Thank you for writing your thoughts over the various snippets (rating, collection add, and the comment section here). I'm glad you enjoyed the VN despite it being of different structure, and that it posed a challenge for you! Sometimes I'm not sure if it even counts as a VN, but the O2A2 jam with its very specific rulesets did allow for more experimental short narrative works. There's no room for playtesting to gauge the perceived difficulty when the dev process took up the entire jam duration. So my plan was just... to draw as many details I could on the canvas to hopefully misdirect the player sufficiently. This led a totally different art style than what I'm used to, somewhat of a hurried freestyling, and as you could guess: loads of fun while drawing.
It's a bit open-ended what the future holds for the Novelist character and it's up to what the player fills in. Personally I'd like to imagine that they will do fine, although nothing suggests a happy ending.
Loving the atmosphere! I also like how the state of the Novelist's mind becomes part of the challenge in finding the objects. I find the 2nd level quite challenging due to the zoomed in view, making finding that goofy-looking dog in the end super worth it! Chuckled and awed at it <3
AND I like that this plays different than the hidden objects games I've played out there! Those are usually just point and click, so they were fairly easy. The slight difficulty in this one with the time limit and challenges are real delightful. I won't mind another game in the same vein >v^)b
All in all, great job, Potato! 5/5 >w<)/
This rekindles my love for hidden objects games, so yeap, that's saying something ;D
Thank you for the kind comment! Yes, since I'm using that one illustration repeatedly I want to keep the experience fresh, therefore I blended the level gameplay and story with each other for the extra narrative oomph. Hehe, I'm happy that the dog made your day.
Although I was firm about needing a timer in the level, I wasn't sure how that would be received when normally these hidden object games are relaxing experiences. I believe it has been actually quite positively received too by most players.
If I ever make a similar game - or expand on the universe - it will be a pickle on how to come up with new level challenges without them getting stale. Such as it's easier to go wild trying out features for a small VN like this than for a larger project that is meant to include far more levels. Because if there's a level mechanism that players hate but it returns repeatedly, there will be complaints. Nevertheless there are no actual plans to make a larger version, just speaking in hypothetical terms.
That's an honour! I hope you find many fun hidden object games along your way if you want to get more of the genre! I've discovered that there are quite a lot of unique ones on Itch, but unfortunately the 'hidden-object' or 'hidden-objects' tags are rarely used, so it's really hard to find them through search. Such as they are commonly listed under 'puzzle' but that can mean anything.
Yeah, with any larger projects, balancing level design will be a lot more difficult for sure :'3 *sobs in N lol* But really, no need to make it big if it ever comes to that. Just something small would work too ^v^)b
As an earlier comment said, this submission IS an experience and I am here for it!! I had so much fun playing – I love that you did something a little different for the jam, and using the process of a ‘searching game’ as an additional way of telling the story (instead of only through dialogue/image) was really clever.
The concept and backstory feel rich and intriguing, and you somehow manage to give a very vivid feeling of the setting even though it doesn’t technically appear onscreen.
As for what does appear – I was so delighted once I reached the second level and realised the (literal) breadth of the inner-world you’d created! The colours and images are so dreamy and there are little details to appreciate everywhere. Receiving the small ‘microfictions’ as rewards was very satisfying, and I liked that they were stored on their own screen so you could revisit if you wished.
I didn’t finish the game in all one session, but I liked that I split the experience because it kept it at the back of my mind in between playing. Having the different sessions be part of of structure also made that work so well, because the player can then experience the feeling of ‘returning for a session’ just as the character does.
I rate this ten out of ten meteor-shard telephones!
Thank you very much for this detailed review that goes into what you liked about the different parts in my game!
I've always enjoyed playing these hidden object games but was initially put off to create one myself due to the many detailed illustrations I need to draw. I found Through the Cracks super neat how this is all achieved in Ren'Py VN format. As a coding challenge I want to implement a draggable view to give the illusion that the world is quite big (as it does not fit on a single screen), which I believe is quite tricky to do in Ren'Py. So this is also the main reason why it's made in Unity as I already got familiarity with it.
