itch.io

hi, did you get this issue from using your mouse to play or your keyboard? I thought I'd patched out this bug but if it's still happening it might be beyond me to fix :(

oh this is so sweet, thank you so much!

aww thank you so much!! I'm glad you liked it!

https://cartyrs.itch.io/apparition 

Hi, I appreciate the feedbcak! I've been aware of bugs for some time, but since this was both more of a beginner-dev's passion project, I haven't had the time to go back and fix everything. I do intend to release an updated version eventually!

Hi, I really appreciate this feedback! Apparition was the first game I've ever made and had a tight time constraint going in, so I'm aware it's pretty buggy. I intended to fix them long ago, but since this was more of a passion project, my other responsibilities took over. I do intend to rerelease eventually with the issues fixed!

Hi! The game was entered for a 1 month gam jam focusing on new devs without game making experience. As Apparition was my first game ever, I underestimated how much time I'd need to learn the program and cohesively tell my story. So yes, I'm absolutely aware how abruptly the game ends. I had a different ending planned, but ran out of time unfortunately! This is a project I'd like to expand on once I have more technical skill under my belt, so this "ending" was intended as a cliffhanger that may get expanded on someday. I hope that answers! 

Concept Art and Discussion

I've added this link to the game's page as well, I did a bit of discussion about Apparition pre-game on my twitter! https://twitter.com/cartyrs/status/1358119609023488002

Thread includes concept art going back to 2018, influences on the story, and the film version of Apparition. 

thank you!!

thats the #1 bug i've been seeing people report, I''ll be fixing that asap and rereleasing! 

Oh that's so odd I had no idea it would do that! I'm fixing some bugs in the game the next week so I'll have it set back to the default icon on the new release.

I'll let you know! Most of the script was written as I went so I don't have a fully written script anywhere to give out for translations. But I appreciate the interest!

oh this is so sweet ;_; thank you so much!!

Just downloaded! I can't wait to play :D

Hi!!! Thank you so so much for the feedback it means so much! It seems my problem is likely how I coded the first cutscene, I'll check it out and do some troubleshooting! Also thank you for all the compliments too omg ToT

Update on Bugs and Fixes:

Hi everyone! I needed a week to work on other projects (and frankly to take a step back from the game), but while I took a break I got an overwhelming response from the community here! Thank you so so much to anybody who's played Apparition, anyone who's followed me, and an EXTRA big thank you to anyone who's donated! It all means so much to me as an aspiring game dev, you've all given me the motivation to keep game making! 

I also needed that week to let people play, and gather responses on what works and what doesn't. 

That said, I’ll be sitting down to address all the bugs in the game tomorrow! Today’s the last day to send in anything that didn’t work, or really any critique overall. Everyone's thoughts and reports really help so much! Especially as a new gamedev, there's so much overall I know I missed. Thank you to everyone for your patience and I can't wait to give you a more polished game!

- Carter

A friend of mine seemed to have the same issue, I'm looking for help on it now! The book is on the far left bookshelf, it's supposed to trigger an event that asks you to take it. I'll be posting an updated version of the game soon once I get some feedback! 

Game Title/URL: Apparition

Pitch/Information: A walking/exploration same set in RPG Maker about a displaced young adult sheltering with a ghost. LGBT/supernatural romance.

I'd like feedback on: A few friends of mine who've played ran into some bugs, I want to wait on more feedback before I go back in and repost everything. If you find anything, let me know! Also, let me know if the library puzzle is too confusing, a friend had some trouble with it. Any other feedback is welcome as well! (I'd appreciate constructive vs. harsh criticism though, haha). 

I need help on: A bug in particular a friend mentioned is that after picking up the book from Eden's bookshelf, she hit a direction key and it softlocked the game and didn't trigger the event. I wasn't watching her play so I'm not quite sure exactly what happened there, does anybody have any insight? I had a choice event there that triggers an autorun event. 

Thank you in advanced to anybody who checks it out, even if you don't have feedback! 

