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Dark Chrysalis's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Gameboy Soul | #90 | 3.925 | 4.300 |
| Interpretation of the Secondary Theme | #125 | 3.925 | 4.300 |
| Overall | #131 | 3.505 | 3.840 |
| Soundtrack/SFX | #141 | 3.286 | 3.600 |
| Gameplay | #171 | 3.012 | 3.300 |
| Graphics | #203 | 3.378 | 3.700 |
Ranked from 10 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
How does your game meet GBJam's theme?
Imagine if you took Lavender Town creepypastas and mixed them with lost media. Like a GameBoy game developed by Harry Horse.
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Comments
Great graphics, the music is pretty good and it really helps with the spooky athmosphere! gameplay is simple enough, fun to just mash buttons and slash enemies, died to the boss where i feel like there should be a bit more of mercy invincibility, other than that, had a good time playing it
The designs of the main character and the boss were both really interesting. Also intrigued by the meta story behind the creation of the game!
Thank you!
The meta story is mostly in my head... it wasn't really committed to paper besides 2 or 3 diary entries, I couldn't really get it going during the jam period.
But it basically follows a team that's level-headed but doesn't have much experience, especially with developing for the Game Boy. The director is this artistic, indie comics guy they've all had history with, and looked up to, but he's experiencing internal turmoil, which reflects on the game's design and themes - they revolve around him feeling trapped and hopeless. Which is what the first dialogue in the game is all about. The game is as if it was the inside of the director's mind at the time, a "maze of violence."
The team sticks by him regardless, despite questioning him a whole lot. Because how could anything like that be released for strict Nintendo's very own handheld console? Despite multiple attempts to sanitise the product it just leads to more fighting, and doesn't really get anywhere. Out of a deep, potentially supernatural veneration for the guy and his work they still keep developing though. Until one day they stop, and somehow all vanish. Many years later, a build is anonymously leaked. Then it's up to your imagination to fill in the blanks with explanations of either a more mundane or metaphysical character.
It was greatly inspired by, and would have had the more conspiratorial, occult, sinister elements of, Drowned God by Harry Horse. Another great source of inspiration was Basilisk 2000 by Akuma Kira, which is a game I thoroughly recommend if you enjoy this kind of story.
This is nice! I really like the graphics, especially the animations for those spider things. Everything about this game feels nice and retro. I dig it.
I enjoyed playing! Nice work!
Appreciate it! I put a lot of effort into making everything as GBy as possible.
The spiders are 4 frames of animation, and do not turn towards the player. I find it helps sell the original gb RAM limitation. They were also based on a GB game I played when I was a kid that was a bit unsettling, but I have no idea what it was.
Good little romp!
Thanks!
very cool vibe! it is rewarding to defeat some of the stronger enemies. I really like the MEAL sprite, that feels very gameboy/retro!
Thank you!