itch.io

Thank you so much!  There will be more!  I had a lot of fun building this, and I plan to continue.  Just have to finish up the voting period! :) 

Specifically, I received several errors when trying to extract the zip file.  All DLL files (and likely several others) did not want to decompress, but it did not give me any useful error data.  It was remarkably vague, unfortunately.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get this up and running on two of my machines.  I did get to see the devlog video, though.  Beautiful artwork!  I will definitely keep an eye out, and I hope you'll continue to develop this project!

Very cute, short and sweet.  I love every one of those dialog and sign prompts.  Zombie / monster office culture would be a heck of a fun idea to explore!  I hope you will consider developing this further!  Thank you for participating in the jam!

Gosh, that is so often the case.  A friend of mine doesn't code often, but understands enough of the logic for things I'm trying to solve.  When I get stuck, it's ridiculous how many times he's come up with an 'every man' response to the problem.  "Why don't you just do this?"

I facepalm when he makes me realize how often I over-complicate things.  It happens a lot :) 

Though, I think it's safe to say Jason wouldn't have got half together without you, too :) Great teamwork!

Thank you very much!  As for the never ending work, ain't that the story of our lives :)  I'm going to keep working on it as well!  I already have a laundry list of fixes, improvements and plans in place for after the voting period.  I also plan to take a look at this whole Itch thing and figure out a proper page to present the game.  The TODO list always gets a little longer, doesn't it? :) 

Thank you so much for this response!  There were quite a few points where I wasn't sure if I'd make the deadline - and 2 seconds is cutting it way too close!  I do not recommend it :) 

I love the idea of fast-forwarding the text!  For the first update, I'll make some changes.  Instead of holding E to skip, I'll have it scroll the instructions faster, then releasing it will bring it back down to the 'normal' speed, and we'll see how that feels!

A pause / options menu is absolutely on the short list for things to add once the voting period is over.  I have also fixed the bugs you ran into.  I knew about them ahead of time, but...  2 seconds to spare.  I very truly ran out of time :)  I am glad to say that the bugs you encountered are already addressed for the next update!

Also, sound.  I'll need to figure out some cute sound effects for Squishy and... well, everything else!

This was such an amazing experience, and the kind comments and honest feedback are so awesome to read.  Thank you again, and I'll absolutely continue to build and improve on this project.  There are so many things I had to leave behind for the jam, and I look forward to providing a far more (reasonably) challenging experience for everyone!

I love the color choice.  The monochrome is a very unique feel, and I loved throwing things around.  I guess some players are ...  mean-spirited :P  I think a slower health drain would help.  That said, a fantastic entry for the game jam!  Thank you so much for finishing it!  Well done!

This is an adorable little game!  Absolutely will be continuing to play / improve.  I hope you'll continue development after the voting period!

I might suggest a higher resolution pixel sampling.  Not high-def, but a bit more than we have.  I agree with Festus in that it can be harder to read what we are going after.

Perhaps one of the upgrades or an item the player could carry might help highlight nearby resources with a color-based glow or something along those lines.

All in all, a fantastic entry!  That was a lot for a game jam!  You used those days very well!  Great job!

EDIT:  I am very glad (and I daresay proud) that you overcame your frustration and rejoined the game jam.  It is absolutely inspiring that you came back swinging and knocked it out of the park!  You took away some very valuable lessons that I think will help you greatly, not just in game development but in every aspect of life.  Keep your eyes on the horizon! :D 

I did manage a couple of the short cuts!  Even so, time was about 3:45.  Really cool artwork and I love the idea of rebuilding the game as you go!  Fantastic work, Nik!  Well done! :D 

I eventually figured out what to do, but not so sure I ever figured out what was really going on.  That might well be MLM's in a nutshell :P  Good job on getting this game ready for the jam!  I look forward to your future projects as well!

I love the story, the art, the combat... all of it!  Fantastic work, Nerd Waffle!  Congratulations on getting this project in for the jam!

You two really pulled together to help each other along!  Fantastic work!  I love the art and you have a solid base to continue building upon!  Great job learning to work together, and the incredible improvements you pushed each other toward in that blog.  Well done, you two! :D 

Oh, sure...  the place falls a part and THEY get to leave, but me?  Do I get to go home?  Nope!  Well, I'll show them!  Attempt 1 of my escape:  I managed to get out of my cell.  Immediately gunned down by a turret.

I see...  so that's how it is!

Attempt 2:  Killed by wall heater thing around the corner.

This is a very unforgiving place!

I skittered around a bunch, but didn't manage to escape... yet.  Those turrets make it the platformer from h...  well, y'know.  In short, I love the challenge!  I also love that we can pick up where we died, more or less.  Restarting would be a nightmare!  A solid submission for the game jam with some great visuals!  Fantastic work!

I am so glad that you did this - and that you didn't truly give up.  You picked yourself up despite your own fears and doubts and frustrations.  Heck, you did multiple games within one jam!  That is legendary :D  I think it is so important that we learn not only from our successes.  Thank you so much for this blog!  I hope it inspires and encourages many others, and I hope this inspires you as well!  I don't see this as a sad victory, to be honest.  It is a solid, absolute victory over all those silly little voices that tell us 'we can't.'

It doesn't matter how many times we fall.  It only matters that we get up once more.  As you say, keep on keeping on! :) 

10380, Spooky! :D  That was a lot of fun!  A fantastic game jam submission!  Well done!  Solid artwork and I really enjoyed tossing all that chaos down range!

Not gonna lie, I spent entirely too long just jamming to the main menu music :) 

This was an absolutely solid entry for the game jam!  Loved the art style, and I knew I was going to like this when I read the tag line about pocket-sized monsters being pets, and that this one isn't.  Fantastic!

