This was such a beautiful game and I really enjoyed my time it. Such a creative take on the theme, and I loved that life kept moving even if mistakes were made (I may have let the dog hang around the cake too long)
Really fantastic game, Depthid!
Play game
Captured's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Narrative | #77 | 4.310 | 4.310 |
| Creativity | #324 | 4.293 | 4.293 |
| Artwork | #414 | 4.328 | 4.328 |
| Enjoyment | #433 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| Audio | #1021 | 3.569 | 3.569 |
Ranked from 58 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?
Each scene is a race against the camera’s countdown, while the photos count forward through a life - from childhood to parenthood.
(Optional) Please credit all assets you've used
see description for full credits
Comments
Very cute game ! Broke the vase in the first picture and spent the others trying to find similar secrets to sway the pictures ! It was very cool to be able to make not perfect pictures without feeling like you lost.
Submitted
of Mice and MazesFor story games, l often feel they halt progress up until you get the right solution- here, I really appreciated that you could 'mess' things up, and still the game would find a way to justify it/make sense of it (much like in real life!) Overall, I had a good time with this, thanks for sharing :)
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Picture DayEasily the best game I have played in the jam! It is a unique concept that adds a lot of narrative depth to these bite size scenes. And I loved discovering that the minor choices you can make (choosing which toy for the boy to hold, or which additional objects to interact with) can actually effect the direction the narrative takes. Excellent work!
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A Decremental Survivors-Like GameThat was touching experience. If im completely honest it made me cry :') Amazing how someone can express so much with such simplicity (without counting the art of course, that was beautiful!). Thank you for this.
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Mr. Topps Electric Gauntletvery sweet take on the theme! i would love to see how you expand this & i think with more content this would be a hit for players who enjoyed A Little To The Left or Unpacking
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Earth OdditiesWonderful drawings. The vibe of the game is so comfy. I like the little choices you get to make that effect future photos. I played through it twice to see some different descriptions if you failed a task or made different choices. I love all the little details you put in this game that you didn't need to like how at the end you can flip back through the book if you want to and you can make the pencil on your desk move. Great job!
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Henry Needs HealthGreat game! A lovely way to interpret the theme and tell a story about the beauty of imperfections in our memories
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Down for the CountVery nice, love the theme interpretation and style. Huge potential. I like how the pace keeps moving whether you get the "perfect" shot or not (not that I missed any until the baby at the end). Nice bookending with the first and last shots too.
If you're going for something like Unpacking, I'd encourage you to spend some time thinking about the narrative you want to tell. What made Unpacking great was the very individual story told through environment. The main character's experiences were resonant with queer themes, while not being overly stereotypical either. Cliche details like bringing home tacky souvenirs from tourist destinations were mixed with unique details like the interest in drawing and TTRPGs, interests which evolved over the person's life. I'd honestly go further and argue that a lot of what makes Unpacking work is reliant on queer themes specifically, due to the lack of safe spaces & normalcy otherwise afforded to queer people.
What I mean is that if you intend to tell a story that spans two generations of heterosexual, single-child family dynamics, there's an inherent reduction in the tension of that narrative. Please don't take me too literally here and think I'm suggesting making everyone gay, there are many other ways to introduce tension, and it can be subtle things too, a little goes a long way...
One thing I'd be interested in exploring with this theme is how people often use photography to hide the truth. I've seen a lot of group holiday photos where everyone looks like their having a great time, but in my memory of the day everyone was tired and grumpy from travel and spending way too long with each other! Hiding the socks in the basket was a good example of this.
Another game which might be good inspiration is "Little Problems: A Cosy Detective Game", which has a similar low-stakes daily life focus but manages to tell a nice story with a sequence of frozen moments in time, similar to what you're doing here.
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Sour Tin RacingFirst of all, thank you for playing! I’m really glad you enjoyed it so much! <3
And wow, I really appreciate such detailed feedback. This is exactly the kind of response that helps me think more clearly about how the game could grow.
My current idea is to expand it through multiple albums rather than only extending this one story. That would let each album follow a different person or family, with its own identity, relationships, conflicts, and tone. A queer story could absolutely be one of them. I’d rather establish that as part of the character from the beginning than turn identity into a branching choice.
I understand your point about this album lacking stronger conflict, although that was partly intentional. I wanted the first story to feel warm, light, and introductory. So I would expand this story with such moments. In a fuller version, I’d like later albums to explore more complicated lives, while also allowing important choices to affect which memories, relationships, and destinations appear. (so there would be more branches of one story) I think a great composition would be if every album revolved around a specific feeling.
I also really like your idea about photography hiding the truth. These particular scenes were meant to be genuinely happy memories, but that theme could become much stronger in later albums. For example through social media performance, hidden depression, family tension, or simply the difference between how a day looked in the photo and how it actually felt.
This was genuinely helpful and gave me a much clearer direction for future development. Thank you again for taking the time to write all of this!
Amazing job! You managed to make a jam game seem polished enough to be a full game! I love the art style, the story, and all the tiny details. This concept is something I'd love to see explored in greater depth. I also love all the little details, like the pencil moving when you click it.
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CountDOWn to WINSo so beautiful, and feels polished enough for a full release. Absolutely incredible work. Feels very much like Unpacking, but I actually like the shorter "levels" here, and the ability to move people in addition to objects. I think a mobile version would work really well owing to the touchscreen interface making the interactions feel even more natural. Looking forward to seeing it on the app store!
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Space ExpressGood idea, and I liked the fact that you didn't have to get the pictures perfect.
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In a Mascot MinuteOh man, love the hand-drawn art. The idea is so creative, count down before the camera takes photo. Really good entry.
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Cherries of WillowmereWhat a cute game! Love the artwork and the little details like chosing the toy. Congrats!
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Cat Against the Machine
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