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May we pay our respects with a moment of silence for our fallen soldiers, the brave and necessary sacrifices to our cat overlords... Without them, the foundations of our proud block society would cease to exist. o7

BRB sending this to my art teachers so they can whip their students into SHAPE--my new default fruit game to play during lecture

You're absolutely right... o7

Woah, I'm honored! Honestly I went back to do a re-deepdive into its history when I was working on the game and there's so many variations that basically culminate in swan+princess=yikes. I even took a little smidgen from little mermaid's blueprints to add to the stakes >:)).

And thank you!! Toxic pretty boys compose my body while tormented morally questionable ladies are my blood.

Thank you! :D And you're absolutely right, if I am a fly then retellings are my honey trap. You can bench the girl from her villainess projects but you can't shake the villainess from the girl it seems...

Omg tysmmmm!! I always feel a bit insecure about my style but it's really heartwarming to know that my writing was able to leave any sort of impression (and a good one no less!) :,D

[laughs in a very normal and respectable way] Thank you!! LMAO If a day ever passes without some obscure (either really good or entirely off base) metaphor being made, then that means I am DEAD.

Woah... I've never seen a game use those ominous UI speech bubbles in the gui folder, but now I kinda want more to do just that...

Every story with Leo made me that much more anxious for his possible recovery because I really did grow to be endeared to him! Like PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE GET UP to a character I'd yet to truly talk to... That aside, the sound effects and music were great! Is it weird to fangirl over a clock sound effect? :P

It's always fun after getting a good ending on your first run to start immediately scheming "great, how do I ruin these characters' lives" and your variety of endings definitely delivered! The sound and visuals (gui included) were so well put together and made this a really polished little gem! XD

I swear I felt like I was back in English Lit class in all the best ways possible. Artistic, realized, ruminating--I'm carrying a piece of this game with me in anything I create moving forward... (ᵕ́ ー ᵕ́)

(I also very much enjoy all the math talk from Pierce, had me LOCKED IN.)

Now tell my why you managed to combine all the things I love (loops, the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice, interactive fiction, bittered female protag, TRAGEDY) all into one coherent work. Everything I could have ever wanted from a story of this matter as it allows me to have my angst and chew on my true endings too.

I must appaud the nightmarish toxic raid group environment you managed to capture in this... I think my old ancient age comes out when it was a bit hard for me to differentiate a change in speaker in the game chat and also understand some of the lingo meant (sigh... skill issue LOL) and there's also a bit of an issue where if you go to check another window while a choice is opened in one, when you go back the options disappear and you get softlocked. Gotta say though that hard commit UI for the desktop was SO. GOOD. B))

Such a beautiful game, and short though it may be, every part of it adds to giving us a bittersweet, painfully vivid screenshot into Tara and Kaja's relationship. I will be anxiously awaiting any additions to the Passerine Hills series because [lung-rattling exhale] boy do I need more of this... _(:1」∠)_

Omg no now I need to sit down after hearing this... Tsym, I'm so glad to have found a kindred spirit who enjoyed the metaphor and I hope that any fixes/expansions I make to the game will only continue to hammer that vibe down!! :'0

Thank you for letting me know, I've got a textbox spillage and sprite update brewing for post jam! Honestly I made that last scene--endings included--30 minutes before submission time (I am a planner of epic proportions, obviously) so I had to offer Friedrich and the rest of the sprites to the pyre in order to submit it before the deadline LMAO. Heheheh, it was only a matter of time until my love of MLP's version of changelings bled its way into my writing, and I can only hope to expand this game to go even harder on its themes post-jam!

Omg after having played your own entry, it's such an honor getting praise on atmosphere and writing from you!! ...It seems that this game's humble beginnings in my admiration of Odile from Barbie Swan Lake have had unintended, but extremely gratifying outcomes in people having a little looksie at the original story!

