itch.io

Oh no! Okay, I enabled scroll bars for mobile and then tested it on my iPhone. Let me know if that fixes it for you! Alternately, yes, you can play on DashingDon. 

Thanks for your support and enthusiasm!

Uh oh! I'll try to fix it. In the meantime, you can play it here.

UPDATE: That should be fixed now. Thanks!

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'm so glad you liked it. If you do them all, let me know which ending you like best. Cheers!

Thank you so much for your kind and thoughtful response. I think your right about a lot of your improvements--I wish I'd had you around to playtest while I was developing! TIN STAR on Hosted Games (?) is a good IF western, if you're looking for one. I also have a WiP on their forum called NOT YOUR MOTHER'S SHIRE, if you're into comedy and/or fantasy. Cheers! And thank you again. 

Wow, thanks so much for doing that. And saying that. I’m glad you enjoyed it! It was a real labor of love, and I put a lot of myself into it. I’m going to have a go at the errors after contest judging, so I show a fair reckoning of what I could finish in time. You’re so welcome for the read. It makes me happy to know there’s people out there for whom it resonates. When you lock yourself in with the work, there’s really no telling how it’ll all turn out. Cheers, friend.

Hm, yes and no? I have it set to play in web browser, but every day there’s more downloads. So, lots of people know more than I do. Sorry to be unhelpful!

A repost from your contest page, in case the comment is helpful to have here as well:

I adore your visual design aesthetic: the dark muted color scheme with white font, displaying character portraits in silvered blood splashes, and the map movement hub page. Brilliant work with the setup of the Character Sheet as well. I, too, got a little confused with how to move the narrative forward sometimes. Became process of elimination for me on a couple counts. Don't know if it would work against what you have going for the map icon or location text of plausible next plot point to shine a little or appear in a slightly different color? Cheers!

I adore your visual design aesthetic: the dark muted color scheme with white font, displaying character portraits in silvered blood splashes, and the map movement hub page. Brilliant work with the setup of the Character Sheet as well. I, too, got a little confused with how to move the narrative forward sometimes. Became process of elimination for me on a couple counts. Don't know if it would work against what you have going for the map icon or location text of plausible next plot point to shine a little or appear in a slightly different color? Cheers!

A repost from your contest page, in case it's helpful to have here as well:

Can't say how happy I was to see your Jeanette sprite! I love what you did with the look: arm band, tank top, choker, posture, expression, mid-rift, inverted cross eye makeup (not overdone). The "Not a Saint" logo is spot on.  Who doesn't want to see Jeanette in other outfits? Granted to Catholic schoolgirl outfit is so iconic, I actually believe she would wear this with that makeup and keep her hair the same way. Cheers!

Can't say how happy I was to see your Jeanette sprite! I love what you did with the look: arm band, tank top, choker, posture, expression, mid-rift, inverted cross eye makeup (not overdone). The "Not a Saint" logo is spot on.  Who doesn't want to see Jeanette in other outfits? Granted to Catholic schoolgirl outfit is so iconic, I actually believe she would wear this with that makeup and keep her hair the same way. Cheers!

A repost from your game page, in case it's helpful for you to have the comment here as well:

What a wholly unique aesthetic! I think it would be really great to pair with public domain theater altered to fit WoD/VtM lore, e.g. Arthur Miller's "The Crucible," but instead of investigating witches for their trials, they're investigating Kindred during the First Inquisition. You'd get to map a lot of story from literary-value fiction and get the brand recognition. I think the literal theater aspect would pair so well with your art style. Like, I imagine one of those medieval boxes in the town square where folk gather to watch the puppets perform. Cheers!

What a wholly unique aesthetic! I think it would be really great to pair with public domain theater altered to fit WoD/VtM lore, e.g. Arthur Miller's "The Crucible," but instead of investigating witches for their trials, they're investigating Kindred during the First Inquisition. You'd get to map a lot of story from literary-value fiction and get the brand recognition. I think the literal theater aspect would pair so well with your art style. Like, I imagine one of those medieval boxes in the town square where folk gather to watch the puppets perform. Cheers!

Repost from your contest page, in case it's helpful to have here as well: 

Your character sprites are by far my favorite part of your game. You manage to catch so much expression in such a unique and stylistic way. I felt each was completely distinct and that I knew so much about their personalities by seeing their faces. I wish the text boxes were smaller, so they don't so often cover your beautiful artwork! I also liked the scope/premise, which seemed very jam worthy, kind of a who is the mole kind of thing. I wish you'd had time to explore it more. Cheers!

