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The Bends's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Audio | #37 | 3.400 | 3.400 |
| Originality | #52 | 3.300 | 3.300 |
| Visuals | #65 | 3.200 | 3.200 |
| Fun Factor | #68 | 2.600 | 2.600 |
| Overall | #72 | 2.900 | 2.900 |
Ranked from 10 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Is your game a video game or a physical game?
Physical Game
Was your game made solo or in a team?
Team : Pandesoft and Statia
Did you use any third party assets, if yes what assets did you use?
---------------- SFX : "Static Burst 1" by Silverillusionist - Weird radio 1 Circuit bend.mp3 by hutsvoid -- https://freesound.org/s/513829/ -- License: Attribution 4.0 - Weird Radio Noise tube_radio_shortwave_longwave_noise_low_hum.wav by Maestro_Himself -- https://freesound.org/s/581262/ -- License: Creative Commons 0 - Male Scream 6 by jorickhoofd -- https://freesound.org/s/179320/ -- License: Attribution 4.0 - (surprised) 08 by Alba_Mac -- https://freesound.org/s/650182/ -- License: Attribution 4.0 - (gasp) 02 by Alba_Mac -- https://freesound.org/s/650100/ -- License: Attribution 4.0 - Fridge buzz (loop) by Matislav -- https://freesound.org/s/524598/ -- License: Creative Commons 0 - Male Choking_1 by Drkvixn91 -- https://freesound.org/s/318080/ -- License: Creative Commons 0 - Ghostbreath1.wav by slugzilla -- https://freesound.org/s/121584/ -- License: Creative Commons 0 - (death) 03 by Alba_Mac -- https://freesound.org/s/650095/ -- License: Attribution 4.0 MIDI : https://onlinesequencer.net/8819
Did you choose from one (or more) of the optional secondary themes?
None
Does your game contain 18+ content (Nudity, Gore, Language)?
Mentions of Suicide, but not graphic. Audio gore, nothing is shown.
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Comments
It's an honour and a pleasure to have been a small part of your work. Maraming salamat.
A massive well done to you on your project — A short, captivating experience with a tasteful approach to dark themes.
It's an honor that you checked our little game out, we're so happy to hear you enjoyed it! Thanks for making all those awesome voice lines they were just perfect for our character!
Magandang araw! Ingat ka palagi. :]
Really nice, short and sweet game that got me thinking about the symbolism behind it, I love it!! I also adore the overall visual aesthetic, it looks something right out of a PS1 game hehe can't wait to see more
Thank you so much for playing! Really glad to hear you enjoyed it!
After the feedback we've gotten we are hoping to expand on this project to make something a little more fleshed out! I'm happy to hear you like the art style because those PS1 graphics are something I've always wanted to try out! :]
Interesting experience, made me think of Kurt Cobain if you know what I mean, very dark concept, but cool idea to see on how the player can escape the dark recesses of his mind he has to turn away from all of it and rise up again (my interpretation haha).
Also the 2D mixed with 3D is a cool look, perhaps kinda blurry, but the handrawn characters have a distinct style. Also when the thing from the wall creeped to my side silently after turning the radio on, it actually made the hair in he back of my neck rise a little haha
Cool little concept game, wish there where more things to interact and maybe even more endings (found 2 + dying to the shadow), perhaps finding out more about the main character's life and some more sounds to maybe create some ambiance, but in any way it is still pretty interesting, congrats!
Jamie's design (Main character, blonde dude) was actually heavily inspired by Kurt Cobain! Daron Dimebag's design was inspired by Dimebag Darrel of Pantera, although he didn't die by suicide, I really wanted to capture the horrors of celebrity deaths, that gone too soon and media frenzy that uproars over every, in particular musical legend death. The song that plays on the radio is a midi cover we made of the infamous Gloomy Sunday song that has a bunch of urban legends surrounding it. (Also really glad that radio jumpscare got a good reaction lol!)
And you're spot on in your interpretation, I'm really glad that the meaning got across, I was worried it'd get lost because the game doesn't really force you to sit through any of the lore, kinda have to look for it.
After some of the feedback we've gotten, we're really interested in making this a fuller experience in the future. Thank you so much for playing and leaving some really invaluable feedback here!
Thats awesome, glad to have gotten some of the references and meaning, shame I didn't get the Dimebag one since I love Pantera.
Also, I didnt know about that urban legend and song, they are really cool, so thanks for showing me them! Really good choice for the theme.
Looking forward to this being a larger experience, good luck!
A good experience. Silence draws you instinctively into the abyss, the only vast and imposing presence in the environment, standing out immediately upon arrival. Meanwhile, music, as a universal language awakened by the subtle details you must actively search for to understand if it ignites something, awakens the monster, for this is the nature that permeates the MC's heart. Upon reaching an extreme, he realizes that, in this heightened present, music no longer serves as the expression of something but rather as the shackles of a past that has lost its meaning. It becomes a tedious obligation, carrying the essence of what could have been rather than what truly is: a futile attempt at relevance, at letting go of the desire for approval amid the profound anguish of never being understood. The greatest struggle exists amidst this mess, this clutter, and so many distractions in what should be a space for creation. Yet, this desire still persists, as once more the melody emerges, and the experience of being alive transforms into the manifestation of a monotonous will, as essential as breathing itself. Thanks for sharing, a really good game.
I was so worried that these themes wouldn't come across, your review is beautifully written, it makes me truly happy to see that you understood the meaning behind Jamie's struggles as an artist. I definitely wanted the song that plays to be something from his past, haunting him. Originally, I wanted to explain that it was the last song that he recorded with his bandmate before he died, based on the Urban Legend about the song Gloomy Sunday. Creeped us out during development, but the radio model is fully colored, but when we imported it, it turned all black just like the abyss in his room, kind of funny how that worked out, kept it in to draw more attention to it. I really hoped the choice of moving on to greener pastures or essentially getting sucked deeper into the mess that he's so comfortable in would come across, and I'm glad to hear it did. Thanks for playing!
Cool game. It's simple but effective. Is the music original? I really like the guitar part that comes out with the shadow.
Good job :)
The music when the shadow comes out and in the bad ending are midi covers we made of a song called "Gloomy Sunday", we used it because of an urban legend surrounding the song!
The only fully original song is in the Good Ending! Untitled song we made for a scrapped game a long time ago.
Thanks for playing! We're happy you enjoyed it! :]
Really cool, hope you do more with this! The photoshopped The Bends cover on the wall made me laugh.
Thanks for playing! Would love to update it in the future or add more to the story someday. Glad you enjoyed it, and noticed the silly poster, we were so worried the pixelated filters would make the posters and letters hard to read without subtitles/captions.