That post password scene has got to be the crowning jewel of this experience! While I'd like a little more lead up to looking in the files for the note, the inclusion of the activity itself was really fun and was like one last bittersweet interaction... 3n3

Tragic and bittersweet, I'm left sitting here wanting for more!! When people can leave you in ways that aren't just physical... devilishly scrumptious... ~M~,

I've been pacing for days trying to figure out how to word my own post-mortem so I guess this place is the best opportunity to narrow those rambles for a dev log LMAO.

As always, I can not wrap my mind around any semblance of the good without first acknowledging the bad, and so we'll start with the big ol' "I NEED TO CLARIFY EVERY PIECE OF INFORMATION" sticker that I so love.

Motivations

So, this was my first real solo dev project! I've dabbled with interactive fiction and have had my hand in contributing to and leading other projects, but this was the first one published that I can say was solely me and that I got to have a hand in creating at least some part of every aspect. Going into velox with at least a good familiarity with pacing operations, I was already well aware that I was going to go in biting more than I can chew. That sounds crazy and full of self-sabotage+copium but HEAR ME OUT!

I think one of the biggest hurdles for me in doing anything new is that there's millions of possibilities and what-ifs running through my head at all times. I'll be in bed, lying awake at night doing mental exercises on "how would I code this", "how would I implement this", "how can I put a twist on this", etc. All of these of course build an intimidating mental monster that makes it feel impossible to do anything that is not pushing me to my limits tm, combine that with my late lack of passion and you get one lethal serving of mind for any creative. So of course, going into this, I started with a plan that was far grander than anything I could accomplish in the time of the jam (having other work occupy me most days also was not a point in my favor), because all that mattered at the moment was just "I need to want to create this" without doubts of "I'm not doing enough" seeping in.

I went in with art block and writer's block, and while I can't say I don't still suffer from them, there's also that little shining light of "I can do this because I just did it." Take your victories as they come!

Elephants in the Room

Okay so let's address what anyone who'd play the game in its current state would realize: It's a little messy. Pretty messy.

UI has taken a step in a direction but it could always be improved, the singular track of music I managed to slip in will condition you into madness by the end of scene 1, there's oodles and boodles of grammar+spelling+punctuation errors, plot was thrown into hyperdrive midway through scene 3 to fit emotional beats in (which beat a little less when they get rushed so LMAO), the final scene and endings really show off that "oh she did this 15 minutes before submission time" status, overly large chunks of writing bleed out into the UI, I seem to find difficulty in keeping names straight much to the regret of the swan name mixups and the "odile" sprites that this build continues to vainly search for (seems like even I'm guilty for blending those two Od- sisters together), the code could get a little tlc in terms of minor errors/lack of variable implementation, a missing proper title logo, and there are sprites and CGs whose presence would greatly add to this feeling more like a full experience (catch that excuse I subbed in since I only had the sketch of Odette's swan sprite LOL). Besides that, there were other things I worked on that just didn't have time to be fully implemented in a way that would make sense (cough minigame segments cough I'll come back for you).

I can't say I LOVE the art, since it's not my actual style (I fully went in thinking I was just going to make little dot-eyed guys) and I'm more of a fan of dynamic shots but there are parts that pulled me out of my tortured artist slump, even if just for a moment. Wait, no, positive things belong in the next section.

Anyways.  With all that to say, do I think this game is a quality and polished experience that I'd stand by to represent what I'm capable of? Hell no. It's flawed as hell and runs like a car you left out all summer to melt. But it's my shabby car and I intend to stick by it, both at its lowest and its highest.

Inspo and Self-Glazing

I think by now we get the "I made something!!! Woohoo!!! I broke that barrier!!!" positive mindset manifesting so I'll graciously skip past it.

Can I just say I love tortured lady freaks? My main idea going into this jam and theme was to try and be unique (tm) with how I interpreted the theme. I'm sorry to say but those of us raised on Broadway and especially Wicked are damned to a continuous cycle of "okay, but consider this-" whenever looking at villains. The black swan had popped up once or twice in my head due to my history with the BCU (more on that in a second) and the occassional dabbles of media making her the sad little Eponine/Not that Girl/losing dog, however that didn't spring it to the forefront of my mind for this.

