itch.io

THIS WAS GREAT!!!! 

I was so immersed throughout. The way you handle the narrative is so well done!! It felt like I was watching a movie? It was so immersive, maybe because the text only progresses after you click, and the visual effects and the sound effects were SO good. The back and fourth pacing between the present/past was very cool, and it was done so naturally.

And for the writing.. I loved the atmosphere. The setting with the Thirst and the shelters, it makes you really wonder what happened in this world, the vibe is very post-apocalyptic and dark.. it was awesome. I also found myself rooting for the two characters the entire time....TT..Just wondering, are you planning to develop more chapters?? I really would love to know if they've reached the shelter and if Zenka actually develops feelings for him, if it will be a happy ending for them, and also maybe get more exposition on the environment as well. Anyhow, thank you for making this, this was such a fun experience!! 

Just saw this!! Thanks for your reply xDD 

 It's interesting to see the thoughts from the dev themselves!!! The red-herring really is an interesting choice, I really enjoyed the two variations (as soon as I finished one choice, I had to go look at the other). Also side note, at first thought I expected Joshua to be secretly having hidden intentions(?) inside, but it turns out he was just a cutie pie xDD I really enjoyed his character too, and appreciated that he really was just a good friend and didn't want to cross boundaries. Also I realized that in my initial comment I forgot to mention some other things that I liked, such as the fanfic in the game (it felt realistic! they were fun to read xD) , the representation of being gay and asexual (it really was interesting to see the world through a character like this), and this might be a small thing but I also enjoyed the texting scenes between Joshua and Lewis both in the narrative sense and technical sense (I didn't know you could do that in renpy??omg). Anyhow, thanks again for the wild experience xDD Really loved it! 

WAIT OMG HI?? I LOVED UR GAME OMFG. I'm just catching up to my notifs and I'm really happy you got to play my game 🥺🥺😭😭

I don't even know what to say about the compliments!!! AAAAAAAAAHHH I'm really glad you liked them!!! For the bgs/cg, I was researching various ways on how to make/create backgrounds, and it was actually the first time I learned the dithering technique! and as soon as I saw it I immediately wanted to use it xD and thank you for noticing the color matrices, that was so eye opening for me HAHA (initially i rendered all my sprites in dark overlay and realized that there should prob be a better way to handle this)! as for the narrative, I actually wasn't considering to use that much NVL but while writing the story and the characters, I realized that the NVL format would work very well so I just went for it! I was a bit worried that I might have TOO much NVL but I'm happy that you found it to be blending together quite well! :))) (ALSO I agree with Deja Vu Sans LOL I really didn't want that font to be the default for my game because I didn't like how it looked so I spent some time trying to find a font to replace it😭)

For the narrative, I'm really happy you enjoyed the writing and found Jackston relatable!!! I also do have lots of personal experiences (pressure, friends, anxiety) that is very much portrayed throughout the game through Jackston, and I've also had friends telling me the same thing, but right now reading your comments and other comments for my game across the globe I really do realize once again that it is a universal feeling that many of us go through once in our lives :') I think because these issues (anxiety, jealousy) are very common growing up, it wasn't too difficult to write a narrative like this.. 

I also found the character writings very fun for this project xD Especially with Jed, who always seems like the best among everything - I enjoyed writing his character so that it would mirror Jackston in a way that Jackston himself doesn't see it, so it's revealed at the end towards the viewer AND to Jackston himself :D As for the platonic relationship, yes it shows as a more platonic vibe throughout the game, I only added a very few handful scenes that (kinda) implies romantic vibes xD I actually kept it extremely subtle/implicit throughout the game haha, so that the readers can just interpret the relationship however they would like :) 

For the choices in the father scene, thanks for pointing that out!!! I actually thought that that specific part was a bit awkward HAHA (and I secretly hoped no one would notice it LOL - I didn't know what to do with it lololll) but YES thank you for explaining the mechanics!!! I didn't know you could do that!! Wow I am really learning new things every day... I'll definitely try to keep an eye out for the next update - though I think I will probably be busy from now on, I'll try to handle the issue when I can :))

Thanks for taking your time to analyze and comment about my work, really means a LOT a LOT. Glad you enjoyed it!! Also thank you for the follow too??😭😭 I too am looking forward to your other games!! I went through your itchio page and you have lots fun projects listed :)) Thanks so much again for ur time, you really made my day!!!<33

wow!!! I just saw this, thank you so much for the analysis + ur comment!!!

I'm really glad you liked that scene! It was one of the hardest scenes to come up with, I had to think hard on how I could portray jackston's father as the most... authoritative/eerie/psychologically unsettling figure as much as possible.. and yes every single point you listed makes sense :) Especially the last part, I whole heartedly agree. I think many people (including myself) had a point in their childhood/growing up where we would want approval from someone, but we feel like we never reach it. nonetheless, i'm really glad the scene successfully managed to portray these things to the reader :)) 

Again, thank you so much for your kind words ߹𖥦߹ really made my day!!!

hi, thanks for playing!!! :))) it seems like the father scene is well liked, which is unexpected xDD Thanks again!

thank you so much for playing!!! <33 yes i also hope jackston finds happiness!!

ive been wanting to play the game ever since i saw it on the yaoi game jam submission, and i was glad i finally got the time to play it.. AND THIS WAS ABSOLUTELY NUTS, ITS CRAZY

(spoilers for the game!!!)

