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takeHeart's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Playability | #214 | 4.500 | 4.500 |
| Cleverness | #227 | 4.500 | 4.500 |
| Artistic Style | #328 | 4.500 | 4.500 |
| Theme | #653 | 3.000 | 3.000 |
Ranked from 2 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Judge feedback
Judge feedback is anonymous.
- I enjoyed this game a lot. The atmosphere, the level design, and the overall gameplay were incredibly satisfying. It kept me engaged and curious about what was going on and wanting to know more about the story of the game. The theme is a bit loose as I did not really get to see much alchemy outside the jump ability, and I can understand shadow being more of the "unknown" but it is somewhat of a stretch. I know this is a passion project from the description and it shows. Great job on the game, because outside of the theme this is near perfect for the scope you set.
Did you include your Game Design Document as a Google Drive link?
Yes
Seriously... did you include your Game Design Document?
Sure did!
Is your game set to Public so we can see it?
Yes
Tell us about your game!
My most ambitious project ever, and probably overambitious for the scope of this jam. Playtesters were scarce, so hopefully it works!
Best experienced with a Gamepad (dpad + face buttons).
Otherwise, WASD + SPACE to jump. The rest of the controls should be explained in the game. Unless I messed up a dependency as I scramble to do wrap it up 30 minutes before the deadline!
Extra Notes
There's an audio bug in Safari. Do NOT run it in Safari. Within 10 seconds of the beginning of the game, you should hear a drone. Maybe lower the volume at the beginning, in case this bug is not just Safari related - I haven't managed to reproduce it on Chrome, however.
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Comments
Lovely little game. I fell through the floor and got stuck after unlocking the dash and nearly gave up then, but wanted to try the dash out so started over! I really enjoyed the story unlocking not in order and the wake up scene, and the un-punishing nature of dying. Good job, definitely the core of a fun game and I'm intrigued to know how the seemingly psychological experience of a story would have played out :)
Hey, I'm so sorry it took me this long to reply to this!!! I literally went on vacation and had been sorting out some other more pressing matters, now that the jam was over, haha.
Thanks so much for persisting and actually restarting! There was a lot of bashing my head against the wall when I exported and uploaded the game for the first time two hours before the deadline, and realising that a bunch of pretty difficult problems popped up that were never an issue in the engine.
I'm happy you enjoyed the little content I managed to scrape up. In a perfect world, the narrative elements you enjoyed would have taken the forefront, but for the jam I am happy with the form the "demo" took. I am actually in the process of planning out how to carry on working on this and releasing something with a few hours worth of content, so hearing that the things that were important to me struck a chord with you is very encouraging!
Again, thank you for taking the time to play the game despite the bugs and for writing what you did! <3
I really liked this game. At first it looks like a very ordinary platformer (very good jump feel, by the way). but as the game advances and the level starts to react to my movement it's a completely different experience. I liked the powerups, the puzzles, the platforming, it's all tight. The way you tell the story partly with the scenery and part with the journal pieces is amazing.
Definitively my favorite part about this game is the interactive level, like the warps around the world, it has many respawn points and that lets me get back right into action, I love that. I love that when the level falls, it does kill you, but it's also opening new paths, so it keeps enlarging the level. I loved this game.
Thanks so much for your words, it really makes me happy to hear your thoughts about all the things I'd been obsessing about for the two weeks I slaved over the project. :) I pushed myself to the limit in terms of realising what I envisioned, and I'm happy with what I managed tgo accomplish, but there's work to be done yet (if not for the jam version)! :)
I'm really happy you enjoyed the game! From a gameplay perspective, I really want to make it a player-friendly experience that can be both challenging and forgiving at the same time. I didn't manage to implement all the quality of life measures I would want (the levels with the descending elevators and the one with all the portals are both particularly horrible offenders in that regard), but I'm glad it did not deter you and that you could have a good time! :D
And yes, the storytelling is also very important to me, even though I chose a slightly more fragmentary approach in this game. The final and complete story is still partly obscured even for me, but perhaps that's the way it's meant to be for now! :)
Again, thank you so much!
Simple yet effective platformer, I can feel the work on the level design. I particulary liked the attention to details like the hair flowing when falling or the clouds at the start of the game.
Also really nice to have put spawn point at key places so you don't have to redo the whole level when you die :).
Thank you very much for your comments! I tried to be merciful with the respawns, indeed! I learned before that just because I play through a level 50 times in order to make sure it works doesn't mean that someone picking it up for the first time will have quite as easy a time. :D
Cute small pixel art.
At first, it was quite an easy platformer. But as you progress, it becomes harder very quickly.
I think it would have been more fun if the elevators were passthrough from the bottom.
Good job making it in time. :)
Hey, thanks very much for your comment! Yeah, I was pondering the elevators, because in a perfect world I would have had time to implement a kind of "bonk prevention" mechanic, that gives you a bit of leeway if you're 1-2 pixels off, so that I could keep the collision but at least make it not quite as mean as it is in the jam version. I'll definitely put more thought into it when I start dismantling the mess I made in the last few days of the rush to the finish line. :D Again, thank you!
Smooth gameplay and enjoyable art, I did not run into any bug. Nice!
Thank you so much! Glad it worked well for you!
Awesome game! Great pixel art, atmosphere and environment, the game play feels very nice an smooth to play especially on the controller, somehow it feels strangely realistic which is very interesting as it also perfectly nails the retro 2d pixel art platform vibes! I didn't finish the game but it seems like there is an impressive amount of level design which is very nicely designed and there is an interesting story, it all works very well together and I can see this becoming a classic modern retro pixel art platform game someday! Keep up the great work!
Hey, thanks so much for what you said! It truly means a lot to hear such positive feedback. I definitely put a lot of effort into it, and there's a lot of effort to put in yet, but knowing that people actually like the game is what makes it worthwhile. I'm sorry it took me so long to reply, it's been a hectic day. I'll have a look at your submission tomorrow, I'm dead tired and I just wanted to thank you before I go to sleep. Till then! :)