itch.io

I do hope to finish this game one day, which should include a path with Mr Knightley.  The plan is to have paths with all the heroes.  However, I got stuck on Edward Ferrars, and it will be a bit hard to construct other paths around his and leave enough room for him on the screen, even on a laptop screen.  I really need to get around to working out what to do about him.  But I'm glad you've reminded me about this game!  And it's good to know that it's still finding an audience after all this time.

Just bought it on Steam.  Hurrah!  I was hoping for something nice and calm to play today, and a cryptogram puzzle will be just the ticket.

Hello, satisfied player!

I wanted to give some same-sex options in this game.  Emma Woodhouse is often considered a lesbian/bi icon, so I'm looking forward to getting on to those story lines.  I'm a bit stuck with Edward Ferrars at the moment, which has slowed everything down to a grinding halt.  It'd be nice to continue, though.

I'm glad you've enjoyed what you've played so far.  We really need more Austen-based games, and players like you are the reason why we need them.

Thanks for playing!

Thank you!

I'm ALL for children's literacy.  :)  I've bought a bunch of classics that I want to read aloud and post on Youtube, partly because I have a niece on the other side of the world.  It would be nice for her to watch videos of her aunty whenever she feels like it, no matter the time difference.

I'll have to play the game again sometime, choose different responses to see what happens.  I agree that it's important to push children to learn new words.  I think that what you're doing is amazing.  Are you planning to continue creating protagonists who represent diversity?  Because that's awesome.

How old is the main character?  They speak very well for a child, though there are very smart, well-spoken children out there.  But if this game is aimed at average children, they might find some phrases confusing.

I was concerned about the direction this was heading at first, so I'm glad there was a less sinister explanation.  I won't comment about specific things, in case it spoils the surprise for other players.  I'm curious about where else you're going with this game, though.  On Reddit you said it was a prototype?

I think there needed to be more hints about the big reveal, though, because I wasn't expecting it.  I was, as I said, expecting a more sinister explanation, since the clues were pointed that way.

The mini-games were good.  Do you intend to have more of them in the finished version?

I'll admit, that part was inspired by a post I saw on Tumblr saying that it would be interesting to have a superhero movie where the heroes' powers are based on their fears.  I couldn't resist using it for this game.  Thanks for the review!

Yeah, I think the website must look specifically for 'index.html' to know where to start.  Something weird like that.  Name the file BEFORE creating the zip folder, though, because you won't be able to change it once it's zipped.  Good luck!

It could be the types of image files used.  Some will only work in certain browsers.  I presume you put everything into a zip folder, and that the HTML Twine game was called index.html?  That's the only way I was able to get music to work.  Unless you're linking from an image-hosting website, like imgur.  That way, you can use internet links instead of computer directories, so any computer can access them.  It could slow the images appearing, however.

If you go onto the Twine subreddit, you might be able to get help there.  I've found the people on there very knowledgeable and always ready to give advice.

Wait, this was a class assignment?  Damn, I wish I'd had assignments like this when I'd been at school.

You have all the time in the world to fix things, of course, and at least you submitted it in time.  I think the only problem I had when it came to reading was the passages where we end up being eaten, because the text colour over the background colour made it harder to read.  And the text was kind of small.  But they're all easily fixable.

I also keep forgetting that while I'm unemployed and job-hunting, I have the time to work on this stuff, and it's all for fun, for me.  There are books on Twine if you're interested in learning more.  My personal favourite is 'Writing Interactive Fiction with Twine' by Melissa Ford.  It teaches you how to make things using both Harlowe and Sugarcube story formats, and it's incredibly comprehensive.  It also teaches about how to craft stories along the way.  It was incredibly easy to follow.  I took many notes from it.  So yeah; if you can get hold of an ebook version of it, or a hard copy, you'll find it very useful.  Of course, the documentation online is free, and the Twine subreddit is full of knowledgeable people.  But then you might not play with Twine again.  It's up to you.  I hope doing a rush job for class won't put you off the program, or game jams in general.

Gah!  My eyes mixed up some of the words towards the end and I thought it said you'd been in bad health.  Good to know I only misread it.  But yes, I'm still totally in awe.

Only two months of the year left, oh my stars.  It's been a weird year, hasn't it?  So many things were the same for me (still unemployed, still job-hunting, still an introvert with social anxiety staying at home most of the time, etc).  But at least I got back into writing by doing this game jam.  I've barely done any writing this year at all, so this kind of broke a dry spell for me.  I hope things haven't been awful for you?  A lot of people have been badly affected by lockdowns; but as this is the first time society has been better designed for introverts, I don't have as much sympathy as I might otherwise have done.

