Summer's Lease

co-authored: @wrencorsair
Overall★★★★★★★★★★3.13
Fun★★★★★★★★★★2.97
Innovation★★★★★★★★★★2.87
Theme★★★★★★★★★★2.78
Humor★★★★★★★★★★2.99
Mood★★★★★★★★★★3.27
Rough winds do shake your darling buds this Labor Day weekend... Head to the beach with your non-binary BFF, your Gen Z roommate, and your new friend from Tinder. And drive safely, ya hear?

Leave a comment if you'd like us to play your game. It helps a lot if your game is browser-based or for old Macs.

Change log (5:28pm PDT)
- Duplicated span names (to make elements disappear after selection)
- Forgot toggle variable for character’s presence
- Orphan HTML tag ⟨font color + Violet⟩
- Orphan HTML tag ⟨silently⟩
- Typo orphan “
- Orphan HTML tag ⟨/font⟩
- Redundant text: You take a picture with your phone
- missing period “,”
- typo ⟨font color⟩ tag
- missing conjunction “[but] you never got around to clearing your memory card”
- missing HMTL tag ⟨/font⟩
- Corrected ⟨⟨if⟩⟩⟨⟨else⟩⟩⟨⟨endif⟩⟩ kerfuffle
- Value made one of two endings impossible ⟨⟨if $Allure + $Karma ⟩= 8⟩⟩

screenshot

Comments70

DarkGuardsman
DarkGuardsman14 Aug 2018, 02:31
Seems more like an interactive book then a game. Though I assume someone might like it. However, I feel it could use animation/images, even if simple.
SeanNewman2214 Aug 2018, 02:36
I really enjoy games like this one. I wish there was more to look at though as the text scrolls through the conversations like some background pictures to set the scene more for me. I also would've really enjoyed some soft background music to accompany the game. It also would be really helpful to add a left click function that auto completes the text that is currently being typed out so that if a user is a faster reader than expected they don't have to just sit there and wait.
mahalis
mahalis14 Aug 2018, 02:43
This is great! Fun story with well-realized characters. I liked how much your early choices popped up again throughout the story. Nice work.
chelC
chelC14 Aug 2018, 05:31
How do I get them to free me from this earth... The ending totally threw me for a loop!! Fun time :))
WrenPirateauthor14 Aug 2018, 06:26
@chelC There's only space for folks who take care of themselves and others :wink: Thanks for playing.
WrenPirateauthor14 Aug 2018, 07:07
@darkguardsman -- I don't disagree about a visual element.

@seannewman22 -- Thanks for being so specific! That's constructive. Re: the slow pacing-- I thought I was just reading faster because I played through so many times to check the timing, so I didn't speed it up. Sorry!

@mahalis -- ¡Gracias! That's what we were going for, so it's gratifying to hear that that's what struck you.

I've played two of y'all's games and will hit the other two tomorrow morning! Congratulations!
dimlight
dimlight14 Aug 2018, 14:39
A fun story! I'm really found of this kind of novel games XD
chelC
chelC14 Aug 2018, 17:29
Yay!! i was able to join them!! i had a bit of a sun burn but that’s ok, my hair looked perfect :)
congrats on making this fun game!!
WrenPirateauthor14 Aug 2018, 19:07
@darkguardsman -- Mac build of Space is Running Out of Space crashed on opening for me.
@mahalis -- Sadly, my computer is too old to run OSX10.12
@dimlight -- Do I need to be able to run wine on my Mac to play your game? After I disable the security pref to open an non-App Store app, my dock twitches like a new app is opening, but Foggy Raft never appears.

Sorry not to be able to play and rate your games :frowning2:
krasse14 Aug 2018, 19:49
Myself growing up with the Fighting Fantasy books, this is a game for me. It is pretty cool of you to have an entry like this since it is pretty special. Well done!
WrenPirateauthor14 Aug 2018, 19:49
There's been some feedback that the first screen goes away too quickly. The idea is that it's a dream interrupted. That might be clearer I'd been able to implement an alarm sound in the second screen. The code I copied from someone's Medium article gave me error messages.

The page that fades in (too slowly for some) is meant to represent waking up. I wanted to make the background fade from black to white over that span without having to click to a new page.

