Thank you for checking out my game and giving feedback, very much appreciated!
I did have to rush to get the game done for submission close, hence why I cut a few corners like giving an explanation for the mechanics. Glad you found some enjoyment though even if the graphics hurt your mince pies a little XD
Hi and thank you for your interest!
I honestly don't have a list of tropes I refer to and I can understand if people are skeptical about what they can submit and what they can't. Please don't stress too much about what is acceptable and what is not I really just want people to try make some cool games using RPG Maker with some out of the box thinking.
You mentioned TTRPG in your post, I'm not sure on if that's the type of game you plan on making, but they are fine since the main element of it is the Tabletop part of the RPG and would be perfectly fine for the jam.
Even if you were - for example - to submit your game as a horror but in actuality it was just an RPG with some random zombie graphics thrown in, I'd be perfectly OK with that. The bottom line is I just don't want to see any bad anime fangame type Final Fantasy/Dragon Quest clones here.
For the record I am looking forward to playing and trying out every submission here, so you would really have to go out of your way and purposely troll me or something for the game not to be acceptable for the jam.
I'm sorry I can't be more specific on the rules but it's so difficult because I think 90% of games even outside the genre have some sort of mechanic/concept of an RPG.
If you have any further questions or need an answer on something specific please reach out again.
No worries I played a good portion of the game I think? Also like you say I can go the other option and see what that brings up.
Fave character? It would have to be Sphere - jacked to the max and an absolute BEAST. Just the butler, yet swats away 4 of the RPG heroes like they were flies on the master's dining table. I liked them all to be fair I thought it was really well written and engaging.
Awesome game!
Very unique concept for the platforming/chase element of your game, reminded me of Crash Bandicoot. If anything, I found the run speed to be a bit TOO generous and making small movement was difficult when I wanted to go 1 tile in any direction it went 2. I failed a lot but I did get to the end of it.
This error came up in the credits: Failed to load: audio/bgm/SHM_BGM17_Horror17.ogg. It just means the game is trying to load that missing file, so nothing major.
Overall though I did really like it. Was strange going from the chill vibes of doing everyday chores around the house to how things escalated VERY quickly but I did have a lot of fun. I very much enjoyed the twist at the end too:)
Really liked this one - it has an intriguing plot and a some great funny dialogue and interactions between the characters.
I think I got quite far - would loved to have got to the end but I'm not sure if I ran into a game breaking bug? The part specifically where Onyxia has her ceremony with the sleeping dude, the game just freezes although I can get into the menu, the scene doesn't play and I cannot move. Probably an autorun or parallel trigger is happening that should either be there or not but it feels like an easy enough fix.
Still, I really like what you made and think there is plenty enough content to give a rating here. Please let me know if I'm doing something wrong or if it is just the scene because I would like to try get to the end. Cheers.
Cool game!
I really liked the fun element in playing through and finding the humorous interactions between the actors and the NPCs. For reference, I would have loved to have been Reid given the kiss from the old woman, she is hot!
I have given it a rating and followed you on here on itch because now it gets me stoked to play AoI3 when it comes out, I do hope that's going to be a thing?
Thank you for your input - I just gave them the green light to say it's OK as long as the battles are not random. In general I would say battles (even turn based ones) are fine for plot purposes.
I really don't want to put too many people off trying to making a game because of stingy rules. They said they wanted to do a survival horror with turn based battles which I think is fine. I offer my apologies since I can well understand the rules being vague and what constitutes a non RPG (hence why my jam page is so rambling).
Basically it's best not to worry too much and just go with whatever idea comes naturally to you. The main thing I wanted to avoid in a nutshell is for people to recreate Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest type games.
Hi and thanks for joining the jam!
Really looking forward to seeing your survival horror game in action - those are one of my favorite. Battles are fine as long as they are not random encounters so you are good to go but thank you for asking and apologies for my rules being kind of vague.
This is my first jam and a learning curve for me so I'm hoping for feedback and/or suggestions so I can make fixes and clarifications to hopefully improve for the next jam. Thanks for checking and good luck with your game - can't wait to play it!
I am having the same problem as you, though I just looked at the calendar and yours is there with a good number of people having joined, so I'm guessing it's just a matter of patience until the jam gets loaded up.
With that in mind I am tempted to put my start date back if it takes a good few days to actually show up.
Does using the character generator in the newer RPG Makers count as using the RTP, or is it more just a case of using the database premade ones like Actor 3-5, People 1-2 etc?
I think because the generator and the parts for it are all shipped with the makers upon purchase, it will count as stock assets and I do realize that the rules regarding RTP in these jams are not TOO strict, but I'm just looking for a bit of insight on this matter?
