You make an excellent point here. If you'd like, I'd be willing to discuss this more via discord or bsky and hopefully make this more clear in future jams.
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Additional feedback from the judges has been left on the submission page for each game. I understand this will not remove the blow of the unhelpful feedback left on the submissions, but I hope it helps participants understand better how their game was viewed.
Respecting the effort of everyone involved is my number one priority, and no one puts in more time, energy, or effort than the people who dedicate two weeks to making the wonderful games for this jam. Unconstructive feedback is disrespectful to that effort, and I am deeply sorry. The limitations of itch.io's jam format does not allow me to review the feedback section for each judge and had I known that there would be such unhelpful comments I would have immediately demanded it be redone.
The panel of judges was selected from people who are involved in the weight gain game dev community, including those who have participated in jams themselves. And as host, I know the participants put their trust in me to offer fair and constructive competition and rankings.
I would like to reiterate that even if the Offending Judge's scores were removed from the rankings, the same games would remain in the top three. In the future, I will be far more explicit with judges what is and is not acceptable feedback. Thank you everyone who has participated, voiced their feedback, and provided solutions to improve future jams.
Additional judges' feedback for this entry:
I really enjoyed this project! I had fun optimizing playthroughs, trying both the bombardment and broadcast routes for subjugation. The upgrades felt impactful, where it was a balance between saving up money for the tithe with boosting morale of the troops, buying upgrades and taking over the planet. The balance of the resources is something I found impressive as I was always trying to get everything taken care of before the time ran out. I do wish there was more random events to shake things up on repeat playthroughs but that mostly just an issue for me as I was trying to get all the endings. I won't bemoan the lack of images for a game like this as far as the presentation but things like colored text to draw the eye might have helped to keep the game from just being a black and white screen the entire time. I was really impressed with the writing had me interested in the setting. I'd love to see more ship events just to see more of how things are changing on the ship but I love what is already there. I enjoyed reading about how the Admiral and their crew changed as the weight and hedonism increased. I had fun going for all the endings and overall just enjoyed the game
+ The choices of strategizing the ship’s actions and choosing how to best gain resources alongside what to upgrade while also working on balancing the resources you gain and what to spend them on. Being able to use food gathered to fatten up the crew and the player character provides motivation to gather more.
- No tutorial and being dropped in does lead to some confusion to begin with (perhaps fitting for the sudden promotion).
Additional judges' feedback for this entry:
A very cool game! Absolutely love the design of the main character and all the plants and hyenas! Really enjoyed it being a sort of mini RTS game. There was some jank with bugs not selecting plants sometimes which did make it a bit difficult control occasionally. There doesn't seem to be any time pressure or plant limit so you can grow as many crops as you want and have a massive stockpile of food, which meant there wasn't much reason to not feed her the maximum amount each turn. Controlling the plants fit the theme perfectly and I was looking forward to each new day to see the changes to the main character. Overly really enjoyed this!
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+ A cute artstyle with a fun premise of using minions to defend the player character. Using score at the end of the game to increase the weight of the player character was a fun touch
- Not sure if a bug or not, but after a while into the level, minions were no longer selectable and had to walk the enemies into the groups to have them do damage
Additional judges' feedback for this entry:
This game has some really interesting concepts! I love the idea of developing your roster of characters and specializing them. I had fun trying to play tactically, using cover and minimizing risk of my squad and the risk/reward to infecting enemies. The way movement impacts the accuracy makes for an interesting choice for combat. There are some mechanics which make the game a little clunky to play. The shared pool of levelups meant leveling a fresh unit was a bit of a grind to go through and usually I just focused my level ups on a single unit until they were max level and then moving on to the next one. It also meant that losing any particular unit was very impactful as leveling a new one is a huge setback. The 3D model representing the units and how it changes with skill investment is very impressive! The lack of sound other than gunfire was a little awkward but I like the sound effect for the firing. The art for the 2 endings are also really well done! Overall, I really like the concept for this game and it a solid foundation for a full game
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+ Simple to understand controls with gameplay alongside being able to build up a powerful squad to fit your playstyle
- Shooting at long range is a struggle due to the camera being focused on the chosen unit while enemies can still snipe you from afar.
