I've been making little card games and collecting cards since I was young. This game is about how the relationship with that hobby has changed over the years. Starting out I would do whatever odd jobs I could just to get enough money to buy a few cards. Now, I can order whatever card I want. Some of the magic gets lost along the way, but that's just part of growing up. I still love the hobby, just in a different way now. As a fun little tribute to my younger self I created new versions of some hilariously bad custom tcg cards I made:
Thanks for playing!
Thanks for checking out my little trip down memory lane ❤
Nice relaxing experience. I certainly didn't feel much excitment playing this game, perhaps because there was no connection between the work and the collection. It makes an interesting statement on people who choose to collect things for the sake of collecting things. If I was in their place I would find it boring to work 8 hours a day just to spend that money acquiring material things that do not improve my life condition in any way.
Didn't think I'd finish it but here I am 10 minutes later. Loved the concept, the art, the change in work levels and wish I had 200 more cards to collect!!!!
I love the art and I love the theme you incorporated. I used to collect cards too when I was young. I used to play a lot of Duel Masters, and back then it was the hottest card game. I think very fondly back on those times, but now that the game is considered outdated, I'll never relive those moments. A very bittersweet relationship indeed. Thank you for sharing your childhood with us :)
A nice little game that pleasantly surprised me. The gameplay itself isn’t too complex, but the way the content was presented really impressed me — how the type of work changed, how it gradually became a bit more challenging, and how new ways to earn cards were introduced along the way. And the unique visual style definitely deserves praise as well. Thumbs up!
This is such a cool idea! Doing WarioWare-like tasks to earn money for opening booster packs. The games itself minigames themselves were surprisingly fun! I wish you could use the cards somehow because now it is basically a score tracker. Overall great job :)
Cool game! It's really good at telling a story through its mechanics. I do wish the experience of opening a booster was a little less slow and melancholic, as it would make the contrast between buying a pack and buying singles even bigger. But it's a really nice idea overall. Great work!
you did a great job mixing up the gameplay and pacing it out so that the player has to engage with every new element. I really like this game! I kind of wish there was a way of using the cards in some kind of gameplay, but that would probably be asking too much for a game jam haha. nice work!
I found this game really unique in it's vibe ! Simple but as a Magic player, it reminds me on how we can sacrifice our lifetime for these little paper cards.
I really liked this vibe - I feel like it's a really accurate portrayal of how packs of cards go from being such a fun exciting experience when you're younger (or new to card games), and eventually lose their magic as you get more into the game, and the initial joy of exploration fades. Instead of becoming excited by *any* card you open, it becomes disappointing if you don't get any cards you want
I was originally going to offer a suggestion that you might want to randomize the job minigames and throw them at the player in a zany WarioWare-style experience, but as I kept playing I realized that the monotony (and slow progression) of the jobs was an important part of selling the whole experience.
Good game! It does convey how our relationship with money and our hobbies do change through life, and also how work changes. Nothing very satisfying meeting expectation in your office pressing the right key, but it makes more money than 10 days of mowing the lawn!
Nice to see how the cards have different prices, with some being very cheap and other absurdly expensive! I did feel like the music got a bit repetitive, but it might just serve the game's theme even more. Overall a very nice entry, congrats!
Had a good time with this, I encountered what I think was a glitch towards the end though. After getting 1000 coins working at the office job I suddenly found myself only able to buy basic packs again and had to start over from lawnmowing. Weirdly, the lawnmowing level had no grass to mow, but I was quickly moved onto fast food and then finally the office job again so it all worked out.
I do get the sense I lost some of the experience buy just buying singles rather than the excitement of opening packs after grinding for cash but I really enjoyed the storyline and the way we progressed through life stages. Loved all the card art too, my first card was a simple Blue Shoe, and how quickly my collection grew after that :D
Thanks for playing our game, really enjoyed yours too!
As a on and off Yugioh addict I appreciated the humor of the card references (I don't think I ever actually really registered the card art on Mask of Darkness before). After my second day at the computer job, I got sent back to mowing lawns and was unable to buy rare packs or singles again until i worked through the days once more. Either I found a bug or I guess I got fired lol. I liked how you were able to convey the changing collecting experience with pretty minimal systems.
