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A jam submission

SKEINView game page

Lead a skein of geese south through one night. Hold the line, and hand over the lead before the front bird tires.
Submitted by CSAF β€” Core Systems Asset Factory (@CSAFactory) β€” 7 days, 14 hours before the deadline
Rated by 8 people so far
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SKEIN's itch.io page

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Design Statement
We could not listen to the track, so we measured it: one minute in F minor at about 60 beats a minute, a quiet and sparse opening, a sudden turn at 21 seconds when the whole ensemble arrives at once, and a held chord at the end that never resolves. SKEIN turns those three parts into three acts. ALONE: a single goose in the dusk, finding the others by their calls; each goose that joins brings one more instrument into the score, so the music grows as the flock does. THE FLYWAY: when all seven are together the night opens, the full arrangement arrives, and the flight becomes fast and shared. ARRIVAL: the skein comes down onto the dawn sea under an unresolved chord. The 60 BPM pulse is the wingbeat: a wingbeat on the pulse is stronger, and handing over the lead on the pulse keeps the line clean. The front bird works hardest and tires, so the core choice is when to let another lead. Nothing is ever hurt; a tired goose simply comes down to rest.

Game Instructions (launch steps, controls, and gameplay overview)
Play in the browser on the itch page (press Run game), or download the Windows build, unzip it and run SKEIN.exe (no install). Beat your wings: Space, Z or Enter, left click, tap, or gamepad A. A beat on the pulse (the small lamp at the top swells on every beat) is stronger and cheaper. Climb and dive: arrows or W S, the mouse above or below the lead goose, drag, or the left stick. Hand over the lead: X or Shift, right click, the LEAD button on touch, or gamepad B. Esc or P pauses, M mutes, F fullscreen. Act I: fly close to the calling geese to gather all seven. Act II: hold the V so the birds behind can draft, ride the wind rivers, give the lead to a rested bird before a headwind, and keep the skein together through the storm. Act III: glide down onto the dawn sea. One flight is about three minutes; the result shows how many of the seven came home.

Gameplay walkthrough video
https://github.com/onefreeman1337/csaf-releases/releases/download/skein-v1.0.0/skein_walkthrough.mp4

Did your project use any AI tools or assets? If yes, please specify.
Yes. This game contains AI-generated content. The code, the goose sprites, the clouds and every word of text were written with AI tools (Claude). The backdrops come from our own Verdant Battlebacks pack, drawn by AI-written procedural code (no image model). The score is original: composed and sequenced by AI-written code and played through sampled instruments (MuseScore General soundfont, MIT licence). No AI audio model generated any sound, and the jam's theme track is not used in the game.

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Comments

Submitted

Even though I couldn't read the text, it was very intuitive—just by looking at the text and the fatigue bars, I knew what to do, which allowed me to enjoy the game and finish it. It's a very well-implemented concept.

Developer
Thank you for playing it through to the end. We're glad the fatigue bars carried it when the text didn't, that was the idea: you should be able to read the flock from the bars alone.

DAMN, WHAT A GREAT GAME. I felt every situation—it really moved me. Thanks for reminding me of what has been by my side to help me go further. It’s a beautiful reflection.

Developer
Thank you, that means a lot. The whole game is about the birds taking turns at the front so the tired ones can rest, so we're really glad that part came through for you.
Submitted

I enjoyed this game, although the initial instructions disappeared before I could read them so I feel I missed some of the core gameplay.

Developer

Thank you for playing, and for saying so. You are right, the opening cards leave too fast. The short version: Space, click or tap beats your wings, and a beat on the pulse (the lamp at the top) gives more lift. X or right click hands the lead to a rested goose before the front bird tires. Find the six lost geese by their calls and hold the V so the birds behind can draft. When all seven fly together the night opens up. The full controls are under How to play on the game page. We have logged the card timing as a bug.

Submitted

Thank you! I missed that you could beat on the pulse, which is a nice mechanic. Great work. 

Submitted

Too many texts were appearing and going away before I get the chance to read and understand them, so I was mostly confused throughout the game trying to catch up. Feels cohesive in its own right though, I really like the dithery visual style.

Developer

Thanks for playing, and for saying exactly where it lost you. That's fair: too much text arriving and leaving while you're also holding the line is a real problem, not a reading problem on your side. We've written it down for the build after the rating period. Glad the dithered look worked for you.

Submitted

I love the goose concept and the art direction. However, it lacks depth in gameplay. The background could make it follow the rest of the environment eg the clouds so that they move together. 

Developer(+1)

Thank you, glad the geese landed. The depth point is fair for a single night run. Tying the background motion to the clouds so the sky moves as one is a good suggestion, and it's on our list for after the rating period.