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A Swim to the Sky's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Fan Favorite | #17 | 4.182 | 4.182 |
Ranked from 11 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
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Comments
Fantastic game. Loved the style and the way it was written. Excellent entry, and exactly the kind of thing I was expecting for this jam.
Suggestion: Just finish it, please! This was delightfully charming.
Thank you! I wasn't too confident about the writing at first, but after seeing positive feedbacks on it (including yours) I definitely feel more sure! Please look forward to the finished version :)
Please see Teal's play-through video, as well as her review of the game in the video description:
Thank you for playing through the game!
As I watched the video and read the review I came to realize a lot of the game's shortcomings; the biggest one most definitely the stealth sections. I gained a lot of insights on what I should be improving with the mechanics, which I will apply to my next projects!
Also, I'm sorry Teal had to struggle at those stealth parts, it made me think I should've added more contingencies (and made clear of the ones already there).
Once again, thank you for playing and judging the game! I appreciate it :)
This game was pretty cute and so much fun! Kinda gave me the Luca vibes! I'm really curious about her trip to the surface. Hope I can play the ending sometime soon!
Rated 5
Thank you! I wanted to give the game a chill and cute vibe, glad it worked out! ^^
Great opening, I love the title music and art. All of the sound effects are very soft and pleasing to navigate the menus with. The low resolution pixel art works well in this setting. There are excellently worded subtleties in the writing like how the narration refers to boats as wooden fish. It really shows the isolated nature of the main character.
I would ditch the "You got 1 shell" show text after each event as it obstructs the flow of gameplay and becomes too much of an interruption to the experience. Instead consider a gab window or an event that doesn't actually hold the player up. For example when the player presses the action button on the shell event a small image of the shell pops up and gradually goes from full opacity to see-through, as it slides up the screen. You could include a very small particle effect and/or sound effect to accompany it.
I'm sure the player can figure out that it was a shell, and if you really wanted to you could make it do the show text for the very first one you find, but then not show text for the rest.
When you fail the dodge maze you don't game over the player and instead give them items to help them for the next run. That's a great move!
Get rid of the fade-out screen to remove the turtle. Set their movement to 'through' and have them swim off with a move event, also here's another chance for particle effect and/or sound effect.
The 'sneak' dodge puzzles are not fun gameplay to me. I really wish games would stop putting these kinds of things in. I can understand you're in need of actual gameplay but these mechanics are frustrating at worst and annoying at best.
The game is short and simple. Overall it's well done, but lacking in any real gameplay and to be honest it's quite boring. I still think there are some redeeming qualities to this little adventure, but I personally would have loved to see more RPG elements. Great job with finishing a project for the game jam, you've done a decent job in putting something out there. Keep up the good work!
Thank you for the through review! You raise very good points, especially about the shell pickup and gameplay in general. I agree that the stealth section can be tedious, since it only gives the player one chance to succeed. I will rework that mechanic (or remove it entirely) for the full version.
Once again, thank you for playing the game! ^^
I was not too sure about the at work, but when I started to play it and get into the story I didn't mind it. The story is well written and I look forward to playing the full game when it comes out. Nicely done.
Thank you for the feedback! I agree that pixel art isn't for everyone, especially when it's 8x8. I am happy that you enjoyed the story though! :0
In the game page I read it's your first game: many compliments! I like the theme you've chosen: dreaming of the stars from an aquatic kingdom is a great idea! The gameplay is simple but it's not a problem, it's more a relaxing experience to me!
Good job!
Yes! I know there will be many people joining this jam, so tried to go for a more unique story! As for the gameplay itself, I didn't want it to be too hard to not clash with the vibe of the game. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the game!
Love the pixel art and colour palette that fits well with the choice of music and sound effects. Gameplay is simple and easy to pick up with dodging enemies / keeping out of sight of guards.
I'm wondering if it would work if you picked up shells automatically on touch so avoid having to go through the dialogue box every time and breaking up the pace. Would be also cool to have some sort of on-screen indication of your health rather than needing to check in the menu.
Otherwise a very good presentation for a short jam game! Well done!
Thank you for playing my game, and yes, those are good suggestions! I plan to make the shell pickup more streamlined by adding notifications instead of using dialogue boxes. As for the health, I will have to learn more about the engine, I think! :)
A charming game with a really unique atmosphere and style. The storytelling is particularly well done and fluid, and the interactions with the NPCs as well as with the player (hints) are well thought out. And even if I'm not a big fan of this kind of games, I rather enjoyed it.
A great success, congratulations.
Thank you for giving my game a shot! If this not being your type of game and you still liked it, then I'll take it as an honor! :)
ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE this game is right up my alley, its so chill and simple and i adore the 8-bit style and the gorgeous pastel/muted palette, this is so lovely and i can't wait for more, thank you for making my day!
Thank you for the kind comment, and you definitely made my day too! :)
This is likely my favorite one thus far! The story was cute, presentation was amazing! Music and graphics are so charming. The only negative thing I'd have to say about it is it was too short! I'd love to see more of this one. Truly great job!
5/5 stars.
Please consider playing my entry as well.
Have a great day!
Thank you! Yes, I agree it's too short (due to the time constraints). I've seen other entries that boast an hour or more gampelay, hats off to them! I'll check out your game, it seems very promising :)