I registered on itch.io just to tell you this is my favourite submission out of the entire game jam; some others have impressive gameplay or rich visuals, but this one particularly gripped me with the quality of its writing, rivaling or surpassing the official V:tM CoG games.
The mood and atmosphere were unusual and fascinating, usually I'm more of an urban setting guy, and Gangrel is never my first choice of a clan, but you made it work so well. Some parts were a little on the nose, but a bit of camp is like a spice ;)
Appreciate the quality of life additions like the save system or the choice to replay an ending with a different faction, as well as the lack of annoying math with the stats to successfully take certain actions, which never worked for me in CoG.
Interesting choice to mix the verbatim dialogue with "and then s/he said that...-", at first I found it a little odd, but once I got into it, the text flowed really well.
Very impressive submission, perfect length to be finished in one longer sitting, enough content to satisfy but not overstaying its welcome; clearly a product of love, and all around very enjoyable.
Great job! If you ever make more of those, I will be interested in reading/playing them.
Thank you so much for taking the time to tell me. I really do genuinely appreciate it. Went into it on my own thinking it would be a lot of work for not a lot of payoff, but readers like you make me feel like it was worth the time I put into it.
I'm glad you noticed and appreciated my design decisions. Glad, too, that you enjoyed my prose. I'd always wanted to tell a VtM story in a wilderness setting. I've played with the idea of a Malkavian detective story, so stay tuned. Cheers, friend, and thanks again.
I made an account just to comment on this game. I played through the whole thing in one sitting (it's 4AM right now lol) and I enjoyed every second of it. Each character was truly unique and interesting, I totally fell in love with Dakota especially. There were some minor errors here and there, but I feel like you've got a hell of a way with words. Blood Frontier made me feel all kinds of emotions and it kept me hooked until the very last word. Thanks for this experience, and I hope to see more from you in the future!
Amazing story! Excellent writing, you could really feel the atmosphere, I think it had a bit of a cinematic feel to it. The story itself was fascinating, I played it straight through and couldn't put it down. The characters were really interesting and I got attached to them, so much so that I was a bit emotional when everyone went their own way in the end. All in all, I liked it a lot.
Thank you so much for saying so! I'm glad you enjoyed it. And that it felt cinematic and interesting to you. I'm not sure there's actually better praise than "I couldn't put it down," so I'm just very humbled and grateful. Especially coming from someone who also made a narrative game--we know what it's like on the back end. Cheers, mate! And thanks again.
Pros: This was really good writing! Not only that, the simple fact that there weren't noticeable spelling or grammar errors, which, especially in games that mostly text/story-driven, can be really jarring and pull me out of the mood. :D
Thank you for playing my game and leaving a comment! I see that you have good taste from reading some of your other comments, so I'm especially grateful for your good opinion. Cheers!
That was actually really good. I especially appreciated how this story functions just fine as an introductory adventure for the unfamiliar readers that escalates while still immersing you into WoD. Bringing up songs characters themselves hear in particular scenes really sells them.
What I had problems with? Ironically, type of escalation itself when it goes from almost this nomad side-story to an epic siege scenario. Overreliance on "three not-really options with what to do before you can continue the story" also bears mentioning. I felt it slowed down the pacing past mid-point after most of the establishing is done.
Wow, thanks for taking the time to read and compose such a thoughtful response. This is helpful, especially where you describe the problems you had. I admit that around mid-point, where you mentioned, I really started to feel the time restrictions set by the contest sponsors. I'd originally only planned a 60k story, but got ambitious once I started going. Feeling my way through, there was this direction I wanted to go, and I ended up with 1.5x my intended scope. I think it might have been more solid but less spansive at my original target.
The problem with fake choice is real. It becomes super difficult in IF to give customizable paths while keeping the project manageable. My average playthrough length of 55k against the game's 90k words is far from CoG's "optimal" ratio of 75%(?). Mine at >50%, shows shorter playthrough length, higher customization--I was banking on people wanting to play multiple endings. Using what's called "delayed branching," much of the story remains the same until Chapter 5, where every sect has a different ending. Think of it like a wrist that follows one line, then opens into a hand with many fingers. If you open too early, you almost can't complete. So, for the wrist part, I was hoping I could lean "unique playthrough" on player build: Discipline (Animalism, Fortitude, Protean), Skillset (Physical, Mental, Social), and Weapon (Firearm, Melee, Brawl). Even though the results are similar, the way differs so that the player can express themselves. I'll have to wait a while before I read it with clear eyes to see whether I agree with you about how it lands. I'd definitely do a better job now, having learned what I did doing this, but that's just how life goes, I guess.
TL;DR: thanks so much for your time and thoughts, actually. Cheers, Skeepanovan!
Thanks for saying so! I think there would be as many different kinds of Kindred as there are people. I like stories about people who wouldn’t tell you theirs. I wanted to write about quiet outsiders (Gangrel) who eschew undead politics (Autarkis) and use those character-sheet skills which are dump stats for most people: survival, craft, drive (horses). I’m glad I’m not the only one who was interested! I’ll be curious to hear your thoughts if you make it all the way through! Thanks for reading and taking the time to write. Cheers!