It's just that I'd like to be able to create some black and asian characters for my next game and there are none (or very few) by default in the database, but totally creatable with the generator. I'd just like to check I wouldn't be straying too far from the theme of the jam were I to incorporate too many generated characters. Thanks :)
Thanks for your reply.
I wouldn't say that 5 color codes is too restrictive at all - but it essentially means anyone wanting to meet this challenge has by very definition of it to make a 4-bit game (at least from the visual standpoint, excluding audio etc)and that's essentially a design choice one would have to make at the very start of production and keep to it.
My game is going to use black, white and shades of grey but it will not meet the stipulations of the 5 color rule because of the varying shades of grey. However I am happy with the look of my game and I am not going to convert the look to 4bit because it was designed to play using existing assets and navigation will be almost impossible for the player were I to further limit the color depth.
That said, I'm going to carry on with it as is - it just means I won't meet the challenge rules, but it's fine since I met another bonus challenge anyway so all's well that ends well. If what you had in mind was the 5 color code from the start then if you are looking for my thoughts and if it were me in your shoes I would stick to my guns and keep it at that.
Thanks for your insight on the matter. Looking forward to playing the other entries soon!
Thanks for your detailed feedback!
Yes I agree the game is spacious, sometimes overly so - but that was a design choice on my part to allow the chase system to function and breathe properly. I can 100% see how this can feel a bit overwhelming to a player at the start, but they will find that the game is not long at all and the environment is actually quite compact but I guess that will be something that becomes more apparent in retrospect.
Excellent question about MZ vs VX ACE. Sorry this will sound like a dumb answer - but it is an honest one. I claimed VX ACE from Steam a few months ago when GGG were giving it out for free for a limited time. Having already owned MZ I thought I wouldn't use it much. But I love a freebie and didn't want to waste it - so here I am :)
Furthermore, after I finish my next project I will revert back to MZ. Although VX ACE is super fun and I love using it, there are too many things going against it like the resolution issues, lag problems and also the lack of browser support.
Thanks for the tip about your game - I'll be sure to check it out when I have some time :)
Thank you for playing and taking the time to give detailed feedback!
I like getting feedback from players be it good or bad, otherwise it's difficult to gauge what people like or what could be improved or done differently - so I very much appreciate you taking the time to do that.
I agree with you on the RTP but I had to make a design choice with the time I had available and we all know the RTP is all set up to use so I plumped for this rather than having to take extra time to mix and match up custom stuff and potentially miss the deadline. That said I did try my best to make the environs detailed and varied as so to appeal more to the player.
Same can be said for the portraits of the three boys at the start. It would have just taken up too much time to render up custom looks and emotes for three characters that don't have too much screen time. That said I do take your point and wholeheartedly agree that it could cause some confusion as to who is speaking at any one time and thus break the immersion.
Glad you liked the little touches I put in there. All the best with the jam and your future projects!
Going to hazard a guess in that when you say 'use 5 colors' you do mean like red and variants, blue and variants and not just 5 colors that are the same color-hex i.e #D20103 for your red and ONLY that color for your red and #060270 for your blue and ONLY that color for your blue - up to 5 variants?
Even if one were to be making an 8bit game such as the OG Super Mario Bros on the NES, that game had a possible 256 colors to choose from and whilst not using the entire palette it would technically use way more than 5 colors.
For the record my game is going to use 3 - White, Black and Grey. But if we go by the hex system there are technically more than 5 colors in there because of the differing shades of each one.
Sorry to bug you with this and ramble on but it is a question I myself was going to ask you as the host Mana, but thankfully Thoughtful has brought it to light since originally I was too lazy to do so myself :)
Congrats on submitting the game!
Plays and feels just like a retro platformer should and you did an especially good job of making sure the controls were tight and responsive and the animations are nice and fluid.
The color filter was a little jarring and looked a bit odd given the context of the game but I am guessing you chose the palette to fit better in with the horror theme of the jam?
All said it is a short, but fun and cool browser game. Thanks for making and sharing!
Congrats on submitting your game!
I liked the chill part at the start of the game but I have to hold up my hands and say I have no idea how I am supposed to avoid the part where I become depressed and get the choice whether or not to let the demons win.
Still I did like the fun visuals and the music is nice and mellow so good job on those.
Thanks for making the game and sharing!
I got to the part where there was an NPC but they are on a platform surrounded by spikes so I couldn't figure out what to do. Plus getting there is so hard I only managed about 3 attempts to get past it.
The inclusion of checkpoints would have been handy since the game is so unforgiving in difficulty :)
Congrats on submitting your game to the jam!
