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A jam submission

The Automaton of Second LondonView game page

A Victorian Fantasy Halloween Robo-Otome
Submitted by Drone Garden Studios (@Sciaenops22) — 2 days, 10 hours before the deadline
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Play Victorian VN

The Automaton of Second London's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Story#804.2864.286
Music#1283.5713.571
Overall#1453.1793.179
Voice Acting#1522.0002.000
Visuals#1932.8572.857

Ranked from 7 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

Content Warnings
Contains brief narrative depictions of abuse, misogyny, murder, and the possibility of jumpscares. Their presence does not indicate endorsement.

Log Line
A Victorian fantasy Halloween robo-otome.

If you'd like to share your submission's devlog, you can do so here (URL)
https://x.com/Sciaenops22

Team Credits & Cast
Writing and Sprite Illustration: Alyssa Genereau (https://drone-garden-studios.itch.io/)
Backgrounds and Sprite References: Unsplash (https://unsplash.com/)
UI Doodle: Pixabay (https://pixabay.com/)
Music: Alexander Nakarada (www.serpentsoundstudios.com)
Sound: Zapsplat (www.zapsplat.com)

Is your submission created with the Light.VN visual novel engine?

No

Does your submission contain Boy's Love content?

No

Does your submission contain voice acting?

No

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Comments

Developer

For anyone still peeking in here, the Steam page is live and the Steam port releases November 14th for $2.


Submitted(+1)

Extremely good writing!! The story and world was incredibly compelling, and developed itself quite nicely - brought to mind The Hexologists as well as the Parasol Protectorate books, in a very satisfying way. The characters were engaging, and the plot well-paced. I also was a fan of your selection of music - as someone who often listens to dnd/medieval-y music compilations in the background while working, I recognized a few favorites! The sprites make good use of the minimal style, and splashes of red hit nicely whenever they appear (especially in that foggy chase sequence). Well done!!

Developer(+1)

Thank you so much not just for the review, but for the book recommendations!  :-)  I am so glad people are liking my minimalized sprites, my biggest struggle during the jam period was accepting how my art looks.  I'm also very glad that my writing/story/world/characters are well-received too!  I love Alexander Nakarada's music, its been a part of my projects since 2020 for a reason.  ^^  Anyway its like 645am and im rambling in my pajamas, thank you again for the review!

Submitted(+1)

Really nice story with a rich lore and world. Loved the premise of bringing fantasy and magic into Victorian London. I also really enjoyed the visuals, it was unique and what caught my eye originally! All in all great job and best of luck with the book😁

Developer(+1)

Thank you so much!  I'm glad people are enjoying the visuals.  You have no idea how much self-doubt I have regarding anything I draw myself.  xD  And thank you for the best luck wishes, I'm going to need it.  :-)

Submitted(+1)

Ooh, I enjoyed this! ✨ I've got a soft spot for Victorian Gothic stories, and this is a charming steampunk-flavored iteration on the genre. I quite like how the character sprites are handled--while incredibly pared-back, it's expressive, stylistically unique, and still perfectly serves to reflect the emotions and actions of the characters. Delightful as Arabella and Jack are, I'm particularly fond of Eyre, whose physical descriptors (impractical, pinpoint feet and hands, the paradox of her limited speech) feel like an especially incisive representation of women's treatment during (...and before, and after...) the Victorian era.

I'm happy with the ending I received, where Eyre now lives happily ever after with Bronte as a self-sufficient (robo)cat-(robo)lady. 💚 

Developer

Thank you for the kind review!  

I'm so glad you like Eyre.  She's a character I was so worried would not go over well, but it looks like she went over perfectly.  

And if it helps any, she's getting a bigger role in the book version.  :-)

Submitted(+1)

The story's really good! The idea is super interesting and the twist is really cool, I like the decent into darker and darker themes, and the concept of a twisted version of a character you knew was really creepy and well done. Nice work!

Developer(+1)

Thank you so much!  I'm glad the twisty, deepening turns drew you in.  :-)

Submitted(+1)

The starting music was quite loud. The main menu looked quite pretty. The in game music however was very fantastical. Its surprising to see a visual novel entry that doesnt have all the options directly displayed. Not a big issue but quite uncommon. The menu font is a bit hard to read. The story was nice and I found the art style for the characters a nice choice, stands out quite a bit, does conceal some of the depth of a character but works for the game. Also the game was quite static, not a whole lot of character movement and such. Good work for what I assume to be a single person based on the others being general links? either way, good job!

Developer

Thank you for the kind and detailed review!  Yep, it was just me working on this one.  So  glad you liked the story and the art style, story was my main focus with art being a source of anxiety.  Little worried about my own hearing though because I didn't realize the starting music was loud, I'll have to fiddle around with that later...

Submitted(+1)

this was sweet! not sure the ui is fitting well, but I'm far from the best person to tell people what is a good or bad ui

loved the music!

Developer
  • I'm far from the best person to tell people what is a good or bad ui

that's okay, me too.  hence why the UI looks the way it does.  xD  

Glad you found it sweet!  All credit and praise to Alexander Nakarada for all the royalty-free tracks he makes, he's been my go-to to score my VNs since 2020. 

Developer

(Includes an optional Cheat Sheet should anyone wish to skip past the jumpscare chase part near the end.)