Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD56 → Are you listening?
By sockenpuppe
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 137 | 4.01 | 109 | |
| Fun | 727 | 3.18 | 105 | |
| Innovation | 476 | 3.38 | 107 | |
| Theme | 436 | 3.80 | 109 | |
| Graphics | 70 | 4.48 | 110 | |
| Audio | 58 | 4.13 | 108 | |
| Mood | 27 | 4.37 | 109 |
Really polished art and UI. Really like the wood cut style and the small animations.
I wish the little critters gave a bit more of a challenge, like having to swap them away or respawning when clicking not fast enough.
Interesting take on the theme overall.
Cute art stile
I played for the good ending, it seemed like the one I wanted, and the intended too considering the click away the doubt/depression critters all were about revealing those options.
The graphics was really great and the story well written. I enjoyed the experience. And it had a reasonable length for both the story it wanted to convey and the gameplay contained in it.
Really love the art, music and mood! Though It was more of a challenge to remove the little buggers.
A well polished VN. Thank you for telling a difficult story to tell. I'm sure there are many people who will connect with it and help them with their own difficulties.
@umnatz @vlad-russu @local-minimum @laurynas @tuism Thank you all so much <3
A heart-melting story captured by a wonderful and clean art. The enveloping notes of ambient sounds create a solid immersion that connects many people. It's a relevant and yet, unfortunately, tough dilemma that is floating above.
All in all, an enjoyable experience, great artwork and astonishing story-telling
I think it's too heavy for me, I want to cry just from the beginning. My sister share the main character name as well.
I love the art style. Congrats on making game about important subject.
Nice to see plot game with good art and UI! Feels very polished, especially with a sound. Well done! ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡
The Music is so good and the art as well! It really shows how grief feels.
positive vibes...cough THE ART LOOKS STUNNING.
Such a great concept!
Sorry, I didn't play it all the way through. We're doing our post jam play'n rate, and it's a bit depressing for the vibes here. However, I loved the art and sound design!
Was excited to play this, the art was really enjoyable and I loved the music. Good take on the matter, and really good writing as well. Couldn't get the 3rd ending tho
I especially liked the graphics! The style is very good and immediately catches the eye! Great job!
This game left me impressed with its stunning graphics and deep story. 🎨✨ The art style and music create an incredible atmosphere that really conveys feelings of loss and hope. 💔
I especially liked how you explore difficult topics while helping players cope with their own experiences. Overall, it was a wonderful experience! Great job!
Thank you all so much for playing. I know it's a heavy subject matter and I really, really wanted to do it justice. I want to thank you all for your kind words! This means a lot to me :)
Sending positive vibes to all of you <3
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And no worries, I know that not everyone is in the mood for a vn filled with depressive feels especially after crunching for a whole weekend ^^°
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@satless Can I ask which endings you got? I could tell you how to get to the one that's left if you want me to
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I intend to write a blog post (might even do a whole postmortem - although it feels a bit weird to call it that considering the story of my vn) in which I want to talk a bit about the decisions I made regarding the choices and the endings etc
Good concept and art
Interesting interpretation of the theme. Most people went with the cute route. Good job! :thumbsup:
I finally got to play this one. It was sitting on my list of "potentially good entries" and didn't disappoint. I kinda aimed for the bad ending, feeling that it would be interesting and somehow failed at failing on the first run. Anyway, it was surprisingly hopeful :)
Came here for the pretty art and stayed for the feelings. This is really good and I like how the good choices have the tiny creatures over them (i interpret them as bad thoughts you have to get through first to be able to take care of yourself)
The art in this is just so beautiful! The soundscape that plays in the background is also really cool, truly very cool. The whole monotone, black and white theme makes for a really interesting experience. I just think it might need to be a bit less, let’s say, obvious in reaching the more optimistic ending. This way, it can be a bit more impactful. But this can be achieved by working more on the project, making it richer in the future.
Screenshot 2024-10-08 123358.png
I love your art and the mood it created ! I felt like it was right on point. You can really feel the weight of what she is going through with your art style.
Gameplay wise it was fine, might have been a little bit more engaging if it didn't feel like there is clearly one "good choice" every time. Maybe by adding more ambiguity ? It was still able to convey the heaviness of Leah's grief quite well !
What tool/engine did you use to make your entry ? I played it on my phone and it worked like a charm :slight_smile:
I ended up "embracing the future", which I would prefer. The story is emotional with the art, whispers and music. Great job!
