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Team members
Solo! ^^
Software used
Godot 4.5 - Aseprite - Audacity - FLStudio
Use of the limitation
I made it about a person's inner warmth. If they lose that flame, their soul is gone....
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Played this last night and it left me absolutely awe struck, to the point that I had no idea on how to rate it or what even were my thoughts on it besides "wow". Came back to give it another go today and I've got a much clearer idea on how everything fits together, which is why I'm leaving this comment a day later after much musing.
To preface any gameplay critique, I think this is an excellent game that has a clear goal in communicating something important, and absolutely bats it out of the park. The presentation is immaculate; gorgeous visuals, great music and a brilliant attention to detail with the effect design; the subject matter is terribly dark but also treated respectfully and with the gravity it deserves; and it's a very unique take on the theme & limitation of the jam.
As for the gameplay itself, besides the balance being a bit out of wack, my main issue is that depending on how you approach it it takes way too long to get through for the amount of decisions it has. For my first playthrough, I made a few choices that were wrong in non-obvious ways while I was still learning the ropes, and ended up with decently high stress, low energy, and very low warmth very early on, and spent ages trying to figure out the optimal actions each week in order to avoid maxing out stress/letting warmth or energy hit zero. By the time I made it to winter it'd been like 20 minutes of gameplay, I was getting tired, and seeing Week 14/52 without much substantial change week-per-week was extremely demoralizing. It wasn't so bad on my next playthroughs the following day (I managed to get to Week 52 in just over 15 minutes), but it didn't leave the best first impression in that regard. It's a tough problem that I think would be very hard to diagnose in the first place, and I don't know how you could fix it without handholding the player or adding a bunch more unique events - the former would neuter the impact of the game and the latter is obviously not feasible given the scope of the jam. Best I can think of is a little timer that's not too harsh, maybe 20 seconds per week or so, but enough to prevent decision paralysis and establish the intended pace of the game a little better.
Other nitpicks that were noticeable in the gameplay front include:
With all that out of the way, wow. Just wow. What an experience It was so subtle the first time around, I didn't notice the minigame getting harder, the colours getting dimmer, and the border creeping in. It wasn't until I was at 90/10 that I realized that something was definitely wrong. Like I alluded to earlier, the game had me feeling tired, demoralized, and I just wanted it to be over already. I started making careless decisions, my stress hit 100 and I was given a choice. I wanted to finish the game, and it let me. Time Cut Short.
I have thankfully never been in a situation like the main character of this game, but I've been close to people who have, and spent several years when I was quite a bit younger teetering on the edge between progress & connection, and isolation & stagnation. So being put in these shoes, feeling the desperation and impossibility of it all, and then coming to terms with the choice I'd made because of it. It stuck with me all day, and it will probably stick with me for a long time.
I tried again the next day. Making it to spring and seeing the flowers was such a nice feeling. "Walkin' The White" felt like a trap option, but now I could just go outside and smell the flowers. Finally, a choice without drawbacks. The minigame was so much easier, the flames were huge and so tranquil. Even when I drank too much Monster and they were zipping around from the stress, it was easy! Winter had been soul-crushing and the warmth of spring felt so freeing, that reverse difficulty spike is such an elegant way to convey narrative emotion through mechanics. I made it to the good ending this time - I was expecting something a little more upbeat besides just making it out, but compared to the bad endings (I did play through again and got the zero warmth one as well, no idea what the last one is) it's definitely a victory!
This is not a fun game, or even a very enjoyable game, but it is a good game. An excellent game, even. Sometimes we forget that games are an art form just as much as they are entertainment, and art that resonates with us is just as important as art that makes us smile. This seems like it comes from a deeply personal place, and it looks like it resonated with people here, as it resonated with me.
Well done Lily. Never stop making art.
WOAH! Very cool and extremely polished! The corrupt/crazy effects are super well done and interesting! I made it to the end of the year but I definitely lost my inner warmth along the way, if it were a shorter experience i would definitely try for all of the endings :)
<333
1 ending is still fire tho!
Let me get a couple constructive things out of the way first, so I can yap about everything I liked. The game is almost perfect to me, just a couple spots to polish.
Couple of the cards have contrast issues: Evening, Sunshine +Stress and Sunset -Energy
I played a couple rounds on my phone, this game is particularly a good fit for mobile. I'm not sure if I'm imagining it, but it felt like putting the flames to rest was much harder with touch compared to mouse. My guess is maybe Godot Hi-DPI settings make the touch point smaller than a mouse cursor at 1080p.
Okay now that that's out of the way ....
I should know better by now but, the initial gameplay and the lofi beats to study to made me immediately forget the content warning. The first time I got one of *those* cards, I was like WHAT DO YOU MEAN ... oh right. Making a wild guess that Omori might be a source of inspiration here for visceral storytelling through UI.