I'm glad you can 'feel' the setting! It was easier to pinpoint after I picked the genre to focus on. At least I can use the excuse that you can't see the characters to be all part of the plan of not being allowed to draw more assets for the O2A2 jam. Truth is, they're kind of faceless abstractions, so besides not having to draw the character designs, I'm happy I don't need to draw a BG either.
You're the first person to comment on the drabbles, and I'm overjoyed about it. I know they are super niche and there's that risk about allotting half of the word count limit to them when I assume that most people care more for the main narrative. At the same time, thanks to the minimalistic nature of this jam, I felt more free to be self-indulgent. When I'm already making a one-off short narrative game, might as well go full on experimental.
This was an EXPERIENCE. Like. I'm not even sure how to describe it. It felt like one of those new age sciency 80s movies where you don't necessarily even know exactly what's going on, but you know it's weird and just slightly creepy and you just vibe with it hahahaha. The music in particular got into my skin in a very weird, disturbing way that made me feel really anxious during the point-and-click sections (especially that last one!!). Just, what an overall experience! Really enjoyed it. Left me feeling strange things afterwards. Questioning things, Hahahaha. Also love how you got so much out of your single assets; it was really impressive!!
Thank you for your review! Ah, I'm feeling super giddy when you call it an EXPERIENCE (such a powerful word!). Your comparison is a huge honour for me. My work become accidental creepy, as I somehow can't resist it (probably has to do that I love horror movies including the ones from the 80s). Like when I brainstormed for the title screen I had to set the identity and genre of the main story, which helps to steer the project direction. Went for cyberpunk because I like the synthwave/retrowave colour palette and it looks so stylish in the art I see, except when I attempt it... the TV gives me shivers! XD
This really touches me because it means a lot to me that the work has a lingering effect, but I hope it's the positive kind of questioning, and not the depressing variant.
Thanks again for the compliment on the assets use!
I will admit, I played this while it was very late, but I need a lot of help in finding the medal. However! The premise is extremely interesting. When I was searching for 'Dog' on Level 2 my husband thought it could have been a Mars Rover. 😅 Eventually I did find the 'Dog'.
One more final push after some rest, or maybe a helpful hint will help me reach the ending. Even with only a single save function it works really well. Like repeated sessions or visits, almost.
Thank you for playing and leaving a comment! I'm glad you enjoyed the hidden object section, and that you even managed it while doing it late at night! That's amazing! :)
I was a little bit worried about game balancing, since I hadn't had the chance to let playtesters try it out. My gut feeling is that level 2 is the hardest while level 3 should be easier with the good field overview. Ah, that's super interesting about the medal. I almost want to make it even more hidden! :D (EDIT: Since another player brought up the same issue, I will change up the medal graphic in the next build which I want to target for next week)
All the objects are quite literal, because cryptical wording or riddles might make it inaccessible. Although the 'Dog' is drawn silly on purpose. Perhaps I will add a DevLog guide soon with spoilerless hints.
Actually I also want the player to see the fail-state once. Otherwise you won't hear the different stages of music speed-up... too bad I messed up the implementation which I want to fix in a future build. The timer is only for narrative reasons, that you can feel the same stress as the story characters, not so much to hinder the player from never completing. Story-wise, I don't think that the Mindreader achieves everything in one session. I figured that despite the story is short, it can be a little bit heavy to finish the game in one sitting, so I strongly encourage the breaks.
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Comments
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This was pretty cool and original. It definetly felt nice to find everything on time.
Thanks for playing and leaving the kind words in your comment!
This, this is completely different and new! I love it because of that but man, do you know how to make it challenging alright!
At the end, I couldn't help but pity the Novelist, I hope they can be able to continue doing what they love or find something else.
