Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD53 → Witchcraft Starter Kit
By belea
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 199 | 3.54 | 39 | |
| Fun | 271 | 3.12 | 39 | |
| Innovation | 300 | 2.98 | 39 | |
| Theme | 367 | 2.97 | 39 | |
| Graphics | 17 | 4.50 | 41 | |
| Humor | 161 | 3.09 | 39 | |
| Mood | 55 | 3.92 | 40 |
Interesting idea for a game. It's basically an interactive story that you have to click through. I loved little flashes of creepy stuff on the "eye box" and the doll. Graphics are excellent. It would have been cool if you could change the outcome of the story somewhat by using different items.
Really loved the vibe of the game, it really did a lot of storytelling with a minimalist design. Loved the art style and effects =)
@brandon-campbell Thank your for playing! I'm happy you liked the graphics that much!
The idea of different outcomes (or at least a win/lose condition) was included in the initial idea, messing with the order of the ingredients. I cut it off in the last minute because it didn't add much to the story and I wanted to focus in narrative/mood.
I'll consider adding it again in the future. Thanks for the feedback!
@neakiir Thanks for your kind words! I'm happy you liked it :D
At the beginning, I was like "there's no way there is a cauldron inside that package", but turns out it's a tiny cauldron!
I really like the horror cuteness, awesome job!
I actually didnt understand whats are going. I didnt like the idea caz all you need just clicking and god know for why. Maybe I just not much fan of visual novels. And atmosphere by visual part lost at all
The game is crazy. Very nice graphics, and the cute-horror was really strange but interesting, well done!
The graphics looked great, but I was quite confused to what was actually going on at first.
Great work, art style is especially fantastic. Well done :)
@nox282 tiny cauldron! It need to be delivered, so it has to be small! I'm happy you liked it :D
@asasin56 thank you for your feedback! It's indeed 100% visual novel.
@greenphox I'm happy you liked the game! Thank you for playing!!
@sean-spiggle Thanks for playing! I guess I could have made it a little bit more obvious in the first steps, I hope you understood the story as it proggresses. Thanks for the feedback!
@drunkardwolf Thank you for your kind words! :D
Love the story telling and the atmosphere! I had to play the game twice to understand what's going on. I have some guesses on what happened, but I am still not sure 100% what really happened. If you have time, I wonder if you can put a short summary in the description (put it in a link so no spoilers). I also made a visual novel for ld53 check it out if you are interested!
That was unexpected! I mean, it did say "horror" in the description, but i'm not the sharpest tool in a box.
Visuals are just stunning, post-processing is palpable, and the story line... I love a good Hemingweian put-it-together-yourself art.
Just beautiful!
Stressed me out, got through 2 deliveries and had to stop. After doing a game jam, my hearts feeling too weak for anything else. Sorry 🙏
Great drawings though!
Really awesome game. It was a clever little vignette that told an interesting story. The little effects throughout the game really added to the unsettling setting
wow! i loved the idea behind this one, super creative. the cutesy gore with the background quirks set the atmosphere really nicely too. nice job!!
Not sure if it's just me but I can't seem to do anything after selecting the photograph. Clicking on Keep or Use does nothing
Wow, I love the storytelling and atmosphere a lot! And I think the idea to "deliver" ingredients to the cauldron is really great! Also love the little Isaac doll, haha. Maybe it would be an idea, if you have more options to put into the cauldron so that when you pick a wrong one, something even more creepy happens ;D very nice job!
Short but fun. The way the story unfolds is unexpected. Love the art and vibe!
Wow, that was awesome. That was very interesting. This is something that would be really cool to see developed futher into a full game!
Interesting interactive story game! I really like the artstyle and little bits of horror themes added in!
Loving the take on the delivery theme as the exposition of the story, neat idea! Also, I'm a sucker for atmospheric horror, so this was a lot of fun for me.
