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The Color of the Ocean's itch.io pageType of Submission
Interactive Fiction
Genres
Slice of Life
Is this a solo jam or a group submission?
Solo
Permisions
Yes yes
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Type of Submission
Interactive Fiction
Genres
Slice of Life
Is this a solo jam or a group submission?
Solo
Permisions
Yes yes
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Comments
I enjoyed your game very much!
Couple of things that I'd like to point out (some might be quite subjective, sorryy):
- Everything looks a bit surreal, and it matches your role of an imaginary friend so well;
- Gradual change of colors makes the experience very immersive;
- With your style of depicting things I think you could go even further and make the poems more impressionist and/or methaphorical too :) I just feel that images you create are really powerful. And in the last frame, where you get all the explanation about the situation, the writing felt a little bit intense. I was given lots of information, more than this frame would need. I would probably separate it into a couple of frames so that the descriptions were more poetic (like in your other frames) to have more time to live through the characters' emotions. Hope I could explain my idea :)
- The mechanics of 'activating' the images was fun to do! The only moment is that I wish I could proceed with controlling everything with my keyboard instead of switching to the mouse — that part distracted me a bit as previously I mainly needed only the space bar :)
- I think it would be really cool to have some sound effects for the characters speaking: I mean probably not a voiceover, but mumbling or something like that. The immersion is really great as it is now, but I believe it could be even more immersive hahah
- I understand it does not quite relate to game at this point, but just wanted to tell that the idea of playing as an imaginary character (and exploring something being not actually real) sounds really exciting!
Thank you for this experience and also for your attention to all other games you've played :)
Oooh that was such informative feedback; I really, really appreciate it!
Giving the readers more space for the emotion to sink in towards the end, is an idea borne of sensitivity - I do agree, it's a little too abrupt and overwhelming. And yes, playing with metaphors is powerful because it can bring in just the right level of ambiguity to connect deeply with people. Alas, I went for a simpler route because it's not so easy to pull off for me - but I can definitely try in the future!
And you know what? I was actually planning to make the controls fully-keyboard; I just ended up rushing things towards the end; and it was just easier to execute it with the nature of mouse interactions; but it's a very valid point - will make it even more immersive! Or wait, I can just make it fully-mouse!
And I wanted to do a voice-over too...I was thinking of recording and converting my voice - but since AI was strictly discouraged, I just left it. And I just did not know who to approach for a little-boy voice! But mumbling is an interesting idea!
And I appreciate your attention to the games you have played too - you have a lot of sincere and constructive things to say!
You definitely get the award for best animation. Everything flowed so smoothly and the game felt polished. So much of the story was told visually.
The story was sad but touching. I was hoping for a positive ending, but not all stories need one.
The timing mechanic was really cool. At first I just thought I wasn’t clicking properly, but I got the hang of it quickly once I realized that was a factor. It added a small amount of complexity. Only suggestion would be to give a bit of guidance that the timing is a factor, because I didn’t realize it mattered at first.
thank you so much for your honest feedback! I was hoping giving the instructions as "hover and click at the right time" with the animation clearly having a peak state will be intuitive enough...but I see it might not be the case...
and I've been wondering how to finetune this mechanic to make it more enjoyable....do you think giving some kind of auditory feedback that rises and falls will make it easier to connect with?
The art for this game was like nothing I've seen before! I loved it. Very poignant story. Your characters have so much personality and are very relatable. I also liked the little timing games that helped move the story along. Well done!
poignant, huh? that's very kind, thank you so much. And I'm glad you liked the mechanic - I had so many second thoughts about it!
This was a beautiful story to play through, another commenter said it best when they said it packs a punch for being so short! I also really enjoyed the art style too, it felt like I was in a hazy dream or a distant memory. Great job!
thank you so much, marine-life enthusiast!
It was very nice, I'm so intrigueted to the story.
The flow was exciting, and I was completely merged into the story, the art is very nice and cool and fit perfectly the kinda of game/story you want to tell.
Some parts can look messy and divergent in same points, but at the end all comes together with everything you experienced before. It was a nice adventure, I really enjoyed reading it, the end is spectacular as the input of the "Imaginary friend"; nice work, for the art and the narrative part.
