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Sweet Dreams's itch.io pageResults
Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
Theme | #2 | 4.286 | 4.286 |
Overall | #3 | 3.762 | 3.762 |
Presentation | #3 | 4.143 | 4.143 |
Creativity | #3 | 4.143 | 4.143 |
Story | #3 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
Gameplay | #4 | 3.143 | 3.143 |
Horror | #6 | 2.857 | 2.857 |
Ranked from 7 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
How did you choose to implement the Theme: Remember the Dead in your game?
Tami is processing the passing of her unkind Grandmother!
Did you implement any of the optional Bonus Challenges, and if so, which ones?
It is set in autumn, during a storm. And she does kind of meet her grandmother!
Did you create your game in RPG Maker?
Yes
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Comments
I finished the game and here are my thoughts:
I really liked the custom graphics. Some of them certainly would need to be polished (tilesets and some objects sprites) but it's always nice to see custom assets. The sprites for the main character and the monsters were really well done, specially the battle sprites.
The battle system was something I wasn't expecting (and something you rarely see in Rpg Maker Horror games) and I have mixed feelings about it: while the mechanics were interesting and the main character protecting herself with her blanked was really sweet, I felt that some battles were a bit too hard, specially the shadows in the final section right before the final boss and the fire section boss (before I learnt the battle was easier with the skill you get from the snowman).
While I enjoy challenges and was determined to finish the game, there's a chance that some players will probably give up during these battles and miss the rest of the game. Difficulty is certainly something we devs have a lot of trouble with: we either create something that's too hard or too easy, and finding the right balance can be a nightmare.
The puzzles were nice and I didn't really have trouble with them. I did find some bugs: for example, in the final section, if you fall the character gets stuck in the air and you can't move anymore. If you save there, then your file is ruined. However, I think you mentioned that you had trouble with playesting for the game (or the lack thereof), so I understand why those bugs were present.
The story was sad but really interesting and I wanted to know more about the characters. I'm not sure if I understood the story correctly though (the grandma died of cancer and she was a very mean and hateful person and the mc was scared of her?)
Overall, despite certain bugs and the difficulty of the battles, I think the game was good and enjoyed playing it! Also, the storm atmosphere in the beginning was reaaally well done, I really liked that!
Thank you for playing! This is such thoughtful and helpful feedback. It was the first longer jam I’ve done and I think I learned a good lesson about scale haha. Definitely bit off more than I could chew, quality wise. But I learned SO much, especially with drawing tilesets which I’ve just been having so much fun with now I’ve finally crossed that bridge. Seeing all the different tones and styles in this jam has been so educational and fun. Feeling very happy I did this haha.
This seems like a cool, albeit somewhat poignant game, but it has some issues. The RPG Element is a bit frustrating especially since you can't really get XP the same way you would get in something like OFF. This makes some of the battles, especially the boss fights, more tedious than they needed to be since I had to pray that the boss didn't just outspeed and kill me. The puzzles weren't too bad at first but once I got to the 2nd level I got really frustrated with the boulder section. Apparently I also found a bug in that section also, as I managed to press ENTER would get me to the boss, but for some reason I found myself soft-locked and unable to progress. Now my save is basically stuck in a soft-locked state and I would have to replay the game all over. The story isn't too bad with the girl trying to come to terms with a selfish parental figure with some rather somber undertones, but I wasn't really able to get too far due to the aforementioned softlock. Also, it seems like there are some punctuation issues that are littered in this game (apparently RPG Maker Game Jam Submissions are notorious for these for some reason). Overall this game does seem pretty cool (I am kind of impressed how you managed to create your own custom tilesets on RPG Maker, I couldn't have even gotten that far) but I think it needed a bit more polish before submission.
Gameplay: 5/10 (Needs more fine tuning)
Story: 7/10 (Actually pretty promising with the somber, poignant tone)
Presentation: 7/10 (Solid job on the visuals with decent enough artwork that fits the tone of the game)
Creativity: 7/10 (Creative enough premise, though the execution is a bit iffy)
Horror: N/A (This isn't really much of a horror game, horror games are generally meant to scare you, this one is more leaning to poignancy rather than horror. I won't hold this against the game though)
Theme: 7/10 (Gets the job done reasonably well)
Overall: 33/50 = 66% (Fine)
Hey thanks for giving it a go! I definitely need more playtesters, haha, or any, really. Part of the reason I wanted to do game jams,I just don't know any people irl who want to try them. So any kind of feedback is valuable. It's hard just trying to, idk, imagine what someone might do! My goal here was to mostly learn to make tilesets so I'm not surprised you found some bugs, putting it up here was quite literally the first time another person has played it haha. I'm trying to figure out what soft locked you right now. There is intentionally no leveling system, I definitely didn't have the time to balance that so I was hoping to do a Zelda- like skill based feel where you gain more powerful magic/abilities in the story that make the battles more interesting, but again if I find something doable doesn't mean it is, this is where playtesting by other than just the creator is super important. So again, feedback super helpful! Really my issue here is one no one here can fix, I need more playtesters before putting these up.
I really like this! I love the art, the maps and the story. And I also really like the way you changed the menu screen and the battle options. I died a few times on the now area and I have to go to sleep, but I plan on continuing toorrow, so I'll update then. But yeah, I really like this! Very nice! :)
Thank youuuu!! I was so nervous making my own tilesets/sprites. Can’t believe I finished it in time haha. Don’t forget to hug ur Teddy, he’ll help keep you safe <3
i can definitely relate lol. But yea you did awesome! And I'll remember that. :)