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3 things I liked about this entry:

1. Short and simple!
2. Straightforward controls
3. The mannequin is built up to be pretty creepy

3 things I did not like:

1. It's not clear where the fuse box is initially, and once you've interacted with it never comes back as a mechanic, leaving me wondering if it was worth including at all
2. The filter is an odd choice and doesn't add anything to the game
3. The chase music is very loud compared to the rest of the game's sound. Some volume options would have been nice.

You're welcome, Dora, and thank you for playing our game and leaving some great feedback!

3 things I liked about this entry:

1. The multiplayer works pretty well
2. Multiplayer is not mandatory
3. The game is fairly straightforward

3 things I did not like:

1. The map is too large; there's lots of empty space
2. The UI can be a bit difficult to navigate. There were times where my cursor should be displayed, but it is not, and it's difficult to click on buttons to acknowledge things. For example, when I died in a multiplayer game I could not click the OK button (additionally, I think I was still able to interact with the game).
3. This is partly on me for not reading the instructions thoroughly, but it wasn't clear what I needed to do.

Thanks for playing & streaming the game, Hawk! We’re glad you like it. 😃

This was a fun little romp! I enjoyed the simple, frantic action of the game, but once again RM proves to be horrible at shooting mechanics: my bullets didn't appear or go very far half the time. I guess you could chalk that up to Sandy being bad at shooting but it is a little frustrating to have a good shot lined up only to have the bullet not fire or not go as far as expected.

To clarify: it was indeed the outdoor maps; the indoor maps are always the same place you entered from (though the southern walls can get in the way).

As for the bug, I triggered it by interacting with a rake in one of the houses that triggered Blobby's bad memory. I was already at a low sanity level (maybe less than 50?) so maybe there's some phantom-negative number nonsense going on.

3 things I liked about this entry:

1. Lots of custom art, and even a unique art style with the (mostly) monochrome color scheme.
2. All the characters have plenty of personality, which makes reading the many dialogs a delight.
3. The mechanics were easy enough to understand. I liked the concept of the Eye of Truth.

3 things I did not like:

1. The monochrome color scheme means sometimes it's a bit hard to see what I'm supposed to. Characters getting lost in the environment, lack of clarity about important items in the scene, etc.
2. The maps are bigger than they need to be and have some odd design choices. For example, I keep getting lost behind the southern walls of rooms, it's not always clear where the exit to a map is, and some passages are so narrow that it feels risky to pass one of the zombies.
3. The sanity system doesn't add much to the game.

I should also note that I ran into a bug: Blobby was running during most of the game until I ran into an event that brought his sanity to 0. He was on walk speed from then-on, even after resting. That's some intense PTSD!

Overall, I enjoyed this game despite its shortcomings. This is a shining example of how a walking simulator should be.

Fun game concept, but the padding takes it from a tense horror experience to just boring.

3 things I liked about this entry:

1. Cute art
2. Fun game loop concept
3. Different endings based on performance

3 things I did not like:

1. Time limit for each customer is too short
2. The randomness of each customer's needs and no tools to overcome the challenges makes success very RNG-based
3. Some controls seemed unnecessary, like having different buttons to interact with the various stations and being able to drop the item outside useful zones

3 things I liked about this entry:

1. Simple, concise gameplay
2. Lovely lighting & textures
3. Good horror atmosphere 

3 things I did not like:

1. I don't understand what's going on
2. The music cues seem to imply danger even when there isn't any, and are a bit much for just indicating a key interaction
3. There isn't much challenge

I liked this one a lot! It draws you in with its basic art and Undertale-like character sprite and initially has all the appearance of a cute, simple game - but then you get the line "whatever you do, don't-" and it all goes wild!

Having the mouse be the only way to interact with the game is both intuitive and awkward: I didn't have to remember anything complex and even figured it out pretty quick without being told, but it also meant that my character moves to wherever I'm clicking on the screen when the text is dismissed and trying to go in an exact direction was occasionally challenging. I think with a style like this, keyboard input would be more ideal.

Overall, I found this game fun and sufficiently creepy. Good job!

There isn’t much in the way of “horror” here, and it’s kinda hard to tell what’s going on.

Thanks for playing the game, we’re glad you enjoyed it!

Extra thanks for the detailed feedback, it will help us refine our approach in the future.