This is definitely... an experience, that's for sure. I found it one of those games where I didn't want to miss anything, since every little detail was so well written and interesting.
I was chuckling throughout - there are many Lion King references and also I loved 'Maybe I'm a Lion!" from Final Fantasy VIII. I have very fond memories of that game - I just hit puberty when the game came out and I wanted to be Squall SO badly so I grew my hair and tried to style it like his. There was this girl who looked like Rinoa in my history class who I had a HUGE crush on but I never found the courage to ask her out XD
I really did like the game it was short but oh so sweet. I think you could have had mom say a line like "No, I will not awake. Maybe I'mma lie in." Or something like that it would have been funny.
Thanks for making the game (and also appealing to my personal nostalgia about FFVIII) and sharing!
Congrats on getting the game done in time for submission!
I had a good time playing this and (I think) I got to the end since I went around awhile, collecting resources and fighting monsters 'til I went off one screen then it took me back to the title screen, so I'm assuming I made it out alive?
The gameplay is really good here, I love how smooth the animations play out so good job on those. The combat is simple yet very satisfying and I like how you can get behind the monsters and hack away from the back to avoid damage like in the Souls games. Tip for anyone else playing - do not attack them from the front, they will slaughter you!
The visuals and atmosphere are top notch and the music fits in nicely too. One minor thing that bugged me though is how they only have left and right direction facing sprites which is obviously fine if they are facing those directions, but a little jarring when moving up and down.
I understand there was some nasty bugs that came up and bit you midway through so I could put it down to you concentrating on getting the game up and playable and having to cut a few corners here and there - totally understandable.
I really applaud the effort put in here - this game has some amazing potential if you plan on diving back into after the jam to flesh things out and create more content but that is a ball left firmly in your court. I'd like to wish you luck in your endeavours either way. :)
Thanks for making this game and sharing!
Congrats on getting the game up!
Very addictive side scroller arcade style browser you made here. The gameplay is the strongest element - there is a good mix of enemy variations and traps that make the game deceptive deep if you want to plan a route and timings to try get High Score.
Only a couple of beefs here - the armored demon with the trident in room 18? Might be 19? Doesn't seem to give you any i-frames so one hit seems to drain the entirety of your health. The other I think is although minor, the game would have benefitted from some sort of backdrop. Although I did like the graphics and everything looked like it was custom made, having everything set against a creamy looking single color background kind of spoiled the immersion a bit for me.
The single music track is great, a real earworm (in a good way). Thanks for providing the link, I'll for sure check out this talented artist's work too :)
All said really cool, fun and addictive game. Thanks for making and good luck with the jam!
Congrats on submitting your game!
Once I got the hang of what I was doing it was an interesting game loop but what I struggled with is what I was doing at first. I was randomly clicking stuff and not getting feedback and that can get frustrating for a casual who just clicked a browser game and wanted to dive in and play. Chances are they would probably put the game down and move onto the next before figuring out what to do. A quick one screen or text box tutorial would have been immensely helpful just to get the ball rolling I feel :)
Graphics and game interface are pretty decent and I like the guy's animations - good job with those. I think the strongest point of the game is how well it fit the jam's theme. Things are definitely cyclic and he is striving for his survival in a way that most of us are more accustomed to than most other games in the jam.
Thanks for making the game and sharing!
Congrats on your game submission!
I mean wow - I think learning how to ride one of these IRL totally from scratch would be easier than trying to control this crazy pizza pusher! From that standpoint I think you deserve a lot of credit - the 'balancing' (pun intended) of the difficulty is right on point of what it would were to try replicate this yourself in your own back yard!
Graphics are lovable and charming - great effort on that but I will again echo what others have said in that the addition of some quirky music would have complimented the game very nicely.
Don't think anyone could argue the theme is not 'cyclic'? ;) Good game - thanks for making and sharing. I'm going to order myself a frisbee now. Pepperoni anyone? :)
Congrats on submitting your game!
With it's light hearted, whimsical visuals and easy to get into game loop, it makes for a perfect browser/mobile game. The chill lo-fi music gives off a nice relaxed vibe too.
Reading the other devs reviews here I think I might be bold enough to be the black sheep of the bunch to stick my neck out and say that the game is actually better without enemies, traps or other threatening perils. Sometimes it's just nice to unwind with some anxiety-free point scoring rather than having the stress of failure constantly shoved in your face - but to each their own, of course :)
Nice tidy effort here - thanks for making the game and sharing!
Congrats on your fun game!
I like the theme where it's like the number version of 'hangman' and Frederick deteriorates (or reveals his true form?) when the player answers incorrectly.
