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Harold's CHOICE Quest's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Comedy | #3 | 3.957 | 3.957 |
| Story | #11 | 3.087 | 3.087 |
| Graphics | #12 | 3.304 | 3.304 |
| Gameplay | #14 | 2.826 | 2.826 |
| Overall | #15 | 3.174 | 3.174 |
| Music | #16 | 2.696 | 2.696 |
Ranked from 23 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
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Comments
A rather weird technically impressive title. Feels like a commentary on 'just believe' type thinking that's somewhat popular seemingly, which obviously doesn't work as much as those people seem to pretend it does, reality doesn't mold itself to the beliefs of random people or even whole cultures, otherwise the world might work something like this game here.
Cool implementation of all those glitchy RPM effects! A very bizzare experience indeed. My harold decided just to leave the game instead of facing the final boss.
Lucius was like a life coach, that was excellent. Haha great entry, very impressive use of rpgm!
Harold Choice Quest is a unique entry that straddles the line between a game and a performance piece, designed to mimic the experience of a glitched and buggy game without actually being so. This intentional design choice is executed impressively, offering an experience that feels chaotic yet controlled.
From the outset, the game bombards you with intentionally crude graphics, jarring music, and gameplay mechanics that appear broken. These elements combine to create a distinct atmosphere where everything feels off-kilter. Despite this, the game remains engaging and fun, a testament to the developer's skill in crafting an experience that subverts expectations while maintaining player interest.
The use of default RPG Maker assets is cleverly implemented. The familiar sounds and visuals are twisted and presented in unexpected ways, playing on the player's preconceptions and delivering a fresh take on well-worn materials. This subversive approach is likely to resonate strongly with those who are deeply familiar with RPG Maker.
While the game may not appeal to everyone—its primary charm lies in its ability to turn apparent flaws into features—those who appreciate this kind of meta-humor and experimental design will find much to enjoy. Harold Choice Quest may be more of an experience than a traditional game, but it’s an experience worth having.
In conclusion, Harold Choice Quest stands out for its creative approach to game design, using intentional glitches and a subversive use of RTP assets to deliver a unique and entertaining experience. It’s a bold entry in the Harold Game Jam, sure to leave a lasting impression on those who appreciate its offbeat charm.
This was very funny and technically impressive as always. Lowed the 'Low Quality Portraits' if you chose that version. Kinda wish the tilesets were like that too.
I think the two endings missed the mark though. The Bad Ending is like: "Sure, you've saved the world, but you also did this one bad thing the game allowed you to do, so now you are IRREDEEMABLY EVIL!" Might just be my frame of reference, but the vast majority of games I know of with "moral choices" weren't like that. They tended to be more like: "Sure, you've spent the whole game acting like the biggest douchebag in existence, but as long as you defeat the bad guy and choose the good ending, no one will care and everyone will praise you as the greatest hero in the world", which I think would've been a better thing to parody, as part of the humour in this game seems to be based around the fact that ultimately, Harold's choices don't matter.
Endings based entirely on an arbitrary "morality meter" seem to be pretty rare in comparion.
I come from a culture that doesn't necessarily value free will and instead the value of 'duty' tends to be more familiar with me. My intent was to portray what I think how the world would work if life was really about choices. So, I added choices in situations that don't make sense and part of my idea was to exaggerate the supposed impact of these choices. It's also why the gimmick was packaged in a glitchy aesthetic, because IMO it's ultimately not how the world works and it's what 'free will' sounds like to someone who sees that people's choices are ultimately limited by their material conditions, if that make sense.
I could be more focused with the theme but overall this was an in-the-moment shitpost I made since I didn't have the availability to make a sincere, full-effort entry like I did in past jams.
Tbh, I confess that I don't really understand that worldview. Sure, real life imposes boundaries and limits your choices depending on your situation, but I don't see how it invalidates 'free will' to act how you wish so. You might not 'archieve' what you want and it might actually be impossible to archieve it in the first place, but you can still 'decide to' attempt it regardless. I guess you simply have a different definition of 'free will' than I do.