 Just like the other comment, literally nothing could have prepared me for that I was going into. I've read the trigger warnings, but i wanted to experience the thing blind, so i just playing the game right away..but obv i overestimated myself because throughout the game i was SCARED LOL and just as I thought it couldn't get worse, it kept going worse like a train wreck i couldn't stop 😭

First of all i rlly liked how you represent the different emotions/feelings into different colors, and during the progression of the game we get to know what they are, like hope/depression... and the way you showed them through different voices like they were all speakers (like inside out) was rlly well executed! it was absolutely scary to see lewis destroying them one by one as he got progressively worse😭 during the game i kept secretly wishing for a happy ending with the emotions being alive again, but nope..omg... every scene that progressed, with lewis objectively getting skinnier and unhealthier and bruised, it gave a sense of dread i can't even explain

and a side note, talking about happy endings, for the 2 choices we could decide at the party (following joshua / leave the party), initially i followed joshua, but we all know what followed after. so i thought maybe going outside will be better, and when i saw the star scenery i had some bit of hope, but NOOOPE, the scenes after that is even worse than what i had with joshua omg i couldn't stop screaming throughout the game..holy..😭

you rlly nailed the psych horror genre, especially the trope of the main character being pushed and pushed until they're at their absolute limit, it's like watching a tragedy. initially lewis was relatable - a kid in college, a try hard to fit in, etc - but as he became worse at one point i think he stops being relatable, i think it was when he stopped taking his meds and started to develop his unhealthy obsession for gabriel. overall this was NUTS and im fairly new to the VN space but i think this was one of the most disturbing things ive read, and u rlly managed to make it SCARY... WOW. it was such a ride! thanks for making this!!

WOW i didn't expect that!! loved this omg

for anyone willing to try this plz just go ahead w/o reading the comments, u have to go in blind

OMG WOW!!!! THANK YOU SO SO MUCH!! I just read this and I am literally at a loss for words!!!🥹🫶🏻🫶🏻

. 

. 

. 

(SPOILERS AHEAD) 

Everything you've analyzed and mentioned is spot on!! I'm also really happy that you were able to experience the specific nuances / feelings / atmosphere I tried hard to convey while making this game.... The dynamics between Jackston and his father, and the relationship between him and Jed, and the core theme of jealousy - I tried to fit them within all the scenes I wanted to show in a coherent narrative (within the constraints of the game jam, ofc :)) I'm glad the message got across! I'm also happy you liked how his father is represented, i tried to make him distorted and eerie as much as possible - it's a lens on how jackston views him, reflecting his psychological state.

AND YESSS Jed is a people pleaser, he tries hard to make his parents (esp his mom) happy, though he's learning to tackle that slowly xD I tried to write his character mirror jackston in a way that builds the core dynamic of his relationship with him (wanting to be each other), so they would complement each other in a sense.

As for Jed's musical piece at the gala, I'll leave it up to interpretation :)

I'm really glad you enjoyed the game!! and thank you again for taking the time to analyze + comment your specific thoughts, it really warms my heart ;)) Have an amazing day!!

AAA ty for playing my game <33 no worries!!! glad you enjoyed playing it!!!!

also sounds gud! i'll look forward to your updates for sure :))

hello! this looks great!! unfortunately only pc the web ver seems to be lagging, do u plan to add a downloadable version on mac? :')

this was great! rlly rlly liked the cute visuals and the bgm, they matched perfectly!! also the voice actings are so good!! i love the diverse cast of the npcs in the town. cant wait for this to be finished!! a quick note, do you plan to add a map feature somewhere in the ui? i was thinking the map is very big so it might be easier for users to navigate where they want to in an easier way :)

i just played it and i cant wait for it to be finished!! i rlly like stories revolving around online gaming (prob cause i used to game a lot) where first the characters never met irl and then they somehow do after a turn of events. artstyle is cute! also the way u write dialogue is so easy to read, and the chat between the players were funny LOL 

i loved this!!! the vibes and the designs of each characters were also very cool, especially zephyr. also i cant believe this was made on RPGmaker??? thats incredible??

gosh, the pixel art, the storytelling, the music.. the game's amazing! i also loved the worldbuilding, it got me intrigued, with the otherworld having connections with the real world, and how bit starts figuring out things one by one. and i do find it poetic that the "otherworlders" want to keep their humanity intact, its beautiful in a way. The ending was touching.... bit and nemo's relationship was so well portrayed through the game. the scenes with the light, the door, and everything, it was so good! the melancholic / sad atmosphere rlly consisted well throughout the game and rlly fitted well with the music.

btw the art is so delicious!!! nemo is hot lol, but i liked the other characters' designs too, like eric and tiffany xD great job!! :)

omg😭😭this was SO CUTE! i think i died like 2 times trying to go through the level xD i also rlly liked the art and the bg, and the music fit together very nicely! I wish there were more levels :') Good job!