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DreamCartographer2 years ago (1 edit) (+1)

(Yooo! The opening "Ludum Dare 32 - Track 5"  is in my game ROSA! Song buddies! :D)

Super SUPER well-made. The idea behind this is really intriguing. At first I thought the deteriorating environment was literal, but it started to make sense when the main character returned home. I liked the teddy bear as a symbol of innocence and hope. I also loved all the little details sprinkled throughout that convey both story and atmosphere. (Though I have to ask - why is SquishypuffDave in this game? XD EDIT: Oh my gosh, I can't believe I noticed SquishypuffDave but not myself XDDD It's an honour! Thanks!)

As for the reveal, I'm not sure it recontextualizes everything that came before because there's not much story prior to watching the tapes. Or at least, there doesn't seem to be. Why does the main character go to the house? Does he know he's going to do what he does in the tape, or is at least considering it? Or is the tape an unexpected wake-up call on where his life is going? Both those things are probably difficult to convey in such a short game, espcially when you need to focus on the main events.  In any case, it definitely works as a reveal for both the main character and the player, whether it be literal or metaphorical.

The only real issue I saw is that there doesn't seem to be a way to exit the Windows version at the end. (Also if I knew my thumbnail would be front and centre, I might have spent more time on it XD Thanks for promoting us all though!)

Excellent job!

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Thuleanx2 years ago(+1)

So the house, and in extension the tape, is a parallel to the flashback phenomenon before death. Chronologically, the events of the game are: the man grows up -> he was on the verge of death -> in that split second he experienced the house and got to watch his entire life up to that point -> he wakes up and discovered he's still alive. I also understand that, from what is presented, it's not clear as to why the man was hopeful at the end. Truthfully, I just wanted to leave the story on a somewhat uplifting note (this decision happened after someone pointed out that they've only been telling grim stories in the discord). You can probably make the argument that the things he saw in the tape, especially prior to the office scenes, would have convinced him that there's more in life, but that's not hinted at in the actual game.

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Toaster Strooder2 years ago(+1)

Wah oh! That was me; I said that thing about only telling grim stories. Or at least I was one of the people who did. Apologies if that made you uncomfortable with whatever ending you had in mind before! 

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Thuleanx2 years ago (1 edit)

Your comment actually inspired me to end on a higher note. I was going to end on the protagonist dying, which happened in some of the chapters of the manga, but decided against it. I recall Dylan also saying something about why stories shouldn't just be depressing for depressing's sake, and I thought I hadn't shown enough of his life before the incident (or at least the happy things about it) to warrant ending the story in such a manner.

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Toaster Strooder2 years ago

That makes sense! Depressing is something that, like a lot of elements of a work, should be applied responsibly. I do think that keeping some element pertaining to the protag's passing would have made some sense, though; he was watching a tape of his entire life, or at least that's what I thought based on your inspiration. 

From the angle of him finding reason to keep on trucking in form of the bear, I suppose that bear showing up in real life but not the tape is him trying to go against the downer fate set before him and instead make improvements in his life... much like how you decided to make a less downer ending and instead go for something less excessively upsetting. 

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