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Sinking into Substance's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Theme | #163 | 3.725 | 3.725 |
| Graphics | #177 | 3.600 | 3.600 |
| Overall | #281 | 3.133 | 3.133 |
| Innovation | #296 | 2.925 | 2.925 |
| Audio | #329 | 2.900 | 2.900 |
| Fun | #381 | 2.800 | 2.800 |
| Game Design | #396 | 2.850 | 2.850 |
Ranked from 40 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
How does your game fit the theme?
Through the gradual descent of Sean, the protagonist, into the world of drugs and its consequences. As Sean becomes increasingly curious and influenced by external factors, he becomes more entangled in the allure of substances, mirroring a descent into an abyss of addiction and its associated dangers.
Did you write all the code and made all the assets from scratch?
Yes, even the storyline, narrative script and dialogues. (That was a fun task tho)
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Comments
I played the Too cool for School Sean :PReally enjoyed this VN. Music especailly was very immersive! Great job!
I played the Too cool for School Sean :PReally enjoyed this VN. Music especailly was very immersive! Great job!
There has too be some naughty Seans out there! Thanks for the feedback!
Haha damn right!
Cool game from scratch!
Thanks!
Much prettiated! Thanks @VOID!
Super cool! I love both music and graphics, and the dialogues are well written :) Can't wait to continue it! The only thing I would change is the font and maybe the textbox, they could be more unique ;)
Thank you!
You are verymuch right my friend! Will try to work on those features for following updates. Thanks for the feedback @O-Uno
Very nice that everything was made completely from scratch, super impressive and applaud you all for that in such a short amount of time. I appreciated that there was variety in posing and expressions when meeting NPCs, this added to the lived-in feel of the game. I can see a lot of writing and branching was done as well, which takes a lot of effort so, props to you! That said, I'd like to give some feedback on some points that raised some flags for me. I work as a narrative designer, so I'll mainly focus on that angle, with a couple of other things to mention. Spoilers ahead!
- This story deals with substance abuse, mental health, anxiety it seems, stress, peer pressure, overdosing, demise. I feel like it would benefit (and might need) a content warning in the beginning as a lot of those types of games have.
- I think changing the sound effect that is used when clicking through text would be beneficial to the vibe of the game, as it got a little repetitive over the course of a playthrough.
- Overall, I think it's super cool this topic was chosen as we don't talk about it enough; at the same time, I was concerned about the message it was transmitting. No matter how much I tried to be good, I felt forced to do drugs, and it seemed like drugs were the only way of 1) completing my school task 2) getting friends 3) receiving praise from my teacher. If a person doesn't play through till the end, it almost sends the message that this is the way to go. Luckily I think the title kind of nods at the fact that it's leading you down the wrong path.
- Speaking of trying to be good; coming into it, I think the player can obviously tell that the bold and interesting choice is to try new things and follow the counter-culture (aka do drugs, go to the crackhouse), but for the sake of experimentation, I went with the 'good guy' route. It's a strong principle in narrative design that you offer branching dialogues in order to accomplish something 1) supplementary information 2) alternative outcome 3) player agency, and so on. I felt that I was almost always railroaded in the same direction and had no player agency. I chose to not take drugs, but then I was forced to take drugs. I chose to not go to the crackhouse but to call Jackie, but I'm still forced to go to the crackhouse. I refuse drugs at the crackhouse, but I give in anyway. I try to stop Jackie from overdosing, but it has no effect. That's not to say that narrative options can't sometimes lead down the same path or railroad, but here it felt visible to the player and gave me a sense that my choices didn't matter.
Overall, it's a very cool concept, but I think value would be added if you 1) warn the player about the nature of the game on screen as well 2) consider the message of the game and how to convey it delicately in the time you have 3) consider player agency and meaningful choices when you build a narrative :D
Some tools I recommend (in case it's useful) for building these narratives and checking their outcomes: Twine, Inklewriter, Articy, MURAL diagrams, Lucidcharts, etc. Hope this honest comment is well received, I just love games like this and want to see them prosper.
Thank you for the feedback, I think you're right!
Well this comment is not well recieved, it is wonderfully apreciatted!
I think the disclaimer is a must, we dont encourage the use of drugs, thats why we tried to aboid controversy while using "Magic Powder" and "substances" instead of real drug nouns. So Im really happy to read you, as it was the kind of comment I was waiting to confirm myself that I need to add this disclaimer.
Sinking into Substance is a written novel. Due to time restrictions we had to force a one story path. We agree in this point, as it was intended for the developement.
I am really glad me and my team could deriver this project and get this much feedback, it has been the first time I got out the confortzone into a game with backgound and story, not just arcade. It is surprising how much work the narrative and the literary script are.
Thanks again for the feedback @Flo McQ., I will with no doubt check on the resources you provided me! :)
Great game. Creative story and good graphics!
Thank you!
So happy to read the good feedback! @Parado10
Was not expecting this kind of experience!
Things I enjoyed ✔️
Things I would like to possibly see with your title. 🤷♂️
Overall 📓
This was a very memorable story, your team did a fantastic job on this game! You all should be very proud of yourselves! 5/5 Stars across the board! These exact story games are what inspire me to try and spread my own narratives through games, so great job!
Thank you!
