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A jam submission

Twisted Times in TwinsmouthView game page

A point-n-click pixelart adventure game about writers, killings, undersea dreaming gods and time tunnels
Submitted by Marco Giorgini (@marcogiorgini) — 3 hours, 53 minutes before the deadline
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Twisted Times in Twinsmouth's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Lasting Impression#54.0004.000
Characterization#94.0334.033
Overall#133.9333.933
Overall#133.8333.833
Mental Engagement#153.8003.800
Emotional Engagement#313.3003.300
Atmosphere#403.9333.933

Ranked from 30 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

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Comments

Viewing comments 22 to 3 of 22 · Next page · Last page
Submitted(+1)

Lies! All lies! I am sure you found the place where one can eat ideas! ;-)

I loved you and Stefania as characters, as well as all the famous writers. It's absolutely beyond me, how you manage to build games this size for the jams. Incredible! Great job and congrats to the 1800th place!^^

Developer

he he he - thank you so much :-) - I'm really glad for your words (even if I won't admit anything about ideas food :) )

Thanks .-)

Submitted (1 edit) (+1)

Great idea brought to life! A game with solid writing on... writing). I believe you uncovered lots of dark secrets of many authors in this game. Well, at least one. Saving this one for inspiration! Getting, aye. 

Developer(+1)

eh eh -  thank you so much :D

(+1)

So much content and lore! Despite the dark plot, I liked how this one had a little more whimsical humour than your other games. Though, the most shocking thing about this game is finding out you're 55 years old :)

Developer

he he he - (about my age) you're the second one telling me that :-)

and thank you very much for your words - really happy you like it :-)

Submitted (1 edit) (+1)

Very cool atmosphere, character/background art, and a fascinating balance of intrigue and humor. Such an impressive amount of content and features for a two week jam. It's honestly overwhelming how much you've got here.

Noticed a weird bug after the first interaction with Poe, where the conversation seemed to repeat after he went into the hotel. This actually seemed to soft-lock my game as the first selection I chose was the unexpected guest, then it had me choose the other two and I was unable to continue. Thankfully I had saved immediately before this.

I'm glad that George was at the trekcon, and that we told him that he should be writing. Doubtful that he's going home after this and going to actually write anything. Most of the interactions with writers were enjoyable, but a handful of them felt a little out of their character.

A lot of the puzzles made perfect sense, and a lot I would never have figured out without a walkthrough. I suppose this makes perfect sense by adventure game standards, but it did occasionally feel a touch 'padded,' like some of the interactions were a little uninvolved with the overall narrative. Some of the repeated dialogs between different authors added to this. I also felt maybe it could have used a few more background tracks considering how much time it takes to get through it all. But out of everything you've got here, those are about my only complaints and its understandable in a two week time span.

Seriously impressive piece of work here though, a lot of love obviously went into the designs here and you've got a talent for realizing your design visions. You might not win first but you're definitely gonna place above 1800th :)

Developer

thank you so much for playing it - and also for your feedback :-)

You're absolutely right - the huge cuts and the rush are indeed visible here and here - repeated dialogues surely are but as you said other things need to be polished - including hints for some of the puzzles :-| 

thanks again for your words and for your time

Submitted (1 edit) (+1)

I'm amazed about the quality of this game and the fact that it includes Poe and Lovecraft makes it even more interesting. Congratulations for the game! Bravissimo!

Developer

wow thank you so much for your words :-) really happy you liked it :-)

Submitted(+1)

Really huge game in a nice style. I couldn't finish it even in one evening. Someday I'll come back and finish. It's strange that there aren't a million walkthrough videos on it yet. This plot is cryptic, but due to poor knowledge of English, I could not understand it completely.

Developer

Thanks for playing :-) - and yes - this is not a short game (but as it is long and made in a hurry, I know that some points might be (too?) difficult).

