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A jam submission

the Canis ConvalescenceView game page

a MAY WOLF 2024 Game Jam Submission
Submitted by the Magic Tuba Pixie (@Magic_Tuba_Pix) — 1 hour, 13 minutes before the deadline
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the Canis Convalescence's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Presentation#223.1823.182
Story#243.1213.121
Implementation of Theme#292.3032.303
Creativity#313.0613.061

Ranked from 33 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

Team Members
just me!

Name of Wolf/Wolves
Lupus McCarthy and True Conifer

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Comments

This is a lovely and quick read. I don't really see how it fits within the "expansion" theme, but what is there is cute! Love that True is an old grey muzzle and that Lupus is a short king. I don't really see much of these in VNs I've read, so it was refreshing!

Submitted

Not a fan of second-person POV story, but it just works here. The occasional fourth wall break also serves as good comedy. The... "three visits" format and the writing are well done but I have to admit the lack of audio and inconsistent-sized, blurry BGs take a lot of the enjoyment.

I understand that time constraint might be the biggest problem. I wish to experience the game again when (if) it's in a better-polished state. Still a good read though!

Submitted (1 edit)

I love a short king, and the custom spritework/bg's gave this a lot of character! I still wish I had downloaded the LOST MEDIA ORIGINAL CUT

But The Canis Convalescence is a fun, fast, and cute story that I enjoyed my relatively brief time with! My one complaint is I don't get a lot of 'expanding' from it, but I enjoyed it none-the-less!


EDIT: IM SO SORRY I DONT KNOW THIS POSTED LIKE FOUR TIMES

Submitted

I liked the custom sprites and artwork.  I think it was an improvement to make them more into your own characters. 

I do wish there was some music in this, though I suppose I can just play whatever soundtrack I want in the background : )

Submitted

This falls more into a 'dating sim', which is cute in it's own right. The characters were fun to talk to, and it was a simple, easy to read premise. Not much to say on this one, so good job and congrats <3

Submitted

A short, simple romance that hit all the notes it needed to hit.

The custom assets were really nice; although, I wish that there had been audio. I think that adding something like an ambient spaceship humming would have really helped make it feel less empty.. The writing is good. It's not my cup of tea, but it isn't bad by any stretch. 

All in all, a solid entry.

Submitted (1 edit)

OwO. What's this? Another VN to read and rate? My 14th of this jam? Heck yeah! There we go!

Ok I have just finished reading this VN. Here are my thoughts.

It was a hybrid between a light-hearted slice-of-life and a full blown satire entry. It tells a story at the same time it comes up with  genre-conscious humor (the choice you get while you are on your seat is an example of this). It's like Password (in its slice-of-life aspect) but written by Badminton Ace's author (who is readthisifyouarehomo btw). However, it's genre uncertainity makes some things unclear, like the romance/dating for example. If you read this as a comedy slice-of-life, it's too rushed, but if you consider this to be a parody of fvn dating sims, it's fine.

The fact you used custom sprites is nice, even though they are quite simple and sometimes look strange (for example, when they laugh), yet I understand we were only given one month to do this, so it's ok. You also put choices in the vn, props for the effort.

Now, there are some negative aspects of this VN. First (kind of) is the blank-slate-ness of the MC, which is not bad per se but feels not so properly implemented. Second, the lack of sound. Third, the characters' oddly developing relationships (romance appears too quickly and kind of out of the blue, yet if you read this as a parody vn it makes sense). Bonus, the fact conversations with Lupus or True are the same regardless of the week you start meeting them.

I saw the game archives and found the Omega wolf in a prison uniform lol.

These are my thoughts on this VN. Thanks for the experience!

Submitted

Spoilers etc:

Theme:  Not sure, tbh. Space colonizing?

Story: Kinda just like three visits to the criminals to go "you know, you weren't so entirely bad" and them going "that doesn't make me good" followed by "You're kinda hot" with different timings. I do appreciate having the "no romance won" ending tho, and the other false endings too.

The narratives felt very adapted from whatever source material inspired the two wolves (is true conifer supposed to be a MGS solid ref? I can't tell insomuch as I don't know those games very well... big boss?) and those similar plot beats kinda had them feeling very similar in the end, barring one being more forward/flirty than the other.

Essentially our pov character felt pretty replaceable, which is perhaps the thing that was missing to force them to have different convos-- they could have had those convos with anyone who gave them a spare second.

