Not big on light novels, and very much a struggling reader in general, yet I was hooked by the middle of the second chapter regardless. The writing conveyed the eeriness and dreaminess of the sequence of events as perceived by the protagonist very well. The way you communicated the fact that their sire is from a much older era, and how that (among other things) serves to build a sort of symbiotic relationship between the two characters (rather than a simple sire/childe one) was smart and fun. It helps that the art and the soundtrack punctuated the action nicely :).
I'm sure this will please many a VtM fan like it did me!
Thank you very much for the detailed review, friend! <3 If there's another game jam, I'd love to do a sequel and include more crunchy game elements that may be more to your liking! (like deeper rolls, maybe some minigames like lockpicking)
Very well done! I'd like to see an options menu for changing the text size, but besides that, I adored this game!! My favorite part is how you can
1. choose your identification (gender, not name sadly)
2. you can play as a tzimisce from a camarilla background! Which I'm SO hype for, as my favorite Kindred I've made is one herself, although an art-student-gone-surgeon (her adopted sire is helping with med school kek, she doesnt have her degrees yet).
and 3. the fact that you can "consent" to a blood bond with a REALLY OLD elder, but she's a badass. and a lovely lady. (blood bonding is always dubious business.)
I'd love to see more content like this, especially a continuation if there's another VTM game jam!!
1. A text size option and custom name were definitely some things I wanted to do, but cut for time. The former I think I'm allowed to implement for accessibility purposes in the future though.
2. Glad you liked the inclusion! I love characters that cut against type, or what is presumed to be type, and it was great fun to bring a Tzimisce sensibility that's a mixture of old and new perspectives (ownership and transcendence) into a Camarilla role.
3. Gotta love a Hobson's Choice. With the blessing of hindsight, I think I would have underscored how dire a situation it was with a refusal choice that would have ended with her instantly rolling her Dominate to acquire your perfunctory consent and making you think it was your idea all along.
Definitely tried a few ideas I have for games in general that I want to develop further, and if they do another VtM jam I very much want to follow this story up! Keep an eye out!
This was really excellent. It reveals a deep and nuanced understanding of WoD lore, layered in subtly so as to never feel like exposition. My favorite part was the manifestation of Teriasa's Anachronistic flaw, the ways she didn't understand the world she'd woken unto and the evidence in her pattern of speech--this was quite accomplished, as a lesser writer would made it feel clunky and laborsome. Yet, she comes through clear and eloquent. I was delighted when I rolled a critical success for Terminal Decree to make my assualter swallow a hot brand. I found the Sabbat Gangrel using Protean to take the form of an insect to be interesting, believable, and original. I enjoyed experiencing the effects of vinculum first-hand, being an unreliable narrator even unto myself. Bravo for referencing obscure loresheets, specific Discipline uses, and detailed mechanics about Generation change in diablerie--all immaculately. Greyscape background panes suited tone. The dice feature seems very accomplished. Battle music which kicked in mid-c2 and c3 was a pleasant surprise. I intend to replay immediately. In case this helps for your usage tracking, my first playthrough was as a diablerist Malkavian turned Bahari. Cheers!
Wow. An absolute masterpiece. The makers of this game are the only people I want to play tabletop with now. What engine did you all use to make the game? I'm giving every submission a playthrough and you just raised the bar for everyone- the writer is either already a published book author or ABSOLUTELY SHOUL D BE!!!
Thank you for the very kind words, I'm touched! This was made in Gamemaker Studio 2, was a bit late in tagging it as such.
🤞 Fingers crossed that the published book thing happens. In the meantime, working on something for Storyteller's Vault, a v5 sourcebook idea that I'm pretty passionate about!
Comments
Not big on light novels, and very much a struggling reader in general, yet I was hooked by the middle of the second chapter regardless. The writing conveyed the eeriness and dreaminess of the sequence of events as perceived by the protagonist very well. The way you communicated the fact that their sire is from a much older era, and how that (among other things) serves to build a sort of symbiotic relationship between the two characters (rather than a simple sire/childe one) was smart and fun. It helps that the art and the soundtrack punctuated the action nicely :).