But back to the game. My best guess is that you were meaning to parody the mindset of: "You can archieve anything and be anyone if you just set your mind to it! Pull yourself up by your bootstraps!", which if that was your intention, then the game really doesn't come off that way. Things like "choosing not to take damage from lava" are a promising start, but on their own they just come off as random absurdist humour rather than some commentary on the nature of free will.
IMO, it would've been better focusing the whole game on choices Harold makes and gradually taking it to an absurd conclusion.
Like, have Harold walk into a restaurant, with a choice being whether he orders pancakes or waffles and then somehow have all the other characters gather around and treat it as some super epic choice that will determine the fate of the whole world, pleading with Harold to choose one or the other. Or have Harold be given the choice to donate some money to charity and if he does so, suddenly the game says that Harold singlehandedly solved poverty and the whole town is happy and all their problems disappear. While if he keeps the money to himself, the whole town starves to death immediately and becomes a ghost town.
Or when Harold has the choice to look for a job, have there be a list of occupations that include something ridiculous like King, Famous Actor, Billionaire or a Superhero and whatever Harold chooses, he instantly becomes just that.
Then you could escalate to the more absurdist choices, like choosing not to die, choosing not to take damage, choosing what time of day it is and in the end choosing what ending you want and they are all equally shallow.
I think that would've better reflected what seems to have been your intention? Right now, the game is funny, but your intention doesn't seem to have been translated properly into it. But as you say, this was a spur-of-the-moment entry, so that's understandable.
You've really mastered this Harold game glitch-horror-comedy sub-genre. It could be mistaken for a joke entry, but then the things you do using RM appear frankly impossible. The knowledge to pull off some of the weird things off in game is impressive.
The comedy didn't leave me rolling on the floor, but it did make me chuckle and then think, which is a feat for a Harold Jam rpg maker game. Always look forward to a Gensun jam game for how they push the envelope in subtle and clever ways.
Overall: Got the good ending, I guess?
Gameplay: Overkill on how much choice.
Music: MY EARS BLEEDING FROM THEME6!!
Story: HTTP404: Story Not Found
Graphics: You have a Glitch Gremlin, Gensun
Comedy: lOl i sO RaNdOm
Overall: It was an interesting concept, but I made a choice and it seems to have broken the game.
Gameplay: I could not leave the town map at all, and I was not able to finish the game. I don't know why I got stuck.
Music: Very quirky, such amuse.
Story: Not sure what was going on, but it was interesting.
Graphics: You know what you did.
Comedy: Not my style of funny, but I can appreciate the humor in it.
I t was an interesting experience and I think it probably just needed a lot more play testing.
Talk to the bus at the left side of the map after buying the boss slayer
The... bus?
Alright.
This was a work of art. Meant to be bad, but it wore it well.
Where's your CHOICE, hero?
Overall: A glitchy Gensun classic with plenty of laughs to go around.
Gameplay: Pretty straightforward but I loved the ability to just make whatever choice you want.
Music: RTP and publicly available stuff. Decent, although not the star of the show.
Story: Unironically motivated by Lucius's words. If Harold can walk across lava and just choose to take no damage, then I can live my life and choose to not feel any pain.
Graphics: Ironically enough, my usual 2 for RTP gets bumped up by all the glitchy goodness and, ironically, badly drawn Harold.
Comedy: FLYING HORSE!!!!!!! I also died when the Boss Killer put me 600,000 gold in debt. Good contender for my 5 in Comedy.
Even a low effort Gensun game goes the extra mile. Some really classy touches in whats a huge mess. You can clearly see this is the work of a good developer trying to make a bad game.
Not a lot else to say, other than I couldn’t find the bus cause I’m an idiot.
This game was a trip! I also noticed the commentary on the illusion of choice. Lovely game, and a terrific showcase of skill.
People often talk about life being about choices and so this game embodies what those people sound like to me. Glad to see my jokes are landing
When so much effort being put into a troll game, it turns into a great game!
Nice work! I love every moment of this game!
I choose not to understate the absurdity of this entry! I was choosing to cackle at every moment! This is certainly one of my choices for a high rating entry!
Har har. Very funny.
I love how trippy this was xD :D Something about the glitchy reality that is so funny and charming! The choices were so random! XD Also, I chose to do 9999999999 damage cause I can! I loved this fun entertaining entry! <3