure to deliver a project within the time limit. I enjoyed the black and white art and the contrast with color when you worked on the plant.
It's a risky decision to tell the story from only one side of the conversations but it worked out.
Although it remains a mystery what caused moving in to a different place. I guess [SPOILER] the belongings of a male who was close to the protagonist are still packaged because he is not there, maybe some accident happened. Maybe that is why everything besides the plant is black and white - because the protagonist is depressed and struggling to find meaning? That's good environmental storytelling.
Sure, the plant grows but not the protagonist it seems. Essentially the protagonist is mute and it is not clear what s/he feels or thinks. It's sort of vicarious existance through the plant. Maybe the plant is a metaphor for the protagonist? Maybe as the plant blossoms the protagonist heals? It's too vague...
In terms of story plot - it's too little: outside of the plant care, switching between three scenes about everyday actions being repeated. Probably that's intentional but not especially interesting. With so little context the game is too predictable and there is no sense of closure or ending.
You can definitely expand the game with more backstory and possibly some ending. Good luck!
I really dig the contrast between the (beautiful) black/white scribbles of your daily life and the colorful plant, it evokes the feeling of “the one part of the day that keeps you going” quite well.
I love the one-sided dialogue as well. So much that is transported in the references and answers of a conversation that makes it much more natural and emotional than if everything was spelled out!
I know that “handling the plant wrong” is not an option for this type of game, but I’d have loved to interact with this centerpiece more. A more involved and haptic way of telling what the plant needs and administering the treatment would be a great addition, if you plan to keep working on this.
Well done!! A lot of lovely things are going on here. Loved the art in this! The style was lovely and I loved the black and white transition screens as well. Very effective.
Comments
The illustrations stand out wonderfully - especially the contrast between the black and white sketches and the vibrant plant on the windowsill.
The narrative is told in a subtle way, leaving a lot to the imagination, but steering just enough to give a strong impression of the emotional state of the player.
When the calls hit the answering machine, my heart sank! What is excellent about this game is the way it eases you into the story, and you don’t quite realise how invested you are in it until that point.
As mentioned before the one sided conversation was interesting and risky as the player doesn't know what the protagonist was going through. Then again some context clues were provided through how her friend. I'm guessing a bad break up?
When the friend stopped responding it was immersive since we felt the only connection to the outside world, to others, and it is momentarily gone. We are then left to our own devices. To only focus on the plant. I think there could have been more context clues to help with the intrigue. Though understand we have to make sure to deliver a project within the time limit. I enjoyed the black and white art and the contrast with color when you worked on the plant.
Best of luck
Nice game, thank you.
It's a risky decision to tell the story from only one side of the conversations but it worked out.
Although it remains a mystery what caused moving in to a different place. I guess [SPOILER] the belongings of a male who was close to the protagonist are still packaged because he is not there, maybe some accident happened. Maybe that is why everything besides the plant is black and white - because the protagonist is depressed and struggling to find meaning? That's good environmental storytelling.
Sure, the plant grows but not the protagonist it seems. Essentially the protagonist is mute and it is not clear what s/he feels or thinks. It's sort of vicarious existance through the plant. Maybe the plant is a metaphor for the protagonist? Maybe as the plant blossoms the protagonist heals? It's too vague...
In terms of story plot - it's too little: outside of the plant care, switching between three scenes about everyday actions being repeated. Probably that's intentional but not especially interesting. With so little context the game is too predictable and there is no sense of closure or ending.
You can definitely expand the game with more backstory and possibly some ending. Good luck!
I really dig the contrast between the (beautiful) black/white scribbles of your daily life and the colorful plant, it evokes the feeling of “the one part of the day that keeps you going” quite well.
I love the one-sided dialogue as well. So much that is transported in the references and answers of a conversation that makes it much more natural and emotional than if everything was spelled out!
I know that “handling the plant wrong” is not an option for this type of game, but I’d have loved to interact with this centerpiece more. A more involved and haptic way of telling what the plant needs and administering the treatment would be a great addition, if you plan to keep working on this.
Well done!! A lot of lovely things are going on here. Loved the art in this! The style was lovely and I loved the black and white transition screens as well. Very effective.
I liked the game's cozy vibe... It's a good play when one is looking for something casual and not very high staked. Good game!