I can't help thinking this is what might happen when some Super Mario brothers players have a chance to make their own platformer :)  I love the style and presentation, the storyline is adorable.  The challenge is absolutely unforgiving and brutal.  It should probably concern me with how much I am loving it :)  Great job!

A very cute and charming part of the game jam, I have to say.  There are certain things you go through life never knowing you needed them.  An adorable slime jamming to the music in its headset is absolutely one of those things :D  Thank you so much for letting us play!

Very cute little game!  Simple, to the point and does what it says on the tin.  I love the artwork!  The slime is adorable :D  A great game jam entry, I say!

Wow, I feel all of this.  Keeping your motivation could be a topic all on its own, to be honest.  I am glad you chose to enter even though you hit that wall!  Keeping motivation - especially when you've overscoped - can be a serious challenge.  I absolutely get it!

As for that moment when you realize the game 'isn't fun'...  that is a tough pill to swallow.  There are plenty of times where I've had to go back to the drawing board for that exact issue.  During a game jam, that is even harder since we're under such a time crunch.  The prototype phase can be critical in terms of that search for the fun.

I hope you will consider continuing development - in this project or others - once you have recovered that motivation.  The inspiration to create comes in bursts, sometimes.  I also completely agree with the idea of knowing when to walk away from something.  Seize it when it is there, but don't force it.  You will get there - and you won't resent having done so! :) 

I will definitely be checking out the updated version after the voting period expires!  This was a very cool peek into this type of game, though.  I haven't been the monster in this sense before.  It was curiously satisfying and I should probably be worried about that :P  Seriously though, good job on getting this in, even if there are bugs.  I've found it is one heck of a learning experience!

I got so busy checking out the conversation options that I honestly forgot to capture people in the first few play throughs :)  8/10 so far.  I will get a perfect run, someday! :D Great job with this game jam!

I really liked this one!  I've tinkered with RPG Maker and had no idea you could create a puzzle game like you have in the surgery scene.  I also really like the music!  It is impactful, letting you feel how important it is to solve that puzzle in the idea that you are operating on a patient, but also chill in that it just lets you concentrate and zone in on that careful work and  puzzle solving.  Brilliant work across the board!

I absolutely love this :)  Hyacinth's first line, "... this forest is rather small. I am afraid I cannot see why this is worth our while at all." had me looking for similar rhymes from her throughout.  I love their bickering and I had a lot of fun figuring out how to get them to put their heads together!

That being said, operating all three of these characters at the same time certainly took some getting used to!  A fantastic jam, and I really look forward to seeing more!  Jam on, High Lord!

A fun little puzzle platformer!  The name says it all :)  I like the art style and I hope you'll consider continuing development after the voting period!  I admit, I'm more used to platformers where you can't control your speed mid-jump.  That threw me off for a bit.  Aside from that, I really enjoyed playing this!

I love every play on words that you have here.  Nostalgia hit hard in this one, and I'm all for it!  I hope we can find many more adventures with Yer in the projects to come.  Great job, Grumpy!  Dev on!

Also... I absolutely love the combination of Badgers, Mushrooms and Snakes :D 

You two are absolutely amazing.  Incredible job on this jam!  I love the art, the sound, the animation.  I have no complaints about this game aside from it being over :D  You have done a superb job combining your skills and developing still more.  Please keep it up!  I look forward to seeing where your future projects take you, too!

You also knocked the blog out of the park!  That is an incredibly detailed document and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it!

It is an interesting introduction to a tactics game.  I hope you will continue updating this!  The art is, as always, fantastic!  The music was awesome as well.  It had me grooving in my seat a bit :) 

A stellar entry for the jam!  It was cool to scoot around as the squid and munch on a ship or two!  I found it rather funny that the little guys on the planets were more dangerous than the space ships.  As a recommendation, some contrast between the characters and background would be very good.  Even if it's just a light cartoon outline, it would help define our creature compared to the background.  That would be especially helpful in figuring out which way we are pointed.

All in all, a really fun entry!  Gonna go nom on some more ships!  Keep it up!  :D 

It is very meta, when you think about it: The more bugs and malware, the slower your machine becomes!

This is a fantastic entry!  I hope you two are proud of this and continue to work on it after the voting period.  I didn't get anywhere near level 5, but it was fun to cruise over the circuit boards.  Keep jammin'! :D 

Fantastic job, and your first jam, no less!  Congratulations and well done!  Something that may help you in the future is that the game jam isn't about the clean code or well thought out systems.  It's a messy, crazy fast-paced mess by design.  It's the game dev equivalent of speed running :)

Quick 'n dirty code is part of it.  I have a whole laundry list of things I have learned to do better regarding player interaction and AI for the bad guys.  I learned it by hacking through _horrible_ code in my project...  but what a lesson to learn for next time! Please keep tackling these challenges!  You'll learn a lot!

That absolutely follows the theme.  I love the multiple hard lefts that we make in the story :)  Sometimes, even when you win...  you still lose.  Or do you?  :D Great job!
I also agree with SpookySkull.  A few adjustments to user control and additional checks should get that player interaction system bug-free in short order :) 

This was a solid game jam entry!  No bugs that I noticed, it's streamlined and it gets the job done!  I absolutely love that scathing letter in the beginning.  I took some time to read it out loud with an admittedly horrible but posh accent :)  Well done, I say!

I had a lot of fun with this one!  Incredible work from all of you!  This touched on every point in terms of theme, the artwork was beautiful, the sound and music were spot-on!  Love it across the board!  That being said, I feel sorry for the poor butterflies! :) 

Absolutely charming!  Keep it up!  I tried the wiggle and it worked out... this time :D