Note on Bugs and Fixes:

I've had some feedback about bugs in the game, I'll be away this coming week but after I'll be doing some final housekeeping on Apparition to make sure it's running completely right! In the meantime, if you do play, I'd super appreciate a note about any issues that come up for you! 

I'll also wait until I'm back to write up a post-mortem. 

Until then, congrats on finishing the jam again everyone! 

Dev Log 1/23/2021:

Last log of the jam! 

I spent all day scripting out and eventing my final cutscene and making sure there weren't any bugs! I'm a new dev so obviously I'm sure there's some I missed LOL. But! Regardless, I got everything together and finished the game! I'm so so excited to share it with you all, this has been such a labor of love. This jam really inspired me as a creator and helped me get the motivation I needed to learn my programs. 

You can find Apparition's game page here: https://cartyrs.itch.io/apparition

Thank you to everyone who's helped and who's commented these past two weeks! I haven't been able to respond to all of them but I read them all and it really means a lot to me. I really can't wait to see how everyone's projects turned out. Congrats on a great jam everyone!

- Carter 

Dev Log 1/21/2021:

We're in the final stretch!!! I'm just cramming as much as I can so I can finish this nicely for you all!

I made a few new maps and spent a good amount of hours learning variables so I could make a library puzzle! I also figured out how to overlay pictures to make some nice lighting (which ofc I didn't grab any screencaps of haha).

Just gotta fix some bugs in the code, script my last scene, and edit my last CG and I'll be good to go!

EDIT: Finished the 2nd CG and added overlays to both!

Dev Log 1/19/2021:

Took a break and spent some time with my partner so not a lot of new coding progress, besides fixing some bugs here and there and importing some BGM.

I did draw up a CG though! Will be making a companion piece for a later scene within the next few days. 

EDIT: Changed the overlay to match the lighting I did on 1/21/2021!

I also decided to scrap some minor NPCs I had in lieu of finishing the game lol! 

Dev Log 1/16/2021:

No new game screenshots, but some awesome progress! 

I scripted out and fully coded my first scene! There's still a bug or two left to fix but that's a problem for tomorrow me. I might even take a break from coding tomorrow to do some additional art and customize the menus.

I've also been posting some game stuff every so often on my tumblr, check Apparition's tag here: https://cartyrs.tumblr.com/tagged/apparition

In related news, I had mentioned Apparition is based off a short film of mine, correct? Working on this has given me a lot of inspiration to finish up some final details there. I found a ton of festivals and sorted out my budget there, so I'll be submitting it for festival screenings very soon! Once it's made the rounds I'll absolutely link it here, it's one of my favorite projects I've ever done. 

A fun story, I actually worked as a scenic builder/painter for a few years, so I wrote the script for Apparition around a set I wanted to build. Here's some pics from that set:

Oh, and just for fun, I wanna share what I use for inspiration when I'm making characters and stories! I make pinterest pages for all of my ocs, you can find Eden and Heather's here! And for my overall stories I like to make playlists, here's my Apparition one. It's super fun to do and gets me super inspired!

Dev Log 1/15/2021:

Minor log today since I spent the majority of my day calling my bank and setting up a printer LOL.

Finished Eden's dialogue sprites and got them imported, so my first scene is nearly done!

& Started on the downstairs map! Not sure I'll really like any of them until I learn some lighting haha.

Oh can I just marry Robin? Please?

I'm really excited to see this!!

Dev Log 1/14/2021:

Went a few days without a log oops! That's fine anyway bc the past few days were mainly me doing trial and error runs trying to create my opening cutscene and learning how to do conversations in events. Which I finally got down tonight LMAO.

Here's some caps from my opening:

And I finally finished my main two's pixel walk sprites! (I had to redraw my OG ones since I accidentally made them 32x2 instead of 48x48 oops). & Heather's icons too! 

