This is a really interesting game! It ended up being more intricate than I expected, with several stats to keep track of, dialogue-based puzzles, and a surprise high score system at the end. The most impressive part, at least to me, is how believable it is. Even the stats are money, fatigue, and time - which are incredibly grounded things to be taking care of. Everybody speaks normally, and they don't seem to all have the same voice (which can be a challenge for dialogue, but you avoided it very nicely). 

Although I didn't unravel the mystery, I can fairly say that was on me and not the game - which just goes to show how well made it is. Honestly I might go back to it. In some ways, it made me feel like a detective, investigating suspects and solving clues, but with a much more down to earth, slice-of-life attitude that I found myself pleasantly surprised to be enjoying. 

Great work!

Hiiii!!!

First off, congrats on getting such an intricate, well thought out story/game finished so shortly after working crazy hard on SuNoFes! You're a writing MASTER!

Josh and I played and discussed this game on stream... but unfortunately it seems the VOD didn't save :( :( But rest assured, we found it quite enjoyable! We enjoyed bringing the different characters to life. At one point, Josh gave Rusty a very old man voice. When we realized he was young like Ruby, I said "Well I guess puberty hit him like a tractor." xD xD xD

Anyway, on the note of characters... you did an amazing job making each character feel genuine and unique. Despite the characters only recieving a description and what they're selling, they each had such a unique voice! You also really nailed the small town, rustic atmosphere in the game, creating a sense of nostalgia even for those who never expierenced anything like it!

We also thought it was really neat how there's timers you can control, like exhaustion / sunburn, but also timers that can't be controlled like time till the market closes.

However, it would be nice if there was some kind of physical consequence for reaching the peak sunburn. Like having to stop the game early to find shade? The buildup from normal to pink to red to crimson was great! But once we hit crimson and nothing else came of it, it felt kinda confusing as to why we were worried about it.

Also, while I TOTALLY understand you were short on time for the jam, if you were to do more with this game, I think the game would benefit a lot from some visuals. Even if they're really small, clip-art esque things on the sides or top of the screen, just something to help the readers keep track of what they learned and keep them engaged. Just because, as beautiful and consicse as your writing is, it's still a bit easy to get lost in that amount of detail oriented text :) Maybe just little things, like a map of veggie stands, or a clock with the time till the market closes, or like a sunburn meter or something. I bet it would take the game to a whole new level.

Finally, we weren't 100 percent sure if the courthouse serves a purpose in the game. We thought it did? Like to accuse the culprit, but going over there didn't seem to have an option to accomplish that. That being said, we didn't solve the mystery, so that's probably why. If it IS possible to use the courthouse later, a clue might be nice like "I can't make a case till I have evidence." ... If it isn't possible, mayhaps it could be! We were hoping it'd be open so we could accuse Gordon Ramsay

Once again, great job on creating a game with such a homey feel just through the power of words. Regardless of whether or not you decide to do more with this game, can't wait to see what's in the future! (and the past! I'll be getting around to your SuNoFes game soon! :D )

-Sasha

I have $24, I'm not tired, and I have a sunburn.

Nice and simple storyline and a well executed open-world text adventure. Although I didn't solve it, I feel like I'm part of Redbud and I don't trust a single one of those gossiping market-stand owners. Could definitely see this as an opening to a larger game, or a nice standalone as it is :) 

[But seriously, what does Laura want? A hat? I don't have $30 :((( ]