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Ah! Ça ira's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Narrative | #3 | 4.700 | 4.700 |
| Creativity | #612 | 4.167 | 4.167 |
| Audio | #828 | 3.633 | 3.633 |
| Artwork | #1054 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| Enjoyment | #1590 | 3.600 | 3.600 |
Ranked from 30 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
How does your game fit the theme?
Count down until the excecution of the count
(Optional) Please credit all assets you've used
see description for full credits
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Comments
Love this idea. I don't think you needed to excuse anything before the game started! Let the mechanics play out and the player can discover meaning for themselves. It is a bit complicated though. I do understand you're in a bit of bind for a jam, where if you don't say that there's "no scores, no puzzles to solve, and no optimal choices" then people will complain about it. If you do say that, then it perhaps robs the "choices" you do make of even the potential feeling of impact. I think you ultimately made the right choice, prompting people for what to expect. And I did like the game, the writing is great!
Thanks! Well, from my past jam experience, some people said they were confused by what they were supposed to do. Since, in the end, people play games to have a good time, and our personal time is limited, I prefer allowing people to skip this game as soon as possible if it's not what they will enjoy. But yeah, I understand it kind of 'spoiled' the whole thing
Amazing work. You reminded me of how games are such a unique art form. They can make us ponder life's questions just as effectively (if not more) as the greatest novels of history. Never stop making art.
Thank you very much! I agree totally with you. Since playing BioShock, I’ve realized that no other medium is better than video games for questioning our choices. I couldn't stop making art if I wanted to! The only thing that could stop me is the soul-draining job I might have to take after graduation! Meanwhile, I will continue from my bedroom in my mom's house haha
There was something that felt very powerful about this little shot. Perhaps it gave a strong sense of the contemplation he was going through? I'm not too sure, but I find games rarely include simple interactions like this that are meaningful/thematically related (or at least not with pure images), and give you room to exist in a space.
Great work on the writing and characters, they felt believable and distinct. I thought the art was lovely, props on that walk animation heh. Only gameplay note- on my second run, I stayed to look at the window for a bit, and I heard maybe three knocks. By the time I went to the door, there was only the Revolutionary character left (so I'm assuming it cycled through all of them?). Might be nice just to keep them knocking if you want the player to experience them all, or to at least have it so they knock for a bit before leaving.
Anyway, had a wonderful time with it!
Thank you very much! Yeah, I thought contemplating the sky behind bars summarized the whole game.
I spent so much time on that walk animation, I redid it several times because all the templates had chibi proportions or walked like a proud cowboy, which didn't make much sense in a tiny cell. In last year's jam, the player was a ghost for that reason haha
The player can ignore the npcs, it's on purpose. If the player meets no one, he has the "despair" ending. But yeah, the timing is probably a bit tight to reach them.
A short yet thought-provoking story! The character's facial expressions and interactions with objects are beautifully detailed. It's truly a piece of art. My favorite part is the iron-barred window showing the sky outside—it really gives a sense of lost freedom, and a helpless feeling of being so close to, yet so far from, the sky.
Thanks! The character's facial expressions felt a bit rushed for me so I'm glad they work! The sky scene is important for me too. It's the first scene I've made after coding player movement because it summarizes everything this game is about.
Love the slowness and the letter writing. Fantastic dialogue as well.
Thanks! Slowness isn't always appreciated in video games, but speed wouldn't make much sense here
Depressing but in a fun way. Also liked being able to just look out the window. One thing to consider is I would have liked to be able to make the screen bigger.
Haha, that's a compliment! I didn't think about resizing the window; my bad. If I don't forget, I will correct that
WOW THIS GAME Just pushed the bar for Narrative category to the roof! very interesting game! i dont know if it was designed but the music stopped right as i finished my letter. it felt very dramatic. the character building was super interesting as well. WELL DONE!
Thank you very much! The music is a happy coincidence haha
Lovely art, great choice of music and the best dialogues I've seen so far! Bravo le jeu est vraiment cool !
Merciiii !
Great narrative, the dialogue was top notch and I felt like each branch had real weight to it
Thanks!
Really enjoy the visual!
Thanks!
This was such a beautiful game! It’s rare to see a thoughtful narrative game in a jam like this, and you absolutely nailed it. Nice work!
Thank you very much! Since the GMTK rating system allows not being perfect in all categories, I focused on what mattered to me
Beautiful narrative, I was surprised with how much I ended up enjoying this. Well done.
Thanks! I'm glad people enjoy it despite it not being a "fun" game
Not going to lie, my first thought when I read the description was "Oh god..." But then when I started playing, the writing and way things continued, just superb. Great little experience.
Thank you!
Yeah, maybe I was too cautious with trigger warnings, but I wasn't in the most optimistic mood when making it (there is a wildfire close to my house, I explained on the game description page). Since the game asks you to think about your death, depending on what's going on in your life when you play it, I thought it might not be good for some people.
don't really like narrative game in general, but this is pretty fun. heavy Le Dernier Jour d'un condamné vibe.
Thanks! I'm surprised that people are calling this game fun haha
I haven't read it but yeah, I know that book. If I remember correctly, we don't know why Le dernier jour d'un condamné's protagonist is condemned. Even though it's not explicit, since the game is set during the French Revolution, my protagonist is executed for basically being born and living the life of a nobleman instead of a crime in particular, like a murder. So for me, it's less about the death penalty and more about what we do with people accomplice of an exploitative system.
Loved the concept and execution (lol). I wish the game had a restart button at the end to make it easier to start from the beginning. Would love to see more of this, very good job
Thanks! (Nice pun!)
Sorry, I thought people would just reload the page. At the beginning, there were supposed to be more npc and activities to do in the cell with a time mechanic (a bit like the longing) but I had to scale down for the jam
What a cool game! This is the first one I played, and I love what you did with the setting! Really cool characters and thoughts, in just three dialogues. Wish you all the best for the jam!
Thank you very much!
Very unique take on the theme!
Thanks! Actually the idea came from the GMTK page. "It could be a countdown to zero. Numbers going down. Time going backwards. A depressed person with a historical title of nobility". I wondered what could make a Count sad and the French Revolution is one of the answers.