I'm hope I'm just being a dingus, but I'm having trouble opening the game after I download and extract the file. Nothing seems to want to open for me and the few that do are not the game. Sorry :( I wish there was a private DM capability on itch - I didn't want to sully the comment section of your game (especially if I am just being dense, lol.) but I would really like to play it!
Viewing post in Checked Out: Chapter One jam comments
Well it seems like you got it fixed! I'm so glad because I was happy to have played it.
It has such a quaint charm to it (I hope that connotes positively because I think it's quite lovely).
First, the hand scrawled font added a personal touch to the narrative which enhanced the players centric point of view. It looks nice and is readable. The music also adds to the sort of easy going atmosphere you've created. Between the handful of characters there is no need for something big and flashy so it's great! It's also not distracting, which makes it perfect. The characters are cute and the chalk/crayon brush style for the art really solidifies the tone.
I almost want to comment on the pace being too slow, but I'm really not sure if it is. The sort of meandering motion of the story calls for something more relaxed so I think it was the right call!
The only thing that stood out too me as having space for improvement is the terminal section where the player guides him through fixing the mess Calvin had made of Irene's system. I think it could be punched up a bit, made to be snappier and more...exciting? (for lack of a better term). Calvin is owning his mistakes and showing humility. I think you should/can lean into that and pull the focus away from the terminal itself. We (the player) can trust things are getting resolved on that end and that allows for the focus to shift back to Calvin proper and our budding relationship with him.
I think this is a good start to a story it seems like you intend on continuing! I hope you do!
Nice work!
p.s. Madame Maple is the best