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We Swim Below's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Judge's Chocie | #2 | n/a | n/a |
| Main Theme: Occult Classic | #3 | 4.833 | 4.833 |
| Sub Theme: Social Media Nightmare | #10 | 2.000 | 2.000 |
| Modern-Day | #18 | 4.167 | 4.167 |
| Sub Theme: Jams and Other Sticky Messes | #19 | 2.167 | 2.167 |
| Sub Theme: Ranting & Raves | #19 | 1.833 | 1.833 |
Ranked from 6 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Type of Submission
System
Which themes are you trying for?
Occult Classic
Submission Overview
We Swim Below is a game about being the sea monster that wishes to overtake the surface world. I have been playing a lot of Call of Cthulhu lately and I thought it would be interesting if you were the cult planning to ruin and corrupt everything. The design goal was to make a simple system with a lot of customization and I think I succeed at that when it came to the Grimoire Card system. It also got tarot cards involved which further the occult theming.
Team Members
Just me :)
Are you ok with me showing your creation on stream?
Are you ok with me making a link to your submission/contact on my website?
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Comments
Hey,
I just reviewed your game and I want to send all my congratulations!
We Swim Bellow is a perfect fit for this jam. Occult and Modern time are present and even included in the gameplay.
The tarot cards provides a lot of versatility and are very good looking.
Overall, it’s a great submission, congratulations again!
Hi there! Instead of simply clicking stars in the rating, I'd love to give some feedback about your work. We invest lots of hours in this projects, so just a thumbs up or down is a bit unfair.
- First of all, great project. The theme of the sea serpents is quite fresh, not the typical vampire. The tarot cards are unique and I loved the pieces of text like the transformation, the previous life or the weaknesses of those serpents. :)
- Then, I cannot help to think that your game has lots and lots of content, maybe a bit too much. Is it really necessary a combat system with weapons and ranges? I picture games like this to be plotting and subterfuge, and the action scenes, quick and decissive (like your skill rolls). There's people out there that seem to NEED combat frameworks in their games, so it's not a critique, just a thought.
- Speaking of systems, I've worked your maths, and they look pretty good. I think it's pretty easy to pass a test when you have the ammount of dice, but those mechanics of discarding cards or activating them make the system quite interesting. Here you have the link to the maths, if you're interested: https://anydice.com/program/2efd2.
- I know that is quite difficult, but having the effects of every card written in them should make the game more efficient. Taking a peek of every rule of your cards constantly is gonna slow the sessions. I'm aware of the ammount of text and also don't want to obscure your illustrations (tarot cards only have the name written). Maybe putting the skill modifiers and a word for every effect would do the trick?
So, I don't want to rant and be very pesky on other's work. Those are my humble opinions. Make what you feel with them and keep the good work. <3 Thank you for making this amazing project.
Thanks for all the feedback and putting all that time into reviewing my game! I can agree with the card effects being slow to cross reference. I originally intended for the descriptions to be on the back of the cards by printing out the sheet double sided, but I never got around to doing it. When I have some more free time I might get around to updating that sheet. Thank you again for all the constructive feedback!
That tarot deck is awesome
Thank you! It took a lot of the game's design time to make, so I'm glad you like it!