The world building, storytelling and immersion are all really top notch.
Girt, under my direction, has lived incredibly varied and interesting lifetimes.
I really enjoyed the clever little branches that were introduced in many dialogues and it was a pleasant surprise to discover that many decisions were not inconsequential but had lasting impact.
Potential Spoilers
The only improvements I would suggest that would have enhanced my own experience would be:
The ability to skip sections once completed if all branches have been followed. The factory worker path up to where I got mugged and refused to hand over the chump change. Sorting all those boxes again and signing everyone up for the union...I just can't right now. I understand I may not have decided to help the union or whatever and that would have changed the available options so I can see it being a tricky request. The same to get to the police office / fixer branch. Some of the academy mini-games were pretty brutal. I understand there is value in re-playability but I just found my first 8 or so minutes of game play to be a rinse and repeat of the dialogues and choices to get to the same branch points.
A fast travel for the train sequence unless there is a new interaction available.
A few of the mini-games in the web version had controls that were a little unresponsive. I noticed it most on the police academy hurdle course (the first race always seems more clumsy than the second...that might be by design) and target shooting. The target shooting the X axis targets would sometimes be awkward to get to and I was wondering if it was even possible to pass the test or if it was used to force you to quit becoming a police officer. The ballot switching was also a little strange but that just might have been me.
It would have been great to know what dialogue options were decisions that impacted the story, and even what options had been previously selected.
All in all a really nice experience that was really enjoyable.
I ended up:
-As a squatter that was kicked out for Mapota addiction
-A fixer
-A police officer that was liberal with the use of the truncheon and was investigating a dead body in the acid
-Being Killed by a thief after winning the horse race
- An artist that both sold a painting and made the mistake of telling someone that I was a smuggler
- As someone that past the exam but found there to be no jobs available at the job fair
- Chancellor elect and became (ashamedly) a member of the Gears and Levers club.
Thanks so much for your feedback and playing so much! I don't want to spoil too much but you will want to hang onto your quiz answers for the final game. How did you play the game? In browser? On a handheld? You can get to the job fair and explore new paths in the final version.
Unfortunately playing the demo might exacerbate the experience of having to replay sections of the game but I think that since the game is longer in the final version those parts feel less repetitive. (No one has replayed it more times than I have, haha)
I played the browser version. I think that might have made the target shooting and hurdles so weird. Perhaps the Gameboy re-centers the X/Y axis and the web version does not?
Getting to the job fair there was enough of a hint with the puzzle not being available in the demo that it was fine.
The only other weird thing I can remember was in terms of story line. When playing the conveyor belt game that manipulates the worker's quota, if you (intentionally) get a really low score, the union people still complain about working conditions (more work but no extra pay) when their quota has been significantly reduced. And then the factory foreman tells Girt that he has to do at least 5 for his shift. Perhaps make the minimum for the conveyor belt game that sets the quota be more than the current quota or something similar? That would fix the union narrative - more work but same pay - and give Girt a reason to side with the union (or get fired and live in a squat and get addicted to Mapota).
Is there any way to win the claw machine, currently?
I encountered a soft lock when deciding not to buy the painting. I can't leave the art shop and the owner keeps saying not to talk to him and to look at the painting but the rich guy has already left.
Does the demo offer the option to go to prison? I got Girt arrested but demo ended there on that branch.
Although that does sound like a bug (thanks for spotting it!) you aren't completely stuck because if you wander around there are a couple of other ways to progress. You can't go to prison in the demo. You'll have to get the full game to see more. Thanks for playing!
I could imagine fitting a dynamic story such as this in a Gameboy-ROM requires some skills at optimization.
Love the constant pressure you feel when making decisions, and they actually make a difference here.
SPOILERS AHEAD
I finished my first run living in the squat and finally even got kicked out because of my MAPOTA-addiction :D
One could also argue that I might’ve been a WOLF wearing sheep’s clothes, since I was very actively helping the MAWA-party and yet I ended up voting the WOLVES just on a whim.
