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THIS - IS - FIRE. I am in awe of how you took artistic liberties in the best way and made the theme and the playsheet a creation of your own. Incorporating everything in a way that's this cohesive takes primo imagination and creativity. BRAVO!

A very strong comic. We know, as readers, that things won't turn out like the main character is supposing but it takes real skill to then STILL surprise the reader with HOW bad it gets. I thought I had it figured out but -NOPE lol 

I liked how you quickly altered the tone for that as well. You hit all the hallmarks of a good horror story so well, from establishing the pacing of the "mundane" to the frantic terror of the rising action.

I liked that you stuck with the camera lens for the viewers p.o.v. and the kind of gameboy palette you utilize. 

It made me want to understand exactly what was going on. 

Nonetheless, a perfect comic for spooky season!

This is absolutely GORGEOUS as a zine/story (storied zine?)

I was instantly immersed and the CYOA-style as a guide for the narrative wasn't distracting at all. I loved the little character pages like the strategy guides of yesteryear. Using particular palettes for each area really helped sell the idea too. 

Great work!

A powerful short comic that truly hits on the emotional landscape for artists online and having to engage with social media. I've seen others try to depict it, and this comic is the best one I've ever seen. Great pacing, great choice to merge different artstyles (stylistic reality, how the "works" are painterly, how the...thing is given so much detail), and just enjoyable to read. It grabbed my attention and held on.

Please let me know if you do and how you enjoy them! I am really glad to have a Black queer voice taking a look at my work, it makes me feel proud to do what I do in the way that I do it.

Wow wow WOW! Thank you so much for featuring my game in your review video. You had to go through a major marathon of games to talk about as succinctly as possible. And there were a LOT of choices this year to sift through. I'm so glad you took the time to play mine and liked it. And that you were feeling some of the storied vibes, the game really shines when played in journaling fashion. 

I love how everyone gets to see their rival differently.

You've really made my weekend!

Congrats on making and taking the time to make corrections. It shows you really care about your game! I hope you get many many MANY players.

You'd be surprised! I've seen people try to make slice-of-life mundane games about high school but not like the one you've made, so you should be really proud. Most try to recreate some moment in high school or something but bringing in the film angle is smart and you made it look spot-on. 

And always give yourself credit! You worked hard for it. You'll be one to look out for once others know ^_^

Just a few notes - for your description be sure to state the ideal number of players for prospective groups. That's something players look for, ideally towards the top for GMs. 

Also, the art you chose for this is really good! Especialy the doodles for your header/banner. So if you made it yourself, be sure to give yourself credit on the game's landing page. In today's AI world people do appreciate knowing something was entirely or mostly human made when possible. 

Otherwise - SO stylish. And some of the tropes that the player can get are so neat. 

You obviously put some much heart and thought into this. What made you want to make a game in this vein?

The layout and design of your document is really great as others have stated. I know it can be really tough to fit information into a pamphlet format, so I feel your pain and commend you for making it look so good. 

1. This will surprise some, but I spent about 3 weeks creating my game. And that's without brainstorming. I set my scrivener document with tasks of exactly what I needed to do and kept that updated. I didn't work on the game everyday, making sure to take breaks and most doing of the finalizing on the weekends. I wanted to release it much earlier but I forced myself to take my time and make everything just the way I needed it to be. Slow and Steady for the race.

2. I had to learn quite a bit about pamphlets and mock-ups (I'd never used a mock-up before. In fact, I didn't know that what they were called). I also think I learned a bit about cutting things. I left content out of the game, and ironically I think that content would only have given it more dimension. 

3. I hate typography SO much, lol. But I had a specific vision in mind for the logo lettering that I couldn't just download my way out of - which forced me to do something that ended up for the better. That's in terms of promotion and marketing, which I also put a lot of work into, and in a way it paid off. I also learned that the pamphlet format comes with it's own pitfalls. It's visually gripping but also LIMITING. Still, I really wanted to try it. So I really challenged myself for this one and the results were good! All we can do is learn from the process and take what we can from it. 