Comments
I registered on itch.io just to tell you this is my favourite submission out of the entire game jam; some others have impressive gameplay or rich visuals, but this one particularly gripped me with the quality of its writing, rivaling or surpassing the official V:tM CoG games.
The mood and atmosphere were unusual and fascinating, usually I'm more of an urban setting guy, and Gangrel is never my first choice of a clan, but you made it work so well. Some parts were a little on the nose, but a bit of camp is like a spice ;)
Appreciate the quality of life additions like the save system or the choice to replay an ending with a different faction, as well as the lack of annoying math with the stats to successfully take certain actions, which never worked for me in CoG.
Interesting choice to mix the verbatim dialogue with "and then s/he said that...-", at first I found it a little odd, but once I got into it, the text flowed really well.
Very impressive submission, perfect length to be finished in one longer sitting, enough content to satisfy but not overstaying its welcome; clearly a product of love, and all around very enjoyable.
Great job! If you ever make more of those, I will be interested in reading/playing them.
Thank you so much for taking the time to tell me. I really do genuinely appreciate it. Went into it on my own thinking it would be a lot of work for not a lot of payoff, but readers like you make me feel like it was worth the time I put into it.
I'm glad you noticed and appreciated my design decisions. Glad, too, that you enjoyed my prose. I'd always wanted to tell a VtM story in a wilderness setting. I've played with the idea of a Malkavian detective story, so stay tuned. Cheers, friend, and thanks again.
(Repost, thought it might help on here too)
I made an account just to comment on this game. I played through the whole thing in one sitting (it's 4AM right now lol) and I enjoyed every second of it. Each character was truly unique and interesting, I totally fell in love with Dakota especially. There were some minor errors here and there, but I feel like you've got a hell of a way with words. Blood Frontier made me feel all kinds of emotions and it kept me hooked until the very last word. Thanks for this experience, and I hope to see more from you in the future!
Amazing story! Excellent writing, you could really feel the atmosphere, I think it had a bit of a cinematic feel to it. The story itself was fascinating, I played it straight through and couldn't put it down. The characters were really interesting and I got attached to them, so much so that I was a bit emotional when everyone went their own way in the end. All in all, I liked it a lot.
Thank you so much for saying so! I'm glad you enjoyed it. And that it felt cinematic and interesting to you. I'm not sure there's actually better praise than "I couldn't put it down," so I'm just very humbled and grateful. Especially coming from someone who also made a narrative game--we know what it's like on the back end. Cheers, mate! And thanks again.
Cons: No significant complaints here!
Pros: This was really good writing! Not only that, the simple fact that there weren't noticeable spelling or grammar errors, which, especially in games that mostly text/story-driven, can be really jarring and pull me out of the mood. :D
Thank you for playing my game and leaving a comment! I see that you have good taste from reading some of your other comments, so I'm especially grateful for your good opinion. Cheers!
That was actually really good. I especially appreciated how this story functions just fine as an introductory adventure for the unfamiliar readers that escalates while still immersing you into WoD. Bringing up songs characters themselves hear in particular scenes really sells them.
What I had problems with? Ironically, type of escalation itself when it goes from almost this nomad side-story to an epic siege scenario. Overreliance on "three not-really options with what to do before you can continue the story" also bears mentioning. I felt it slowed down the pacing past mid-point after most of the establishing is done.
Also, misspelling Epilogue cracked me up.
Wow, thanks for taking the time to read and compose such a thoughtful response. This is helpful, especially where you describe the problems you had. I admit that around mid-point, where you mentioned, I really started to feel the time restrictions set by the contest sponsors. I'd originally only planned a 60k story, but got ambitious once I started going. Feeling my way through, there was this direction I wanted to go, and I ended up with 1.5x my intended scope. I think it might have been more solid but less spansive at my original target.
The problem with fake choice is real. It becomes super difficult in IF to give customizable paths while keeping the project manageable. My average playthrough length of 55k against the game's 90k words is far from CoG's "optimal" ratio of 75%(?). Mine at >50%, shows shorter playthrough length, higher customization--I was banking on people wanting to play multiple endings. Using what's called "delayed branching," much of the story remains the same until Chapter 5, where every sect has a different ending. Think of it like a wrist that follows one line, then opens into a hand with many fingers. If you open too early, you almost can't complete. So, for the wrist part, I was hoping I could lean "unique playthrough" on player build: Discipline (Animalism, Fortitude, Protean), Skillset (Physical, Mental, Social), and Weapon (Firearm, Melee, Brawl). Even though the results are similar, the way differs so that the player can express themselves. I'll have to wait a while before I read it with clear eyes to see whether I agree with you about how it lands. I'd definitely do a better job now, having learned what I did doing this, but that's just how life goes, I guess.
TL;DR: thanks so much for your time and thoughts, actually. Cheers, Skeepanovan!
I really like this game! This wild west sort of setting is an interesting and cool pick for a VTM story and I like the characters too
Thanks for saying so! I think there would be as many different kinds of Kindred as there are people. I like stories about people who wouldn’t tell you theirs. I wanted to write about quiet outsiders (Gangrel) who eschew undead politics (Autarkis) and use those character-sheet skills which are dump stats for most people: survival, craft, drive (horses). I’m glad I’m not the only one who was interested! I’ll be curious to hear your thoughts if you make it all the way through! Thanks for reading and taking the time to write. Cheers!