And yes, this was truly a labor of love that had us using every spare minute of the day to bring together, so we’re glad that the effort was largely successful. 🙂

3 things I liked about this entry:

1. The bear's determination to snap the player's neck took him in ridiculous directions
2. The mechanics aren't overly complicated
3. Few bugs for an RM 3D game

3 things I did not like:

1. The sound that plays when walking in grass is obnoxious
2. Mostly empty maps with long corridors makes navigating a chore
3. Aside from talking to the bear, there isn't much to do in the game

Actually, I did look through the walkthrough. I got tripped up by what was meant by "after the cutscene," which the video walkthrough made clearer.

That said, including a written walkthrough is a smart idea, one I will consider implementing in my future jam games.

3 things I liked about this entry:

1. Unique art style
2. There are unique endings depending on which enemy kills you
3. Creative enemy styles that really hit that "horror" vibe

3 things I didn't like:

1. Menus get in the way of each other
2. Enemies are too hard
3. Controlling the game is not intuitive

It may come as a surprise, but this game may have benefitted from being made in RPG Maker. The menus, overworld perspective, and battle scene all look very similar to what is found in the RM series of game engines, meaning you would have more time to spend refining your content instead of having to make all the interfaces from scratch.

If the point was to make the game in an engine that is not RM, then you did respectably in that regard. I have tried doing something similar in Unreal and I now have a better appreciation for the time RPG Maker saves in creating those user interfaces.

I hope you continue to improve in your game development journey!

I can't run the game either. I think you may have deleted some essential files in trying to get the game under the 1 GB limit.

A better idea is to upload the project to a file hosting service with higher limits, like Google Drive or Dropbox, and provide a link through itch's "External Link" feature or contact itch's administration and request a higher file upload limit.

I really liked this game! I'm having a hard time finding anything to critique here. I got stuck trying to figure out how to get some of the later endings, but watching a video from a YouTuber in the comments reminded me about a choice that existed and helped me find the rest. I even got the best ending - something the YouTuber didn't figure out!

Huge props, Quiz, this is one of my favorites for sure!

I'm sorry, I couldn't figure this one out. I got a canister of fuel but couldn't figure out what to do with it.

Also, requiring the num pad isn't a great idea as some people don't have an easily-accessible num pad (if they have one at all).

Hey BlackRose, I'm sorry, but I couldn't figure this one out! I had so many issues with the game:

• Grammar errors make it a bit hard to follow the story. I got the broad strokes, but the details are fuzzy.
• I'm not sure where to go. There isn't enough player guidance for me to have a clear idea of what I need to do to achieve my objective.
• I can't rest at the inn even after I have some gold. Did I run into a bug?
• Enemies seem to be immune to the fire spell I start with, and with no other skills battles just boil down to "spam fight until someone dies."
• If I fight the cultist lady in the chapel I revive with 1 HP. That's kinda nice, but without an easy way of restoring my HP it just ends up being more punishing than giving me a game over.
• Items in shops lack descriptions, so I don't know what anything does or why I should buy it.
• I have explored all the areas available to me at the start but can't seem to make any progress beyond this point. I seem to need items to progress, but I don't know where they are.

There are some things that I did like:

• The graphics look great and there's a good spooky atmosphere throughout the game.
• The voice acting at key moments is a nice touch.
• I know you put a lot of effort into making some unique mechanics and it's exciting seeing them in action.

I appreciate you and what you tried to do here, but I think you bit off more than you could reasonably chew. In the future, try going for something smaller so you can polish what you have.

Thanks for the feedback! Sorry to hear you couldn’t figure out some of the puzzles.

I gotta admit, I'm not a fan of this game. I'm sorry, but I'm even having a hard time finding 3 things I like about this. The one thing I do like is how high-quality the textures and lighting are, so the game looks pretty good. Unfortunately, the lack of player guidance, lack of feedback (things like a reticle and notifications when things happen), general darkness, and short, forever-looping ambience sound all contributed to me not enjoying the game. Additionally, the text on the notes was far too long and ramble-y for me to try to really understand what was being said.

I hope you keep trying to improve and refine your game dev skills.

3 things I liked about this entry:

1. Custom graphics that fit the horror vibe and seem tailor-made for the game. There are even side doors!
2. The story is compelling. I want to learn why everyone is transforming into monsters!
3. The battle system is unique. Several enemies have a positional element to them. And not every "encounter" is necessarily a battle.