About videos - yes - so far nobody seemed to want to cover it :-)

Submitted(+1)

huge game with intriguing story and really tricky puzzles!
the writing helps to find out clues however.
Great job, i like it
PS. vai con Stefania in un vero resort però :-)

Developer

ah ah ah - in effetti bisogna che lo faccia :-D

thank you so much - glad you like it :_D

Submitted(+1)

Holy smokes, there's a lot to love here, especially since there's SO MUCH in the game. Everything you used to make this, you're VERY proficient in it. Tons of locations to explore, characters to talk to and puzzles to solve. The Maniac Mansion switching between the characters, all of the sweet pixel art. I did run into a few issues, I got softlocked when Marco first meets Poe, but reloading fixed it. Even fit in some RL Stine love! Stephen King is for sure just an adult lit version of him. Bravo!

Developer

thank you so much :-) - really glad you liked the game and for your words :-) (and yes I'm (also) a huge fan of RLS - that's a super cool person, as far as I can know it from video, inteviews and articles) 

Sorry for the issues you found (yes - from feedback, I've discovered there are some) :-|

thanks again :-)

Submitted(+1)

We already talked in private about this but it makes sense that I leave a comment for everyone to see: people, this is a great game. Plot and writing are top notch. There are a few things that might need adjustment - some hotspot sizes and in my opinion there's a puzzle I solved more or less randomly, but with this much content produced in two weeks you really can't complain, can you?

Developer

Thank you so much :-) - and yes - I'm also glad about your detailed feedback - really appreciated, considering I want to improve/fix what's needed!

Submitted(+1)

This is a very good and fun entry! I loved the Maniac Mansion (big heads) style and the caricatures of the famous writers. Maybe some of the puzzles could have some better hints as I felt lost sometimes and resort to check the walkthrough but that could just be me. I had fun and I like the Love for Lovecraft atmosphere of the game. 

Developer(+1)

thanks .-) really happy you liked it (and get the MM/ZM choice for chars :-) ) - yes :-| - I surely need to balance some elements better - thanks for your feedback :-)

Submitted(+1)

Very good especially that this was made in 2 weeks, everything is great and I loved the story and atmosphere Good job!

Developer

thank you so much for your words :-)

Submitted(+1)

Good puzzles, intriguing atmosphere, well done!

Developer(+1)

thank you :-)

Submitted(+1)

Very impressive scope for two weeks, and the story is very intriguing! I did have to resort to the walkthrough as I got stuck in a few places. When I checked the book in the hotel, it didn’t give me the info described in the walkthrough, so I’m not sure how to proceed from there. I think I did everything that comes before that.

Developer

to understand (as a character) what you want to do you have to [spoiler] look at the manuscript AND the spyglass at the TrekCon - then (when you know that the author was there AND that they want to trade) you should get the room name and the key - did you do that?

Sorry - it's tricky :-|

Submitted(+1)

I thought I had, but I tried again and it worked. Maybe I looked at them too early or something? Anyway, finished now, what an epic! I love the ending. Great job.

Developer(+1)

thanks for your words (and patience :-) ) - I'm really happy you reached the end and liked it :-)

Submitted (1 edit) (+1)

It's nice to see that an autobiographical adventure has made it into the Jam. You don't see that very often.


How you managed to finish such a long game in 14 days is beyond me. I mean, it has graphics, a story, puzzles, everything! And they're good, too. Like what?

Had some trouble getting into the game. I missed the southern exit and got totally lost. After going through many dialogues several times, I finally found the lighthouse. What a relief! ^^

(From what I've seen you have alredy changed the hotspot, so that's great.)

The walkthrough was also very handy. Had to look up the solution to get the key code. I knew what to do, but I couldn't figure out how to do it. I was trying to do the right thing, but advancing the puzzle only works from a certain place, as far as I can tell. I think this could do with a clue. But that might just be me.

It's a great game. Nice visuals, good puzzles, an interesting Lovecraftian touch. I really enjoyed my time in Twinsmouth.

It's just a shame you didn't make it to 1800th place. Maybe next jam, eh? :)

Developer

About 1800th - yes - I should be able to get a better position than that (like 348th :-) ).

about the rest - thank you very much for your kind words, for the time you spent in Twinsmouth - and for your feedback. Yes - you're right - the game needs polishing. I'm glad I was able to finish in time, but I cut more than a few things and didn't have time to balance others. The walkthrough provided from the start was my (guilty) way of admitting that I didn't think everything could be clear enough, and I'm collecting notes to see how I can improve it (outside the scope of Jam, of course).