Some constructive feedback: - The blue background for the intermission texts didn't quite fit the mood imo, it felt somewhat lighthearted. Something like midnight blue or midnight purple might've fit in better. - A pet peeve of mine: poems that follow a strict metrum, but break their own rules. In all of the poems there is at least one verse where there are too many or too few syllables to fit in with the rest and/or the metrum changes only for that one verse. I don't want to criticise this too much because I know very well how difficult it is to write poems that follow a strict structure - let alone under time pressure! - but the poems would be even more satisfying if the metrum wasn't broken. For example, in the first poem, the last verse could be "To fall for me forevermore" This would fix the metrum. (And also it would specify that it would actually be *the caster* whom the crush falls in love with. Though it would've been a funny twist if they just fell in love with some random person on the street because one didn't read the fine print :laughing:)
LOVE the art and overall feel on this. The little boxes are so great, I liked opening them each time to see what was inside.
I also cringed hardcore when I first used the pliers. :grimacing: The sound and all was way too effective :laughing:
I completely understand cutting back based on time (all too well :cry: ), but even from starting this, I was really excited for the 'alchemy' aspect. Trying out diff ingredients to see what they'd do, and how they'd affect the story or outcome. Instead it felt like just clicking through after a while. That was the only thing really missing for me. It felt like my choices didn't matter.
The feel and mood of this is so spot on though! And I liked the unique interpretation of the theme.
I absolutely adore this twist on the theme delivery! I was quite excited to see what was going to be in the boxes and what was going to happen! It would be so cute to see more of this game but it's a jam game so it's amazing to see the level of polish in such a short timespan and gosh the graphics are just too cute!
Well, that was dark. I love it! Innovative way to tell a story through recipes, and the art is quite well done.
The artwork in the game is sensational, I loved it! Maybe a music or soundtrack could have helped to create a better atmosphere, but I think the silence fits well with the story being told. I really liked the reference to Isaac being the stuffed animal, and the macabre story itself! Overall, everything was perfect, great job and a wonderful game, congratulations! ╰(*´︶`*)╯♡
Great game! The art is awesome and story great. You don't need a lot of complicated gameplay when you can make a game interesting with this art and story. GG!
Very nice artwork and take on the theme! The only tiny thing that bothered me was the plain and hard font. Something closer to handwriting would have worked so well with the rest of the art :)
The knock really scared me :D
@papaya Great to hear that you enjoyed the game! I'm considering adding an explanation with all the details in a post. I'll definitely let you know if I decide to post it. Thanks for playing! :D
@jul-li I'm thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the game! Thank you so much for playing!
@nathan-franck Oh no, I'm sorry to hear that the game was a bit scary for you. I completely understand since I don't usually play horror games myself. However, there aren't any big scary moments in the game other than some sprite swapping and white noise. My main focus was on the narrative and creating a mildly creepy atmosphere. Thanks for giving it a try anyway!
@rawb Thanks for playing the game! I did my best to include even more effects, but unfortunately ran out of time. I'll try to add a few more in the future. Thanks for the feedback! :D
@robobarbie Thank you for playing the game! I'm really glad you enjoyed it. :D
@shawn-beck It seems there was a bug when playing with large resolutions in certain browsers, thanks for pointing it out! I've uploaded a hotfix to address this bug, so please let me know if it's working properly now if you give it a try again.
@exozetart Thank you for the feedback! I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed the game. In the earlier versions of the game, I had included a fail state where players would lose if they didn't use the ingredients in the correct order. I ended up removing it during development, but you're right that it could have added more depth to the gameplay. I was worried about distracting players from the fun and playful mood of the first spells, but I'll definitely consider adding it back in a future version.
@morepixels Wow, thank you so much for the kind words! I'll definitely consider adding some of the changes I have in the backlog once the jam is over. Who knows, maybe I can take it even further! Thanks for playing the game!
@louiejams I'm happy you enjoyed the game! Thank you for playing
@scrapmetal do you know the pliers sound is just scratching a cardboard box? it was quite funny recording all the different sounds! haha. I was worried of the choices-don't-matter feeling from the very first moment, and I had originally considered including two different endings depending on the order in which players used certain ingredients on each spell. Unfortunately, I had to abandon this idea due to the 48-hour time limit for the COMPO. I'll consider adding it back in a future version :( Thanks for playing!
