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Sacred Earth - Alternative's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Judge's Choice | #6 | n/a | n/a |
| People's Choice | #23 | 3.963 | 3.963 |
Ranked from 27 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
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I got this game to judge as a finalist, here are my thoughts.
Overall I felt you had a solid story and idea here. I was interested in seeing how it went and playing it to the end. I do feel you need a little battle polish though. The first boss suddenly got many many turns in a row with no warning and I got wiped out due to that. If you are going to do a system with that many turns for a boss I'd invest in a true CTB turn order gauge like how FFX does it. That one shows you things like if you are about to go 2x or even 3x, and same with the enemy. That would really add to player experience too instead of what you got for the gauge, which with a party of 1 didn't feel too useful to me.
Also I do feel the ending was a little abrupt as it just...ended. I'd add a little more to that so the player feels like it is properly wrapped up.
Other than that I do feel you have a really solid entry here. A little polish on battles and a tune up on the ending and you'd have a really solid short game. Congrats on making it to the finals, and good luck with game making!
I was one of the official judges this year, and now that the results have been made public, and I'm free to do so, here is my score and thoughts on this title:
Overall score: 9.5
I felt this game was really well put together and a good mix of visual novel and RPG. However, I feel it fell short on a few aspects. First of all, it's easy to put skill points into the wrong skills and leave yourself with a build that might no be viable. I'm unsure if I managed to get enough AP from all the fights to learn everything, but by the time I fought Kell it was a difficult fight that I died to once. Also, her being able to drop my nearly full health bar to zero in a single turn of hers was a bit cheap. I also would have liked a little variety on the paths. I loved the travel system with risks and rewards, but it felt a little flat since I HAD to travel to every point on the map to progress. Or, at least it felt like I had to. Still, it was a very nice game that I enjoyed and wish I hadn't run out of time on, as I wanted to find out what happened.
Hey there MirageV, I got your game for judging so here are some of my thoughts. Using visual novel style cutscenes was a great idea since you have gorgeous art, though the story itself felt long compared to the time spent exploring the node maps. Speaking of maps, using nodes instead of full maps was a brilliant move! I wish there were more places to explore, but I'm sure you limited it because of the contest deadline.
Battles showed the time and effort you put into them, even when I was getting thrashed by a boss it didn't feel unfair. I just wanted to reload my save and jump right back into the fight to try out a different idea. Great job making combat fun and engaging.
Overall, this is a well done demo that leaves the player wanting more. It does need some more time and polish to truly shine, but it sounds like you're planning on that already so good luck!
The art in this game is absolutely it's strongest asset -- the game is beautiful! I loved all the small expression changes and details that went into all of the character profiles and backgrounds.
I liked that this wasn't straight VN, but had gameplay elements woven within the story, since that makes it much more engaging, rather than just being a lot of text on the screen.
This definitely gives me FF tactics vibes (minus the difference in battle system, of course), and I like the choice element that you've given the player with the skills / AP.
Overall, very nice game and I think with the changes you already plan to make, based on your comments below, it will only improve from here!
Sacred Earth - Alternative
by MirageV
Hey there MirageV, thanks for submitting a project to the 2022 IGMC. I was asked to judge your game in round two of the IGMC 2022 game jam. Here's some feedback about your project.
The title screen has nice music and art which makes for a good first impression.
While I'm not a big fan of visual novels I do like the font, text layout and presentation.
The writing is a bit lengthy, but worded very well. At times I feel like showing a picture or creating a scene in-game would have been better than just typing a paragraph.
The busts are animated with alternating expressions to go along with the writing which I appreciate.
I recognize Caz's Icons. They look good while matching the rest of the artwork that you've picked.
Simple menu layout and while it does scream RPG Maker, it's not bad. Everything you need is there in a clean window.
Customizing the menu sound effects could be a nice improvement. Confirm and cancel sound effect choice is an important one.
Node based travel works well here. Not every game needs maps that you walk around on. Bad maps will even take away from otherwise good gameplay. I think you made the right choice here.
I like the battle backgrounds, and actually all of the backgrounds that you've picked for that matter.
When starting an encounter, we're given the option to enrage them for +10 TP, or add player stats for -10. What about an option to change nothing for 0 TP change?
Making your tutorials skip-able is a good idea. Everyone learns differently and some people learn by playing not reading more text.
The combat system was a breath of fresh air. I didn't expect much in the form of gameplay when I go into a game that has the signs of a visual novel so when I saw the slick animations that you picked for the skills and the interesting customizations that were made I was pleasantly surprised.
The node system needs some kind of legend on the side that shows what each icon represents. It's impossible at first to know what each of these nodes will do, and thus a legend would help influence the player's first experience with it in a positive way.
Remove the 'properties' section of the status window by deleting that entry in the plugin parameters of the VS plugin. It's unused so it shouldn't even be there.
The description of the Ether items should also tell the player that they are getting elemental resistances and how much in the descriptions.