3 things I did not like:

1. It's too long for a jam game. I couldn't finish it, and the bugs (particularly the hunger system bug) discouraged me from trying to finish. I recommend in the future that instead of going for maximum length, try cutting the scope down so you can polish what content you have.
2. Information critical to the player is lacking. There isn't an easy way to check the time or your hunger status (which may in turn have helped you detect the issues with the hunger system earlier). I also don't know what the result of crafting items will be, or what the benefit of cooking certain items will be, and if I choose something to craft/cook I'm committed to doing it.
3. Combat could use some more refinement. It's far from the worst I've played or seen, but here are some examples of my issues: the fact that the multi-shot from the shotgun seems to always miss makes it not worth using, the durability system doesn't make sense to me (your weapons break but you can still use them, and they're still mostly fine?), and while enemies do make use of positioning it is hard to tell what difference their position makes.

This is a truly ambitious game. A bit too much content for a month-long jam, and as a consequence there are quite a few bugs and spelling errors, but overall it's really fun and nails the horror atmosphere! Were it not for the bugs and the length I would honestly try to finish it.

3 things I liked about this entry:

1. Simple but effective gameplay
2. Good use of retro art style (the battle scene is reminiscent of the original Final Fantasy)
3. Puzzles are generally challenging, but not too hard or obscure
4. Bonus: HawkZombie cameo! He says some things that sound exactly like what he says on stream.

3 things I did not like:

1. Chases mostly boil down to "just run" and the game occasionally forces an encounter; doesn't feel like there's any skill involved in escaping
2. The elevator. I didn't realize I was supposed to attack Mason until I had burned all my best items, and someone still got killed.
3. The maps are unnecessarily large. There is a lot of empty space that takes a long time to traverse even when running.

Overall, I enjoyed this entry. It is a fun entry that's a love letter to the horror movies of the 80s and 90s.

Three things I liked about this entry:

1. Tightly-controlled experience keeps things on-track and manageable.
2. There is a lot of mystery to the story. Who are these people, and why are they doing what they're doing? It kept me reading.
3. It's short, making replays to get the different endings enticing.

Three things I did not like:

1. The game starts in a very small resolution, so it's hard to see by default. When I figured out how to scale it to full screen, it lost some visual quality.
2. I couldn't figure out how to get Ending B despite doing everything I could think of.
3. The story is pretty unresolved at the end - I still don't fully understand anyone's motives or what the wraith has to do with anything.

Also, when you get captured by the wraith you hop to the right, which can mean you clip into impassable trees. I ended up in an endless loop of captures a couple of times because of it. There also was a time where I exited the car and was unable to move - not sure how that happened.

Overall, I liked this game, I just wish I understood the story better.

Thanks for the feedback and the advice. We are happy you enjoyed it!

Steel of Studio Blue saw your game played, and here is what he thought:

https://www.twitch.tv/studiobluegames/clip/AffluentBadChamoisPunchTrees-Au7BKydA...

Having a roof over your head is a big deal, so definitely take care of that first!
I look forward to your return! <hugs>

💚 I love the thumbnail choice. 😁 Thanks, Hawk!

😃 Thanks, Hawk! Glad you enjoyed the ending. 😁

When it’s difficult to see the purpose or direction of your efforts, I find it’s best to stay the course and enjoy the grind. At the end of it you’ll either find your direction again or have a bunch of useful skills at your disposal!

As for the art programs I use, I primarily use Gimp (because I have been using it for years, so I’m familiar with how it works), Aseprite for pixel art (particularly helpful for RM-related work), and I have been trying to get better at Clip Studio Paint for larger images. I also use MS Paint for quick edits.

Have you tried editing sprites? If trying to learn Aseprite in its entirety is proving too overwhelming, try just editing something that already exists with what you currently know. You’ll get a result sooner and you’ll have some space to dip into the tools and see what they do without having to come up with everything yourself or risk ruining something you worked hard on.

And why stop at RM sprites? Try bringing in sprites from asset packs and other pixel art games to see how those sprites operate. Maybe you can draw some inspiration from how those characters are made, and learn to overcome the challenges of adapting them to RM’s framework.

Whatever you decide to do, I hope you continue to grow your creativity, because being able to create is a special power that gives you the ability to make dreams come true.

I struggled with many things when I was learning RPG Maker the first time. The one recurring theme that took the most time to really master was how to make things work sequentially in cinematics the way I wanted. Things like, "have character A do a thing during a cinematic, then have character B do another thing." I found the best way to make it work is to try to centralize the commands in one event as much as possible. If I split the commands up across multiple events, there's a risk that the computer will try to make everything happen all at once instead of waiting for each switch to flip or variable value to change. This does lead to some funny-looking events, like one character holding all the commands for all the characters on the map for the cinematic, or having one "controller" event stashed in the top-left corner of the map handling all of the characters' actions, but it works!