4. I spent a bit of time before and after submitting my entry ensuring I commented on as many projects as I could that "spoke to me". And especially if I could say something nice or constructive - if all I had were criticisms or what I had to say felt to critical then I erased what I'd written and moved on. So, I don't want to shout out a game - I want to shout out the other creators at there who took the time to do the same, not just for me, but for other participants as well. You make jams like this such a welcoming and wonderful experience and it was an absolute pleasure to get your responses back. You guys rock!

I love that clipboard idea! I can easily see a version of the game involved in a long car trip or even walking around on a hike outside where behaviors and attributes can pop up "organically" for players and a clipboard would facilitate that so easily.

Oh, I'm betting this has the power to fuel many a worldbuilding fire among friends who already do it. OCs abound! lol. But you go about it in an interesting way with blacking things out, it gives it an authentic feel. I hope your game page is littered with redacted pages from players in the comments. I bet those would be super for you to see.

It's great that you continually look for ways to tweak and improve the game for players. I hope others take note - it never hurts to improve a project if you feel strongly enough.

I love making playlists. It's always optional but is a cherry-on-top for playing for me. I know I like them in the background and I think other players get into that too. One of the sad parts when I played games with others online for a short while - no ambient music or background stuff or you can't hear each other. And thank you for taking the time to make a comment!

When people talk about a minimalist and simple format for their games being perfectly adequate and not needing more than that? What you did for your game is what most of them THINK they're doing - but you did it perfectly. A balance of clear, concise, but well-formatted without looking looking like a page from a textbook and keeping that game vibe. It let's your eyes glide across the page.

Such a neat idea for a journaling experience! And this game landing page looks SO good! Well done!

I how this game really focuses on the connecting the player with the fictional person they're creating as they observe. And you may say, "Brite, isn't that every RPG?" and to an extent that's true. But this is one of the ones where you don't necessarily have control over who they are to the Nth degree. As you learn about them they'll take on their own personality. So it also becomes great for character study in general in an area that most people don't delve DEEPLY into. When we make OCs or explore characters the last thing most of us focus on is how they deal with emotional loss and material gain on this level.

I like that you note not to take this as a hard and fast get-it-done writing prompt but a slower paced journaling experience. It signals a tone to the player.

I am so glad to hear you say this and to hear about your playthrough! I love that kind of thing. And to hear that someone else had odd happenings with visit events. During my own playthrough my rival flirted with everyone and I was just like, "What is even HAPPENING?!" lol. I'm sorry yours was such a pest, but I bet it kept things interesting. And thinking of your trio just politely accepting the shiny things people kept giving them in exchange is hilarious. You've made my evening!

Yeah! I always appreciate a strong vibe and perspective in a game so I enjoy bringing that to the fore. I mentioned to someone else that this game is a bit like a tapas or small dish you'd get in an izakaya. A pop of something to put a smile on your face and get you at ease. Thank you so much!

Thank you! When playtesting I found that to be the case. Something like a tapas or a dish you get at an izakaya or food stall itself.

Sorry to be late with a reply - but thank you for the compliments. I'm glad that I nailed the vibe! It's so important when you're doing a one-pager. And congrats on your great success! You're the number one game in the jam for a few days now! That's pretty big!

Heck yeah! Thank you. Let me know how it goes! I'm always curious.

No problem, I've been commenting here and there to really "participate" in the jam, but I'm surprised you haven't received more comments! Especially being in the Top 5 most popular games for the jam. But it's obvious you put so much work and thought into this.

I'm always happy to hear that people are enjoying it. And glad you like the art!

YAY! I'm so glad you played and had a bit of fun. I hope your sea creatures made some interesting dishes. Thank you so much for the comment!

I'm glad the premise sounds like it could be entertaining. It's a bit of magic when people like you and me make these games.

I'm glad to speak some kindness into the universe, and you earned yours! 

What I meant was, more like something a personally look for as a potential player or "consumer". When I look at a game's landing page I'm always look for a "sample" in the preview images on the page. Nothing big, but either a mock-up, a snippet, or a small screenshot of what I'm expected to download. Even for free games I keep an eye out. Normally, this is to keep an eye out for "low effort" games. 