Sixgun Sally: Back in the Saddle jam comments · Posted in Sixgun Sally: Back in the Saddle jam comments
Additional judges' feedback for this entry:
Really enjoyed this! The pacing of story, card choosing sections and combat was well done where no individual section overstayed its welcome. The writing was well done, where the characters felt like actual characters even with a good mix of comedy and drama. The combat was fun, though I seldom felt the need to use much beyond the pistols as they seemed to do a pretty extreme amount of damage regardless of how much I invested in other skills. I did have an issue where using one of the earlier skills you get crashed the game which had me hesitant to keep using skills. I really like the idea of the card system but given how easy it was to just gun everything down I felt like I could mostly ignore some of the more interesting mechanical choices in favor of just making her bigger. I'm not going to bemoan balance for a gamejam game and it didn't impact my enjoyment but that the feedback I have for that. Overall I enjoyed the game a lot and would love to see more!
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+ A unique use of the RPGmaker engine to have it play as a top down shooter, the 3D models for cutscenes were also very nice
- The choice section of the game felt a bit too long and one of the skills you can pick up crashes the game completely.
Additional judges' feedback for this entry:
Really enjoyed this game! While the gameplay is mostly just an RPGMaker dungeon crawl, the story and context make it a very enjoyable experience. The portrait and story art is fantastic! It add a lot of charm to the game having portraits for all the characters. I really appreciate that there is dialogue for each of the NPCs and in the mirror for each of the weight stages as it adds a lot "weight" to the weight gain in the game. The dungeon delving isn't groundbreaking but I enjoyed it well enough to where it didn't detract from the experience. There were some very minor bugs (mirror image stuck until you talk to someone) and I did initially miss the mechanism to open the second floor gate as it was on the first floor but nothing major. The believe the use of the theme was the goddess taking control of the main character which works. Overall I thought it was a really solid game and the story and presentation made it one of my favorites
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+ Great art alongside an easy to understand story that gives just enough lore to explain the reason for the game’s events happening. NPCs having unique dialogue alongside the ‘inspect self’ at the mirror having descriptions for each stage.
- Relatively simplistic battles that are rather unbalanced as Crush, which scales with SL, only does around 40 more damage than Smite which costs half the amount. Gold is far too plentiful as all items in the shop can be bought by level 2 of the dungeon.
Additional judges' feedback for this entry:
I like the idea of this game, it is straight forward and a solid foundation for a game. I do wish there was a bit more depth to it but it is fun to grow to smash through things and shrink back down to dodge. I would have loved to have some more decision making or secondary objective but overall a good start to a game
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+ Simple to understand mechanics that even lets you get used to the controls before the game starts.
- The obstacles were far too few as it became a case of just ducking under bars or growing big to break walls.
Additional judges' feedback for this entry:
A fantastic puzzle game that fits the theme perfectly! Really fantastic presentation with the character models and the puzzle elements being very clear and distinct. I had a lot of fun solving the puzzles as the tight controls and quick restarts made for a good time. Some of the puzzles were a bit mean, not in a terrible way, just in that you might forget one step in the process and see one of the cats get shoved into the void. Not bringing that up as a downside, just something I noted in that the game has some reasonable difficulties as it does require some quick control. I did get the bug on the level 10 where the you fail despite reaching the end trigger but I think this is a known issue. Overall just a great puzzle game!
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+ Unique puzzles that have both the player character and the orange nekos be part of is well executed. A double pun of both taking control of the nekos and also starting the game by taking a controller.
- A weird level complete hitbox on level 10 meant multiple retries on a rather difficult level. The camera and movement were a bit confusing at times, leading to a few game overs from that.
Additional judges' feedback for this entry:
OwO Fantastic game overall! One of those games that I returned to because I wanted to play more! The presentation at the very beginning sets up everything I needed to know and jump straight in. You are taking control in the most literal of ways so full points in that regard! I did try to go for the "Never Starving" achievement and got close a few times but never quite got it, sometimes due to getting stuck colliding with other guests but I can't really judge the game based on me going for an achievement lol. I wish I had more feedback to give but it was such an enjoyable experience that I don't have much more to say
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+ Playing as a parasite to literally take control of people was a good use of the theme, the incremental upgrades also meant that you weren’t punished for doing poorly.
- Due to the incremental upgrades, it meant that things would get crazy super fast. The wants of the hosts were sometimes tricky to fulfill due to foods being randomly placed around the room.