Haven't gotten around to Eden's yet. After trying and failing at creating events a few times I really realized how much I need all my art assets finished Before I start getting into it lol! So that's the gameplan for tomorrow: drawing Eden's icons,  finishing up my maps, and maybe getting around to some less important NPCs. Hope everyone's games are coming out well!!

thank you!! ^^

Dev Log 1/11/2021:

Watched so many tutorials on eventing I feel like my brain's fried x_x
I think I'll definitely have to pace myself when it comes to learning rpg maker haha! Tomorrow will probably be an art day.

In the meantime, here's some map progress from today! Using default rpg maker assets and CallMeKerrigan's Post-Apocalyptic Tileset: https://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?threads/tiles-by-kerrigan-updated-02-07...

I can't wait to learn lighting better so everything isn't so saturated ToT

thanks so much!!! 

the designs and the UI look SO GOOD!!! i want to know more about everyone immediately omg

I love this concept!! 

1. Hi there! What's your name? Want to introduce yourself?
My name's carter! 22 y/o and they/them pronouns. I'm a recent college grad focusing in art direction for filmmaking.
2. Did you participate in the last jam we held? If so, what do you plan on doing better this time? If not, what's your reason for joining?
This is my first jam ever! 
3. What games are your favorites? Did any of them inspire you, or made you want to make your own?
I'm not very good at most games LOL so all my favorites tend to be VNs, puzzle, rpgmaker, jrpg, walking sim, etc. My favorites are The Cat Lady (which i wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who likes horror), Higurashi, Zero Escape, and RPG Pixel Horror stuff! They absolutely are all my biggest inspirations when it comes to the kinds of games I'd like to make.
4. Do you have experience with game development? What did you do/with what engine?
Not really any at all! I've been writing in prep for a longform rpgmaker game but haven't dived too deep into the program yet. I did experiment a bit w/ ren'py, I like it for VNs but it didn't have what I was going for lol. 
5. Tell us about something you're passionate about!
Storytelling is probably my biggest!! Probably why I tend toward very story heavy games lol.
6. What are your goals for this game jam?
I've spent so long writing my longform game without opening rpgmaker bc I've been so worried about messing up! So, I'm using a different story of mine to get past all of those worries! I'd like to just get really familiar with rpgmaker this jam. 

Dev Log 1/10/2021:

Half of my day was spent pretty much watching MV tutorials and downloading assets LOL. So, no game making just yet, but I did spend some time tonight drawing up the game's title screen! 

Tomorrow's goal is to finish up the walk sprites and get them imported! 

thank you so much omg!!!!!!! 

thank u!!! <3

thank you!!!! ToT

THANK YOU so much omg ;_;

Dev Log 1/9/2021:

Started the girls walk sprites! I'll be making a minimal amt of assets myself, so I have more time to focus on learning the program. 

Heather (top) and Eden (bottom).

Program: Aseprite

Quick Intro

First log of the jam! My name's Carter, I'm 22, and you can find me @ cartyrs on tumblr and twitter. I'm an artist, filmmaker, and writer.

I'm new to game development, and this jam came at just the right time! I'm currently writing a longform RPGMaker mystery game, but I haven't had the confidence to dive right into the program or the coding. I plan to heavily take advantage of this jam to get over my fear so I can start my dream game! In order to not stress the details, for this jam, I'll be adapting a short film of mine, titled "Apparition."

Game Details

"Apparition" is the story of Heather and Eden: a displaced young adult taking refuge in an abandoned house, and the ghost of its' previous occupant. 
The story is a sapphic supernatural romance and a commentary on lesbian censorship/"dead lesbian syndrome."
While the game will not feature prominent adult themes, there are mentions and depictions of: death, witchcraft, sex, homelessness, and minor allusions to religion and homophobia.

Programs are Aseprite, RPGMaker MV, Paint Tool SAI, and possibly Photoshop.

Game will predominantly be a walking/exploration sim with some interactivity as the plot goes on. My main goal is to learn RPGMaker assests, how to map, and how to code!

Concept Art

Heather (left) and Eden (right).

I'm excited to see what everyone makes during the jam!!! Good luck everyone!