Which basically means the creator has put in only the baseline work of putting words on a page and expects the player to make sense of the rest. Now, I understand that in the realm of TTRPGs there's a market for that. Minimalist texts. But there's the flipside for me one. First, before I'd ever played a TTRPG, as a kid, I loved the books just for the art and the ideas alone. So minimalism doesn't spark anything in me, but even that isn't what I'm talking about with game design. I really mean looking for authors who just plopped words on a page and you can't even be sure the did the baseline of playthrough to be sure it works. There are entries in the jam now that fit the bill, where information in a grid is listed with bulletpoints instead of arranged into an easily understood table. I'm not saying that to bash anyone but as a player, if I can't see you've given thought to me understanding the material...how can I trust that you made sure the material actually does what you say it can do? And I've found those do go hand in hand. 

So I keep in eye out, because low-effort games (as opposed to minimalist) won't show you a preview of the material as a rule. Ever. 

This is why I was shocked - your game isn't minimalist or low-effort at all! Take that pony out of the stable and show off that blue ribbon! lol 

Okay, enough philosophy. Back to your game itself. I think the parts that gave me the most pause involved what-ifs that are only answered after re-reading certain portions. Like, I wondered what would happen if my the GM rolled something I couldn't possibly reach in order to get to the next station and all of my pals ended up exhausted. And I mean something they really REALLY couldn't reach like they role a 55 but collectively my pals can only get to 44 or something. But then you DO answer what will happen. I kept forgetting there's a GM guiding the process and that's where I was getting stuck - and that's my poor comprehension not a fault on your part. I can't see in dents in your mechanics armor but hopefully you do get others to help you find those pieces. Some of the flavor text gave me pause though...could I counterfeit a portal pin? Is that there to give the GM story prompts? HMMMM.

I think that there's an element of formula to the game that I wasn't fully prepared for. Where you have substitutions and things you cannot use or have to avoid that made me have to stop and think, "Okay, I need to do this but not that..." and realistically, thinking about the instructions in a purely cerebral way isn't the way to understand your game. Your game is hands-on movement, visual, active, etc. and that's where it makes the most sense. Most of my confusion was very "duh" moments. For example, in the creation instructions you ask the group to find the first non-proper noun and that one stopped me in my tracks. I know what a noun is. I know what proper noun is. Do I REALLY know what a non-proper noun is? And of course I do, after thinking about it - but I did have to think about because I'd never heard it described that way before. If you'd asked me to find the first noun that isn't capitalized I would have gotten it right away. Oh, they want a noun that isn't proper <---but even saying it like that is confusing. "A noun that isn't proper" makes sense to me, but someone just getting off of a Jane Austen campaign might picture a saucy little noun that speaks its mind. And as a creator, it's almost impossible to plan for that. The key is that I think people eventually CAN understand it. Because if I didn't get it, I'd look for an example - and bam it's there. So you've made sure on your own that there'd be no confusion. You've done exactly what you need to do.

This looks so good! And I get it right away. As someone who collected crystals and tumbled stones this game allows me to use something already in my home. And that's something - because it's always smart to have supplies consist of things people may already have in their homes.

Beyond the, no pun intended, really stellar presentation with the artwork and super aesthetically pleasing formatting - this seems like such a great game! I was reading the rules and everything looks like it'll work for players. You put in the effort and it shows. If you don't have some kind of background in graphic design I'd be really surprised.

i can't really comment on whether this works for tactical minis games but this is very cool. You chose a lane that many micro, mini, lite, ttrpgs gloss over. You get a lot of my respect for doing what many creators should be doing - making a game YOU would want to play and then making that accessible for others. This is so just so stylish in a minimalist way.

And it was very nice of that cat to loan you their dice for you to make the promo images.

I also think the presentation of the game makes me immediately intrigued by what may happen and how it's played. And, let's be honest, that's half the battle for this style of game. So great work there! There's something that really reminds me of the pulp sci-f/fantasy hybrids of yesteryear.

This one comes in like a statement, so my hat is off to you.

First, I'm getting the the setting and tone your game evokes from the aesthetic alone. Which is something I think is very important for a game- you get one impression and fortunately and unfortunately that's often visual. In your case, you're one of the games that aces that right way. For the game itself, it took me a minute to think about, because at first I went right into the document and thought this was for a group of players. Magically, you may laugh, it occurred to me, "I don't, I think this works better with just one player..."