Thank you all for the kind feedback <3 <3 <3
@furano Your comment just made me check it out on my phone
I did not expect it to work as well as it does, holy shit
I used Ren'Py :)
Loved this! The atmosphere you created with the art and sound is impressive. Awesome work!
A powerful game — you nailed Mood and Audio, which both fit together so well. I love especially the whispers in the background, as if we were inside the protagonist's mind. One of the best games here.
I really liked this game! It's awesome!
Theme is hard but the mood and audio are amazing!
I really loved how you started your drawings with basic shapes and gradually progressed to line art (I saw your post in my feed).
Not only is the art great, but the narrative is also compelling. It’s remarkable how effectively you convey a sense of depression. This game serves as a powerful reminder that games can be incredible mediums for sharing stories, emotions, and feelings.
So far, it’s the best and most touching game of Ludum Dare 56 for me! Great work!
Great and powerful game.
Made me feel like listening to Mount Eerie again. Feels sad man.
I really like your art style…it works so well with your pages！
Such an amazing concept and great game. Loved the art. Audio was fantastic. Really great job.
It's a good implementation, but it doesn't seem to have much to do with the topic :) No matter how insulting it sounds
What a beautiful use of the theme to explore grief
Gorgeous art. Congrats on tackling such a difficult subject matter. I think you did it thoughtfully and with some heartfelt relatable dark stuff in there.
monochromatic.jpg
Cooooooool
This is so moving. The art style is amazing and so expressive and the sound is amazing. Great job going with black and white. It gives everything an emotive and illustrative feel. The story was very sad and emotional but also important. Personally, I would have enjoyed a small funny or lighter moment to help the story have some ups and downs, as well as some small extra insights into the main characters. But overall it is such a beautiful work of art. Thanks so much for sharing.
DAMN! I love the art and story tho
This game has lovely art and a very polished feel :) The audio was also really good and definitely set the tone of the game. Great job!
Beautiful and such elegantly minimalistic art style. I loved the colorless world that is representing the mood.
I wanted more challenge with the tiny creatures and it felt short, I was invested in the story as you can tell. :)
But I think this much challenge also works and is enough to send your message accross. Well done! Screenshot 2024-10-09 095824.png
Amazing art style and sound effect the ambiance is really on point, great way to use the theme and tell a story good job!
First of all: Thank you all so much for your feedback <3
I thought maybe some of you might be interested in my thought process regarding choices and endings (I also mention how to get to every ending), so I wrote a little blog post:
https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/56/are-you-listening/$405370
Really good concept, good job!
I liked the writing and the art with the audio background creates an unsettling mood that I liked.
I got the 3rd ending and I wished for the choices to be a bit more grey, to made me think a bit more. Having the critters on the non-depressive option made it the obvious one if you want to get a good ending, even though I also think they were a good metaphore to represent that it takes more effort to do what you know is the right thing to do. I guess sometimes you're too tired to do the right thing even though you're aware of it.
The game ended before I was fully aware of her life and what was going on and it was a pity because I was invested and ready to learn more.
It treats a difficult topic and does it well, thank you for the experience
I really felt this game and the black and white style suits me perfectly, great job, you are cool!!
Good mood.
An emotional one for sure. The whispers, the sounds, the art, all comes together really well for the experience! I'd actually play a longer version of this!
This is really beautiful. I played through all the endings, and I appreciate that you put the time into showing a variety of outcomes. The extra effort it takes to even consider healthy choices when you're in a dark place is so relatable.
Beautiful art and sound design that set the perfect mood for such a heavy and emotional story. I really liked the metaphor of clicking away the critters to make difficult choices, but it made some of the decisions feel a bit obvious. It would have been great to see more complexity or ambiguity in the choices. Overall, though, this was a powerful and touching experience. Amazing work!
I really like the visual design, atmosphere and feeling of the game, music and whispers in the background. You get a grasp of the story pretty quick, and it's easy to read. Games about human emotions and feelings are always captivating to me.
I liked the interactive way of making choices, too, though creatures make it quite obvious what the "good" choice is, even w/o them it *is* obvious so I still like them. Got 1st ending, good one I think. Then, I replayed and got ending 3. I have a feeling what ending 2 is so decided not to go for it.
But I enjoyed the game, it was short and good. Polished and beautiful for the jam. A great take on a visual novel <3
I like this take on the concept! Great art, eerie sound design, and a overall nice message. Well done!
