Candles that burn down, a window that shatters and 'realistic' daylight. I won't say how long I spent on them because it's embarrassing.

I'm not usually a fan of visual novels or 2D fighters but I love everything about this! Fantastic concept and visuals. I can't wait to see how it develops.

I also use C2 due to a lack of programming muscle so I'll be especially interested to see how you overcome any hurdles with the engine.

Yep, I can get a decent playable build ready in the next few days and I'd love some feedback. I'll PM you a link if that's okay. All the basic gameplay is in so it would be the first few levels more or less complete. Thanks!

If anyone else is interested in trying it out and giving a bit of feedback then please let me know.

I love the swashbuckling look and feel of this. Very interested to see how you are handling the story elements.

Thanks! I think my art skills are gradually improving but I have to admit that I go for a minimalist approach mostly because it hides my shortcomings.

I don't doubt that this is going to get greenlit and kickstarted in pretty short order. It's shaping up to be one of the most interesting games I've seen in ages. Any plans for a trailer?

When the rooster crows, everything must be put back the way it was:



Each level of the game is supposed to be 12 nights after the previous level and I'm trying to think of a way to suggest a long period of time passing between levels without actually boring the player. At the moment it seems a bit too hectic. Suggestions will be welcomed with open arms.

I can't help much with estimating your chances of getting funding but I'd like to think enough people would be interested once you have a trailer and a bit more information. I certainly like the setting and the atmosphere and would be more tempted to help fund something tight and story-driven like this than a sprawling and ambitious game which is bound to promise more than it delivers.

Good luck!

@NinthPower - I downloaded the demo of Script Kiddies but couldn't figure out the controls. It seemed that I couldn't open the settings menu and when I tried the multiplayer, only the A key did anything (jump). Am I missing something obvious?

I've finished all the curses for The Winter Child and it's something of a relief, after describing every horrible thing you might wish on somebody, to move on to blessings. Here's a nice one:

Great idea and I love the gritty aesthetic and influences. Keen to see where this goes.

Thanks very much!

You're right about the fonts. The cursive one needs to be different for story purposes but there's no reason why all the other text couldn't use the same print font as the cards. I'll change that.

The web fonts are proving problematic and probably explain the difficulty when launching the game. I'll look into it.

I know a couple of people who could come up with something nice in the way of music so I'll pester one of them to make me something for the title screen at least.

Once again, thanks for some very helpful feedback. I'm glad you enjoyed the game.

Looks amazing - I get the impression that if I tried to play it my brain would melt but I'd love to try anyway!

The title screen was actually slanted too but didn't seem as illegible as some later sections (the image at the top of this thread is from another much earlier version altogether). Hopefully it works a bit better now.

Would you believe that was actually the non-italic version! I've changed it now to something slightly easier on the eye although it might still be a bit hard to make out in places. It's tricky finding a decent copperplate font which is always legible.

I've implemented all the other changes you suggested and I think it's a heap better now. Thanks again!

[Good point. I'll fix that.]

Thanks so much for that very detailed and useful feedback!

I love the background art in this game.

-I think the menu needs some visual feedback. I wasn't sure if it was working at first because things my cursor hovered over didn't get highlighted, underlined or anything.

Good point. I'll fix that.

-I'm not a fan of the text style in the game. Italics combined with cursive made some of the words difficult to make out.

There's a story reason for the cursive writing which emerges later but I'll try to find a less flowery font.

-This really looks like a game that should have an amazing piano soundtrack. Any chance of that? I do like the atmospheric sounds you've included, though.

I didn't have time to get any music done during the jam but I might ask someone to have a try now.

-There should always be a way to quit to the menu, or to get back to the "level select" screen.

You're absolutely right. Will fix that.

-The game really needs a "mute sounds" button, and I would recommend changing the Pastimes background sound. Endless church bells get annoying very, very quickly (at least, in my opinion). I actually quit at that point because of the sound.

Yep, another excellent point. I'll also have the church bells fade out after a little while like the rain does.

-I would recommend mentioning that the cards have to be dragged, not just clicked. If you want an explanation that doesn't mention actual controls, consider "Place one card atop its match" or something like that. I don't like that the Instructions page mentions blank cards, since that element doesn't seem to exist here.

I'll adjust the instructions to mention that. The blank cards have a role to play later on.

-I found it very strange that the cards reset if you get something wrong. Then you just have to go through the motions again. I didn't find that enjoyable, but I suppose some people would.

I think everyone else who has played is in agreement with you! I guess I didn't notice it so much because of course I know what I'm doing in each level. I'll change it so that mistakes are forgiven - really the game is more of a frame for the story anyway.

-It might be a good idea to shrink the collision boxes on the cards. It seems like it would be too easy to accidentally bump into a card you don't want while dragging one.

Good point. I might keep it as it is for now, however, because I think this would just be a fun obstacle once the difficulty is made easier, rather than a complete annoyance as it is now.

-I really like how finishing a level unlocks bits of story.

-The menu doesn't smoothly fade all the way into the Instructions page. I think the fades in general are a bit slow. Also, the initial loading of the menu takes a few seconds for me and it's just grey before the title screen appears. It would be nice if there was an image in place from the beginning.

The slow fades were a last minute fix to avoid the web fonts visibly loading but I'll find a more elegant way to deal with this.

Once again, thanks a heap! This is tremendously helpful feedback, worth its weight in gold.

This looks absolutely beautiful and I love the premise behind it. Can't wait to see how it develops!

I made a text-heavy parlour game/short story thing for the Nar8 game jam. It's about a bohemian Victorian girl and is kind of experimental in format.

I'm aware that my description is probably not selling it to anyone, but interested parties can check it out here:

http://gamejolt.com/games/puzzle/memoriam/29147/

I will be almost embarrassingly grateful for any feedback.

Those little sprites are beautiful.

I paused work on this for a bit while I came up with something for the Nar8 jam (Memoriam - a text-heavy game about a bohemian Victorian girl which I now think is unlikely to appeal to anyone who is not themselves a bohemian Victorian girl). Also, we managed to get Spirits of Xanadu greenlit which was kind of exciting!

Anyway, I'm back on The Winter Child now and experimenting with some 'woodcuts' for the book pages. This is the sort of thing I have so far but I'm not certain how well it works.

That little 'sea legs' simulator is awesome.

I love the way the dithering reminds me of the hatching on old woodcuts and the b&w Mac look makes the game feel antiquated in a way that suits the subject matter. Even though the Age of Sail clearly pre-dated the Age of Macs... It's a kind of psychological trick, I guess, but I don't mind having tricks played on me when they're this elegant.