I'm sure this will please many a VtM fan like it did me!
Thank you very much for the detailed review, friend! <3 If there's another game jam, I'd love to do a sequel and include more crunchy game elements that may be more to your liking! (like deeper rolls, maybe some minigames like lockpicking)
Very well done! I'd like to see an options menu for changing the text size, but besides that, I adored this game!! My favorite part is how you can
1. choose your identification (gender, not name sadly)
2. you can play as a tzimisce from a camarilla background! Which I'm SO hype for, as my favorite Kindred I've made is one herself, although an art-student-gone-surgeon (her adopted sire is helping with med school kek, she doesnt have her degrees yet).
and 3. the fact that you can "consent" to a blood bond with a REALLY OLD elder, but she's a badass. and a lovely lady. (blood bonding is always dubious business.)
I'd love to see more content like this, especially a continuation if there's another VTM game jam!!
Thank you very much for your kind feedback!
1. A text size option and custom name were definitely some things I wanted to do, but cut for time. The former I think I'm allowed to implement for accessibility purposes in the future though.
2. Glad you liked the inclusion! I love characters that cut against type, or what is presumed to be type, and it was great fun to bring a Tzimisce sensibility that's a mixture of old and new perspectives (ownership and transcendence) into a Camarilla role.
3. Gotta love a Hobson's Choice. With the blessing of hindsight, I think I would have underscored how dire a situation it was with a refusal choice that would have ended with her instantly rolling her Dominate to acquire your perfunctory consent and making you think it was your idea all along.
Definitely tried a few ideas I have for games in general that I want to develop further, and if they do another VtM jam I very much want to follow this story up! Keep an eye out!
A delight for fans of the Vampire: The Masquerade universe! Great job!
Thank you kindly!
This was really excellent. It reveals a deep and nuanced understanding of WoD lore, layered in subtly so as to never feel like exposition. My favorite part was the manifestation of Teriasa's Anachronistic flaw, the ways she didn't understand the world she'd woken unto and the evidence in her pattern of speech--this was quite accomplished, as a lesser writer would made it feel clunky and laborsome. Yet, she comes through clear and eloquent. I was delighted when I rolled a critical success for Terminal Decree to make my assualter swallow a hot brand. I found the Sabbat Gangrel using Protean to take the form of an insect to be interesting, believable, and original. I enjoyed experiencing the effects of vinculum first-hand, being an unreliable narrator even unto myself. Bravo for referencing obscure loresheets, specific Discipline uses, and detailed mechanics about Generation change in diablerie--all immaculately. Greyscape background panes suited tone. The dice feature seems very accomplished. Battle music which kicked in mid-c2 and c3 was a pleasant surprise. I intend to replay immediately. In case this helps for your usage tracking, my first playthrough was as a diablerist Malkavian turned Bahari. Cheers!
Thank you very much for your detailed impressions, I'm happy you enjoyed it so much! Definitely what I was aiming for.
And I hadn't thought to before, but I'm absolutely starting some pie charts or graphs for what people played/choices made. Post yours if you'd like!
Wow. An absolute masterpiece. The makers of this game are the only people I want to play tabletop with now. What engine did you all use to make the game? I'm giving every submission a playthrough and you just raised the bar for everyone- the writer is either already a published book author or ABSOLUTELY SHOUL D BE!!!
Thank you for the very kind words, I'm touched! This was made in Gamemaker Studio 2, was a bit late in tagging it as such.
🤞 Fingers crossed that the published book thing happens. In the meantime, working on something for Storyteller's Vault, a v5 sourcebook idea that I'm pretty passionate about!
Well, let me know the title so I can keep my eyes peeled for it. I'm working on one as well - Benpower11@gmail.com