Your character sprites are by far my favorite part of your game. You manage to catch so much expression in such a unique and stylistic way. I felt each was completely distinct and that I knew so much about their personalities by seeing their faces. I wish the text boxes were smaller, so they don't so often cover your beautiful artwork! I also liked the scope/premise, which seemed very jam worthy, kind of a who is the mole kind of thing. I wish you'd had time to explore it more. Cheers!

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. 

Ten (?) for me. Still chugging along.

This might be premature or unnecessary, since there's no guarantee there will be future contests, but I thought I'd plant this seed in case things occur to people in the wake of crunch and review or as they're playing and debugging. @outstar @huddyvonschland

This is a repost from the Dark Pack Discord. I've included responses from Ethan, as I thought they were a valid alternate point of view:

1. dwsnee — Today at 11:07 AM

   For future gam jams, we might rethink what constitutes "accessibility and bug fixes," post-deadline. I feel this is a strong advantage to elaborate games who are able to seed things before deadline and "fix" them for weeks after. I'm sorry if this sounds bitter. I crunched pretty hard to submit a working game on time and might have initially chosen a different engine and/or scope if I understood this would be allowed. Even with a text-based game, I built editing and debugging into a rigorous dev schedule, and I might have scoped further if I knew I could use time after submission to polish in this way.
2. 

   Ethan — Today at 11:10 AM

   Given that the games are being played right from the get-go once judging begins, I think it's important to remember that after-the-fact bugfixes probably only factor to a limited degree in terms of how they're evaluated.
3. 

   dwsnee — Today at 11:13 AM

   I see your point. However, many games are still updating. As of this morning, Huddy and Outstar had 18 and 15 games unplayed. It's been 10 days since deadline, which is 1/3 of the total time added again. It wasn't a targeted comment. But I think the advantage is pretty measurable, objective, and honest. (edited)
4. [11:16 AM]For instance, I devoted >5 days throughout to debugging and editing. If I had used those same days to write more, based on my daily average of 3k-5k words, I might have added 20k words, then done all my rewrites and edits after submission. That addition would have been substantial for me.
5. 

   Ethan — Today at 11:17 AM

   I don't think your scheduling is something that you'll have to regret. After all, we don't know the judging criteria - delivering a polished product is probably an important factor!
6. [11:19 AM]And with or without submission, I'm pretty sure you delivered the longest game in the jam in terms of volume of writing - even without any additions. Having played Blood Frontier, I think you've made something worth being proud of.
7. 

   Ethan — Today at 11:20 AM

   I suppose I'm just not sure how we could narrow the scope of what constitutes bugs/accessibility without causing problems.
8. 

   dwsnee — Today at 11:20 AM

   Thanks for saying that and for playing my game. My suggestion was only for the future. Something as simple as limiting bug fixes and accessibility until after judging simply seems more fair to me.
9. 

   Ethan — Today at 11:21 AM

   That would result in games like The Joker in Yokohama being unable to be considered though, since it was made and released in Japanese but couldn't be judged until the English TL was finished after the fact.
10. 

    dwsnee — Today at 11:23 AM

    I understand it puts some people at a disadvantage in terms of spoken language. I would argue this advantage exists with proficiencies in coding languages. It simply has to be scheduled for. Just my opinion as a creator and participant.
11. @EthanI suppose I'm just not sure how we could narrow the scope of what constitutes bugs/accessibility without causing problems.

    dwsnee — Today at 11:31 AM

    I would just have the fixes window start after the contest is judged. Obviously, they're the sponsors and can do whatever they want, I just thought it was a valuable perspective. Being the first of these, I know you hatch things out as you go--can't steer a car that isn't moving.

Cheers, all. Happy holidays.

Thanks for starting this great thread, PUNKLIZARD. Even though I lack the Charisma and appropriate Looks Merit to stream, I'd like to take this opportunity to strongly recommend my favorite three games so far, in no particular order. I will write a short explanation of why. If you want more explanation, just read my comments on their corresponding game pages.

-Tryptych of the Well by Sibylus . 3-chapter visual novel with dice mechanic and hunger tracking. Deep lore, subtly executed. Perfect anachronism character. Approachable enough for WoD newcomers, but original enough for old hands.

-Waning Crescent by Gaia Fiorenza and Co., the faithful shepherds over at the SbN Discord. Art, music, and prose all work so well together to deliver a heartfelt visual novel from a unique Thinblood perspective. Lore intensive without ever resorting to exposition. 

