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Stella Brown and the Curse of the Grocery Witch
Stella Brown and the Curse of the Grocery Witch
By iamsodarncool, bison warlock, Zoey, Eezabra, Markku Wainman, gkeyna and linka
View on ldjam.com
| Category | Rank | Score | Count |
|
|---|
| Overall | 49 | 4.18 | 47 | |
| Fun | 181 | 3.87 | 47 | |
| Innovation | 284 | 3.67 | 46 | |
| Theme | 69 | 4.28 | 47 | |
| Graphics | 39 | 4.53 | 46 | |
| Audio | 8 | 4.54 | 47 | |
| Humor | 30 | 4.30 | 47 | |
| Mood | 70 | 4.18 | 47 | |
Comments
Stellar intro sequence to the game, with sick cartoon art and even voice acting. Dang!
Clever switching back-and-forth mechanic to platform around with, but I eventually ended up stuck on the ground between a bus and a van and couldn't find a way out. There was one of those monsters with me, but I had already found out they do no damage. I *was* playing the web build, it might have been a bug, as I assumed spooky beasts would hurt me.
Excellent music, love the contrast between the backing tracks of the normal world and the shadow realm, yet they still work together.
Awesome entry!
Thanks very much @flaterectomy <3
My biggest regret with this game is that I forgot to give the player a way out of that hole. It's the only place in the whole game you can get stuck. [Edit: ah, screw it, I just added some stairs and updated the game. I think it counts within the rules for post-jam changes.]
The demons *were* supposed to kill you, but we ran out of time for that lol. So in the published build they're just for atmosphere :P
Love the art so much! It is amazing to complete such a great game in just 72hours!
Thank you so much @tao-yuanyue!! We had THREE incredible artists on the team and they all absolutely knocked it out of the park!
Really hard for me! But excellent art style.
Love the art and like the idea of two spaces creates different path. The music changes with the space and makes it more immersive
pauls134
2022-10-04 09:32
Great intro and beautiful graphics! Between that and the music, it's an ace game setting and feel, love it!
puhan
2022-10-04 13:04
Nice short but complete gameplay experience! While the music was really well done, I wish they could be composed with the thought of prompting the next change between the two worlds. Such as using an upward arpreggio at the end of the 10 secs soundtrack of the shadow realm or something to let the player know the state of the game world is about to switch.
@puhan Yeah, this kind of unintentionally became a rhythm game. We were planning to have some kind of visual indicator for when the realm is about to change, but we ran out of time! So now the music is the only cue, and as you noted, it was not composed with that role in mind... this is something we'll definitely fix for the post-jam Definitive Edition ;)
Thanks for playing!
This was so good! The music was incredible! Full voice acting was a really great touch. I really enjoyed solving the timing puzzles as well, I was really proud of myself once I realized the switches were timed up with the music. Thank you for letting me skip the cutscene the second time around, it was great incentive to play again knowing there was an alternate ending.
Very well done!
This game right here is underrated ! I urge you to play it immediately! I dropped a tear at the end. Music is so grooving, I was hooked by the 10 seconds changes they are so well in place! Voice acting and dialogs are great as hell! Guys you've done amazing job! Keep doing it, I can't wait to see more series/levels about with some morals like this. This is great! Thank you for this experience!
Thanks very much for the kind words @dileriuml 😄 I agree the (good) ending is way more beautiful than it has any right to be. Markku absolutely killed it with that soundtrack.
That's a great game! Controls are snappy, use of the soundtrack to indicate transition to the "Shadow realm" and back is a brilliant idea, and above everything else, this game have a voice over of the dialogues?! That's something new for a jam project! The Artwork in the game is beautiful, Story is great, but I'll never forgive you for being so mean to the witch at the start :(
Also, looks like web version have a bug? I think the idea was that Monsters should hit a player? But for me they was just going to my position and hanging around like this: Screenshot 2022-10-06 050402.png
@riptidestudio Not a bug, bug alas, a missing feature! We ran out of time to make them actually do damage, so their only role in the jam version is to add atmosphere and terror.
HOLY SHIT
Incredible game- loved every *second*! I'm such a sucker for voice acting, and I love that you have an entire storyline here; that "good ending" is hilariously beautiful. The way the music shifts between the mortal realm and whatever-the-hell-that-other-place-is is awesome, not to mention the art being stylized in such a cool way. Huge props all the way through, this was awesome!
Awwweee that was really cute! Excellent work, this is really impressive!
Awesome music, graphics, mood, and humor. The take on the theme is not that original but it was executed amazingly. I do think the gameplay could use some polish, but other than that, amazing game!
That was a stellar game. When I heard voice acting, I was blown away, very rare to see on a game jam. Art is also amazing, really love the style. The sound design is very very good. Gameplay is a bit simple, and I would recommend adding a timer ui since there are timed puzzles in the game and you have to count the seconds in your head. I failed a jump like 10 times. Anyway, good job guys.
exilegl
2022-10-06 23:40
Great story. The email address part in the intro was hilarious. Music is amazing, and the switch up between the calm normal music and the shadow realm music is perfect. Love the voice acting and art too. Also nice innovative take on platformers, mixed really well with the theme.