Additional judges' feedback for this entry:
I was really impressed by the voice acting and storytelling throughout the game! I was surprised that you were able voice act everything and it was well directed! I think the visual novel part of the game was very well done, showing off the growth with each stage was a good touch. The actual gameplay did make you feel like a minimum wage slave, for better and for worse. I did get to chapter 4 or so playing the game as intended, buying upgrade and such, it did quickly become a slog. I appreciate you adding a button to skip the gameplay but the fact that I felt the need to skip the gameplay makes that section a bit hard to judge with a good score. I do wish there was some visual indication of fullness such as belly getting bigger during the gameplay section but you already made so many art assets it understandable not wanting to have make dozens more. For the theme, I think she is "taking control of her life" but I would have liked to see it a bit more clearly tied to the theme overall. Overall I really liked this as a visual novel, most my gripes are with the game aspect
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+ Simple voice acting adds to the vibes of the game, sounding like regular day to day conversations rather than something that was acted. The ability to skip over the minigame can also help ease potential struggles with later levels.
- The story feels rather simple without much to change things as characters are introduced and not brought up again.
Additional judges' feedback for this entry:
A really cool idea! I loved being able to see the whole facility and read the thoughts of all the employees as you slowly corrupt everyone. The art is fantastic and taking control of the facility fit the theme perfectly! I liked the idea of the gameplay, though it due to the setup of the game it was a bit difficult to play reactively as the changes you make propagate very slowly. At least with how the balance there is now, you can more or less just pick the most fattening options for every facility all at once and the hit to productivity is so high that the suspicion isn't much of an issue. I see the vision and I think just some numbers tweaks and maybe a reason to focus on one type of employee at a time or something could see this developed into more. Overall a very cool game and the only complaints I have are because I enjoyed it and wanted more
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+ A wide cast of unique character designs and a fun take on the theme to fatten up a whole office. The choices of sabotages also providing some strategy of what to choose
- Sabotage cooldown was far too high, leading to many bouts of simply waiting while nothing perceivable happens. There was also a bug where objects would end up being other things (e.g: water cooler having the cafeteria sabotages)
Additional judges' feedback for this entry:
Absolutely fantastic presentation! Extremely stylistic with the retro graphics and rainbow effects as the hypnotism effects intensifies. I appreciate the pacing, having the gameplay followed by hilarious storytelling sections that had me actually laughing out loud. The story weaves in the theme perfectly! The only complaint I have is just some jank with the swinging hit detection sometimes but it wasn't enough to make me not enjoy the game. Short, sweet and I had fun!
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+ A short simple game with unique pixel art, the use of hypnosis to take control of a character’s appetite was a unique take on the theme.
- The actual gameplay was somewhat repetitive, as between the three girls there wasn’t really much difference in the hypnosis segments.
Additional judges' feedback for this entry:
A really interesting game! The movement and jumping felt great and it was fun to jump in, get a few hits in and then jump out. The combat was fairly difficult, mostly because I couldn't seem to see the special attacks coming, either the tell for them was not obvious or just not there which meant sometimes I would just get knocked over without much indication. It mostly felt like I was jumping in, trying to do as much damage as I could and then jumping out to wait for the next health pickup and have my sweat/fat meters go back down. It took some getting used to but I did enjoy the combat overall, it just had some jank to it. The second fight seemed to be the hardest by far, with the third fight being much easier in comparison. I certainly heard "YOU LOSE, HAHAHAHAHAHAH" my fair share of times. The presentation was fantastic! With the announcer, the camera panning around at the start of each match and just the 2D/3D aesthetic was very enjoyable! As far as the theme, I guess you technically taking control of your destiny and winning lots of money but it a bit of a stretch. Overall I enjoyed this game!
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+ Unique character designs and narration that helps add to the theming of taking part in a fight ring.
- The difficulty is far too high as opponents rush you down with no slowing down while the stamina meter means that the player character can’t fight back most of the time.
Additional judges' feedback for this entry:
Really interesting game mechanics! The mechanic of inverting velocity was a bit strange at first but it made much more sense for the higher weights. It was a lot of fun zipping around the map with gun jumps and such! At first it wasn't super obvious what should be done to break the shield enemies at lower weights but it was much easier at higher weights. Gameplay-wise I had fun dodging sniper bullets and overall the game control great! The game made me nostalgic for flash games with its presentation and music. Overall a really solid base for the game and I'd love to see it developed more
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+ The shots from the gun feel heavy and being launched across the levels at extreme speeds is very fun. There is also unique platforming that comes from propelling the player character about.
- The enemies with shields felt rather unfair to fight against due to how quickly they positioned their shields to block shots. The bottomless pit segment where the player needs to duck under a pillar in the middle before climbing up the pit was a major difficulty spike.