-Prince of Nothing by billvolkgames. cartoon-ish comedy featuring Nosferatu PC with muppet voice. Accidentally becomes the Prince of Pittsburgh when he misses a meeting at Elysium which gets raided. If you've ever wanted to play Home Alone as an undead IT curmudgeon, this is your chance.

So many other beautiful labors of love, but these are the ones that have resounded with my soul thus far. Hope you take a moment to enjoy them. Cheers!

Repost from Jam page, in case it's helpful for you to have here as well:

"I'm the Prince, baby, woo!" I dig what you did. I'm so pleased someone did tragi-comedy, pleased too that someone did a game featuring a Nosferatu PC. Never did I imagine both wishes would be granted together! Creepstain is the perfect perspective character, methinks--a downbeat hopeful that goes with the flow. Whatever the outcome of the contest, I hope you will consider doing lore videos on Youtube (Creepstain's Guide to the Camarilla?) or something for the Storyteller Vault (27 Ways to Meet Final Death in Pennsyltucky?)--I promise to subscribe or buy if you do. "Ol' Sex-Haver, that's what they used to call me." Thank you for letting me play someone who appraises their own appearance as "a melted hobo" and "a coatrack covered in bad mayonaise." I have a comedy WiP over at Choice of Games which you might enjoy called, "Not Your Mother's Shire." No intending to self-plug on your thread. Just, us ugly comedians have to stick together. Cheers, friendo. Thanks for this delightful experience!

"I'm the Prince, baby, woo!" I dig what you did. I'm so pleased someone did tragi-comedy, pleased too that someone did a game featuring a Nosferatu PC. Never did I imagine both wishes would be granted together! Creepstain is the perfect perspective character, methinks--a downbeat hopeful that goes with the flow. Whatever the outcome of the contest, I hope you will consider doing lore videos on Youtube (Creepstain's Guide to the Camarilla?) or something for the Storyteller Vault (27 Ways to Meet Final Death in Pennsyltucky?)--I promise to subscribe or buy if you do. "Ol' Sex-Haver, that's what they used to call me." Thank you for letting me play someone who appraises their own appearance as "a melted hobo" and "a coatrack covered in bad mayonaise." I have a comedy WiP over at Choice of Games which you might enjoy called," Not Your Mother's Shire." No intending to self-plug on your thread. Just, us ugly comedians have to stick together. Cheers, friendo. Thanks for this delightful experience!

I really enjoyed the split perspective (Kindred/Kine) and how it changed the text descriptions of the same items in the environment. I most like how that perspective shift changed how I experienced the WoD. e.g. not being able to put my finger on the Presence Discipline as a Kine, or being confused as to why everyone was drinking chilled red "wine." The VIP climax was enjoyable, when you find Johnny and the identities of the antagonists. My main wish would be for a toggleable sprint movement option, since I feel like more than half of my time was spent walking between objectives. Overall, an impressive amount of point-and-click RPG to push out in the timeline of the jam. Cheers!

I enjoyed experiencing the night club from two different perspectives, both Zak the Kine and Diane the Toreador. The inner voice felt reminiscent of Disco Elysium and was conducive to Zak's self-doubt about talking to Diane, and to Diane's struggle with the Beast. The dance floor and music felt like a nod to VtM: Bloodlines Asylum. I liked the scene when I found Johhny and the one where the antagonists' true identities were revealed. The stat screen and roll system seemed fun, and I enjoyed the few times I had to leave it chance to see if I could proceed as I wanted. The play time felt inflated because of how long it took me to walk everywhere--I wish there was an option to toggle sprint. It became a little tedious when I was ahead of the story but had to return the long way twice, e.g. with the screwdriver for the ventilation shaft. I enjoyed some of the subtler details, e.g. why are they chilling the red wine? I like the way you communicated the effects of Presence on me, from the perspective of a Kine. My game bugged out after the two POVs joined and I tried to go downstairs. Was that the end of the demo?  

No inconvenience at all. I changed the aspect ratio and was able to play. Comment to follow.

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!

Repost from contest page, in case it helps for you to have it here as well:

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!

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!

I really enjoyed how you took the lore surrounding the different Clans and extrapolated preferences for hotel accommodations. Your logic-puzzle mechanic is really different than the way many others approached the jam. I think the cartoon-y pastels used for the sprites matches the fun lighthearted tone. Something like this could be built out into a fun board-game-esque mobile app. With a timer, a random map generator, and randomized incidents (late arrival, plumbing accident) it could be infinitely replayable. 