The menus and sound effect selection could use some work but overall I think that you've put together a really impressive project that feels different from most of the other projects in this competition.(That I've played so far anyway.) The writing is great, the story is interesting enough, the battle system is customized and the node system is a good substitute for using traditional maps. The game is presented well and I found it to be enjoyable.
Great job with this project, keep up the good work and I hope to see what you work on next.
-Drifty
Since the entries were announced Sacred Earth had caught my attention. I preferred to play it calmly after trying other works because I imagined it would be a really good game. In fact it was a pleasant experience: I really liked how it's not just a simple visual novel but it also has gameplay elements like the node-based exploration. In terms of balance it seems on spot, I enjoyed a lot the battles. An honourable mention also goes to the graphics and the UI that are well done. The only advice I can give is to add a few minor adjustments here and there (like sound effects), just to increase the quality which is already high. Excellent job!
I really liked the graphics and main characters, and the exploration system is cool too!
It's an interesting mix, with nice one-character battle system!
Still, after the first part I found the story a little repetitive, introducing new characters that lasts not enough time. The're different from each others and the protagonist regains slowly memories, but after the first zone you can easily guess what happens in the next two.
Other than that, I had fun with the battles and exploration, even if I didn't understood how multiple turns work: sometimes I get four in a row, other times the enemy does.
Also, if I save in a scene before a boss unprepared, that save file is gone :/
The game is quite charming and the concept really interesting: I'll happily wait for new updates and improvements! ^_^
I really like the quality of artworks (characters and backgrounds) and I absolutely love games with turn based combat and node-based exploration (I'm making one too XD), so I really enjoyed the gameplay!
I have some problems with the menus UI: it's a pity that you made it so "RPG Makerish" and leaving the default sound effects for cursors and choices didn't help. With a polished UI, and more SFXs during the Visual Novel parts, this can become a muuuuch better game!
As for the characters and story... maybe it's just not my cup of tea, but many other people will probably like it a lot!
Good job! ^^
Thank you for playing!
- I'm glad you liked the artwork! I drew the in game characters myself, so that's nice to hear
- As for the UI... I just realized I forgot to change the cursor sounds in the System tab, even though I gave my custom menus non-default sounds. That's toooootally my bad. XD
- Someone else pointed out the lack of context sfx in the VN parts, so I'll be going back in and adding those too, no worries!
- Regarding the plot... yeah, I know well my shortcomings at this point. I'm going to try my best to flesh things out in the plot department. I don't expect it to be everyone's cup of tea, but I can make it better!
I'm a little conflicted on the battle system. There are some neat additions like EX Boost, unique buffs, and passives. The UI also allows the player to keep track of buffs and debuffs, as well as what each one does. However, I kind of miss being able to use weak attacks to combo into stronger ones. While the old system does require dexterity
that I often lack because I mindlessly mash, there's something satisfying about attacking that way. On the other hand, a less dexterity-based system will likely be easier for players to learn and the game still maintains the core strategy of maintaining EP and EX efficiently.As for the story, there wasn't much time to get emotionally invested in the protagonist's companions, which is likely due to the time constraints of the contest. Though the way the "ending" is written implies that the player merely finished the tutorial and that future chapters could expand on the companions and the protagonist's past.
For the skill menu, I noticed that info box on the right doesn't always match the description. For example, Burial Wind is supposed to be wind elemental, but the info box lists it as No Element.
Phantasmic Array is supposed to deal 5 hits, but the info box says it only deals 1. Again, it's a minor discrepancy.
Thanks for playing, and also for continuing to support me through the years. I appreciate it!
A lot of this can be summed up as 'a lack of polish', haha. But thankfully, it's all very resolvable, so I'll get back into smoothing things out and fixing what's not up to par ASAP.
As for Chains... well, I think I can get those back in. I'll have to test it and see how it fares, but we'll see.
Excellent artstyle and the story seems interesting.
Halo MirageV, I played the game to completion and I wanted to give my thoughts…HOWEVER. I did come out fairly negative, and this seems a very “tailored to the people who know the context” sort of game, so feel free to ignore me. I have a very specific taste and this didn’t work for me.
Overall, I do not feel very comfortable criticizing the story and such, because I feel this was not made for me. As I understand it this is an offshoot of an already existing game series, and with no knowledge of that, I am left cold on a lot of the story and I don’t get grabbed and engaged too much. It doesn’t help that I’m TOLD what to feel rather than see why I should, and I felt extremely disconnected emotionally.
I’m pretty sure this would hit way different if I knew the context and had an existing link to these characters, but as I don’t, there’s not a whole lot I can say.
I’m linking the vid, but I was pretty negative, so feel free to skip it. I understand my style is not for everyone (especially when it’s your own game).
Thank you for playing! I watched your video, and while it is unfortunate that your overall opinion came out negative, I did get a few laughs out some moments in the playthrough, as well as useful nuggets of feedback for improvement.