Hello @LandonZX it is lovely too read that you enjoyed the game! The team is proud, not even because of the result, but how well we have worked together and the effort done during this week. Thank you so much for your feedback, it is much prettiated!
Very unique take on the theme! I liked the game's art and music is great. The story is very strong and heavy which is very cool. The only thing I would suggest is to make the text sound effects a little less loud because they were pretty distracting. Great job!
Thank you! (I am the composer) glad you enjoyed the game and the music! the full album is here: https://open.spotify.com/album/4Op3uzQNCft58sdgOHJTRy, I think you're right about the sfx though
Thanks for the feedback @klouk! Much prettiated! You are right, the talking sound get too nasty sometimes, I will take a look on them!
Great game. Visuals are amazing and fit the game really well. Story was also really good and a really well way to aproach the subject. and the music was also really good. It was basically just a very good game! And I'm pretty sure there is only one ending since I chose all the "good" options and still got a pretty sad ending. But it was a fun experience (Although pretty sad).
Great game, keep it♥
Thank you! (I am the composer) glad you enjoyed the game and the music! the full album is here: https://open.spotify.com/album/4Op3uzQNCft58sdgOHJTRy
Thanks @bullfrog-777 for the feedback! We are glad you liked it! Yes, sadly due to time restrains we could just add one final. Even tho, I will secretally tell you, that you are not supposed to choose all "good" options for the good ending to happen. *Evil laughs*
Look cool
Thank you much! :)
interesting take, good job!
Glad you liked it! @BoxStudios
Really awesome project! As someone who went trough all this, I admire your aproach to subject, and I thing your storyline was so much real and also, so dark. So much potential, great job, keep it up!
Thanks or the comment @goks1986! It touches my heart to read this comments, it makes the developement of this project and the effort on its narrative worth every single second. Much love :)
I'm glad the story connected with you. I don't have any personal experience with drug addiction but we tried to tackle it in the best way possible.
This is a good mini visual novel! I do like the overall arc of the storyline but I do wish that the narrator's thoughts were presented more clearly. I think the artstyle matches pretty nicely with the story, though I think that skipping dialogues can have weird side effects with the background and sprites not being loaded at times. I would suggest reducing the number of beep sounds played to once every few letters when the text is being written into the box as it felt very very loud. I think with some polish and revisions to the story this has the potential to be great. Good job!
Thanks for the feedback @riko! Yes, I do agree! I will revisit the SFX and add few news when the game jam is over. Happy to read you enjoy the story, and I like to know what do you mean with the clearer narrator thoughts.
I think that while I could understand the narrator's thoughts, I think that it could definitely use with some more depth as it would help me understand Sean as a person better. I understand that they are close to Jacqueline, but I would like to see some sort of conflict in Sean's perception of Jacqueline seeing as she appears to coerce Sean into doing something that they perhaps are not comfortable with (if the player does go down that path). I think that having this conflict arise earlier in the story can help solidify Sean as a character, as they eventually give in to the use of substances and forget about that initial conflict. This is just one possible example, but there are definitely plenty of ways to expand upon the writing of the story.
Thats a really nice take my friend, I will keep it in mind for future updates, thank you much for the feedback!
For the past 25 min I was reading the story, some what relating to the characters. The only thing I did not get was the ending I got, the girl (maybe dead) on the couch and I clicked on some buttons for a sectence? Liked it alot, nice audio, good art and good story.
Now I want to smoke some weed, thx for the relatability of the story.
Thank you for enjoying the game! (I'm the composer, glad that you enjoyed the music! )
Heyo buddy! Yes, due to time limitations we have restricted the story from last days to something more straight forward. I promise an update with the last days polished for those that connect so deep in the story!
Thanks for playing @baz_geluk9! Really beautiful to read your comment :)
wow, the game is really good I love the storyline and the art style i enjoy playing
Happy to read that! We have enjoyed to develop it :)
Amazing story - and touches on very personal and deep issues!
Thank you...
Really happy to read this comments! Glad to have reached so DEEP in the feelings :)
Much prettiated. Much love!
Really innovative to make a visual novel for a game jam. And the story is great too!
For me one of the best things from this Game Jam! I had for a time the idea of doing something non-arcade that gives a background and meaning to the events that are happening in the game.
Developing a narrative and a literary script has been one of the best get-out-of-confort-zone I had while working on a GJ.
I recommend it tho! Thanks for the feedback @WhizmageGame
Damn the feels where starting to hit... But then I got stuck on a black screen eventually. It is indeed a lot of text, I'm constantly pressing space to make it go faster because i read a bit quicker, but the story seems to be very well put together. Also really love the art style and the way everything is self-made!
Hello Program Sam! Thanks for the feedback, it is preciated. Could you please tell me where you found yourself stuck? Which day, phase or storyevents were happening?
It was after I slept and didn't make the assignment, then declined the magic powder and didn't go to school. The character then went outside to talk to jaqueline. there already the screen was black but the conversation continued. when it switched to the next person it got stuck for me.
Fixed! Thanks for the feedback :)
Very nice art, good sad story but it's too much
Thanks for the feedback @Diegorinio :)
The artstyle looks very nice, story works too. Although there's just a bit too much of it.
Also it's funny how the teacher is refered to as mister
Thank you so much for the feedback, mister as it is sir! HAHA