@weefairyfabi thanks! My wrist still hurts after all the drawing and coding haha. I'm happy you liked the result!! Totally worth it :D
@zefphyer Thanks! I'm happy you liked it!!
@yumykon Thanks! I'm happy you liked it. Since it was a COMPO game and I can't compose a single jingle, I recorded some background noises and sound effects instead. However, I definitely agree that a nice, subtle, turning creepy background music could have added to the overall atmosphere of the game. I'll keep that in mind for future versions!
@thomas-bringer I'm thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the story! I was a bit nervous about not having enough gameplay, but I wanted to focus on the narrative this time around. Thanks for playing the game! :D
@grid96 Thank you for your feedback! I did try using handwritten fonts (even writing everything out myself!), but I couldn't find one that was easy to read at that size. I'll definitely consider reevaluating the font choice in a future version.
@luxiffre Thanks so much for playing my game and for taking the time to give such detailed feedback! I'm really glad you enjoyed it overall. I think your suggestion to change the color is a great idea, and I'm definitely considering it for future versions of the game. Maybe a light blue that gradually becomes darker as you progress could be cool, don't you think? :D
As for the rhythm, I must confess that I'm not a native English speaker, so it was quite challenging for me to get it right. I did realize that it was becoming increasingly difficult with each poem and I regretted the decision to add them so quickly. Some of the poems were even based on internet spells that I had to tweak a bit to match the situation. When I heard a native English speaker recite them for the first time, I realized that I had completely messed up the metrum on most of them. I'm happy that he provided me with many suggestions and corrections before I added them to the game, otherwise I would have had to remove them all.
It was a good exercise though, and I learned a lot from it.
Wow, very cool idea. The graphic and effects are amazing, writing is really good too. Of course pacing is pretty chaotic but for the game made in such short time it is still really impressive that you managed to make it so interesting.
I would love to see an anthology of stories like these based on concept presented here. It is a really solid game, congrats!
I liked the simplicity of this one and how it still tends to be spooky/unsettling despite the pattern of adding things to the cauldron. One recommendation I have, would be to perhaps add some kind of final punch at the end, whether it would be some creepy illustration of the couple at the end, or maybe something more subtle. Neat game!
@lisek-gagatek Thanks for playing! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
@droo-shayne I completely agree with you. The last spell was supposed to be in a creepy place, but due to time constraints, I had to cut it. I plan on adding it once the LD ends. Thank you for playing and for the feedback! :D
@belea A light colour that gradually goes dark sounds spot-on, I absolutely agree!
And don't worry too much about the poems. Chances are, even many native speakers wouldn't have noticed those irregularities (which is why it has become a pet peeve of mine in the first place). What's most important is that the metre* is something you're aware of when writing poems like the ones in your game - and from what you're saying I can tell that you definitely are. That's all that matters; the rest is simply a matter of practise. And just to clarify this one more time: your poems are _already_ quite good, so keep at it! :sparkles:
*Speaking of being a non-native speaker: I just learned that it's actually called "metre" (or "meter") in English and not metrum, argh... x_x But I'm glad you knew what I was talking about anyway. Just shows that I've still got some things to learn myself. The reason I noticed is that I was trying to find you some online resources, because I know that there are at least _some_ fixed rules about when syllables are stressed (metre can also be partly subjective though!), and I figured knowing where to look might help you. But since it's called metre and not metrum, googling it is rather messy because of overlapping meanings. On the other hand, though, looking for pages about [lingustic stress](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress_%28linguistics%29%23Word_stress) might already do the trick without even having to go into poetry. But it's possible that these kinds of pages don't account for any subjective factors. (Also, I hope it doesn't sound like I'm trying to explain something extremely trivial here, because it absolutely isn't. English pronunciation is a mess after all.) Idk how helpful this is, but hopefully it was at least a little bit interesting.
Enjoy your day! c: