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Thank you! I'll look into that bug, it should be an easy fix.

Hi! I found the art style in this game (including the UI) kind of adorable. Which served, by way of juxtaposition, to highlight the high stakes of the scenario and the sad ending (not sure whether there's a 'happy' ending', but in any case I got a sad one). I like this type of narrative technique, it hits harder.

The story reminded me a bit of 'Life of Pi'. Being lost at sea and using a colourful fantasy to get through the trauma and isolation. 

I liked the characters, particularly Will. He felt very 'Dad' to me, at least the way I chose to play him and with the dialogue options I selected. Sort of muddling through and putting on a brave face for his child, despite not really knowing what to do.

In terms of gameplay I might have liked a bit more feedback about what's actually happening when I row or fish. Will I actually starve and die if I don't fish, or is it a red herring (profuse apologies for the pun)? On the other hand, not knowing what I was doing also put me in Will's shoes, so maybe I'm also glad there wasn't *too much* feedback.

Thank you for your detailed and encouraging feedback!

I feel the repeated comments about repetitiveness are ironically everything that I deserve, so I don't mind them too much XD It's tricky, because some repetition is an essential part of many if not most kinds of games (including this one), but of course too much can make a game frustrating to play. And evidently different players have different thresholds in that regard, too. It helps me to get different points of view on this and to become more aware of specific aspects of the issue, so thank you for providing yours.

I haven't watched Ergo Proxy, but it looks good. I like the art style from what I've seen.

Thank you, and well done on getting to the Strange Havens! 

If it interests you, the different flags actually originated as a hasty placeholder/reminder-to-self for a faction system, as I had the (very vague) idea for one while I was in the flow of writing one of the events. I can't remember whether it was the pirates or the merchants - I went and added the randomly generated flags to the other as well to make it consistent. But as you could see, I never went any further with the faction idea.

In any case, one way or another, the pirates and merchants are something I'd like to improve in future. I'll keep your suggestions in mind :)

Hello! I saw on the Discord that you had to simplify the battle system to make it past the finish line. Not to worry, I happen to know that JRPG-style battle systems can be hard to build (especially if you're doing it from scratch), so I think you did well to get as far as you did on that front. Now you've got a base you can add to to make it more awesome.

What I liked most in this game were the set pieces. Like at the beginning when we're in the wagon racing forward and we get ambushed by the fire arrow. I liked the action and sense of movement you created with old-school graphics. 

The music was suitably bombastic for a battle scene, but I'm hoping it won't continue relentlessly after the battle and follow the player home in future versions of this game!

Overall, good game. Keep up the great work!

Thank you! I'm glad you liked it :)

I think병풍 is Korean?  I often feel very inspired by the traditional art and aesthetic sensibilities of East Asian countries, like Korea, Japan and China, so that's a really lovely compliment.

Just the 'Maybe Next Time' ending this time around.

I can see the Mass Effect similarity, now I think of it.

The art is great. The setting is horrifying. The music is appropriately oppressive. I thought the characters were well-written, they all had their own voices and personalities, none felt generic.

I did quickly find myself yearning for a clear game-mechanical dilemma when I approved rations. It meant that I only approved rations, because unless I can see the water disappearing before my own eyes (even if it's just a number representation), or if I don't have a supervisor breathing down my neck scolding me for being too soft, I just don't feel any reason to choose the harsh-but-necessary option.

But I'm guessing that lack of feedback is due to running out of time. I am curious to see how this game might develop in future!

Very weird, in a good way. Nice twist on the psychological-horror-set-in-a-lighthouse trope. I also found it darkly humorous, not laugh-out-loud funny but it did have me grinning like a madman while I stumbled around with my axe seeking ever more sinister offerings for the lighthouse. Very appropriate and not at all expected.

On a technical note, this actually ran better and faster in my browser than from the downloaded version. Pretty strange for it to be that way around, but the browser version worked fine enough. There was just a bit of lag when I chopped the door down and went into the shed with the oil barrels.

I liked the writing, the character images, and I thought the overall concept was strange in a good way (i.e. original). The Star Wars style opening was cool. Also, I liked the way you wrote the guide in the style of a corporate manual to new employees.

I'm guessing that that what we've seen is only the first act. I can see a larger story-game developing from this, maybe with more choices (and consequences).

I would like to begin by expressing the emotions I felt while playing through a sequence of old-fashioned emoticons:

:)

:O

:D

:O

D:

:O

:D

:)

In particular, the visual polish of this game just blew me out of the water, considering the short time frame it was made in.