LO AND BEHOLD! lol 

I double-checked and you state it on the game's landing page. 

It's great that you have a fantasy edition as well so that there's some variance. I can see a good journaler going DEEP on a game like this. Definitely something for those who are experienced with the world of solo TTRPGs but I think those people will have a blast.

I'd like to tip my hat to you as a fellow non-AI artist. The art you created for the landing page really adheres to the style you wanted to evoke - and it happens right off the bat. There's no ambiguity about what kind of experience the players would be in for. It's also clearly a quick kind of game where a group can potentially play more than once in a session. I think the formatting and artwork for the game page perfectly set the stage. The instructions are also well formatted and easy to read through without feeling dense or overwhelming. 

I'm going to share a few notes:

1. For the stats, change it to something like, "Players start with stats listed above." rather than saying everyone shares stats, because then it sounds as if everyone LITERALLY shares from one pool of stats. So one hit is a hit on everyone, which I know isn't your intention. 

2. For Item selection, it's okay to say "Each player rolls 1d6 to select an item" rather than saying that it's 1-6. Because the table already let's us know that there are only 6 options. 

3. You mention that there's a 1 player mode in the item selection portion - but that's the first time that any prospective players will know there's such a thing, and by then - your solo players won't be around. Why? Because you list the game as being 2-4 players. Most solo players look for that kind of information right away before they leave to search for another game. So you'll want to weave that information into the game page and maybe update the player requirements to 1-4 players. Also, consolidate the 1 player game mode information for those solo people. Of course, a savvy solo player will be able to see that they can easily tweak your game to player (I see that it's baked in already) but you want to help those who aren't so DIY. 

And those don't really speak to the core of the game, because I think the core of your game is perfectly fine. I'm not a super experienced with group TTRPGs but I think yours should work. Hopefully someone playtests it and can give you concrete feedback. But, congrats are reaching your goal and branching out!

I really like what you have here, it's something that I caught on to right away. And with one illustration and some deftly chosen enemies you set the stage for this world. You did something that others haven't routinely thought about for this Jam - you let the lightest part be the world and characters which leaves the players plenty of imaginative space to dictate their journaling. Many other left it open in the rules, but you swept that away and left us with something very clean. 

I can see what M. Kirin in saying, For rock paper scissor to work and not interrupt the immersion of the player it has to feel a certain way. What may be also true is...maybe you don't need block? Maybe block becomes something else like, "Charge" or "Gather Strength" so you can really BOOM your next attack, or your enemy can too. The issue there would be - what if you enemy just keeps doing it? You'd need something along the lines of what they mentioned where they wouldn't be able to choose that one the next turn or something. Thinking about this as I write, it seems that having what they do set IS the best way forward for the enemies. You may even be able to do that based on the weapon. What if Pokers ALWAYS attacked? 

But that's the smoothing portion of things, and as long as you're willing to re-work it I think you have a stellar entry. You're always miles ahead of others, so I hope you're feeling really good about what you've created.

Your game immediately stands out, with the hot pink headers, white background, and grounded black text. All of these fit the theme of the game nicely. I don't have a lot of experience with group TTRPGs so I can't say how well your mechanics would work, but at a glance I think they should. The attack moves are cute, and it shows you really thought out how you picture some of the combat would work.

I think one of the document issues you should take a look at is when leveling and and HP in general. I think when you say that [COM] HP starts at something or goes up you mean the Commando. But Combat also using [COM] as an abbreviation which is confusing. It would be clearly for players if you made one of those different.

All in all, it seems like a good rules-lite system that a group might use.

There's something very cool about your entry. Improv RPGs can be a mixed bag but the idea that each person may influence the future in someway has intriguing symbolism and likely unexpected playthrough results depending on the group. I can certainly see a group of writers getting together for this one.

You get points simply for the premise alone. Love the idea.

Holy cow, now this one has some real dark grit to it. Great aesthetic that helps set the mood and that into is like being splashed with cold water and immediately places you in the mind necessary for the game. Bleak bleak bleak - but it's fits what is needed for players. 

You made something really neat here and the presentation is spot-on.