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Perfect. I got them tagged now, so hopefully it should be easier for people who use the app now. Thank you!

Unfortunately, I've tried replicating the problem with two computers, with Tab and a few other players. I haven't been able to get it to repeat, so I'm at a lost of what you and your friend encountered. My only guesses are, something went wrong in extraction, computer wise, or maybe .. Did you guys just get nothing or did the dud end play?

If you guys are up to it, I would love to see a recording to see if I'm missing something.  I'll keep my eyes out either way, so don't worry if you don't want to do it. I am still sorry regardless that it happened to you two, I can understand how that could be frustrating.

Thanks to you guys though, I did find something I can fix even if I can't figure out the other thing.

One of the testers for the bug, actually typed in 300 characters.  So, yeah, that's a definite fix, haha!

True, we'll have to find that perfect balance of difficulty in future updates.  Especially with the addition of new monsters and items, which will make it harder to keep up. That's why Itch.io has been great with keeping up comments and playthroughs, so I can hopefully see what's working and what needs more refinement. Speaking of which,

Thanks so much for answering the questions! I know its probably not what you signed up for, but we appreciate the time taken out for it. 

I was actually in the middle of commenting when Tabikat did, haha.

We were debating over whether you meant the correct order, or the correct items. If it ends up it is making you do the correct order, do you mind if I ask which file you downloaded to double check?

For the correct items, we've been talking about what we can do now, and after the GameJam ends. For right now, we'll do the walkthrough to help out. But, as you said, the difficulty curve is something to worry about especially because we want to add more monsters.  I'm thinking of seeing if we can change the whole item puzzle to more visual, drag n' drop sort of thing to make things  easier for the player. Also include hints. 

I'm so glad to hear you like Shoggoth, they definitely became a player favorite. They were written and designed by Tabikat, so I know from hearing her right now that she is over the moon.

I'll be honest, this is the first time we heard of the app, rofl. I will devote some time to reading about it, but  do you mind if I ask if marking the file is in Edit Game? If so, that should be a easy fix. 

Thanks again for commenting and playing!

Thanks so much for playing and commenting! We're so glad the idea came across as good as it did in our heads. Tab did a wonderful job with the music and art, and we both kept pushing each other with the writing.

It takes a load off my shoulders that you didn't run into any issues as well, I never used this program or language before and that was my biggest worry once it released. We are planning to add more once the contest concludes, in case you want to play again.

Either way, thanks again for the comment, it really lifts our heads!

Oh thank you so much! We're really glad to hear it!

Oh, thank you so much! Again! 

We worked with each other before on small ideas here and there in other games, but as soon as one of us spotted the contest we wanted to try and sit down to make a game together. The summoning sequence was definitely both my joy and fear in the programming side, it was my first time with Python and Ren'py, so my biggest worry was it would break or not be fun for players. To hear you talk about it  lifts a huge weight off my shoulders. 

As Tabikat said, Piog was the first one Tab made for the game, and was programmed in, so it's exciting to hear people liked her so much. I half didn't want to put her in screenshots to keep the mystery, but I thought she would be the best to show off the game.

We can't thank you enough for the review and the twitter post. 

Hey Finn!

Another beautiful game. It took me a bit to get use to the controls (Probably should've read the description first). I didn't see the jam, but is that right you made this in three days? Amazing!

I got excited when I figured out each one had a different ability.  Not sure if someone brought it up yet or not, but I noticed in some stages, the first one especially. When using the blue ability, I was able to phase through the wall if I had the cube right next to the wall and pressed the button on the side they were against. (If it was right against the right wall, I would press RMB)

I wasn't sure if that was on purpose or not, so I wanted to ask about it.

Great game though, I never really seen one with this combo of mechanics before.

Thank you so much for playing! We spent some time trying to research which monsters we liked vs which ones we haven't seen for awhile, so I'm happy that showed through.

I'm glad to hear you were able to find all four, which endings did you get so far if you don't mind me asking? 

I first saw this game being played on YouTube, and had to go play it for myself!

This game was great, I loved that kind of old-timey feel of constant movement mixed in with modern mechanics and art. The subtle shifts in the background, that make you think "Wait, has that always been there?" and the fourth wall breaking fit right in with this type of game.  I always love a protagonist that actually questions things, and shows responses to everything happening in the game.

All in all, I had a great time with this game.

Wow, thank you so much!