This is a very touching game for me. I like the idea of the little creatures and how the plot is made. I didn't expect to see a choice in the game, and I'm very glad that it's there, it's even motivating. The graphics are suitable for the atmosphere of the game, high-quality and pleasant. It's very cool that there is a well-designed UI. Good luck with your next projects!
Beautiful work. Thank you for making it.
Really good execution - especially considering the theme and the time available during a jam. The way you made the choices be affected by the state of mind has a lot of impact on the message and how it affects the endings too.
Very good looking Visual novel and well written too. I enjoyed it and was invested in the story. I think the little critters were not much of a game mechaniv but they worked nicely here as a visual representation of Leah's depression. Great job! Ah and BTW I played the HTML on my Android phone and everything worked perfectly.
Everything worked perfectly to convey the main message and story - with great visuals and audio to match. The mechanic of having to put effort into some of the options by uncovering them/going through your depression/bad thoughts worked perfectly in this scenario. It's impressive how you were able to bring this all together in such a short time. The story is deeply touching and emotional, and I am sure some people will resonate with this. Thanks for making it and sharing <3
This was a powerful message. It the best interactive representation of grief and depression -- how it takes more effort to do the thing that is the 'correct' thing to do.
Really great job. I think it would be nice to share this even elsewhere -- more people should have the chance to see this and engage with it.
Very atmospheric visual novel. I like how showed actions on depression, with some work
Heavy topic, but very well done. I like the visuals very much! The tiny creatures are adorable and helped to visualize the difficulty moving forward. Nice entry!
I couldn't make myself try the bad options even though they are easier -- I mean, yeah my game is nothing but bad options, but when given choice I always pick more positive ones -- so I clicked the little buggers away at each step. It was a good choice to make them sad-looking rather than some vile creatures, I almost felt bad about popping them, which correlates with how misery can, in a way, become a friend, and getting rid of it is not an easy choice at the time. There is nothing to critique here, the game is what you aimed it to be, goal accomplished. The art is impressive, and you seem to have a good knowledge of renpy, well done.
It's a well polished game with a very intense subject, as someone who struggles with depression on a day to day a lot of the writing felt very familiar. And the topic of loss as well, it's a good entry, I wish the was a way to fend off depression as easy as it is in this game. And special points for sound and visual design. Great work! :)
Your writing carries the game very well! Much respect!
(Presentation is also awesome, but writing this in a relatable way during a jam time frame is an amazing achievement)
I did like the art very much, I tried all different routes and loved the fact that the little creatures were there to guide you. well done :smiley:
Nice game,very interesting plot!!!!Nice job!!!!
Nice game, very interesting take on the theme. Couldn't help but go for the "happy" ending...
I remember seeing your sketches in progress! Very cool! The two-tone palette and the style were very effective. I could feel her sadness in the environment and the anguish in her expression. The audio was also very good at making me feel unsettled.
The story paths were also nicely done! The added bit of having to click away the depressors was a nice touch to symbolize the added effort to do "what we know we need to".
I must admit that I wasn't able to find the third ending!
Maybe I'm a weirdo but I like whispering, so I like this game :P I've been doing ASMR videos for over 10 years so I suppose it makes sense.
The game has wonderful art and I love a good narrative experience! Well done!
Very well done in portraying the struggles in carrying on after the loss of a loved one. I really liked using the tiny creatures to get in the way of making choices to show how even the simple mundane stuff can be such a chore to get through, I think it's a really effective way of using the strengths of a medium to convey a feeling and I appreciate that a lot. The mirror scene was also a highlight for me, I made all the positive choices first before making the negative ones in my second playthrough, and the change in the reflection at the end was really unsettling(in the best way possible). We both thought the writing was very well done in that a lot of things are implied but never explicitly said, and in both our opinions it's the best way of conveying a story like this. Great job! The art style is very eye catching and captivating too! -Swan and Boat
Amazing art style! I love the audio as well, it's really interesting and immersive. Great atmosphere overall
it's the "and for me" for me 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 really effective short experience, ate and left no crumbs
Really great game! I don't play visual novels often, but once I saw the title card for this one I've felt kinda drawn to it. I've played through to get all 3 endings and all I can say is that I really liked the way you told this story. Using tiny creatures to represent depression pulling you down and blocking the "good" choices was a great idea, and a really creative way of interpreting the theme. The art style is just amazing, I think I'm gonna get through the game at least one more time just to get a better look at every picture and appreciate all the details you've put in them more. Sound design is also done really well, the whispers in the background feeling like subconscious thoughts going through the character's mind. Once again, amazing work, well done!