No, it was the idea of parasites, especially brood parasitism, that got my brain gears turning. "You shouldn't be here." You're an infiltrator, something causing damage to an environment not made for you; look at the camoflauged egg of a cuckoo bird in a warbler's nest, how it pushes other eggs and chicks to their deaths to monopolize food and attention, and you can start to see the linings of our "black swan". That combined with my initial planned endings of if you succeed builds the first half/route created by the prompt. Secondly, I wanted to do a zoom-in on the character in question herself, Odile. Physically to others, she shouldn't be there, but I also wanted to have her internally rocked by this.

Her situation, her existence and dependence and need to get her hands dirty--to her none of it is fair. Why should she be born into a hunger that she believes can only be quelled by taking from others (Also I must say, heavily inspired by MLP Changelings, shoutout to my eternal pony muses)? It's both a semi-valid and childish view depending on how hard you commit to it. Because being born into such a situation without proper understanding, and feeling demonized by doing what it takes to survive definitely isn't fair. But also Odile is able to take this to extremes, in a way giving into that starving mentality of "it isn't fair that everything that should be mine isn't mine" and "I am better than all of this and can never be blamed for any of my actions." She's presented by potential outs but she's so blinded by envy and spite that she can't even see them. Womp womp.

So depending on your choices, the text explores these routes, helping to form Odile into a more genuinely tragic character but also a very toxic and flawed person. I may be in her corner but Odile definitely does not get a pardon for everything she does and thinks, even if you can trace the origins of those thoughts. And although I want to go in and flesh+pace this out more, I'm pretty proud of some of the choices I made to get this across. Dramatic bitterness is oxygen to my lungs.

Aside from writing, I did have a fun time going back to mostly lineless art and making myself hard commit to using a singular brush to make everything. While the style isn't something I'd fully recognize as mine, I'd say I enjoy the clothing designs and the homages I paid to different production costumes considering clothing and I are like oil and water. A final little fun tidbit is that all the swans in the court are named after Barbie Movie protags! One must never forget their roots...

It takes a village to raise a game jam

This has got to be one of the most cross-dev involved game jams I've been in considering the voting system and the plentiful comments! While it is spooky for someone with the social chihuahua shakes like me whose instinct is to lie belly up and clarify every little thing, it's also been so welcoming and fun!

I've played games with topics and in formats I haven't really focused on before, and just seeing the unapologetic diversity in every aspect of all these devs and their creations is so motivating. Really helps with that "they're going to throw tomatoes at me for daring to breathe" fear that usually keeps me from commenting or posting. Not to mention, I feel like I've gained so many coding models that make renpy that much less intimidating. An entry could have a character sprite performing a little move transform and I'd be excitedly taking notes down in awe and admiration. Others' comments have also gotten me all puffed up and helped lessen that post-jam "I need to be sent to the shame room with a paper bag as a mask for making this" mental block, and I can say that I've definitely recovered a part of that passion that's been hibernating for the longest time.

Really, all I've been able to think about is "I can't wait for the next vf jam" and if luck is ever on my side, this won't be the last I see of the creators from this one. :3

Thank you! Learning video implementation in renpy was painful but well worth it! I've been fixing those mistypings and overflows so hopefully I can upload a (slightly more) fixed version after voting ends >:3

Thank you so, so much!! Your reviews never fail to dazzle, and I hope I can continue to expand on this game post-jam so it can live up to that hype! :,D

Ahhhh ty so much! Second sweep with variables connected to those choices are going to go crazy post-jam! >:D

And yeah, I realized I got tripped up by the O names when I was spamming sprites right before submissions closed LMAO. Luckily I have a fixed version with no run off textbox text, smoother scene transitions, properly capitalized {i}'s, and correctly called sprites prepped and primed for after the voting period heheheh >:)