I would also mention the sounds, and the musics helped a lot of keeping me locked into the screen and wanted to reach the end of the story
ooh I'm glad to know you got so immersed, that's all I want! And I understand about the narration feeling a little messy and divergent, I'm sure I could have tied things better - but I'm glad to know that everything seemed to come together at the end! thank youuuu
It was a very good experience. The artworks are beautiful, and the filter animation gives them a dream-like quality. I loved the way you "fly in" the house from the title screen ! Also, the sound design makes the whole game very immersive. I loved the psychological theme ! it's well-written, well-designed, and very contemplative.
whoa, that was lovely to read! thank youu
Very beautiful game, in terms of both graphics and writing. I also think it is a very interesting and original take on the theme, as it is clearly nautical but the main topic is... something else (I don't want to spoil, but I really like the twist at the end).
I really enjoyed the filter on the image and, as the computer science guy of my team, I am interested in how you did it? As it is dynamic, I guess it is programmed. Is it some built-in shader in unity ?
My only tiny concern is in the clicking mini-game, I think the time range is really short. I ended up mashing my click button until it worked haha.
Anyway, very good work!
P.S. : and thank you again for the very nice comments and feedback on our game! :3
I'm glad you liked the ending!
As the computer science guy in your group - I completely understand the concern about my mechanic, it's so valid - hell, I'm supremely unsatisfied with it, and if this were not a narrative-based jam which accepts linear narrative, I might not even have submitted it!
Aha! So you think it was programming, huh? It's actually a photo filter! But how is it dynamic? There was this website that I found which was all about applying filters to images. Out of all the ones available, I discovered just one that I liked, just one that fit my taste. And I discovered one more thing. Every time I used the same filter on the same image, it came out slightly differently; the composition of graininess was just slightly different. Applied some touches with my graphics tablet, and now there are so many .5 second animations running on loop in Unity!
I am actually more sneaky than hardworking, hehe. I have been making stuff with such little coding knowledge, I actually need to start learning something now.
And you're welcome - I meant every word of that feedback!
it would have been a shame if you hadn’t submitted it! It is a really nice game, you can be proud!
Actually, the fact that it does not rely on coding is even more impressive to me! Great “hack”, if I may say so; it looks very pretty!
Thank you for the technical answer! It is not sneaky, it is clever, and clever is not the opposite of hardworking. On the contrary, it is the key to game jams, the most important quality. Good luck into your learning journey though! :3
Ohh thank youuuu...I had joined this jam thinking I'll go out of my comfort zone in terms of coding since I'd 2 weeks; but I ended up just playing to my strengths, so had some doubts - but getting such appreciative feedback...I'm secretly quite proud! This is only my second game jam.
Hack indeed! I do think it's smart work hehe. But whatever I do, I do with intention - so I feel good about it.
Yeah, they're definitely not opposites - you guys showed both!
I really enjoy the artwork. It feels unique and fitting, and I'd love to see more of it ;).
The colour change feels so good when you go to the first story of grandpa! The luminous blues and purples <3
Your poems are clear to read, and evoke strong images. Great writing.
This felt such a wholesome game. Playing the game first, and reading some of your comments to @Belillart it makes sense, and if that was the direction you were going for all along, I appreciate your artistic freedom. But I think this art and style would have worked with less tragedy too!
You seem to have really paid attention - I am so glad! Thank you for your kind words. Clarity and simplicity in words is something I really care about.
And yes, you are right - going in a more hopeful direction would have completely suited this art style. It's just...most of the fiction I create are intended to be so very wholesome and positive, I wanted to venture out of my comfort zone now and then!
Very well designed and polished game! Impressive for a solo submission :3
The art and animation is pretty. I like the way the story is told, and the twist in the end!
My only very tiny remark is that the background behind the dialogs in the first part are clicking, and I think it would be better if they don't; it hurt my eyes a bit.
I saw in the comments of the jam that you oversimplified your ideas to submit on time. Do you plan to extend your game after the jam?