I won :)
Screenshot_2022-10-06 Stella Brown and the Curse of the Grocery Witch.png
elzeu
2022-10-07 01:06
The game design elements are well developed and solid, the branching in the email scene gave a special charm to the playing experience. In the introduction I had the impression I would play a point-and-click but to my surprise I found a platformer with the theme being very well developed in the timing mechanics, if the enemies cause damage and with minor adjustments, I particularly would consider a full demo :) Thanks for the experience.
I love the way that there's no timer so you have to use the music (or counting) as a clue for when to jump. Speaking of music, the soundtrack in this game is phenomenal! I love the way it switches back and forth between the peaceful elevator music and the rock guitar music. And great storywriting here too - the game had me so interested that I had to play it again from the beginning just to see what happened if I chose the other ending! Great job all around.
Thanks a million for playing our game and for the very kind feedback @brainloaf-studio @witchpixels @diego-teran @digitaldude555 @exilegl @elzeu @david-forrester ❤❤❤!!
> if the enemies cause damage and with minor adjustments, I particularly would consider a full demo :)
We're definitely doing a polished-up and extended version of the game post-jam -- a "Definitive Edition," if you will. I'll let you know when it's done <3
> I would recommend adding a timer ui since there are timed puzzles in the game and you have to count the seconds in your head
I would also recommend this, we ran out of time haha. Definitely coming in the Definitive Edition :) for now you need to pay close attention to the music!
> Great story. The email address part in the intro was hilarious
Thank you, I'm actually really proud of that joke, and of the payoff in the endings 😁
raffe
2022-10-07 10:53
Duuude that was so cool! I'm a big anime enjoyer so seeing anything like these cutscenes, animations etc. really made me happy to play this.. especially for a Ludum Dare entry :heart_eyes:
One of the most original every 10 second ideas that I've seen so far. The music was stupidly well made, and even the fact that it wasn't the same music repeating over and over, but it had little twists. Really an awesome idea anyways.. Also the shadow realm music just banged so hard :guitar:
If there was one thing that i was kinda curious of, it was why it seemed like the cool enemies on the shadow realm didn't damage me at all, they were really running after me but couldn't hurt me i guess? Honestly I think it would have made this even more interesting and hard, but I know it's a game jam and there is very limited time. And not trying to take anything away from you guys, it was still an amazing LD entry! That's the only minor "downside" I could think of.
But yeah everything was great and there was some really cool details like the characters that I was passing by that said random things, overall had a nice humour to it all the way from the beginning to the absolute end. I don't admit getting rickrolled though. :nose:
Overall, my favorite things were the music and applying the theme to it, and of course the graphics and cut scenes were very epic. But yeah, an amazing entry and congrats to you guys on this game! :sunglasses:
Thanks for playing and for the wonderful feedback @raffe! I'm so happy you enjoyed our game!
> The music was stupidly well made
Agreed. I got to work with two extraordinary musicians this jam, and they both did amazingly.
> and even the fact that it wasn’t the same music repeating over and over, but it had little twists
Thanks for noticing! Yeah, for each section of the game (store, streets, home) and each realm (mortal, shadow) there are two possible 10-second clips that are chosen from randomly. This works really well IMO and keeps the music feeling fresh the whole game through.
> If there was one thing that i was kinda curious of, it was why it seemed like the cool enemies on the shadow realm didn’t damage me at all, they were really running after me but couldn’t hurt me i guess?
We just ran out of time to add this 😭 damage and death will be the first thing I add for the upcoming post-jam version.
> But yeah, an amazing entry and congrats to you guys on this game! :sunglasses:
Cheers, homie 🥂
Love the art style and animation, and I did not expect the Quit jump to rickroll. Great job!
Loved the theme-link (we used the same mechanic) :) You are a really talented artist in terms of visualisaztion and humor :D but also gameplay is really fun.. only the parts were I have to count by myself to ten were a little bit confusing
Tried both ends ;D
Keep on doing !
bqq
2022-10-08 23:39
Man what a strong start with the voice acted cutscene! I had to run the game twice to see both endings as well :D The music and visuals during switching work super well. I think platforming wise the jumps into the other realm were pretty annoying without any visible timer when it'll switch (thankfully the enemies didn't do damage, otherwise it would have been super frustrating :D). Insanely cohesive project for only 72 hours, great work everyone!
alks
2022-10-08 23:53
I LOVE THIS! It's so good! It's the best feeling ever when you get to stumble to masterpieces like this! AAAARGGGHHH!! These kinds of games really make excited about ludum dare every time!
The story and writing is just plain amazing! So funny and creative! Love the alternative endings! The audio is just so good also! The recording quality is superb and stellar voice acting! I love how the music switches and I just laughed so hard when I heard the general midi music with the pan flutes! So good! Music is also composed really well and fits with the picture 10/10! What can I even say about the art? It's just so good! Love also how the production values drop in the end! Makes the writing in the end just so much more hilarious! This is truly the must funny LD game I have ever played, period.
