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Really unique game. I really enjoyed it and the theme was really interesting. Also, the mechanics were easy to get used to so awesome job!

I really enjoyed the rhythm game. Definitely a great addition. I also had a great time hanging out with Felix. That was a really neat game. Awesome work!

So glad that you got to experience multiple endings. Thanks for the compliments! Oh also, it seems that at Catalyst University romance is more important than education. XD

Thank you so much for putting this together. I loved this game and it really defined my love of games in the future. Amazing work!

First off sorry for the long post, I just had a lot to figure out recently.

So after taking a step back for a moment and reviewing the combat/gridded interaction in most TTRPGs I've decided that I need to stick true to my motto of "less number crunching and more imagination". This is a pretty unique method of thought for me because I usually like to meticulously calculate my chances of succeeding with a set of actions in more structured TTRPGs, but I believe this game can only be true to its theme if I'm very light with the rules. To be clear, there will be rules but they will be a bit more open to interpretation and players may even be encouraged in certain scenarios to work around the rules. The way I see it, in order to truly be a clown the players have to  "bend" things a little and rely on their imagination to solve issues. 

In D&D players sometimes add "flavor" to their actions to make them more unique. This could be anything from their firebolts being blue to whispers from an eldritch god singing a song of the end of days whenever they enter a room. The reason I'm mentioning this is that I think this game will work in a little bit of the opposite direction. Players will come up with their actions and they will work with the GM to reason with the rules on how these actions work. This may seem a bit more tedious than the alternative but I think it can work just as well once players get used to it. 

A good example of this is measuring distance. I've tried to figure out a good method of how to reason distance when it comes to actions but with some of the very cartoonish and magic abilities the players will have, I don't think classic values of feet and meters will work best. I think using numbers will just make things more confusing when we have to start working in 3D during combat. Once things go vertical in a tabletop the rules are usually warped a little in my own experience anyway. A solution for this is using a tape measure maybe but I think that is just asking the players to make the measuring tape a required tool to play. I definitely want to avoid adding any tool that isn't a die. So the best way I see of making distance a still relevant value but also fitting the theme is by giving a set generalization for distances. These would be something like "Next To", "Nearby", and "Far Away". I will definitely give them more clever names but this creates three simple options for the GM to describe a character's distance from a point. With some extra explanation, it can probably even help GMs depict the scale of a space more vividly without concerning themselves with accurate numerical values. This also makes it easy for a player to determine if they can interact with a point. 

Using these terms, the abilities of players will say something like "only if the target is next to you" or "when the target is far away you lose connection".  

I hope I explained this well enough. I'm aiming to give the game a good balance of die rolling and imaginative judgment. I think these decisions will help with that.

I'm going to go ahead and work with a smaller amount of classes. At most five right now. I've determined that these classes will be Party Clown, Rodeo Clown, Mime, Tramp, and Harlequin.

So I've worked out a few ideas and I've determined that less is better in most of these cases. Because I want this to be a more relaxed TTRPG, where the players and GM can decide on things together. So basically the motto is: "less number crunching and more imagination". 

I've determined at least for the first pass of the game there will be three main stats, one of them isn't even really a stat. The stats are Fun Energy, Stamina, and Size. I'm going for a much more cartoonish feel.  So I've decided to avoid death and HP. 

Fun Energy or FE:  Basically the magical energy of every clown and the stat that determines the number of magical actions they can do between rests.

Stamina: This is the stat that determines the number of physical stunts a player can pull off before they need to rest.  Its max number also determines a Clown's movement speed.

Both of the previous stats are like a well of energy the player pulls from. They diminish and run out as the player performs more actions.

Size: This is less of a stat and more of a set trait the player has at the start of their game but can alternate during play. The three sizes are small, medium, and large. Certain tasks are intended for certain sizes, such as a small clown's hands being used to unlock a door, or a large clown jumping over a wall. It's like a recommendation a GM can decide on for a task. But players can still attempt to figure out alternative methods.  Also, sizes can make for really diverse character designs : D 

When a player runs out of FE and Stamina their clown passes out. They reawaken after a rest. But I'm also imagining a few methods of rejuvenating a tired clown without resting such as sugar, music, etc.

There will be dice rolling in the game but, at least for right now, I'm working with low numbers so I think the player may have a single die to roll instead of a dice pool. I would like to test with a d12 at first. It needs more use in my opinion. 

Let me know what you think of all of this so far.

Decided to add Harlequin and make it unique enough from Jester to fit a different role.

So I feel like I definitely want to have classes like D&D and Pathfinder. But they have to be themed right and each has a few different abilities. I've brainstormed about five. These are Rodeo Clown, Party Clown, the Tramp, the Mime, and the Jester. 

Yeah the Pokemon Company reached out and wanted us to take some liberties for the franchise.  Glad to see the next gen is appreciated. 

Thank you!

Thank you so much! I'm glad to see that we are still able to meet and perhaps even surpass expectations. I'm happy you enjoyed the game.

Nice work on the gameplay! The art was really cute and neat. Nice work!

Great set up! The games design is also pretty unique and I really enjoyed it. Nice work!

I liked the narrative a ton. Great job! You made a really unique game and story. There wasn't too much but then again this is a game jam and you have gone above and beyond. Nice work!

I really enjoyed the art and "feel" of this game. Really well done! Of course the gameplayer could use a little tweaking but I loved it still and this is a game jam to be fair. Nice job and great work!

Lots of character in the design and art. Really well done. I just wish there was a bit more playability overall. But it is still great.

Enjoyed the conversation and the art! This should go up on one of UTDs websites ngl. I think there perhaps could have been a bit more tweaking on the audio but that is a small thing compared to the greatness of this game. Nice job guys!

Definitely some of our best aspects.

AH rip, That is one class president down I suppose. Thank you for playing our game though! I really appreciate the compliments. All our player UI didn't make the time cut in the end and it is pretty clear that our story is a bit ... well everywhere right now. But still I am happy you enjoyed the game!

So first off, the art is really something that makes this game. It is adorable, spooky, and all around matching the theme. The song that plays is also really good and syncs well. I do wish there were a bit more for sound effects and such. But that is a small thing when it comes to the fact that your game has playability. So nice job!!!! I love it and you have made something great.

So first off, the art is really something that makes this game. It is adorable, spooky, and all around matching the theme. The song that plays is also really good and syncs well. I do wish there were a bit more for sound effects and such. But that is a small thing when it comes to the fact that your game has playability. So nice job!!!! I love it and you have made something great.