The music was terrific.

Some of the translations were noticeably...well, translated from another language (French?). But this is a minor quibble. The writing was great overall.

In terms of the premise it is probably my favourite of the games I've played so far in this jam. It makes me think of Christopher Nolan's 'Inception' or Satoshi Kon's 'Paprika', but it's still its own original take on that type of story. It would be interesting to see where it would go if it were bigger.

The gameplay loop also reminded me of a game called 'Heaven's Vault', where you alternate between sailing on a sort of surreal water current and exploring the worlds it connects to. 

I liked the social and political commentary. Not *too* on the nose, but very clearly referring to certain major issues in our own time (and perhaps most of human history).

I liked the atmosphere and the environment you made. Gradually climbing up the spiral staircase of the lighthouse, knowing that something sinister and eldritch is going on, definitely created a building sense of dread and suspense.

The journal entries were well written, and the illustrations were especially beautiful.

Unfortunately, I struggled to enjoy it properly because my humble laptop just wasn't up to the task of running it smoothly. And it crashed with a fatal error message when I picked up an item; I never got as far as lighting the beacon.

Overall, it seems fantastic, but I'm basing that less on my actual experience and more by extrapolating the good points and imagining how it runs on a better computer.

Thank you for your honest feedback! 

I understand what you're saying about the repeating interactions and the grind. I'm quite ambivalent about the event system myself, I spent a lot of time trying to get it right. Adding new events quickly became more complicated as each event threw the existing system out of balance, meaning I had to tweak it and test it again each time. Overall this side of the development process turned out more challenging than I anticipated.

Mystical setting. Cosmic concept. Colossal monster antagonist. I enjoyed this story!

I also just want to say I'm impressed that you wrote this whole thing twice, once in Portuguese and then the English translation. That by itself deserves an award. Well done!

Thank you! And congratulations on reaching the Strange Havens!

There are multiple strategies that should usually work, but all the ones I know of involve fish and near-death experiences.

I should note that I used Godot's Dialogic plugin, which provides a nice dialogue system, including things like the glossary and typewriter sound effect by default. So I can't take credit for building that.

Thanks again, and may the blessings of the sea gods be with you!

Thank you!

It sounds like you're closer to winning than you think. 

Don't trust!

I loved the colourful artwork and the music :) I'm still listening to it as I write this. Also the character designs are full of charm. Is that an axolotl running the cafe?! 

I guess there's meant to be a lot more to do besides the fishing boat and shop, so I'm interested to find out how those other locations will work.

Even though you didn't finish implementing days 2 and 3, I have to say 'wow' at the detailed 3D environment you've created. I also liked the dialogue ui. And the movie style poster!

It did run quite slow for me, but my computer is a six-year-old superpotato so this is a common experience.

Have fun putting the rest of it together. Don't get wet!

Thank you for your feedback! Be careful of water, it's bad for you.

Thanks for your feedback! Glad you enjoyed it. 

If you try again, don't be afraid to experiment and fish around a bit. The obvious strategy will usually fail before you get to the end. There is a way to swing the odds in your favour.

Bon voyage!

Thank you for your feedback!

Particularly your thoughtful observations on the repeating events. This was something I fussed over quite a bit: should I have fewer events and give the player more chances to experiment, or emphasize novelty and variety at all costs? Another option was of course just to make the voyage shorter! But I found that whatever choice I went with, it was something lost something gained. In the end I decided to go with fewer events because it felt like the more pragmatic choice, giving me more time to refine the underlying system.

Good luck on reaching the Strange Havens. Don't underestimate the fish!

This was visually beautiful. I felt the artwork looked like it came out of an illustrated children's book, fitting the child narrator.

The story packs a big emotional punch for its short length. I didn't expect the sad ending at first, but on a second playthrough it feels inevitable.

Ahoy! Cool game! I like a good sea voyage.

The music and the colours put me in a cheerful mood. In the mood for adventure, you might say.

The drag on the camera made me feel grogsodden drunk on land and mildly seasick on the ocean (that's a fitting plus as far as I'm concerned, don't know how other people will feel about it).

Did get lost at sea.

My only critique is that the difficulty could have been a bit harder. When I realized how quickly my hull integrity regenerated, it didn't feel like there was much challenge, even when the sea was swarming with pirates.

The story was simple but decent. Classic sea adventure. Coherent with the gameplay. Jolly good.