Another player didn't like that some pages only advance to the next page without options. I was trying to break up a really long scene. I'm wordy. ⟨shrug emoticon⟩ (WrenCorsair's writing is more economical.)

Re: the "escape" ending-- would you like a readout of the points you need to score at the bottom of each page? At the bottom of pages where your score changes? No score?
Johannimations14 Aug 2018, 22:10
doesn't work because i have no javascript
cheetahcat14 Aug 2018, 23:22
Ohhh, I really appreciate you guys making a game like this! Narrative driven stuff is the best, but it can be very demanding to make it engaging and complex while keeping an overview over the scope.

So, well done from me!
I love it when in narrative games, choices actually impact outcome, but you don't know which choices will have but small consequences and which are the big ones. So, that gives the game replayability. ^^=
dimlight
dimlight15 Aug 2018, 01:20
(@wrenpirate) I think the Mac build doesn't really need wine to run because I packed the basic wine configuration into the application in order to make it run on non-wine installed MacOS :(

Maybe it's because the system version for your MacOS is too old, I tested it on 10.13.4 and 10.13.3 and it ran well.
WrenPirateauthor15 Aug 2018, 01:26
@dimlight -- yes, probably my OS is too old. Sorry for being obsolete. :slight_frown:
grahhhhhhhhh
grahhhhhhhhh15 Aug 2018, 01:32
First off, I'm personally not a big fan of text adventure games, so it means something when I say I was captivated. A big part of that is how you kept running out of space, I actually played a few times through and got a few different endings! It was nice looking, story was well thought out, nice submission!
dimlight
dimlight15 Aug 2018, 02:19
@wrenpirate - That's OK, and I'll try to make a build that is compatible to older versions these days XD
WrenPirateauthor15 Aug 2018, 02:21
@grahhhhhhhh ¡Muchas gracias! We only have three endings, so you got the full experience.
AwiX
AwiX15 Aug 2018, 07:15
A good game idea, the music should be improved. The graphics are good.
Try our game too, maybe you'll like it)
WrenPirateauthor15 Aug 2018, 07:36
@awix Because you mentioned the music and graphics of our game, I am not sure that you actually played it.
comenoha15 Aug 2018, 07:38
Fun story! Liked the little elements of the prompt that were sprinkled in there too! (i.e. the bag-packing and lane-switching) Nice text based game.
zlou_kote
zlou_kote15 Aug 2018, 08:20
Not bad text-adventure, I like it)
Nam Nguyen
Nam Nguyen15 Aug 2018, 17:37
It is a text adventure with lots of humor in it. Not really my kind of game, but Im sure there are people who enjoy it. I also couldnt make the connection between this and the theme, but maybe its something I have to go through the story to know. I try to go through the options, it seems to have many branches in the story, great work in a short amount of time. Good job!
Raivk
Raivk15 Aug 2018, 17:42
Wasn't expecting a text adventure here ! It's surprise, for sure, but a welcome one. Congrats, great mood. Just text on a screen, and you still get transported in this summer world.
WrenPirateauthor15 Aug 2018, 18:33
@cheetahcat, @comenoha, @zlou_kote -- Apologies that I won't be able to play your games during the rating period. I only have a Mac, and WrenCorsair has had to get back to his real job. Thank you for your comments; I'm sorry to leave the debt unpaid.
WrenPirateauthor15 Aug 2018, 18:54
@nam-nguyen Yes, the characters in our game keep running out of space. Thanks for playing; I wouldn't have found your game otherwise, and it's terrific! I recommend it.
GhostGoatsGames15 Aug 2018, 21:57
Not really my kind of game, but this seems great for people who are into this kind of thing. Nice job.
Zicboy15 Aug 2018, 23:51
Really liked the game. Needs a bit of patience but I throughly enjoyed it!
AfroAnt
AfroAnt16 Aug 2018, 05:04
Loved the thematic references! Couldn't figure out the alternate ending for the life of me, though. Thanks for the experience!
WrenPirateauthor16 Aug 2018, 06:28
@afroant Yeah, I may have set the bar too high, but on the other hand, shouldn't there be some standards for who gets to represent humankind on the galactic stage?
Keppu
Keppu16 Aug 2018, 09:30
I really like the mechanic of clicking links as command, as well as clever use of text colors. Coloring makes it easier to follow stuff. The writing really tingles my imagination. The mood is really nice here. Overall well done experience!
mrjoshuamclean
mrjoshuamclean16 Aug 2018, 13:43
The writing is great. Loved the light, casual tone - made for a quick and fun experience. Some proper humor in there, too. Ended up dying in a car crash which probably isn't the best ending but I'll be revisiting to see more soon. Good stuff!