Anyway, I don't know if I can follow the game itself, so I might end up following you.  Gosh, it sounds so creepy when put like that, doesn't it?

I've only finished the first year so far.  It's clearly a very long game, and you've worked hard on it.  I feel that I need to know a heck of a lot more about Greek military history to play it to the best conclusion, since I've only heard of half the names.  I did love the line 'Shouldn't gods have a little more dignity?'

By the way, the images weren't showing up for me.  I don't know if anyone else has had the same problem.

I'm happy to report that nothing like this ever happened when I was in orchestra at school.  (And I'm suddenly even happier that my parents talked me out of the double bass.  Though a cello would still be cumbersome under those circumstances.)

I'm glad the children survived.  Otherwise I might have rioted.

I had to reduce my screen because the page wouldn't scroll.  Not sure why that is.  At least the text was large enough to still read it.

I found my way out pretty quickly, so hurrah!  I've been thinking about trying to create this sort of game in Twine, but wasn't sure whether it was feasible.  However, you've shown me that it has, so thank you!

Should've known things would turn creepy.  But why did the pretty waterfall pictures have to suffer?  Waaaaah!  They were so beautiful!

I've been meaning to get a new laptop.  But now the resistentialism is real.  And rainy weather here, so I should probably stay home.  But the thought of getting a new laptop that turns out to be evil?  *shudders*

I didn't know that this kind of game was possible with Twine.  I am in awe and bow down before you.  Also, I died in level five, so I'll have to come back and play again sometime, since I'm guessing there are ten levels?

Well, damn.  That was harsh.  I know I should've been expecting the bad stuff to happen, based on the opening, but geez.  Could I have changed things if I'd made different choices, or will the ending remain the same regardless?  I'm glad I neither drink nor drive.

I agree with willitchio, so I won't repeat what they've said.  I thought it was bittersweet, and I really hope the full version includes at least one ending with a happy reunion.  And I want to know what the surprise is!  Is it a puppy?  (Yes, that was my first thought.  Don't judge me.  I love animals.)  I know it's probably something more profound than that.

Do you plan to continue the game, as the credits promised?  If so, I shall definitely follow it!

Short but true.  A mood.  It made me think of this documentary series called 'Life Without People', which looks at what would happen if suddenly all humans on Earth no longer existed.  How some things would deteriorate, how long it would take for nature to take over, etc.  The Mona Lisa would eventually be eaten by termites, for example.

I'm glad you didn't give a specific date that this will happen.  Makes it much more real, since we don't know when it'll happen, only that it inevitably will.

Um... in one of the movie questions you said 'excluding the MCU', but the answer was part of the MCU.  I think this generally needs more work.  I'm guessing you didn't find out about the game jam until 5 days ago, since it's been opening for a month.  Maybe next time, if you have a limited time frame, you should be a bit less ambitious?  The jam certainly isn't to blame when there was plenty of notice and plenty of time to create something more polished.

Although I was baffled to learn that I know more about computer games I've never played than movies that I've seen.  Still, the categories were fairly narrow.  I'm sure movie buffs would be surprised that you only concentrated on recent, mostly superhero, films.

I don't want to discourage you.  I just want to make sure that you set yourself more achievable goals in future jams.

Ooh!  Pity I'm a slow clicker.  A touchscreen device would probably make it easier to play.  But I do love the tone the game took when I said I was having nothing for lunch.  I'd just eaten lunch in real life, which adds to how funny that was.

I mean, obviously in my thumbnail I'm dressed for Talk Like a Pirate Day, but I don't actually see myself making a good go of the sea.

You're welcome!  I'm making sure that I play all the entries for the jam.  At least you used the number ten in an obvious way.  Other games haven't made their use of the theme clear enough.  Either that or I'm thick as a plank.

I really enjoyed that!  It was certainly interesting.  There might have been another way to die that I didn't unlock by not going 'Right'.  (Oh, when I went left and found the monkey?  There was an error on the page, just before what I think might be a flashback.  You should check that.  :))

Also, remind me never to go sailing anywhere with you.  I wouldn't want to risk being cursed.  ;)

Uh... I'm using Firefox, and I don't know if that's why the image at the top of the game page wasn't showing up, but I thought I'd let you know in case there's a code error.  Also, when you try to remind Twine Girl about the anniversary, we get a passage with the 'Double-click' message.  Was that intentional?  I don't have volume on, so I don't know whether there was supposed to be a noise there, but if it's a passage that relies solely on noise then it won't work for everyone.