Thank you for writing your thoughts over the various snippets (rating, collection add, and the comment section here). I'm glad you enjoyed the VN despite it being of different structure, and that it posed a challenge for you! Sometimes I'm not sure if it even counts as a VN, but the O2A2 jam with its very specific rulesets did allow for more experimental short narrative works. There's no room for playtesting to gauge the perceived difficulty when the dev process took up the entire jam duration. So my plan was just... to draw as many details I could on the canvas to hopefully misdirect the player sufficiently. This led a totally different art style than what I'm used to, somewhat of a hurried freestyling, and as you could guess: loads of fun while drawing.
It's a bit open-ended what the future holds for the Novelist character and it's up to what the player fills in. Personally I'd like to imagine that they will do fine, although nothing suggests a happy ending.
Loving the atmosphere! I also like how the state of the Novelist's mind becomes part of the challenge in finding the objects. I find the 2nd level quite challenging due to the zoomed in view, making finding that goofy-looking dog in the end super worth it! Chuckled and awed at it <3
AND I like that this plays different than the hidden objects games I've played out there! Those are usually just point and click, so they were fairly easy. The slight difficulty in this one with the time limit and challenges are real delightful. I won't mind another game in the same vein >v^)b
All in all, great job, Potato! 5/5 >w<)/
This rekindles my love for hidden objects games, so yeap, that's saying something ;D
Thank you for the kind comment! Yes, since I'm using that one illustration repeatedly I want to keep the experience fresh, therefore I blended the level gameplay and story with each other for the extra narrative oomph. Hehe, I'm happy that the dog made your day.
Although I was firm about needing a timer in the level, I wasn't sure how that would be received when normally these hidden object games are relaxing experiences. I believe it has been actually quite positively received too by most players.
If I ever make a similar game - or expand on the universe - it will be a pickle on how to come up with new level challenges without them getting stale. Such as it's easier to go wild trying out features for a small VN like this than for a larger project that is meant to include far more levels. Because if there's a level mechanism that players hate but it returns repeatedly, there will be complaints. Nevertheless there are no actual plans to make a larger version, just speaking in hypothetical terms.
That's an honour! I hope you find many fun hidden object games along your way if you want to get more of the genre! I've discovered that there are quite a lot of unique ones on Itch, but unfortunately the 'hidden-object' or 'hidden-objects' tags are rarely used, so it's really hard to find them through search. Such as they are commonly listed under 'puzzle' but that can mean anything.
You're welcome! ^v^)/
Yeah, with any larger projects, balancing level design will be a lot more difficult for sure :'3 *sobs in N lol* But really, no need to make it big if it ever comes to that. Just something small would work too ^v^)b
And thanks for the tip! I'll keep it in mind ;D
As an earlier comment said, this submission IS an experience and I am here for it!! I had so much fun playing – I love that you did something a little different for the jam, and using the process of a ‘searching game’ as an additional way of telling the story (instead of only through dialogue/image) was really clever.
The concept and backstory feel rich and intriguing, and you somehow manage to give a very vivid feeling of the setting even though it doesn’t technically appear onscreen.
As for what does appear – I was so delighted once I reached the second level and realised the (literal) breadth of the inner-world you’d created! The colours and images are so dreamy and there are little details to appreciate everywhere. Receiving the small ‘microfictions’ as rewards was very satisfying, and I liked that they were stored on their own screen so you could revisit if you wished.
I didn’t finish the game in all one session, but I liked that I split the experience because it kept it at the back of my mind in between playing. Having the different sessions be part of of structure also made that work so well, because the player can then experience the feeling of ‘returning for a session’ just as the character does.
I rate this ten out of ten meteor-shard telephones!
Thank you very much for this detailed review that goes into what you liked about the different parts in my game!