Here's a video of my play: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/297353349
KiiroHanabi
KiiroHanabi16 Aug 2018, 14:12
Had fun playing your game! The use of "running out of space" is bold, almost annoying but in a good way haha. The format of the game as an interactive text works well, and i spent the entire playthrough to visualize the scene in my head, so congrats for the writing.

The whole special day/road trip/beach day/tinder date situation was very enjoyable to read as it gives a nice atmosphere, I really like those kind of situation, very and merely human, that we don't encounter enough in video games.

Great job!
Enot487
Enot48716 Aug 2018, 17:05
This story was written in 72 hours? Amazing! An exciting narrative and an unexpected twist in the end. Great job!
WrenPirateauthor16 Aug 2018, 18:38
@enot487 We had a lot of material that didn't make it into the story because we were trying to learn Twine, mostly stupid references to running out of space or things that sound like "space." Thanks for playing!
CodeChomper
CodeChomper16 Aug 2018, 19:43
I am sorry I am not too fond of text adventures (a sin I know) I didn't rate your game to avoid giving you a lower score than you deserve. Since I haven't played any text adventure games I can't appreciate in the correct context. I can however say that it is technically impressive having that much branching dialogue must have taken a lot of work!
WrenPirateauthor17 Aug 2018, 02:11
@codechomper Thanks for your consideration! You can't please all of the people all of the time. I know some weirdos who don't like chocolate. :shrug:
karlipoppins
karlipoppins17 Aug 2018, 05:42
Great story-telling game! I really got into it! I loved the parts when I had to hurry to make choices with countdowns which actually had an impact (like getting in the car crash, etc.) I sometimes wish that there were different options than the ones proposed but I really really loved the ending.

Great job!
coffeecup.winner
coffeecup.winner17 Aug 2018, 05:53
Honestly didn't expect the writing to be this engrossing. Personally I've only found the mention of theme a little too frequent (would've been fine with just the backpack as the only reference, really, or maybe that and couple other ones), but it did not lower my opinion of the game. So far the most fleshed out (and interesting) LD42 project I've seen, great job!
WrenPirateauthor17 Aug 2018, 18:42
@coffeecup-winner I guess it's a good thing we ran out of time and didn't get to include the scene at the pet adoption where Max can afford the adoption fees but not the vet bill, and the pet rescue is running out of spays. Thanks for your kind words!
tom7
tom717 Aug 2018, 22:28
I liked this. I brought veggie burgers and I was a hero, but also suspected that the game was making fun of me a little, which is fine. :) Pretty well written and presented. Top marks for "mood," although the twist was a little bit jarring?
BluShine
BluShine19 Aug 2018, 07:59
Interesting use of minigames and timed choices in Twine! Hurriedly deciding what to pack is a fun choice! I played through 2 different endings, but still felt a bit unsatisfied, like I had missed something interesting.
Local Minimum
Local Minimum19 Aug 2018, 09:35
I quite enjoyed this adventure. It was well written and engaging. The plot twist was kind of abrupt, but I get the need for it, wanting to stay with the theme. Perhaps there could have been some foreshadowing sprinkled earlier on, though I'm not sure exactly what that would have been.
RandyTayler
RandyTayler19 Aug 2018, 13:28
Fantastically written. All of it. But the line that made me the most jealous is this one: "You boop-boop the doors open."