Your criticisms are completely valid though. Especially on the plot end. This isn't specifically meant to be a game for 'people that know'. I just didn't spend more time fleshing out the plot scenes due to the deadline and a late-ish start. Like I said in another reply though, that's no excuse, and I fully intend to address that in future updates!
I'm glad you enjoyed the combat though. That is usually my forte rather than plot. This was my first time working with sideview in RPG Maker since like... 2017. I've got a lot more to learn about character motions, but I'll get there! As for the art, I completely understand that the anime aesthetic isn't everyone's cup of tea, so I'm happy to leave that point off the table, haha.
Bottom line though, I'll be doing my best to address the concerns you've raised and strive to make this a better game than it is right now.
Thanks again!
Had a great time playing through this, highly recommended. Very good for semi visual novels games. I like so much with the original character design for this games.
I really enjoyed the combat. Setting and managing all your buffs was fun, if at the end the easiest way to go was saving for your big hits, but it was a good addition to the story itself.
The story which was really easy to get into, curious to see more. That’s all you really need!
Watched a friend play this, so I can't comment too much on the battle system and such not - but visually the game shows a lot of polish. The character battle sprite is very cute and I like her design in general, and the menus and UI are clean. I think the story could use a bit more of an emotional core to engage the player and drag them in - especially since the ideas presented seem interesting, but it makes the player feel left out of the loop.
All in all, good job presenting a very complete looking game!
Than k you for the feedback!
I know the story rushes through things a lot. One of my very first priorities will be to flesh out all those memory scenes and add additional details to each area. This version of the game is very much a 'plot speedrun'.
No excuses though. I'll strive to do better!
It can be tough to get everything you want in a short time frame. Glad to hear expanding those scenes is already in the works though!
Map design is a nice change, and the gameplay is solid. Battles are tense, but not annoyingly so like other games that try to take the difficult route. The story is great and is a good jumping on point to the next installment. The storytelling does a good job at making each character distinct and relatable, and the stakes are laid out so well that you just want to keep playing to learn more about the world and these characters and how far everything will go.
Rock solid game! Can't wait for more!
Pretty good map and battle mechanics with a pretty good gameplay rhythm. As a story hook for the next installment, does a good job leaving you wondering what happened. Hope we get some answers in the future!
Sacred Earth: Alternative 10-min playthrough
- Incredible visuals from the get go. Professionally done
- The heroine is adorable :3
- Map exploration reminds me of Arcanum in Granblue Fantasy
- Dig the battle music
- Combat is definitely deep and engaging, a huge plus
This is a semi visual novel type jam game, so while it’s not as wordy as the traditional visual novel experience it will still hit that want for more text compared to usual games!
As a semi visual novel, combat have been added to mix it up. It is a fun surprise to see what monster you get during the Combat nodes, you may even reroll them if you don’t like it for a fee! The first combat node however, would probably benefit from having a predetermined lower level monster. It was hard to gauge the difficulty level of the monsters you encounter on your first play, as they are generated with RNG. There is a chance of going against full danger bars as your first battle and the battles continuing after that rather easily. On my first two plays, I got the max difficulty stone golem as my first and next node monster. And even though I beat them no problem, my understanding of this games’ difficulty rating got skewed. It’s only on my test in the third play that I finally got a 1-2 difficulty monster at the start.
The plot starts out slow, as expected with many amnesia stories. But, you eventually get more backstory revealed to you as you travel the nodes. A nice touch is that the nodes reveal themselves more as you progress so if you don’t want to miss anything, don’t skip out on those nodes!
MC’s old team of girls are quirky, each in their own way once you finally find them. I wish there was more drip feed buildup of info prior to meeting them considering the visual novel tag, but as a rpg for a game jam, it’s enough info to get the main plot across.
P.S Without spoilers, my favorite would be the last girl. She’s very zen, you’ll know when you meet her!
My own jam game had this, issue too, which I eventually fixed with <Random Encounter Requirements> tags. Visustella absolutely rocks! Knowing this game has random monsters and TP mechanics to partially control the outcomes really makes me excited to try this one out, in any case. All node-based Sacred Earth games had super fun dungeons from my experience~
Haha, thank you so much for playing!
The RNG of the very first combat node is an issue, I agree. I didn't think about that. I was too busy just getting it all together and hoping nothing broke!
Regarding the story, I had SO much more I wanted to do, but left out for time constraints. When I work on this again, going in and fleshing out the story beats of each area is definitely high up on the list of priorities for sure.
Yeah, I expect overlooked issues as a normal part of game jams! I can say certainly nothing broke, I played it three times and had no problems, so you're gold there!
That's great to hear! Visual novels/wordy games are my fav. I liked the characters and wanted to know more about their time together. My favorite parts are when I was reading about the past but certain things were scribbled out cause memory woes. I can imagine the slow burn buildup with more scenes being so nice to read. When you expand on this, I'd love to give it another go!