For some reason, I'm having trouble accessing the game. When I progress past the "press any key" screen, I end up perma-looped on the following screen where it rains onto the cobbles. It never advances to the following screen (which I've seen on streams), the white font on the black screen with the time. I'm running the latest version of Windows. Could it have something to do with the aspect ratio of my screen (wide and curved)? The frozen screen ends up being cropped oddly foe me.

I played for about half an hour and got four of the fifteen achievements. I really enjoy the concept of this small snippet of story, observable from many vantages in many short playthroughs. I think it's a rather brilliant way to approach a game jam. I thought the background panes were wonderful. Onyx, the Toreador Sire with the two-tone bob haircut was by far my favorite sprite. Excellent replayability. I intend to revisit this after I've played some other games so I can view the other endings.

Masterful photography. Eerie sense of place. Disorienting narrative, perfect for the length of the game.

A really enjoyable bite-sized premise which is often overlooked: disorientation in the immediate wake of post-Embrace rebirth, especially among clans that don't hold your hand and walk you through a new-hire video. The game took me about ten minutes to finish, and I got the "bad ending" which I actually really enjoyed. The highlight, for me, was all the dev's original photography. The images, all captured at night, show a real mastery of perspective, lighting, depth of field . . . In sum, they give a concrete sense of place, of wooded isolation, far better than words ever could. 

Wow, thank you so much for taking the time to read the whole thing and comment. I'm glad you enjoyed my game, since I so much enjoyed yours. I've been feeling insecure about the length since breaking the poor streamer's (Mirta's) voice, so the kind word has helped pick me up. Your good opinion means much to me, since I know how well you know the World of Darkness setting. Cheers! And thanks again.

You almost made it through 2/5 chapters of Blood Frontier!  I felt badly for you by the end and wanted to send you cough drops.

I'm very humbled and grateful that you would spend so much of your own time playing and reviewing it. Thank you so much!

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!

This is truly superb. You guys should be really proud of what you accomplished. I left a detailed review on the game page.

Delighted to play--a pleasure and joy. Thanks for this. 

Brilliant. Gorgeous backgrounds and sprites. Smooth natural prose and dialogue. Crisp sound quality. In sum, they make for an eerie and haunting ambiance anyone familiar with the franchise will find spot-on in the most satisfying way.

I most enjoyed the representation of the two would-be Mawlas: Tamas, the Nosferatu; and William the Toreador. I found them both to be true-to-clan, yet also original in their representation.

Tamas was my favorite sprite--his Bane manifests as an owl-like face with a glass eye. Rather than a typical, more bleeding heart, Nosferatu, I found him to be brazenly pragmatic. Akin to a Ventrue, especially when you add in his Haven and attire. Yet, there is something of that Nosferatu mercy in the way he conceals you while he can so you go unbranded, the way he doesn't exploit blood bond, and the way he is utterly honest. "I use you, you use me, we both get what we want."

William remains a token Toreador, with regards to seductiveness and being artistic, but is less stereotypically flamboyant. Neither is he as vain, opting against the Blush of Life in private. Auspex was the perfect decision for a Discipline focus for a non-combat game.

TL;DR: I adore it. Best of all, it manages an immense amount of lore woven seamlessly into the narrative so that I never felt like I was playing a tutorial. The scope is perfect, deciding on a guardian given the simple crime of being. The take is fresh, sympathetic Thinblood subservience within the Camarilla. I was delighted to play and am going to immediately replay to see the other route. Bravo, guys. Thanks for this addition to the World of Darkness. I truly felt like my crescent was waning.

Very clean prose. Such an interesting setting for a VtM story, Amsterdam, given the tourism and legal drugs and prostitution. Really enjoyed the central conflict. Liked the everyday feel of the stakes, sort of a noir-detective feel. Another job done, life goes on. Ended with 12mos of feeding permission and a boon. Like "Miller's Crossing." Just another day. Great work. Thanks for letting me enjoy your game.

Played it all the way through. Very clean prose. I think you chose such a wonderful setting, given the tourism and legality of drugs and prostitution. Perfect Primogen contact (Toreador) for the region. I enjoyed the idea of the central conflict too,  a ritualistic contagion in the marijuana.  I liked the scope of the narrative and the ending. Stakes: I came out ahead with 12mos feeding permissions and a boon. Nice to see something not of the epic scale. Cheers! Thanks for letting me enjoy your creation!

This is so generous and kind of you. Thanks for doing this!