Presentation:  I appreciate the custom sprites & occasional custom backgrounds, but having no audio at all was tough, and some of the backgrounds felt too small or out of place for the setting (like plane seats on the spaceship?)

Creativity: Ersatzing famous characters as prisoners is interesting, I'll say that much.

Overall thoughts: Nice attempt, but there were some glaring holes (mostly the no audio) and the sort of standard approach on both sides that left it feeling a bit more like a vignette than a story. Just an experiment in mood, but without all the necessary modifiers in place.

Submitted

Spoilers etc:

Theme:  Not sure, tbh. Space colonizing?

Story: Kinda just like three visits to the criminals to go "you know, you weren't so entirely bad" and them going "that doesn't make me good" followed by "You're kinda hot" with different timings. I do appreciate having the "no romance won" ending tho, and the other false endings too.

The narratives felt very adapted from whatever source material inspired the two wolves (is true conifer supposed to be a MGS solid ref? I can't tell insomuch as I don't know those games very well... big boss?) and those similar plot beats kinda had them feeling very similar in the end, barring one being more forward/flirty than the other.

Essentially our pov character felt pretty replaceable, which is perhaps the thing that was missing to force them to have different convos-- they could have had those convos with anyone who gave them a spare second.

Presentation:  I appreciate the custom sprites & occasional custom backgrounds, but having no audio at all was tough, and some of the backgrounds felt too small or out of place for the setting (like plane seats on the spaceship?)

Creativity: Ersatzing famous characters as prisoners is interesting, I'll say that much.

Overall thoughts: Nice attempt, but there were some glaring holes (mostly the no audio) and the sort of standard approach on both sides that left it feeling a bit more like a vignette than a story. Just an experiment in mood, but without all the necessary modifiers in place.

Submitted(+1)

the Canis Convalescence is a pretty uneven project. The complete lack of music or sfx was a real turn off, but that paired with the lack of variety and little character development is what really kills it for me. It wasn’t exactly boring, what’s there is still engaging enough but it really needed more of it.

Submitted(+1)

A short, fun and cute story. The jam's theme wasn't very noticeable but the wolves were likeable (and recognizable). The presentation could have been improved with some music and the teasing choices (as fun as breaking the 4th wall can be) combined to make it feel a little bit unfinished. The writing is solid, though, and you did a good job with the 2nd person perspective, which can be tricky! 

Submitted(+1)

The Canis Convalescence is brief, but not to its detriment; it feels appropriately scoped & paced and has a clarity to its arc. Only the middle section comes off as kind of rushed – with such a long in-story timeskip, I feel like the relationships could have been developed further, although I like the endings. There's a "grounded and understated drama... in space!!!" vibe to it that I really enjoy, and the 4th wall breaks feel tasteful and carefully placed enough to not detract from it.

Not a lot of polish issues, either – the writing voice is fine and even makes the unconventional 2nd person feel quite natural to read, and the art is nice. Background images being different aspect ratios looks a little weird, though; I feel like all of them could just have been cropped. Also, the complete lack of audio (unless my computer was acting up) is kind of a shame.

Just a very solid game overall – as a jam entry, it occurred to me just now that I didn't actively think about the theme while reading and am not sure how, if at all, it was implemented?

(Also: might be prudent to remove the old version from the page entirely, looks like I accidentally downloaded that one)

HostSubmitted(+1)

Updated, with permission, to fix issues from the initial release. Please play the 1.2 Version, not the 1.0 Version.

(+1)

Cute vn :3 I like the sprites and the universe. I would love a more full fletched space vn romance like this

(+1)

It happens in space, and you get to romance Wolf Od- I mean, Lupis McArthy, so it's already a winner in my book. I wished there was any music or sounds at all. i wouldn't have minded a creative commons track ive heard a million times, it was just a little barren feeling without any sound. I did like the title art, and Lupis's scrungly little sprite. I particularly enjoy this depiction of Lupis being a remorseful ex-pirate. Like, he's not entirely sorry, and he thinks fondly about his history with that, but there are some crimes that weigh heavier on his mind. overall, i think its a nice balance between fluff and angst, very sweet little story. no i did not read the other guy nor was i interested to :P. i missed whatever amenities the ship had cuz i was under the impression you could go back later, but i guess they werent important.