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The Storm Always Comes's itch.io pageJudge feedback
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- The Storm Always Comes was a game that I found deeply thought provoking, although I'm unsure if it was for the reasons intended by the developer. I found myself inhabiting the spirit of The Storm (which I've assumed is the colloquial name for my character), feeling ultimately under valued and taken advantage of by the people around me. It was only a matter of 3 or so levels where I was attacked with no real 'tell' from the npc before I started to gun down everyone in my path on a mad dash toward the end. I had decided I would gather all the resources, although that was not the given mission statement. I'm pretty sure I got the bad ending. In terms of gameplay, the npc dialogue might be clarified, or made more pointed in order to indicate what exactly the player should do (pass, frighten, kill). I found the cursor speed to be far too sensitive for my standard mouse settings, although the game did scale very well visually. I appreciated the hints of storyline which were given by the intro and might suggest cutscenes in between each mission to indicate the path the player is currently on. Something to the effect of goings on in the city, or a list of headlines which appeared the following day with regards to local trade, would be lovely. Thank you very much for this submission to Pirate Software Game Jam 16.
Link to your Game Design Doc on Google Drive.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1j2FPLbkhuXuyj9Cv8hswSVJ_Q8DlZuBtKI1-tEh7Ack/edit?usp=sharing
Have you checked that your GDD is publicly accessible ?
Yes!
Is your game set to public on itch.io so we can see it?
Yes! https://fairfruit.itch.io/the-storm-always-comes
Summarise your game!
A narrative-driven resource management game where you, a machine built for war, must now manage the last human survivors before the storm arrives, determining their fate.
The game is straightforward with simple controls:
1. Watch the intro for context.
2. W moves you forward (like in a racing game).
3. A/D to strafe left and right.
4. Mouse to move camera and click to shoot.
5. Choose who to trust: walk away to let them pass, shoot the ground to scare them, or kill them to eliminate threats. The choice is yours.
6. Manage your resources.
7. Beware the storm.
Check the game page for full details!
Please explain how your game fits the theme:
The storm is both a disaster and a metaphor—humanity is collapsing, and you are bound to oath and responsibility. You are their cradle, hammer, and most importantly, weapon.
Is there anything you'd like the judges to pay particular attention to?
Please read the game page! But also, the atmosphere, and moral choices—every action shapes the world and its people.
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Comments
Congrats on finishing the jam!
I played a few times to survive and lose to the storm, as well as playing a murder route, pacifistic, and in between. I didn't really feel the impact on the moral choices - I was too concerned about making it past the villagers without them attacking me. What they were saying, who they were, etc. wasn't a concern.
The CRT screen effect is really cool. I think it adds a lot and makes it clear you're playing as a robot. The villager designs were also nice, even though they were all old men. And the sound effects and BGM were nice too.
I found that there were a few aspects of the game I didn't particularly need. For example I didn't need information about the villager hunger/sickness/thirst. Maybe if we needed to make sure that villagers couldn't pass us which would increase the number of resources we would need that could be an aspect into whether we shoot them or not. I also found that we didn't really need to move the robot ourselves - it could've been on tracks for the encounters.
With one day remaining I had everything I needed so it would've been nice to skip the last day or have some sort of stretch goal to encourage us to head out. I feel like no decision is also a decision we could make.
Otherwise I enjoyed it. Great job!
Thanks for playing and for the feedback, that all makes sense!
Glad you like our little submission :)
Think the concept is cool. But had issues figuring out how to get more resources that I needed. AKA meds. Shooting the bad villagers felt kinda funny and it was pretty obvious who needed to die. I like the idea that you're a murderous machine trying to do good by humanity. The beats were cool, but felt a little out of place IMO. SFX on the bullets sounded good.
Ultimately we didn't survive the storm :(
Think there's something here, but I think more thought into how we get resources would need to happen, it feels a little too random at the moment and not an intentional choice.
Thanks for the feedback!
The randomness is indeed intended, we were aiming for something akin to Buckshot Roulette, where you have some control of outcomes, but taking risks always involves chance. This was a double edged sword though, since, while it does add to risk taking and encourages the player to not play too passive, you can sometimes be screwed by RNG.
Also, RIP your village. The storm does indeed always come.
Glad you like the concept!
The visuals were good. I like the concept, but it felt a bit boring to play. Also, when I walked past someone on accident when I wanted to fire, I couldn't walk backwards. This was slightly annoying, forcing me to move slowly. I don't understand the "bring in x amount of resources", but if you had more time this would be even better. Good work!