Anyway, good job! I enjoyed it.
Thank you so much! Thank you for that feedback - especially in my interactive fiction where words are almost everything, I should have given readability the most priority, you raise a good point. Feel free to be critical, I would appreciate that!
And yes, in the beginning - and you might actually relate to how psychological this is - I wanted to give the player the agency to traverse through the boy's mind, as we are a figment of the boy's imagination, we are part of the boy - so in that sense we can explore the mind. The beginning it's all lighthearted, we are surrounded by absurd-looking sea-creatures that are remnants of his father's storytelling, but as we go deeper and deeper, we reach a part that's blocked. Then you discover the boy was in denial all along. Ah, and all this will have to be handled very sensitively too, this is trauma I'm trying to represent experientially. But yeah, none of that happened.
Maybe I'll do it sometime in the future, I am so severely lacking in the coding department at the moment. But I am also so detached - I might forget about this altogether! Maybe someday?
What about you? Will you be working on your game more?
I think you did very well given the time you had, honestly! I also struggle a lot with coding, so I can imagine how challenging it can be (I'm one of the artists in my team, so I understand).
The psychological intent of your game is quite clear to me, though of course, I wish the game could develop it more and be longer. But considering it’s a solo submission and we only had two weeks, I do think you did an impressive job! It’s evident that you have some experience in game making already. I checked your profile and see that this isn’t your first attempt at a game (which make sense), and they all look very aesthetic! Keep the good work :3
To reply to your question: we’re a bit burned out from the jam right now, but we plan to submit a corrected version (with fewer typos and a clearer UI) before the end of the Josei jam (which is in one month).
We do one game jam with friends every year in May. Next year will be our fifth year of jamming, so we were thinking of making a v2 of one of our previous games to celebrate this anniversary. Maybe it will be 'Mindfarer'! (I hope so, it's the one I enjoyed the one making).
Oh yes, coding is a struggle - but it's also something that I genuinely enjoy..... well, at least most of the time!
Thank you so much for your very warm and reassuring words. I think, somewhere along the lines, I was being a bit harsh on myself. Yes, not my first time at all - I am a student doing masters in Game Design, so most of what I have uploaded are my college assignments! But most of them are simple interactive fiction - I would love to create narratives with more well-thought out mechanics in the future! And thank you!
One month...I do think you can manage because I saw only minor typos with the text ( and it's well-punctuated too!) . UI I am not quite sure what your end goal is...but it's definitely enough for a smooth enough ride. Just that, "ward-deployment" part was not clear to me....but yes, good luck!
Oooh, next year huh? I'm rooting for taking this game to the next level. It's already so good, would love to see how much more you can expand and refine it!
What a peculiar experience, in a contemplative sense. My interpretation is that it explores something about Synchronicity, where optimistic innocence and fatalistic inevitability meet in a common space that doesn’t know where it’s going and lacks the strength to fight for what it wants. The hand-drawn art adds a very unique touch, and the mechanic of clicking at the right time was quite clever. I really enjoyed it!
for a non-native English speaker, you manage to convey your philosophical thoughts very well; I quite liked your interpretation of it ! Ahh I am so glad you enjoyed the experience!
Very beautiful, I love the picture grain, the story, the choices of colours. The speed of image movements fits also perfectly the narration.
Ahh thank you so much. I'm so glad you felt involved in the entire experience!
Wow! very touching story I honestly did not see (or want) that ending coming. Really great work and nice job on the graphics it really does feel like a story.
Thank you so much! I compressed a very elaborate idea I had in the beginning, so the ending can seem a bit abrupt - but thank you for appreciating the graphics! Means a lot, coming from your team.
This was visually beautiful. I felt the artwork looked like it came out of an illustrated children's book, fitting the child narrator.
The story packs a big emotional punch for its short length. I didn't expect the sad ending at first, but on a second playthrough it feels inevitable.
That's so kind of you! I would understand if it doesn't feel so entirely inevitable too; because towards the end due to lack of time, I massively oversimplified my ideas that now it's not even anything resembling a game. But I still wanted to submit it!
Thank you again, you have come up with quite a creation yourself!