Another thing that I still struggle with is battle sequences. While I understand it mostly now, making events happen in battles can still be a dicey proposition that takes a fair bit of trial-and-error to get right, and gets more dicey the more complex the sequence is.

Variables (and switches) are cool. You can do a lot with them just by telling the engine "if this variable = (something), do this." In Unreal, variables are even more impressive: EVERYTHING is a variable! This leads to a level of control not possible in RM, but it also means there's a lot of complexity associated with it - I'm glad that I have all my experience from RM to help me understand what's going on and how to leverage all this power. I hope you continue to wrap your head around variables, because in the end you will be able to make the engine act like your personal trained monkey!

Unreal does 3D environments so well that movie & TV shows have started using it to construct their backgrounds! You do need a pretty good computer to run it well, though. Since it’s free, you can try it out on whatever computer you have at the time and see how it handles. 

And yes, a new VR headset is pretty expensive. I actually tried to extend its life, rather than replace it, but the headset just says it’s not gonna last much longer. At least I should be able to afford it pretty soon.

Hooray for starting to learn the logic of the engine! I am also slowly learning the logic of Unreal Engine.

As for input interfaces, I didn't need to break anything to end up with multiple mice and keyboards! 😛 I think I may have broken my VR headset, though...

My favorite villain is not a single character, but a collective: specifically, the Borg Collective from Star Trek.

When something gets the attention of these cyborg zombies, they swarm their target and do everything in their power to consume it and convert the victims into more of them. What sets the Borg apart from your standard space locusts is their adaptability: they can learn and change to become impervious to anything you throw at them! This makes them absurdly difficult to deal with, as any weapon wielded against them will only work once or twice, and never again. You can't blast them, you can't negotiate with them, and you can't outrun them. It's downright terrifying. Star Fleet has many encounters with these cybernetic terrors, and while the protagonists of the various shows always manage to come away from these episodes unassimilated and alive, they are never truly victorious until the end of the Voyager series, and even then the Borg still exist in some antagonistic capacity.

It seems it's frequently necessary in game making to do it wrong before you figure out how to do it right.

I find the trick to designing cool battles is to think of challenges you can present to the player, then design tools for them to overcome those challenges. My favorite fight system doesn't actually come from RPG Maker, but Slay The Spire. There are tons of cool encounter ideas in that game.

One example is a miniboss encounter: the first action the enemy takes is to give itself a state in which it gains an attack buff every time the player uses a "skill" card (which usually gives the player Block points). After that, the enemy uses either a plain big attack or a weaker attack that gives the player a defense debuff.

Another example is a boss that splits in two when its HP is below 50% HP. Those enemies in turn split in two when they get below 50% HP.

Since not every encounter is a boss, here's an idea for a minion battle: two enemies alternate between a basic attack, a skill that buffs their attack damage, and a skill that debuffs the player's attack damage. The first time the player hits them, they gain Block for a turn.

Slay the Spire is a great source of inspiration, but its mechanics don't always transfer to RM cleanly. Here are some ideas I've had that are specific to RM:

• An enemy that has really high defense, so physical attacks (normally) don't do much damage. This can be due to either a very high base Defense stat, or a state that amplifies their defense. (Bonus: another enemy that is the same, but for Magic Defense.)
• An enemy that uses a devastating attack every 4 turns.
• An enemy that changes its element every other turn on a set rotation.

So you see, there are some great ideas that aren't math-based! Just tweak the values until you get the results you want.

I brought this question up in Studio Blue's stream today. Teal's (and chat's) advice is below.

To review, the question I asked was: How would you craft an RPG battle system? What has been your favorite RPG battle system and why?

Teal's Responses:

https://clips.twitch.tv/BumblingAwkwardHumanSpicyBoy-1ebIGLrAFXLgG5EG

Additional advice from BG and Steel:

https://clips.twitch.tv/PiercingPatientOysterHeyGuys-DMPZJ1FqRK_3aCpZ

Bonus advice if you ever consider trying a 5-party member battle system (which would require plugins):

https://clips.twitch.tv/OriginalMagnificentKleeCclamChamp-93-PIlOPqNuKF8sr

Bonus advice for 5-party member battles, part 2:

https://clips.twitch.tv/TsundereTastyChinchillaDAESuppy-lntGTT_ewg_TqV8b

I hope that gives you some food for thought!

Game dev is a helluva drug! 😛

Yes, you can have a nap...then get back to devving!