A very simple story game. It's dark, but it has a potato.
Made in game maker studio. I started by recording music, and this is where the game ended up. Light on actual gaming and more atmospheric. Needless to say I was pretty much adrift when it came to this theme. It was not a good guide!
There is a hidden ending in there that I didn't quite get the chance to flesh out. I kind of had a change of heart regarding the darkness in the story on Sunday and threw it together. I blame the darkness on my not liking the theme, and now regret hating on potato.
As always, you did an amazing job. Good to see that you got sound this time! Your approach to the theme was perfect. The game doesn't say much but it says SO MUCH, which is the entire point. You nailed it. Seeing the extra gravestones was a nice touch, and the progression of abilities kept things fresh when the game is already SO unique to start with. Nice effects with the leaves and clouds, and the ending with the particles was a very nice surprise. My favorite part is how the animation of the bird is affected by the speed of movement.
The audio is VERY WELL DONE. You totally nailed the mood and atmosphere.
Awesome little jewel of a game! Had me thinking about it for a while after I played it.
I liked the mood, strengthened by every little detail you put in there. And there was a lot of those. Graphics-wise, I loved it: from the NES-like pixel art to every effect to pulled out of your hat - the leaves, the particles, the change of scenery. The music is also great, and the feeling of flying around is very, very nice.
My only complaint, if I had to name one, is the potato thing, that to me detracted from the overall experience.
Other than that, the best LD26 game I've played thus far. Hands down.
If this is what you can come up with with a theme you hate, I can't wait to play whatever comes out of a theme you actually like! :D
Oh no, I could have gotten that heart a different way! It didn't need to end like that! Super enjoyable to just fly around through the forest. Excellent work !
This is how story in games should be done. There is something very satisfying in playing it, just taking pleasure in the scene, its sounds, the movement of the bird and being able to caw, even though it didn't appear to have a consequence in the game. Thank you.
cool thing you did there where the elements react to the player especially the leaves when you pass through them! i enjoyed the music too! game play is fine for me but im most curious on the story. i'm still not finished but i will soon enough :D Great game!
Wow, that was really quite impressive. Love the attention to detail in, well, everything. The leaves, the animation of the bird - everything feels really polished.
Thanks guys! Yeah I couldn't make the hidden ending easy enough to get, adding it so late. Its pretty simple though: don't rip the little girl's hair. Sit quietly at her feet. I wanted you to just be able to perch anywhere near her to trigger it but fucked up the hit box. Ah well.
This game is very, very good. As others mentioned before, I love the mood, the music, and all the little details - like the family on the first scene (so easy to miss!)
If I would change one thing, it would be to somehow remove the invisible wall to the left - instead of a wall, maybe make a mini scene of the master calling, and the crow moving back?
@caranha oh man that's a good idea, how did I not think of that. I threw the borders there hoping to make something of them later, but couldn't think of anything good, except for the ground of course. The ground is always a good border!
Ah yeah, I made the android port after the compo and wanted to keep the exact control scheme. I think reformatting control for touchscreens might be beyond the scope of porting, though I'm not certain. Just played it safe.
I liked the details of the family story and how it kept evolving and changing after every "fetch". I had to do a second run to see the dead dad with the mother and the daughter there.
Man, you gotta teach me how to do particles, they were really good. You managed to do lots of really cool effects.
The audio was really moody and added a lot to the overall experience. Flying like a bird was a really sublime experience and landing on branches and other stuff really amped that up.
Can't praise you enough, want to see more stuff coming from you!
That was pretty cool. I liked that it had an alternate ending, was fun to find that out. Was a pretty good story, from what I get it's to do with a guy getting stuff to turn young or something. Nice job!
/: I didn't know I was going to rip out the little girl's hair, and I didn't realize z was deadly when I was on fire.
I wish there was more variety in gameplay. Maybe that's tied to so easily accidentally being mean to the girl. Scavenger hunt is kind of boring, but scavenger hunt where you think morally about the items you collect is cool.
I'm only going into specifics on what I didn't find said anywhere else. This game is awesome.
Nicely done. I didn't find the hidden ending, but I liked the progression of time a lot. The snow, in particular, was an unexpected surprise. The fire effects looked great within your aesthetic, too. And the music & sound sounded perfect.
The details, like lighting on gravestones and vocalizing, were really nice touches.
HELL YES! LOOK AT THOSE SCORES! Congrats on the gold medal and the really solid audio score. For your first time using audio, that's gotta feel great! AND 4TH OVERALL? YESSS!
The audio is VERY WELL DONE. You totally nailed the mood and atmosphere.
Keep it up!