To be fair I got most of my correct answers through a process of elimination more than anything else due the game's multiple choice format. I think it would be impossible without the aid of those or indeed a calculator. But I didn't cheat with the calc - honest!
It was for sure 2D - don't think anyone could argue there and fits horror sublimely because everyone knows Math is the real horror and much scarier than what Frederick does. Although having said that, failing does bring a smile to my face when Frederick has his 'funny turn'. :)
Really fun and enjoyable browser game for some good ol' number crunching and some LOLs. Thanks for making the game and sharing!
Congrats on getting your game done for the jam!
Man - people say the games I make are tough but this is like the Dark Souls of platforming! I guess like everything else it does take practice but I got frustrated by the spikes that you have to ground spin dash from a fall like in Sonic because when I thought I was rolling through the spikes still got me!
Even though I was failing and raging it did make me want to play it more to succeed and there you have something that is gripping the player so good job on that.
I really like the character sprite - it reminds me of a similar character I made as a kid many years ago. He was called Undon - a vegetable hybrid monster pet with a kid owner called Kevin.
I thought the game was nicely presented with the pixel graphics but I would have liked to have seen a scrolling background of some sort in there just to round it off, you know? Unless you were going with the theme of the world is set inside the depths of a dark void then I guess that would be fine :)
All in all it was a fun little experience I won't forget. Thanks for your effort and taking the time to make it and share it!
Congrats on getting your game up and ready for submission.
Wow... I did not expect such an absorbing, immersive experience!
I was a little pensive about having to put on the headphones at first, but boy was it worth it for the experience! I really love how the game is presented from the lush autumnal color palette, the sleek UI and even the font used is nice and fitting for the game.
You absolutely nailed the theme on trust. I find that it is intrinsically used in creative ways - such as the player having to trust in their mount, their loyal steed and also on a more base level of trusting our ears for audible cues as to the best path choose.
The writing is absolutely gorgeous and completely absorbs you into the world effortlessly. I am going to hazard a guess that your profession has something to do with creative writing or at the very least you are an avid reader or hobby writer of some description :)
If I were to give any constructive criticism it would be that the game would certainly have benefitted from a few more audio files. Especially the whispering voices, I found they could have done with another one or two files thrown in just for some variation on that as hearing the same words spoken when you moved away and found them elsewhere gave more the impression that you were stuck in a recursive time loop rather than stumbling blind into conspiratorial meetings in the dark forest.
All in all it's a creative masterpiece - I certainly didn't expect to love it as much as I did. I hope you enjoyed creating it as much as I did playing it! Thank you for making and sharing!
Well done on getting your game up for the jam!
Although I did think there was some cool ideas, there is a couple of things bugging me that kind of put a downer on it. The fact the sprite automatically faces down if you don't input a direction is kind of off putting. I would have preferred it if the sprite is left facing the direction you leave (i.e. face left then idle input > he will be facing left not down).
The other one is a game breaker and I have to reset on retry as the player is stuck on the ball (probably an easy to fix collision issue there) but it does force me to reset.
I think the gameplay other than that is super addictive and there is a lot of potential here for a great arcade style browser game.
Thanks for making this game and sharing it!
Congrats on getting your game done for the jam!
I played a little and it's quite a fun, addictive arcade style game you made here. It's for sure covered the cyclic theme in and of it's nature and is a very tight but fun boss rush loop.
I thought the graphics and music went very nicely together as well. I would agree with Liam's review that I think the hitboxes and collisions need a little tinkering with as in this sort of game, the physics elements play a major part in whether it feels fun or frustrating.
I did enjoy it though - there's for sure some great potential here if you decide to expand the game or incorporate what you did here into a future project. Thanks for making it and sharing!
Congrats on making the game for the jam!
You have an interesting and fun concept going on here, I really like it! The biggest issue for me though was the balancing - I always felt I had way too much of one material and then get slaughtered hunting down my last piece of wood to upgrade my equipment.
I think if you ironed out the difficulty spikes a little, this would be top notch and a very addictive browser game experience. That said, we did only have a small time frame to get our games done and submitted, so things like balancing and playtesting sometimes suffer more than we would like :(
I did have fun playing though - so thanks for making it and sharing!
Congrats on getting the game ready for the jam!
I'm currently working on a survival sim for another game jam so it was a privilege to check this out and see what you came up with.
I really love the game's user interface. Everything you need to know is on there at a glance so you can assess and plan what your next action is. The cyclic theme works well and is intrinsic to these survival type games so that handled itself rather nicely.
All said this is a very impressive and polished game made all the more so by the fact that you had to get it done very quickly due to the game jam's limited time frame. Thanks for making and sharing!