I read your full review, and I kind of wish you wrote the description of the game now, that was wonderful to read. We also both got a kick out of the clip, the face you made was great!

There are talks in the works of adding more along the road. More items,  voice acting, a more interactive summoning ritual and more monsters, including: you didn't hear it from me, a certain creature from Chinese folklore. 

Thank you again from the both of us!

I'm excited as well underneath all the nerves.

Oh, I loved that game! 

Hey Planet!

It's quite alright, I'm in no room to say anything since it took me a couple of days to respond back.  I'm honestly just glad you took the time to play it! Though the review also is wonderful! Dialogue was one of the biggest worries, I wanted to keep it natural and humor was usually my go-to, so I'm glad to hear it hit the right notes!

I do have a twitter, though I admit I'm not on it much. I should probably be using it for the jams I entered.


HeyMarmalade <-- 

Let me know yours as well, I would love to follow too. 

I haven't seen a game of this style since I was a little kid.

I have to give you enormous credit for doing it in this style. A lot of companies use to rush into it, thinking it's going to be easier then animating or drawing, it's really not. It's hard to input video into a game that it wasn't tailor designed for and make it work, but you pulled it off magnificently. 

The cuts between the videos and player choosing actions were seamless. I liked how it did the repeated movement until the player chose, and how the actor made the movements as natural as possible. The emotions and actions didn't feel exaggerated. 

The camera shots were superb, they captured the right moments for the audience and made you really feel like you were in the game seeing the player. The only complaint I have is that it was shaky. I might be biased though, because I have motion sickness, so those types of camera movements tend to trigger it. The movements reminded me of S.T.A.L.K.E.R in that sense.

All the noises and sounds fit into the atmosphere of the game.  But, they were rather loud when I started. I would put in a menu so players could customize the sound strength before entering the game. That alarm really got me. 

The game was short and the player choices wasn't that much, but I can't fault you for that given the time frames you were put in.  If you do more following this style or continue this one, I would love to see them!

All in all, I believe you did a great homage to the classics, while having your own twist in it. For a first-time making this time a game? It's incredible, you should be proud. I look forward to seeing what else you do!

As others already said, The atmosphere was breathtaking. The pauses, the breaks in text, the fact the player couldn't click to fast forward built the anticipation, and the payoff was wonderful, even if it wasn't what I imagined. 

The cuts where you hear a voice yelling out was jarring, and really added to the feeling of being alone in the woods without idea what was going on. 

The art that was colored in the same way as the text, and kept the immersion on peak. 

The text even looked textured?! How did you do that? 

The only suggestion I got is, when I started rereading over the text for grammar and such, I noticed a few that looked like they were bolded or italics, but it was hard to tell given the text style and color. Definitely not a big issue, and there was still hints that they were different. 

I second what undragoncolorado said, how did you implement the sounds so well into the game?

Excellent game, I got drawn into it so much I forgot one of my original intentions was to help check for spelling, rofl.  I had to replay a couple of times.  Well done!

You picked the perfect current scare to use!

I tried it out myself first, but I'm terrible with jump scares, so I had to bring someone else to make it past the first night. 

So I have my notes, and theirs as well for you. 

Theirs: "A lot of games that follow the FNAF mechanics doesn't  usually get attacked in the first day, this is the first one I played that you can actually be attacked. This is usually so the first level could be a tutorial level.

I liked the fact they gave the player a reason why they can't have more power,  them being so far underground.

The sounds for the red guy was excellent, you knew when he was coming and how long he was there.  (It would scare us both.)

Subtitles would be nice.

I like the ambiance noise.

Hitting ESC exits out of the game. Usually used as a pause." 

The details for the art for the cameras was great, there was a bit of immersion break when you saw the 2D art in the cameras but came back to the 3D office. 

The music and sound started very strongly for us both, I'm not sure if that's on your end or if we both just usually  have high volume on anyway. The ongoing noise for the lights on was a bit grating for me personally.

I'm impressed that you were able to figure out and use the camera mechanic. It worked perfectly, and I noticed no bugs for it. 

The voice actor was a natural for the phone, it felt like someone  actually just leaving a message. And the mixed emotions you hear through the voice, was great!

Honestly through the five nights we got through, I didn't notice any game breaking bugs. That's excellent work, especially considering the time frame!

Our main suggestion would be some hints on the enemies. You gave a great one for red, I would like to see something like that for the guy on the first night. It took us a few tries to learn that we had to see him in the light first before we could close the door.  