I've always enjoyed playing these hidden object games but was initially put off to create one myself due to the many detailed illustrations I need to draw. I found Through the Cracks super neat how this is all achieved in Ren'Py VN format. As a coding challenge I want to implement a draggable view to give the illusion that the world is quite big (as it does not fit on a single screen), which I believe is quite tricky to do in Ren'Py. So this is also the main reason why it's made in Unity as I already got familiarity with it.
I'm glad you can 'feel' the setting! It was easier to pinpoint after I picked the genre to focus on. At least I can use the excuse that you can't see the characters to be all part of the plan of not being allowed to draw more assets for the O2A2 jam. Truth is, they're kind of faceless abstractions, so besides not having to draw the character designs, I'm happy I don't need to draw a BG either.
You're the first person to comment on the drabbles, and I'm overjoyed about it. I know they are super niche and there's that risk about allotting half of the word count limit to them when I assume that most people care more for the main narrative. At the same time, thanks to the minimalistic nature of this jam, I felt more free to be self-indulgent. When I'm already making a one-off short narrative game, might as well go full on experimental.
that took a while but the game is hella good
I'm happy you played my game and made it to the end! :) Thank you for leaving a comment.
I was a bit late with adding the guide with the hints.
This was an EXPERIENCE. Like. I'm not even sure how to describe it. It felt like one of those new age sciency 80s movies where you don't necessarily even know exactly what's going on, but you know it's weird and just slightly creepy and you just vibe with it hahahaha. The music in particular got into my skin in a very weird, disturbing way that made me feel really anxious during the point-and-click sections (especially that last one!!). Just, what an overall experience! Really enjoyed it. Left me feeling strange things afterwards. Questioning things, Hahahaha. Also love how you got so much out of your single assets; it was really impressive!!
Thank you for your review! Ah, I'm feeling super giddy when you call it an EXPERIENCE (such a powerful word!). Your comparison is a huge honour for me. My work become accidental creepy, as I somehow can't resist it (probably has to do that I love horror movies including the ones from the 80s). Like when I brainstormed for the title screen I had to set the identity and genre of the main story, which helps to steer the project direction. Went for cyberpunk because I like the synthwave/retrowave colour palette and it looks so stylish in the art I see, except when I attempt it... the TV gives me shivers! XD
This really touches me because it means a lot to me that the work has a lingering effect, but I hope it's the positive kind of questioning, and not the depressing variant.
Thanks again for the compliment on the assets use!
I will admit, I played this while it was very late, but I need a lot of help in finding the medal. However! The premise is extremely interesting. When I was searching for 'Dog' on Level 2 my husband thought it could have been a Mars Rover. 😅 Eventually I did find the 'Dog'.
One more final push after some rest, or maybe a helpful hint will help me reach the ending. Even with only a single save function it works really well. Like repeated sessions or visits, almost.
Thank you for playing and leaving a comment! I'm glad you enjoyed the hidden object section, and that you even managed it while doing it late at night! That's amazing! :)
I was a little bit worried about game balancing, since I hadn't had the chance to let playtesters try it out. My gut feeling is that level 2 is the hardest while level 3 should be easier with the good field overview. Ah, that's super interesting about the medal. I almost want to make it even more hidden! :D (EDIT: Since another player brought up the same issue, I will change up the medal graphic in the next build which I want to target for next week)
All the objects are quite literal, because cryptical wording or riddles might make it inaccessible. Although the 'Dog' is drawn silly on purpose. Perhaps I will add a DevLog guide soon with spoilerless hints.
Actually I also want the player to see the fail-state once. Otherwise you won't hear the different stages of music speed-up... too bad I messed up the implementation which I want to fix in a future build. The timer is only for narrative reasons, that you can feel the same stress as the story characters, not so much to hinder the player from never completing. Story-wise, I don't think that the Mindreader achieves everything in one session. I figured that despite the story is short, it can be a little bit heavy to finish the game in one sitting, so I strongly encourage the breaks.