Things I loved:
- The vibe. The colors and art sold the visual vibe well for me.
- On the same note, the music was nice as well. For some reason, I was expecting a more rebellious vibe in the music and SFX, but I think I actually prefer it being more laid back. It balances out the rebellious-looking character designs and dialogue.
- "Too bad only nerds read." I love this. More silly dialogue things like this! :D
- I wasn't expecting an isometric view in the interactive portions, but I'm glad I got it. Idk why, it just made the comfy feelings in my brain go off.
Suggestions for post-jam improvements (if y'all pursue it):
- I got stuck/looked like I froze when initiating dialogue sometimes, particularly in the library couch area. I thought I'd have to restart but after button mashing for 30 seconds or so I got free.
- The text box was kind of tiny. I didn't realize I was supposed to scroll in it sometimes until the very last scene. I think that could be a little bigger or the text could be broken up more so there's no scrolling.
- The motive for getting other girls expelled made sense for Pel. But it didn't have me fully invested as a player. I was invested enough to finish the game, but don't think I would've been for a longer experience. I think making the player relate to or understand Pel more via the writing or her character design would add a little extra polish via player investment. (This is hard to do in a 48 hour game jam, what's here is good for that time span and game length.)
- Visual novels can sometimes feel a bit slower paced than other games since it's mostly just reading and looking at art (in non-interactive portions). Starting the game with a black screen and no art to look at felt weird because of that, since it was only text to get me invested for 4-5+ clicks. In a longer, non-jam title, that could lose a few players before they even have the chance to get fully into the game. (Again, not huge deal for a 48 hour game jam, but something that could be improved in future builds.)
A few minor bugs here and there, but good job overall!