Thanks again :-)

Submitted(+1)

Wow, amazing how much you managed to put together in two weeks! This is a complete game! The writing was very good and the art was top notch, especially the characters! I couldn't believe how many characters there were, and they all looked fantastic!

Developer

thanks :-) you're too kind :)  - I'm really really happy you played it and enjoyed it - thanks :-)

Submitted(+1)

Fun game! I haven't finished it yet because it's waaaaaaaaaay longer than I expected it to be, but what I've played I've enjoyed! I felt transported back into the days of Maniac Mansion, and that's a good thing, :)

Developer(+1)

thanks :-) happy you liked it (and yes, it's at best one hour long)

Submitted(+1)

That was a long and great game, what an amazing work! I really enjoying it. First of all, the plot (you, as the main protagonist, are looking for a gamejam story) is brillant.

 The ending was excellent, the puzzles not too easy or too hard (thanks for the walkthrough!), some jokes made me giggle. 

Overall, it was an excellent and entertaining game: you definitively won't be the 1800th!

Developer(+1)

thank you so much :-) - I really hope to be at least a 360th :-)

Submitted(+1)

What a fun entry. And we already KNOW it won't finish in 1800th place. I would even wager it'll make it to top ten. It's incredibly LONG for a game made in 14 days! And very fun! The idea with all the famous (if hardly recognisable - this letter change is quite something) writers is so well executed and just makes so much sense. Nice meta story about the gamejam!

I think it could have done with a second round of proofreading and it took me much more time than I like to admit to figure out how to go SOUTH but it plays really well. Some story progression doesn't feel "clean" and some puzzles need to be signposted better (especially why was I allowed to go east and west at a certain point but not north?) but other parts more than make up for it.

I also noticed some imbalance with the writing, sometimes there's not a lot of (different) dialogue with some NPCs then there's quite a bit of story dumping going on.

But I am sounding far too negative again, this was really enjoyable and deserves a top ten ranking!

Developer(+1)

thanks :-) I'm really happy about your nice words - and for your feedback too. You're right - the south hotspot must be expanded (I made it too small - that I think it's fair if I change with an update, including a couple of minor bugs) and you're right too - some dialogues need to be added (at last I've duplicated some of them because I was too late), some others to be written in a better, more clear way - and I need more overall proofreading :-| Those things I hope to be able to do AFTER the jam period.

Thanks again :-)

Submitted (1 edit) (+1)

Whew that was a long game. I was stupid and completed most of Stefania's part before I even realized how to get past the first fish guy with Marco! I was sure I had already tried giving him everything I had. I guess not!  Really good game, lots of interesting interactions. Some puzzles are quite unintuitive, maybe I missed what would point me toward the solution, but it seemed like a few of them you just had to randomly try things.

Developer

Thanks :-) yes - it's long - so I'm even more happy you played it - but uh I surely have to double-check some elements - in theory, everything has an explanation / a reason - but probably I didn't do enough to give the right hints for some pieces. Thanks again for your words and feedback :-)

Submitted

Like one thing that particularly annoyed me, and *SPOILER ALERT* for anyone reading, but the fact that using the phone in the room calls the front desk but everywhere else in the entire game, the phone tries to call the other person. I had no reason to believe that using the phone in the room would do something different, right?

Submitted(+1)

Well this is definitely not going to be the 1800th game and I sure hope it's in the top 10 (if not top 3) because I absolutely loved it! It took me a while to finish because I didn't want to look at the walkthrough but it was totally worth it! It was a very immersive experience with a great story, nice graphics and music. The puzzles were also logical (except I think I missed why the crystal slippers worked the way they did and why we had to use the old letter to talk by the bridge), I didn't get properly stuck anywhere. Also, you can collect some objects multiple times but it didn't affect the game experience. Overall, it was a pretty much perfect game! Great job!

Developer(+1)

You made my day - thank you so much for your words and for the time spent playing (considering it's not a short game)  :-)

Thanks also for the feedback - yes, you're the second one warning me about double items - I should absolutely fix that - and (that instead only post jam) I'll try to explain better the two points you highlighted)

Thanks so much :-)

Viewing comments 22 to 3 of 22 · Next page · Last page