Morbid curiosity is one of those things where video games are the perfect medium to explore. Maybe an overused example but Undertale/Deltarune exploit this curiosity very well, and I got similar feelings here like when my stress meter was almost full, but energy is low. How bad could a quick GG EZ really be?
Point being, I think it's smart not to tutorialize too much about the stats/resources, beyond whatever the player might need to get started. There should already be an implied understanding that too much or too little will lead to consequences. The UI provided several good hints when this was happening, like music cutting out, or how the colors desaturated when warmth got low. Best to let the player put the pieces together in their head, and I think it worked well here.
The most interesting experiences this game provides are not the result of skilled gameplay or informed resource management, though you can certainly try (and is more or less required for two of the endings)(edit: I agreed with most of Halfbar's critiques except this one). While I was working on the < 50 warmth ending, I had to make some ... *creative* ... decisions to make it through the year, including strategic
overd"self care". It's a little tonally dissonant, but kinda funny too.But really, I don't believe that, as an art piece, this is a game that you're supposed to "win". The final interpretation kind of does belong to the player, but it's clear that you as the creator are trying to communicate to the audience how difficult it can be sometimes to just make it through a year. To me, it's extremely relatable, and people who can relate to this can really benefit from reminders they're not alone in feeling that way.
This might be the best review i've received so far...
Some parts of it made me chuckle even! ToT
funny enough I have yet to play Omori actually! O.O
I have played many others like Needy Streamer Overload (this game is partially quite simmilar), Doki Doki, etc
And i have such a long history and fascination towards gamedesign and how psychological horror is done in games. The sound design in DDLC, the off-key disturbed version of the OST when going insane in YanSim, all of it! I've been making music for a while that hits the uncanny uncomfortable spot (though I didnt have time to make such song for this game due to the time sadge :< I will later for sure though!)
oops i might be yapping
for the critique,
- I have noticed the contrast issues on that summer card. (and a bit on the energy drink one), thx for pointing out though!
- Tbh i was surprised when i realized my game didnt even use the keyboard, and it worked on phone T^T it might be a little more difficult but if the text is still readable enough, then i could make a mobile version that simply increases the size of those flames!
besides that,
- I'm so happy that the game doesnt really have a tutorial. I didnt plan for a tutorial and didnt really notice it wasnt much needed. its insane how many of you understood the connection to the stats that change the flames' behaviour ^o^
I also feel like the expression of such struggles was my main goal, also considering almost all dialogue can naturally and I didnt even think a second about what it would say-
but anyway, yeah.. it's not easy
it's balancing things that would seem simple on the surface, but the struggles are real. and it's okay to not be the best at life at times..
Thank you for your review<3
I'm just learning today about Needy Streamer Overload, and DDLC is on my list, can't wait to try them. Psychological horror is so fascinating, it's so effective at examining the dark corners of our humanity.
A perfect takeaway.
<333
and yeah they are really interesting games! It's all so complex >v<
I could totally see a full game being made with this base. Different mini-games and such to calm the souls down, with different difficulties depending on the stress levels like you have now. It's really cool! Also super dark and real, but I really like it. Also great work on the art!
Ill have to plan out a lot of stuff beforehand so i don't mess things up- if we're talking a full version ><
I am also starting to see the potential myself because of all this nice support!
Thank you for trying it out!
I love the concept, the art and the gameplay. One of the best game jam I'va ever seen! :D
<3333
Okaaayyy, this is on another level!!!
It reminds me of that game with the streamer girl, but I can't remember its name XD
We need a full version of this game!!!
The art style is really nice, the concept is super interesting, and now I need my 30-minute YouTube video with some guy speaking in a deep, calm voice explaining the entire lore XDDDD
Seriously, amazing work, especially considering how little time you had to make this!!
Oh no, this game is cute~ like 10 seconds playing and I'm already craving for the full game!
I enjoy this game like alot, you should release it on Steam.
Giving me Needy Streamer vibes.
Kudos!
gahhhh thank u smmmmmm!
maybe I'll be able to publish a full version on steam in the future o.0
I'll do my best! 🙏BLESS🙏
Very creative idea for a game, definitely stands out from others in the jam. I thought the sound effects, artwork, and story were very well done!
TYSM<3
I played the game several times, and I have to say, it's genuinely quite interesting! Here are a few things I'd like to highlight.
Despite the issues with resource management and the limited value of certain elements, the game looks fantastic and plays quite well overall. And that's especially impressive when you consider that the entire game was made in such a short amount of time by one person - and I really do mean ONE person.
It's great to see that you managed to meet the deadline and bring the game to such a polished state. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on your progress and hoping to see more great things from you. And who knows, maybe we'll get the chance to work together someday!
