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Back To School - Video Game's itch.io pageResults
Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
Audio | #988 | 1.299 | 2.250 |
Fun | #1017 | 1.299 | 2.250 |
Theme | #1019 | 1.299 | 2.250 |
Innovation | #1047 | 1.155 | 2.000 |
Overall | #1055 | 1.155 | 2.000 |
Game Design | #1059 | 1.010 | 1.750 |
Graphics | #1071 | 0.866 | 1.500 |
Ranked from 4 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
How does you game fit the theme?
You are not alone in this case, you have to use some detective work to find out who killed Martin. A middleschool student.
Did you write all the code and made all the assets from scratch?
Yes, using clickteam fusion
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Comments
(I am now in a rush to test as many games as possible to help, so please do not mind the cursory reviewing style.)
Semi-on-the-fly remarks:
Takeaway: essentially a narrative experience / interactive film; the only part with really challenging gameplay (where you can lose) is apparently the camera section (and there is also choosing the right object from Martin’s paraphernalia, but hey, that was quite straightforward!). I think you put a lot of work into narration and dramatisation, so I understand the game as mainly a way to tell a story, with drama and some humour.
I think you could help make the story/events more understandable, with subtitles and some more transitions (including text, sometimes?); I had trouble figuring out WHO I was (first, Daniel; then, the blue-haired (detective?) guy; then, the asylum guy?). Also, the camera sequence would need some clearer indications as to how things work. I finally saw and understood the door, but how the cameras work is still somewhat mysterious to me (it seems different from "Five Night at Freddy’s" — which I only know a bit —, since the guy could sometimes move while I was watching him).
Graphics were sometimes mismatched (for example, the main room from the camera sequence and the camera opening-closing effect are nifty 3D-looking material, while the rest is essentially personal hand-drawn rather static images, and the end and title screen use videos), but I like that you put a lot of personal drawing into it. Lots of audio, too! But I felt the dialogue was not always clear to hear; still, great effort there too.
My biggest criticism would be on gameplay: I feel the player need to get engaged more about doing something actively, instead of attending quite passively the action. Fans of interactive films may disagree, of course. ;) But hey, that is my take on it! As for the theme, although I had trouble following the whole story, I see through your answer that the connection is narrative. I think it would have been nice to also have a gameplay connection, but this is still fair.
Interesting to have a film-oriented game, not yet seen one! :) Thanks for your time.
(Game jam advice: you can get more people to try out your game and give you feedback by testing and reviewing other games yourself, I would advise you do it in any game jam you take part in! :))
PS: by the way, seeing this: did you really make the videos, 3D-like elements, and music + some sounds (gunfire…)? I suspect this might be an oversight on your part! You can still modify your answer using the upper-left button. ;)
"Did you write all the code and made all the assets from scratch?
Yes, using clickteam fusion"
the game "Back To School" was one of my first dramatic games, so thank you for your honest and real criticism of the game, while also pointing out other things that make the game more enjoyable. I also noticed you're interested about the story, pretty much, the son is killed at the same school you work for miraculously, and you are the main suspect, but let go due to lack of evidence. The father of Martin has gone mentally insane, believing he himself has a lisp. And the mother has driven to insanity, literally, off of a cliff, meeting her demise. The father is going to Daniel (you) for help. Doing a little digging you find the crime scene of his wife, collecting a piece of paper explaining that she was forced to do it, because she knew something. And the entire family would've been killed if she didn't. Although anyways the father has also died to the same fate his son had. But behind the scenes, Daniel (you) was infact the killer of the child, and directly hired hitmen for the dad and the mom. Then the dad comes back as a ghost and other funny things. But other than the gameplay which I could've done better. I appreciate you liking the story, and being interested in hearing more.
Hey, thank you for the detailed answer about the scenario! :) I understand things better now.
I hope my humble review can help you in any way in the future or was positive to you. Godspeed!
of course
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