Thanks for uploading! I'm someone who's only recently coming back to this aspect of my childhood, so a lot of this feels very relatable to me. It was very fun to see and work out all the references, and I think it's awesome you still have those custom cards from way back when! The little minigames were definitely the smallest part of this whole experience, but I think some extra feedback on the lawnmower part would be nice - a couple times it froze when I hadn't thought I hit a rock, and I started thinking the game itself was freezing.
The art was very nice, and quite a few of the flavor texts got a good chuckle out of me, too.
Beautifully done. I love how the jobs got harder and changed as you "got older" in the game. The progression of the methods of purchasing cards was a nice touch. What really carries it is the goofy cards with the adorable illustrations. There was a lot of art that had to happen for this and you nailed it. Had a great time.
This was the first game in this jam where I felt confident giving full marks for theme, it just hits the nail on the head on collection hobbies so much, and so efficiently at that. Good job!
I love that you created something personal and shared it with others. The card collection idea has been popular this jam, but you made it feel unique. The lawnmowing minigame is really satisfying, and I like how the difficulty progresses with the addition of rocks. The card packs look great, and that cheerful sound when you get new cards made me smile XD. It might not be as complex or ambitious in terms of gameplay as some other entries, but the huge collection of unique cards really stands out. Games with money earning and spending have always been close to me — they’re just so addicting. This entry is definitely one of my favorites!
As much as I would like to give a fair playthrough, I think the gameplay would run dry quite fast. The art is fitting and consistent, audio fit, and no technical issues. A jam game of all times.
In developing my games, I often resort to recording sounds with my voice, which I found in this game + score) Cool visual, you can expand mini-games and capture web sites)
nice game, simple idea but the game was pretty addictive, the art of the cards is cute and i also liked all the job minigames, i think it would've been nice to keep the last job unlocked (i don't know if it was bugged for me, but i had to repeat the job progression), overall good job!
I think this has been my favorite entry so far :) loved how the jobs got (slightly) harder each iteration, so it didn't feel tedious at all to earn the packs - also really appreciate that the final job easily affords the last few cards so you don't have to grind for them. I think my only real complaint was the pack opening animation - the SFX was great, but it took a little too long and it would've been nice to skip through the cards I'd already collected. Overall really great job, loved all the different card art and flavor text!
Oh wow it feels so real. Only thing missing - and there are lots of good reasons for it to be missing - is that as time goes on the cards you need to collection only grow, because Yo-oh-no keeps releasing cool new cards
Oh my god this might be the most gut punch of a game I've ever seen in Ludum Dare. The theme and the personal aspect to it hit me down a trip to memory lane. This was incredibly well done. 10/10
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The gameplay itself isn’t too complex, but the way the content was presented really impressed me — how the type of work changed, how it gradually became a bit more challenging, and how new ways to earn cards were introduced along the way.
And the unique visual style definitely deserves praise as well.
Thumbs up!
I was originally going to offer a suggestion that you might want to randomize the job minigames and throw them at the player in a zany WarioWare-style experience, but as I kept playing I realized that the monotony (and slow progression) of the jobs was an important part of selling the whole experience.
Well done! :)
Nice to see how the cards have different prices, with some being very cheap and other absurdly expensive!
I did feel like the music got a bit repetitive, but it might just serve the game's theme even more. Overall a very nice entry, congrats!
I do get the sense I lost some of the experience buy just buying singles rather than the excitement of opening packs after grinding for cash but I really enjoyed the storyline and the way we progressed through life stages. Loved all the card art too, my first card was a simple Blue Shoe, and how quickly my collection grew after that :D
Thanks for playing our game, really enjoyed yours too!
The art was very nice, and quite a few of the flavor texts got a good chuckle out of me, too.
The expirience is cosy and relaxing, I enjoyed it!
Ah and... the last job is a great joke hahaha
Reminds me of Work Time Fun, for PSP... or said another way, if WarioWare were an office cubicle job.
The music is an interesting touch. It's simple, inoffensive, and sets the mood -- sufficiently competent, nothing amazing, but it gets the job done.
The cards were well done. Got a few good chuckles.
Couldn't unlock everything but filled at least half of the book!