Yet another hit! I was absolutely eating up the pervasive grief and numbing loneliness that the MC went through, and their interactions with Nox really made me buy their budding relationship! I'm not sure if anyone else has pointed this out, but I noticed that the script would have errors whenever a "blushsm" sprite was called. The minigames had me FREAKED but they've really gotten my brain juices reflowing on how to frame and use these in renpy! Also have to admit, the lowest point ending I got was my favorite one... T3T

A great blend of cozy, warm, and fuzzy vibes with sad, cold, middle-aged men--just like their tea. This style of pixel art is super inspiring and I love every piece that went into designing the overlay! The music imo was a perfect choice and just pulled everything together. UvO

The ui is super cute, though I did notice that the textbox settings for history might need to be adjusted so lines don't continue off screen! The ending CG is just *MUAH* gorgeous and Farah is wild for that naming move LMAO, will definitely make sure to nickname the next attractive entity I find as "Leon S. Kennedy." *3*

You're insane for pushing out as much as you did in such a short span of time. The comedy is great and really sells the dysfunctional friendgroup vibes perfectly! Dokoro, lovely Dokoro, the naked distraction gag was hilarious. I gotta respect those FNAF and Sally Face posters as well. UuU

Super interesting think piece! The choices offered really added to the cinematic stylings of the narration, and the different nature of the characters made each interaction have some sort of thoughtful takeaway every time. The variables affecting little pieces of flavor text is always a touch I enjoy in these games, not to mention I'm a sucker for that choice button patterning! ("7")

Such impactful writing and characters! I gotta say my favorite aspect of the game is the dad, including the choices, writing, and art pertaining to him, it's just so organic and meaningful no matter what you choose. The animated expressions and jumps really seal the deal and add another dimension of life to the characters! / U \

I laughed, I cried, I got invested in a corporate space rife with hijinks and cutting interactions. This might have to be my favorite use of the theme yet, and "bushed" is going to promptly be added to my personal lexicon starting now! V.v.V

Wow.... just, wow... The first title drop was gasp inducing and each element just builds the atmosphere and setting of the game brick by brick. The dialogue is punchy and so genuine, it really shows off the effectiveness and stories that NVL can accomplish! *O*

This was such an immersive game! The atmosphere set with the visuals, ui, and sound just pull everything together in such a lovely manner. While I do agree some segments are a bit jarring in terms of endings/what was translated over, overall I actually really liked the writing and am super impressed with the translations in the prose and dialogue. Gabriel truly is the best, lollll. >:33

The voice actors had such great chemistry! I love the texturing of the art and the short but sweet intimate feel of the story. No matter what you pick there's something to take away from each ending, love it! :,)

I always love it when there's that extra commitment to the bit on choices and the variables they affect. The ability to really just pick the same option over and over to advance the story or how options open up after selecting others really helped this game feel like a whole experience despite the time limit to develop it! Additionally, Molly's little sprite animations really added to the "I'm so unsettled and on the verge of a panic attack" mood they had, excellent all around. >O<

I'm a sucker for anything with isekai vibes / some level of omnicience that can make the player jaded so I really loved how you tackled this theme!

Although there were some sections that could do with a bit more narrative flow like the escape button end or the sudden romantic option opinions on characters, some segments of the narration that might be better off either keeping the second person continuous or doing first person comments like 'this' or in italics, and the need for a little name box to keep speaker labels visible, you should feel super proud of what you submitted (I'm definitely not one to talk on entries' flow in this jam LOL)!!

To end it off, what I really loved was the attention to sound design throughout the story + the box transitions and cut ins, they really added some dimension to the experience! :D

Ahhh thank you! It's definitely a rough around the edges rush job but I'm glad I managed to get something in for my first solo jam and learn more about renpy. >:3

I totally agree with you btw! My hope is that after jam I can go in to make a more proper experience with some code fixes, writing/art add ons, and more ambiance tracks to fit the moods and not subject people to 15 minutes of the same music box loop lol. Excited to play your game!