Stealing it.
moonlightbomber
moonlightbomber20 Aug 2018, 02:14
Great. You tackled several situations where one can run out of space like I did.
WrenPirateauthor20 Aug 2018, 04:59
@saoi-games Thanks for commenting. Are you sure you're on the right page? I scrolled through the 10 minute video from your link at 1 minute intervals, and I didn't see Summer's Lease. Admittedly, it streams poorly because there's so much reading and the auto-forwarding is timed for silent reading.
WrenPirateauthor20 Aug 2018, 05:44
@saoi-games Oh, that was ten HOURS, and I was checking every HOUR. Good golly, Ms Molly, you are for serious about this! Thanks for your dedication.
MZA
MZA21 Aug 2018, 10:18
It is a very well written visual novel with some interactive real-time features, which is always good. I also liked how colours of the text you used to make it less monotone and much more easier to read. Very engaging to read. Well done!
CristiHKJ
CristiHKJ21 Aug 2018, 17:22
Great game! Very cool and interesting! :D
Petitpadawan21 Aug 2018, 19:51
Nice concept ! Very cool story-telling game!
g1234522 Aug 2018, 11:29
It's definitely an interactive story. I did played twice with 2 different endings. (one with Max leaving and one with car flipping)

The writing is nice, even if the theme is a bit spelt out loud.

The story is fine, but I must say it's a bit hard to identify with the characters. (But that's probably just me, or perhaps the fact that everyone's name were ambiguous.) My first run I didn't even realised what the name of the player was until the end scene, because I chose mainly the paths that didn't show the name.

I like the little details that come back from the decisions you made earlier.

I do like the fact that you wrote so much in 3 days.

I'm also not sure about the theme of the story other than 'running out of space'. I mean, I can't get if it's about a birthday party, or a love story, or an alien abduction story, or a dream, or something completely different. It might need a bit more of a focus somewhere.
FlyingKiwi
FlyingKiwi22 Aug 2018, 13:58
Unique, Quirky and a good read.
Roman Petrov
Roman Petrov22 Aug 2018, 19:44
I will try to play it again to go through various branches :) I like interactive fiction, but some pictures would be a nice addition to the game.
Joror
Joror23 Aug 2018, 14:06
Lovely lil story and snazzy writing. For a LD game a bit long on the attention span, but fun nonetheless. :)
m2u-8423 Aug 2018, 22:51
Fun stuff! Reminds of those adventure books I used to read as a child. You know - this “if you wanna go this way continue on page X else turn to page Y” kind of books. Thanks for the trip down memory lane! :-)
Diaxcor24 Aug 2018, 16:56
sorry didn't understand
Drums
Drums24 Aug 2018, 21:42
Lots of detail and logic in here. Nice job.
Demn
Demn25 Aug 2018, 08:57
Loved your little story ;) also I think you missed a line where "she" is "they" (or maybe the narrator just got bored of correcting gender each time :D).

I really loved the mood and humor you used throughout the whole interactive text, as well as the use of the theme as a way to personalise the player's adventure. The game could just use a little music effect, like winds brushing or stuff like that, just to create an ambiant around the game. This is all I can think about, I really liked your story !

My story ended with me going home on a car and not going in space :D
Blinkenlights
Blinkenlights31 Aug 2018, 19:23
A nice and relaxing game, although I found it a stretch with the theme and would've liked some music to go with it.
Repusv
Repusv31 Aug 2018, 21:42
WoW, it's pretty rare to see narrative games during game jams, especially good one! Good work! Nice ending too!
WrenPirateauthor1 Sep 2018, 05:00
So, if I have tallied correctly, @nam-nguyen and @blinkenlights don't think we connected to the theme. @coffeecup-winner, @saoi-games and @g12345 think we hit it too many times, and @Demn, @afroant, @grahhhhhhhhh and maybe @saoi-games's friend who sat in on her stream like the deployment. Thus-- Not enough: 2. Too much: 3. Just right: 3 (or 4). Giving everyone equally weight, I guess we're doing okay. Personally, I wanted to bring in more and farther-fetched puns on the theme, but those got sacrificed on the Altar of Time.
udo
udo3 Sep 2018, 08:40
I love how my uncharacteristic attempts at preparedness and planning turn out to be completely futile: "Fortunately, you brought the external battery, but the moment has passed." *Life lesson: learned*. And _still_ the aliens didn't take me on board. Well, at least there's still Derek. "I swear I would totally call you tomorrow, but... you know. I'm sorry." oh, come *on*! Maybe the LD scale should include a category for realism :laughing:
WrenPirateauthor3 Sep 2018, 09:29
@udo I hope your cell phone isn't a real-life priority for a day at the beach with friends. :wink:
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