I was excited and terrified to see if someone will find out my true vote! :D
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I love this game and am looking forward to the finished product!
The world building, storytelling and immersion are all really top notch.
Girt, under my direction, has lived incredibly varied and interesting lifetimes.
I really enjoyed the clever little branches that were introduced in many dialogues and it was a pleasant surprise to discover that many decisions were not inconsequential but had lasting impact.
Potential Spoilers
The only improvements I would suggest that would have enhanced my own experience would be:
All in all a really nice experience that was really enjoyable.
I ended up:
-As a squatter that was kicked out for Mapota addiction
-A fixer
-A police officer that was liberal with the use of the truncheon and was investigating a dead body in the acid
-Being Killed by a thief after winning the horse race
- An artist that both sold a painting and made the mistake of telling someone that I was a smuggler
- As someone that past the exam but found there to be no jobs available at the job fair
- Chancellor elect and became (ashamedly) a member of the Gears and Levers club.
Again, really nice experience!
Thanks so much for your feedback and playing so much! I don't want to spoil too much but you will want to hang onto your quiz answers for the final game. How did you play the game? In browser? On a handheld? You can get to the job fair and explore new paths in the final version.
Unfortunately playing the demo might exacerbate the experience of having to replay sections of the game but I think that since the game is longer in the final version those parts feel less repetitive. (No one has replayed it more times than I have, haha)
My pleasure!
I played the browser version. I think that might have made the target shooting and hurdles so weird. Perhaps the Gameboy re-centers the X/Y axis and the web version does not?
Getting to the job fair there was enough of a hint with the puzzle not being available in the demo that it was fine.
The only other weird thing I can remember was in terms of story line. When playing the conveyor belt game that manipulates the worker's quota, if you (intentionally) get a really low score, the union people still complain about working conditions (more work but no extra pay) when their quota has been significantly reduced. And then the factory foreman tells Girt that he has to do at least 5 for his shift. Perhaps make the minimum for the conveyor belt game that sets the quota be more than the current quota or something similar? That would fix the union narrative - more work but same pay - and give Girt a reason to side with the union (or get fired and live in a squat and get addicted to Mapota).
Is there any way to win the claw machine, currently?
Really great stuff, overall!
You can win the claw game but like a real claw game it is part skill part luck. Even if you do it right it may take a bunch of tries to pick it up.
Good to know about the claw machine!
I encountered a soft lock when deciding not to buy the painting. I can't leave the art shop and the owner keeps saying not to talk to him and to look at the painting but the rich guy has already left.
Does the demo offer the option to go to prison? I got Girt arrested but demo ended there on that branch.
Although that does sound like a bug (thanks for spotting it!) you aren't completely stuck because if you wander around there are a couple of other ways to progress. You can't go to prison in the demo. You'll have to get the full game to see more. Thanks for playing!
This is really impressive.
I could imagine fitting a dynamic story such as this in a Gameboy-ROM requires some skills at optimization.
Love the constant pressure you feel when making decisions, and they actually make a difference here.
SPOILERS AHEAD
I finished my first run living in the squat and finally even got kicked out because of my MAPOTA-addiction :D
One could also argue that I might’ve been a WOLF wearing sheep’s clothes, since I was very actively helping the MAWA-party and yet I ended up voting the WOLVES just on a whim.
I was excited and terrified to see if someone will find out my true vote! :D
Really looking forward to the full release!
Thanks for playing! Maybe the Game Boy is far less limiting than people think.
Always love a Jelter game. FYI - the "view product info" link on the incube8 site currently takes you to D*Fuzed.
Thanks for the heads up! We'll get that fixed. Also thanks for playing :)
Pretty neat
This is awesome! Is the full game going to be available on PC? I wanna play the whole thing
I think that you will be able to play the full game on pc in a Game Boy emulator if you get the digital edition.
Oooo, been keen to give this a suss for a while haha. Nooooice.
Thanks for playing! Been following your stuff too.
VERY nice
Thank you!