Heyo! Thanks for checking out our game and giving feedback :DDD

I think an important trend in this to clarify though (and trust I'll add this to the game page so no one else falls under the wrong assumption) is the context behind this base "demo" (I know demo is a bit of a strong word as you'll soon see).

This game was made during a school club game jam event where both experienced and absolute beginner developers were placed on teams and given part of the school year to develop these game pitches before a final presentation deadline. As such, what we have out now is less of a "get the full experience" demo and more of just a "this is what we could crank out during finals week" demo haha!

This includes writing (more choice variations, choices, scenes, interactions, gameplay explanations), art (sprites, backgrounds, settings), ui/ux (we actually have a notebook that will help track several things drafted up! great minds think alike), sound (if you hear a messy ambiance loop I am probably the guilty offender :0), and of course, programming! (ex. the stats are placeholder proof of concept and don't actually work). I know some portions can seem pretty jank right now (trust me, the minigame and 'random' blank scenes between vn segments will be WILDLY different once we get all that work done) but hopefully our closer intended demo build will provide a much more enjoyable experience once the necessary assets for the gameplay loop are finished, both as a visual novel and a stats management game. (Btw, Volcano Princess is also a big inspiration for mixing stats and visual novel segments!)

I of course can't make any promises on the exact timeline or order of things as this game is continuing past its game jam origins as a passion project of a bunch of uni students, but I can say that there are both things finished, just not published, and things being worked on that tackle exactly the points you bring up! Our programmers have been really amazing (Most of them learning Godot just for the game and practicing their experience with minigames and building the vn system from the ground up) and have been focusing on fixing more behind the scenes code, but hopefully once we're back to work after break and posting more content-oriented updates, you'll see just how awesome they are at making games that make sense with the environment ;D. Plus, as an avid Ren'Py shill I will not rest until we get all the features that'll make the vn play as smooth as butter!

TLDR; Dw!! We got you and this is DEFINITELY not a reflection of the gameplay experience, but I will make sure to update our page so that this a lot more clearer to potential players! Tysm for giving us such detailed feedback, (I can tell just from the sheer amount of properties you compared alone that you put a lot of thought into this comment) and I hope that eventually down the line, we'll be able to really show off a TRUE VxR demo with all the fixings! <3333

Me when characters get to act uncooperative >:)

Aloof MC: Nah, Imma do my own thing (experiences immense tragedy)

Ahhh, thank you! This project had such a fun premise to chew on, and although I did a bit of a cram job to fit in those dialogue variations, I hope that the conflicted and sort of dysphoric vibe came across well enough! I'm a sucker for that sort of stuff in reincarnation and body/soul/memory shenanigans LOL <3

Haha, don't worry about the rambling! Personally, that's always my favorite part lol

First off, thank you for your kind words and thoughts so far, it's really motivating to see how passionate you are in your review! I'm glad to see that the frustrations of playing as a truly despised villainess are coming through. We're actually planning on further expanding variations in experiences and choices in the earlier chapters, as well as locking in on some pretty THICK path experiences in the third chapter... be prepared. And rest assured! Character relationships, histories, and development are a big focus of the game, so the shadow of the real Cecilia will continue to hang over you as you play and learn about her life. As for characters, it seems that Hermes has bagged another loyal fan (we'll see how that goes)! But if your standards are low, then mine are lower because Cassius is my king <333. And the Marquess... well, he's an interesting case. The next narrative update will definitely add some more factors to the mix! Thanks again for playing <3

We're so glad to hear it! As fans of villainess stories wanting to pay homage to the great and facilitate discussions on the...less great...aspects of the genre, we're dedicated to giving players an experience that will be both indulgingly familiar and excitingly unique, as any good villainess story should be!

...And let's just say, Hermes definitely has some versatility in the role he plays through the story... ;))