I like the concept.  I'm just not sure whether you uploaded a draft instead of the full version, so I thought I'd let you know ASAP, just in case.

That was fun!  I love puzzles, and the random bits of knowledge I have about alchemy and tarot really came in handy here.  Overall, I enjoyed it very much!

I keep getting the same ending, despite making different choices.  Is that meant to happen?  Is it supposed to be symbolic of life being meaningless, no matter what you try?  I mean, if that's the case... #mood.

Holy... sugar.  Should've seen that coming sooner, I guess, but we only get a fraction of the full story about goings-on in America, over here in Australia.  And I certainly don't know all those fashion brands.  (But I love hats, so of course I chose the fedora.)

Does that thing always happen when you choose a tattoo, or does the game just have something against lightning bolts?  (Appropriate, since it's raining heavily here at the moment.)

A lot of coding obviously went into this.  It could theoretically be turned into a perpetual game, but I'm glad there was an actual goal to work towards, even though everything was randomised.  My favourite parts were making friends with aliens and catching up on reading, both things I would likely do in real life.  Very cute.

I don't think I fully understood everything; I've never been terribly good with abstract stuff, so that's my fault.  But the language was evocative and beautiful.  I did have to mute the sound, but that's because I was determined to read, and I read too quickly for narration.  I take in information better when it's written.  I should play it again sometime, with just the audio, because it might give me a new perspective.  But overall, I was breathless by the end.  In a good way.

The illustrations are amazing.  I wish I could art.  And you included a koala!  I'm Australian, so this pleases me greatly.

I think I took all the paths?  Overall, it was a really funny game.  Afterwards I went 'What the heck did I just play?', which is always a good sign, in my opinion.  If you're not confused from time to time, what's the point in life?

Hi!  *waves*

I've fixed the minor things you mentioned.  Thanks for catching them!  Sometimes I type faster than my brain, but usually my brain is the one going faster.  Unfortunately, my brain is usually more on the story than anything else.

The only reason I wondered about sound effects is because of superhero comics.  All those 'BANG's and such.  I haven't added audio to anything in Twine before.  Videos and pictures, but not audio.

I'm not sure how to give the option to change colours or fonts, but I've read that it's possible.  Something to look into.  I'm honestly just so glad to have gotten the story written, since depression has made writing difficult lately.  But I was determined to get something done for the jam.  Then I shot myself in the foot by adding the superhero thing.  I cannot write battles.  Oops.  Then again, movies and comic books have to be over the top, not realistic.  And this is definitely small-scale.

Anyway.  Sorry this reply became so long.  But thanks for the feedback!

Grace.

Hi.  I've finished creating something playable but basic.  I may add special effects; I may not.  I may change background colours as such, but I'm not sure.  I'd like to get feedback on it.  Should I wait until after I've acted on feedback before submitting it to the jam?

Wow!  I got ending 7 of 8, and having that countdown in the game really added something to the atmosphere of urgency and terror.  I'll have to come back to this game sometime and see if I can get other endings.

Dare I ask why you have a pentagram in the bottom left room?  Eh.  Nice game!  Our cat was a tortoiseshell, so she couldn't be mistaken for anything else.  Some years after she was put down, I got a toy with the same colouring, and left it on an armchair.  My mother and sister both mistook it for our old cat and were like "What?" when they saw it.  Gave me a right laugh, I can tell you.

I'm so used to your interactive fiction that I wasn't sure how to play this at first, but I'm glad I worked it out, because it was super cute.  My favourite was the last false cat, the shadow masquerading as a cat shape.  Your kitty probably sent its shadow to keep track of you.  Did you notice whether it had its shadow when you finally tracked it down?  Because cats are mystical like that.

Thank you!  I love Australian poetry, so I was glad to be able to share some of my favourites.

As long as that's a legitimate gofundme - and not someone trying to scam money out of the public - then I definitely support an indigenous charity.  All charities are worthy, but we just don't hear about these ones in the news, or see signs for them in stores.  It's all 'Red Cross' this and 'RSPCA' that.

Ha!  Love that it says "Time to ditch Skype".  My mother would agree; she's been having a devil of a time with it since buying a new computer.

I don't have Discord, though I'm seeing links to Discord discussions all over the place, especially in the jams.  Do I need a smartphone for it?  Gah!  I forgot.  I got my first smartphone recently, so I do actually have one.  I just haven't gotten used to working it yet.  I go on the Twine subreddit?