Additional judges' feedback for this entry:
I like the idea of the game and I appreciate the nods to Fear and Hunger in the beginning but it is hard to give feedback on as I was unable to find out how to progress on any of the characters. There seemed to be a tunnel that opened up in one of the buildings that seemed glitched and did not let me enter so I think the game is soft locked. As such, it hard for me to judge the theme beyond "You control your character" and having the choice at multiple characters which impacts the game somewhat. It is a bit brutal in the beginning, as opening barrels has a chance of basically being instant death. The sprites were cool with the mouse girl and the girl requesting pork chops and I would love to see more if you polish this up
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+ A WG take of Fear and Hunger can provide a rather unique setting for things. Providing 4 characters to play as with different skill sets incentivize replays
- Due to flags not working, I was unable to progress far into the game, missing out on what was likely a large chunk of the game.
Additional judges' feedback for this entry:
The game was very atmospheric and moody in an interesting way. The fog and looming architecture made for a unique experience. It played well as a first person shoot, though it was difficult at times to figure out where I was getting shot from without proper sound cues and with enemies that could stand nearly obscured by fog. It is interesting setting, with the miasma causing the expansion and not the gun itself which just punctures the suits. The use of the theme is a bit of a stretch, as taking control of your escape is only sort of following the theme. It was an interesting experience
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+ The dingy grey look of buildings adds to the liminal space look, as if traversing ruins of a civilization. Fits the Doom style of gameplay with the it’s gunplay
- Only having one enemy type leads to little variety in interactions and the head tilt when moving left/right can cause some motion sickness.
Additional judges' feedback for this entry:
I love the concept of this game! Solving puzzles and such with different employees and the weights is a great idea and I had fun with what was there! The art is fantastic and I love the overall presentation. I think this is a solid basis for a game, though some of the bugs and potential softlocks made it a bit difficult to go all the way through. I think if what is currently there was spaced apart into multiple levels it would help the pacing a lot as the current level introduces so many different employees with their own tutorial popups that it was a bit stop and go. Having some time to get acquainted with the individual employee mechanics would help as the later half of the level I had some difficulty remembering which employees could do what. Overall I enjoyed this and would love to see it developed more
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+ A puzzle game with a fun artstyle and some unique challenges that task the player with using all the employees at their disposal to clear the level. All the employees being unique is also a cute touch
- Far too many tutorial pop ups in the early game, basically every action for the first fifteen or so minutes would be met with a tutorial pop up.
Additional judges' feedback for this entry:
Really interesting aesthetic and themes! Very dream-like world and I love the overall design of the game! The story was interesting and I wanted to know more! I appreciate that even if you didn't have enough time to finish up the game, you were able to give a conclusion to it. Personally I enjoyed it but I have to critique based on the categories of the jam. The gameplay was fine, I didn't have any issues with it as far as an RPG. I had a hard time directly connecting the game to the theme without making a stretch on "take control". There are some fetish elements in the themes, though I wasn't able to really see any changes from eating in the sprites or dialogue. Overall I enjoyed and will try to follow the development if you continue making this even if it wasn't a perfect fit for the jam categories
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+ A simplistic artstyle for the overworld that evokes the memories of old Commodore PC games, a simple story and directive that sets the players off on the adventure right out of the gate without extended explanation.
- Encounter rates were far too high and the enemy variety far too low, the backtrack between the tower and town felt rather tedious when needing to go back to by healing items and the like.
Control The Curse: The Queen's Gambit jam comments · Posted in Control The Curse: The Queen's Gambit jam comments
Additional judges' feedback for this entry:
This is a hard game to give any real feedback on as it was just fantastic overall. Managing the civil unrest, security, finances and her weight was a careful tight rope where I often had to choose to sacrifice the queen's waistline for the good of the kingdom. The random events added just enough variance to make repeat playthroughs interesting even though the main story beats remain the same. The art and writing are just fantastic! Honestly I would love to see more of the characters because everything just worked together great. Just a really well put together game that doesn't overstay its welcome. I can't think of any real criticisms to give
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+ Great art paired with a simple to understand management system. The stats being affected at each stage also incentivize actually adding variety to the options chosen for the schedule.
- The upgrades are far too cheap and are too easy to achieve, meaning that working towards them is far too easy
I apologize for some of the lackluster feedback left on game pages. I am not able to oversee what every person writes, but it was my job to select who was on the judging panel.
I can assure you that even if one judge's scores were removed from the results, the top three games would have remained the same save for splitting up the tie for second place. Even if an entry has game breaking bugs or is difficult to finish, if the parts that are playable fulfills the categories then it can still get full points.
One of the judges has volunteered to give additional feedback, which I will be posting in their stead over the next few days.
Heavy Weight Jam community · Posted in should the elements related to fat people and inflation be meant to cause arousal, or can they be used creatively?