Incredible work all of you! Thank you so much for making this gem! Will look forward what you will make in the future!! :3
dgo
2022-10-09 04:47
Wow, the graphics and audio were incredibly well done, im impressed with how many assets you created in such a short time. Good job!
42xiao
2022-10-09 13:55
The story, art and music are amazing! Slightly difficult for me though, love that I can see the 10s countdown so I don't keep missing jump.
kuro
2022-10-10 12:41
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh :laughing: I died. That was awesome. Both endings made me laugh. I was like "Stella is such a bitch" in the beginning, but then I understood the tone of the story (I think), and I had a few good laughs. 5* humor. I want more, please make cartoons :laughing:
daveco
2022-10-10 13:13
The art is awesome and the swapping between worlds is always super cool. Congrats on a great entry :)
Great job! I loved the silly story. Little frustrating to get the timing right on the jumps, but that was minor and I overall enjoyed the challenge. Extra stars for the voice acting.
sinalize
2022-10-10 13:17
Pretty nice！The graphics and audio are wonderful!!!!This game is pretty nice!!!Every time you change,the voice will be down.That's a pretty good idea.
jonah
2022-10-10 14:36
Oh wow! I had to get both endings and they are both amazing!
What an amazing job you all have done. Nice game design. amazing music and voice over performance and the graphics + cut scenes were just perfect.
Well done! 👏
benk
2022-10-12 11:28
laughed out loud the first time the shadow realm happened, the art and music is so ridiculous and so incredible. all of the voice acting was super well done and funny. the game has a Night In The Woods vibe to it or something.
even if the monsters didn't actually hurt you, they were still terrifying and i avoided them anyway.
This was brilliant! The voice over work is really nice (although striclty from a technical stanpoint I wish the audio quality on the witch matched the STELLAR quality of the protagonist's recordings). I really love it when so much thought is put into making a full experience at a jam, and you did just that, with plenty of polish too. Music was very nice(and coherent despite having two composers!), and using the length of each segment as an indicator of when the switch would come to time some of the jumps was particularly satisfying. All in all, great work to the whole team, enjoyed this one quite a bit!
hexyvexy
2022-10-12 16:53
Fabulous entry with excellent production values. My only real criticism is with the implementation of the swapping mechanic. I had a really hard time dialing in when the swap would happen, and as the penalty for missing a jump was 20 seconds of waiting it was a little painful. Some visual indicator might have been more accesible to those who can't keep time :smiley:
The art style is so funky & just unbeatable, love it! Control is smooth & love the humor.
skel3ton
2022-10-12 18:55
that was very funny. I had to play the game twice to see both endings and I'm glad she didn't do the sandwich in either one :D
The cutscenes were great and I liked how they were drawn. But for some reason, the audio worked and the cutscenes slowed down a lot, so I couldn't see everything that was drawn
I missed a timer, but the music was perfect, you could tell it was beautiful, but I personally don't have a good ear for it, so in some moments I couldn't properly estimate the change.
Anyway, very good game. I would easily play it again if it had other endings
bamberga
2022-10-12 22:03
the moral choice at the end is the best moral choice in any video game ever, move over bioshock
jag
2022-10-14 01:02
This was a really phenomenal entry, and I enjoyed this from start to finish! The artwork here is top notch and having voice acting in a jam game is always such a great cherry on top! The music was really really good, it matched so well with gameplay. I enjoyed that the music synced up with the change in realm so it helped to time my jumps correctly. I think that's just a very creative idea, using music as a sound que for when to start jumping (although there is a potential accessibility issue there for people hard of hearing). This is an odd thing to compliment but I really like the parallax background effect you did with the mouse cursor at the beginning of the game, it added a touch of polish and class!
I think my only issue with this was the writing, especially at the beginning. Our character was just so unbelievably obnoxious (even for a teenager) that, firstly, I would not believe anyone would just outright speak to someone that way, and secondly, even if it was just for laughs I can't continue to play this character knowing that I'm clearly the asshole in this situation. There were a lot of humorous lines sprinkled throughout that I enjoyed, but at least they were not voiced from our main character. Like when her boyfriend didn't offer to help and instead asked for a sandwich, it gives you sympathy for her. But when you main character herself is being the absolute worst human being on Earth right from the start, it's hard to want to play this character, fit in their shoes. As the intro played out, I thought we were going to play the witch, but when we played the girl I just felt demotivated to want to help her out; frankly, she deserved it.
Other than that, I think this game is just 5 stars all around! A job well done, and thank you for putting this together!
story telling animations music and graphics are reeeeeally nice, slight downside is that it's a basic platform game with 2 realities swapping ahah very simple idea, but if you add a few more game mechanics it's gonna be sooo great, loved it
A nice game with stunning art and very fitting music! A nice intro and voice acting and all, that's a lot of stuff in 72 hours...
I'm kind of glad the monsters weren't that dangerous and couldn't kill you, although there wasn't really that much of a challenge there in any other form either. Timing the jumps was a bit hard on the 2-3 places where you it was important but with the game being so easy otherwise that didn't get annoying. And switching the music for the worlds helped once one learned the songs.
A really solid entry!