Either way, this is genuinely great work. Well done! ❤️
Your feedback is so constructed, I can improve a lot with this, many thanks!
It is true that the balancing is quite off, to be honest I had little to zero time to really take my time and playtest it for it's balancing. and its an area ill have to really figure out in the future. I do intend to make a major balancing update that doesn't necessarily add more content, but makes the base-experience super refined, so I can add new content onto stable ground!
I'll really take into account all your POI's ^^
I want to make it a little more separated from NSO, as it could be quite similar. I'll think about extra minigames or features that expand beyond the initial concept!
"I noticed that some development effort went into this screen"
I think you're talking about the minigame mostly
And yeah money needs a bigger role as well. balancing is so complex with every element multiplying the complexity x.x
Regarding the theme, because it was optional, and the game takes place in all 4 themes (a year), starting in autumn, I felt like it would mostly suffice. I do want to make the seasons more clear by having a more detailed background, which I can do now considering I do have the time for it now ^^
Your compliments are warming to hear though <3
I'll make sure to live up to the potential of this games future
A Little Warmth. What an amazing game! Really love that each stats affected how the minigame behaved. And going outside is so free
<33333 thank you!
Maybe I should learn from that one ToT
that was pretty good, it's good at giving the creepy feeling when things are getting wrong
This is a cute game. I liked the theme and the artstyle and the game is pretty balanced. I was a bit confused on what the "Put Them at ease" is, but overall great game :)
Thank you ^o^
The minigame is kinda symbolic and to your own interpretation, but story-wise its basically like thoughts or your little soul flames you have to put at ease. because they could give you sleepless nights sometimes ykkk x.x
if you meant mechanically, do you feel like i need to add some sort of clear instructions on what to do?
(im currently very glad I dont even have any tutorial or instructions needed so far ehe)
Mechanically they were good. The only thing is that I didnt understand when it would appear and to me they would appear randomly.
ah that makes sense, It's everytime you get past another full week (everything that takes you past the sunday)
I could look into making the week counter more obviously part of the gamedesign.
either way thank you for your clarification!
It's a really cool game honestly! The way you handled very serious topics while not being oppressive is very good. I did have some trouble reading the Evening, Sunshine stress and energy debuffs but nothing too bad. I loved how when times are hard for the character, music stops entirely, it's a great idea. In gerneral it was a great experience, I loved it!
This means so much to me, ty!! o.o <33333
I'm so glad that the topics and story comes across this nicely-
I didnt think too much about all the dialogue, it's just something i thought off naturally (may or may not be because it's relatable to myself... 0.o)
I'll have a look at that card for the next update, tysm for mentioning it ^^
This game is pretty cool, and I love the art style and sound design! I had a lot of fun with this, getting endings 1 and 4. I felt it was very satisfying when new cards were introduced, though at times, it takes quite a long while before seeing new cards. It would be cool to see what other cards you come up with if you choose to continue working on this.
Thank you so much for playing<3
I really appreciate hearing the experience from others, and im surprised you got 2 endings! (idk why, maybe bc i didnt have enough time to actually get all the endings legit bc time was running out T^T)
I'll DEFINITELY add more cards and some extra functions. I'm also considering a change in how some cards work to make them less effective over time, because 1 ending is very very hard to get right now because it requires many conditions that i am not able to all get at once tbh. so yeah I'll be updating the game soon ^^
Interesting story, but I found it a bit long for a game jam. I liked the art style and the soothing background music.
Thankyouu ^^
It might be a bit long yeah, though game-jam games dont have a strict duration-limit i dont think.
but i do understand it might be a little tedious to get an ending when there are so many games you still need to try out ^^"
Very pretty, very cool music, some choices really made me laugh, congrats for the game!
aaah yay tysm!!!!
Easy to understand and play but very deep. Eager to see how far it goes.
Ehe im glad it comes across! It will be a struggle to get through the entire year though, realistically hard sometimes...
Really great game! Would love to see more from it in the future :)
I might expand on it in the future!!!
I cant even say anything. Its a masterpiece, heck the funniest thing is, its a text based rpg/game. Great storytelling through the art and the atmosphere. Underrated. Needs more advertisement tbh
Omg tysm- I really appreciate itt x.x
I'm so glad people actually like my work! I've been making a lot of things but it's not really out there so i'd have no clue myself
And also no idea how I should advertise this project ><
I mean advertising is pretty hard, why not make a devlog?
hmm, not sure how I would go about that, also considering i dont like to do voiceovers- but i'll have to look into that stuff more ngl
Ok cool man goodluck tho! Also I'm preeeety sure you can do devlog without voiceovers like sneak peeks. Or showing the assets how they're made. Well I'm too nosy now, anyways good luck again
<3
this game is amazing, the art is beautiful, the music is great and it gives off a wonderful feeling, congratulations creator
Many thanks!!!!