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What sets were used in your game from Craftpix.net? (links please)
https://craftpix.net/product/library-inventory-top-down-pixel-art-asset-pack/, https://craftpix.net/product/bestiary-book-pixel-art-asset-pack/, https://craftpix.net/product/pixel-art-market-square-rpg-shop-and-npc-assets-pack/, https://craftpix.net/product/top-down-pixel-lich-character-sprites/, https://craftpix.net/product/swordsman-7-9-level-pixel-top-down-sprite-character-pack/, https://craftpix.net/product/pixel-art-bestiary-monsters-asset-pack-2/, https://craftpix.net/freebies/free-dungeon-platformer-pixel-art-tileset/, https://craftpix.net/product/slime-boss-pixel-art-2d-sprite-for-roguelike-games/, https://craftpix.net/product/platformer-pixel-art-tileset/
How does the game fit the theme?
Actually, reading about how the game fits the theme contains spoilers for the game’s story, so read at your own risk, especially if you haven’t played the game yet. The Game Jam themes are Ten, Celebrate, and Level Up. For Ten, I immediately based the idea around Craftpix’s 10th anniversary. In the game, it’s the tenth anniversary of the librarian’s husband disappearing. For Celebrate, there are two aspects: completing the Bestiary and rescuing the librarian’s husband. And Level Up isn’t a traditional level-up like you’d normally see in games, where you increase your own stats. Instead, you raise the humanity of the boss you have to defeat back up to ten, once again incorporating the Ten theme from the Game Jam. By doing so, the boss actually turns back into the librarian’s husband, who unfortunately never managed to escape the book after becoming part of it himself and ultimately becoming the final entry in the Bestiary.
How many people are on your team?
1
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Comments
Nice storytelling! I feel like the gameplay almost feels small compared to the world you've built around this, so I'd love to see this expanded on with all those little details youve brought tougether! Nice job here!
One of the best art I've ever seen in jams! I think if you improve the gameplay, it's a gameplay with a lot of potential. :D
I really liked having the game be played within the pages, that was super cool.
Neat little game, and I found it VERY impressive you made this in just three days.
The leveldesign and animations are very well put together, makes the world really feal alive! Impressive for that short development time!
This is an outstanding theme read. Ten / Celebrate / Level Up are woven into the premise instead of bolted on: the librarian’s 10th anniversary, celebration through completing the bestiary / helping someone return home, and a “level up” that restores humanity back toward 10. That is exactly the kind of Story & Theme Integration the jam asks for, and it feels intentional rather than forced.
Originality is excellent too. Framing the experience as visiting a library, receiving a cursed bestiary, then literally platforming inside the book’s final chapter is memorable and very streamable. Visual Design is one of the strongest parts of the jam so far — the animated town/library scenes, book presentation, portrait work, and Craftpix creature usage all feel cohesive. Audio Design also surprised me when the voiced line kicked in.
Gameplay Experience is shorter and lighter than the presentation suggests (mostly VN pacing plus one platforming set piece), but for a solo build made in under 20 hours that trade-off still works. My jam-side suggestions: add a couple of screenshots on the page so voters see the book/platformer fantasy immediately, list a genre tag, and maybe one more interactive beat before the ending so Gameplay Experience matches the visual ambition.
This is a high-rank contender on originality, theme, and presentation. Great work, JJampion!
God damn. Reading your comment genuinely makes me really happy.
As I said, unfortunately, I just didn’t have enough time to give the game the level of polish and love it deserved, let alone add more content and features. So seeing that someone immediately understood the vision behind it, even with the limited amount of time I had to actually develop it, is incredibly motivating and honestly just a really nice feeling.
I was genuinely struggling toward the end, too. I normally always use version control, usually through a GitHub repository with Fork as my Git client, but for some reason I didn’t do it this time, and that almost broke me. About half an hour before the jam ended, I accidentally deleted the entire "boss fight" scene. Luckily, I had duplicated it beforehand, so I was able to use that as a backup. I had simply disabled all the objects I didn’t need at the time, so I spent the remaining half hour restoring everything and quickly recreating the player movement settings as closely as I could to how I originally had them.
And yeah, that’s also why it’s a development build. Otherwise, I simply wouldn’t have made it in time.
Thank you so much for playing the game and for leaving such a genuinely lovely comment/review. It really means a lot!
Its not my type of game but I do like the Idea. Had some fun playing it ;)