The last guy was very clever, we figured out how to use the glow to our advantage.  (Though the others got us when we focused too much.) We started taking notes of the patterns and aggression of each one. 

It was awesome to see you take a mechanic and make it into your own style! Great job!

Honestly, I don't know what it is about Plague Doctors, but I love them. I loved the idea of using the instrument to make different cures for the colored plagues. I'm excited to see if you'll take it further with note mixes, or something. (Purple plagues perhaps?) The music was great has that kind of whimsical forest vibe, very catchy. I liked the design of the of plagues and doctor, and the keyboard. I like to believe now that there is a eccentric plague doctor out there blasting illnesses with a piano guitar.  The fact you kept the colors on the screen makes me happy, because I don't usually play rhythm games. 

Having the signs as a tutorial was a good idea.  Kept in the immersion of the game, while explaining to new players.  I would mention what the jump button is, however for continuing the signs. Even if it's obvious, some of your players won't be use to computer game keyboards. 

The only two things I noticed that I didn't really see anyone else mention was that I could pass through some enemies by jumping on them with the wrong color. I noticed it with one of the blue fungi at the end of level 1, and the red monster on level 2. I would test the rest of the enemies, but that will take me quite a few days because I'm bad a jumping puzzles, rofl.  

I did notice the winds at the end of level one won't blow the player the whole way either, I wasn't sure if that was intentional or not, but I'm writing it just in case.

I'm late to the party playing this game so, I was rereading over comments to make sure I didn't repeat what you already heard. I saw you had issues with the boss, but you fixed it almost as soon as you learned about it. I want to say I am impressed about your timely response and taking feedback. It's something I have to improve on myself, so I try to keep my eyes out for how other devs do it. 

All in all, excellent work! I hope you do keep polishing and working on this game. I want to see what other ideas and things you'll add in now that you have more freedom.

Hey team! Congratulations on the game!

First of all, I never would have considered a open wound concept for a game, but it was a amazing idea. I actually used the blood in the darkness to mark spots I've been so I can keep my bearing.  And, that it's always on the back of your mind that you have to keep a look out for. It can be a hindrance, but strangely helpful too. Reminded me a lot of Ico with the concept. You always have to keep one button down. 

Two of the biggest suggestions I have is a pause menu and blocking the player from going too far backwards. I know the pause menu doesn't seem like a big deal with the time frame of the game, but since your character will bleed out if you don't have the button down, then I highly suggest it.

I actually walked backwards for 15 minutes because I wanted to see where the kid went, and when I realized I could continue walking back, I triggered the title again and figured there might be a Easter egg or something. I couldn't find anything, so I assume it wasn't purposeful.  I would suggest a invisible barrier, to keep players on track. 

I loved the art, and the whole atmosphere. Once again, the open wound concept was very unique, and I felt actually worked better with the fog and darkness.  I did feel kind of strong-armed into the second choice, but it does push the idea that you don't have much time to think of other ways to solve a problem when you are about to die, and you have to choose your life or theirs. Gave me some thoughts to ponder, which is the essence of story-telling.

Excellent work guys! I look forward to seeing how you guys continue this game. 

As others said, I wasn't expecting a platformer in this jam, but the retro aesthetics mixed with getting the story from tapes, everything was a great combination!

 I'm horrible at platformers so that one area absolutely killed me with the wall.  Felt great at the end though when I finally got through, so a great level scale! 

 I couldn't quite figure out what the bat was for, I thought it was a enemy at first but I didn't receive any damage from it.  It just followed me around the room. Which was neat with the light on it, I fell like if I took more time I could've got it to darker areas. 

 I liked the attention to the small details.  Like the light switches.  And the small control tutorial, I would add in how to open and close the tapes, the first time I kept hitting all buttons to close and clicking out, finally closed with space. 

I loved the little duck:

I brought it with me as far as I could.  And using it down that dark hallway was such a cool idea!

 I second everyone's suggestions on voice acting with the tapes. And, I ran into a death issue as well. Just the animation for death kept replaying as I got transferred to the start of the zone. I think it's because I started moving during the animation.  It eventually solved itself when I gave it time to get through the whole animation. 

It was a wonderful job, especially considering the time frame! The art was great, and I really liked the idea of telling a story only using pieces of dialogue from the tapes.  Keep up the great work!