Completed Elle's Winter Game Jam Entry!

(I'm not kidding, that's the actual title.)

Introduction:
This is my first ever game jam entry submission & frankly first ever working demo. I say "demo" because for the approximately 1 month I worked on it, I never was actually able to finish the story events. After a short break after the game jam is over, I will get back to eventing and finish it and polish, fix bugs, etc. The demo itself is about 15 minutes worth of content and is very story-focused. So if walls of text / lots of reading isn't your thing, this probably isn't the game for you.

*Also, the controls are a little weird / hard to get used to, so you may want to use the arrow keys to move, the "V" key opens the menu, "C" key to confirm and the "X" key still is to cancel.​

Plot:
You play a random girl who has amnesia; I know, it's a very common trope in RPG's. And yeah, you go through the game trying to find out what happened in your lost memories. The game features humans as well as a fantasy race I created. Despite the horns, they're not evil; so don't worry, they're not demons. lol

Features:

• A very interactive world! You can interact with practically every object and of course every NPC.
• A new PSDK experience! While the majority of fangames out there are made with Pokemon Essentials, you can now get a brief glimpse of what the other Pokemon fangame kit "PSDK" is like.
• Gen6 and gen3 nostalgia! This game is designed with gen3 sprites and tiles but is meant to be a representation of Kalos. It also features gen6 arts and music to hit home that feel like you're back in Pokemon X & Y.
• Dialogue arts! In main-story dialogue text is accompanied by arts of the characters (edited vs arts)
• A beautiful environment! From the combination of animated tiles, music, sound effects and special lighting effects, the areas all feel more detailed than what you might be used to.
• A unique story and set of characters! I'm sure all the RC entries have this, but it's still worth noting anyway.
• Multiple Save Files! While for this type of game it's not necessary since it is very linear, PSDK does offer up to 3 save files!

Screenshots:

​

Known Bugs (nothing game-breaking):

• Lighting effects can be seen when the screen transitions to black and unfortunately cover the shop menu.
• There are a few typos most likely that I haven't caught.
• The wild battle music is incorrect.

Game Download:
Game File
*After downloading it, play by choosing the "Game.exe" or "Game-noconsole.exe" (if you only want to see the game window) file like you would if it was a Pokemon Essentials game.

Resources Pack Download:
RC Resource Pack

Credits:
[PSDK]
Official PSDK Credits Page

[RPGMaker]
Enterbrain

[Audio]
Elle
Blizzard Sound Effect
All Music - Pokemon XY & Eternal Sonata
Misc sound effects - RPGMaker XP / VX / MV

[Graphics]
Elle
Carchagui
Pokemon FRLG & Emerald & XY

[Character Design & Writing]
Elle

[Special Thanks]
Nuri Yuri
Buttjuice
Rey
LucosDiCampos
Game Jam-Required Map - Otter Flooflord
All those who offered positive feedback and helpful critique on the Pokemon Workshop Discord as well as on my twitter.

 

[Ekat]

I just finished running through your demo! The aesthetics were really gorgeous and atmospheric. This intro really feels like the beginning to something so much bigger, and I'd love to see it expanded upon! Also, major kudos for warning the player that the controls are different here than in Essentials. It was a tiny detail but a very thoughtful one. But that can be said for the rest of the project as well, because there are so many wonderful little things contributing to the experience!

 

[Deleted member 1065]

I've also quickly tested the game :)
It looks good even if there's some bugs (mostly due to PSDK because the feature involved are not often used, for example the parallaxe engine that z-fights with the shop).

Since the game wasn't compiled, I've made some fix that should solve the following issue :
- When you transition into indoor maps, the weather doesn't stop right away and flickers for a second before stopping. (=> Fix got by updating to .24.50)
- When going into the options menu it crashes so leave the options as they are. (=> Removed the language from options since it was removed in the title by 3rd party script).
- Sometimes when there are "!" text bubbles in events, the game will freeze for a couple seconds while processing the animation. (=> For the event I found with this animation, I just made them using the PSDK emotion instead of the RMXP Animation.)
- Some interactable objects seem to contain errors due to me mispelling item names, so make sure to save often just in case. So far the main error comes from the sink in the player's house. (=> Error was mostly typos, I probably haven't fix all of them but most are fixed :p)

 

[Elle]

I just finished running through your demo! The aesthetics were really gorgeous and atmospheric. This intro really feels like the beginning to something so much bigger, and I'd love to see it expanded upon! Also, major kudos for warning the player that the controls are different here than in Essentials. It was a tiny detail but a very thoughtful one. But that can be said for the rest of the project as well, because there are so many wonderful little things contributing to the experience!

Thank you; I'm glad you've enjoyed it so far. That comment really made my day. :)

 

[Elle]

I've also quickly tested the game :)
It looks good even if there's some bugs (mostly due to PSDK because the feature involved are not often used, for example the parallaxe engine that z-fights with the shop).

Since the game wasn't compiled, I've made some fix that should solve the following issue :
- When you transition into indoor maps, the weather doesn't stop right away and flickers for a second before stopping. (=> Fix got by updating to .24.50)
- When going into the options menu it crashes so leave the options as they are. (=> Removed the language from options since it was removed in the title by 3rd party script).
- Sometimes when there are "!" text bubbles in events, the game will freeze for a couple seconds while processing the animation. (=> For the event I found with this animation, I just made them using the PSDK emotion instead of the RMXP Animation.)
- Some interactable objects seem to contain errors due to me mispelling item names, so make sure to save often just in case. So far the main error comes from the sink in the player's house. (=> Error was mostly typos, I probably haven't fix all of them but most are fixed :p)

You've been an excellent help and I appreciate your time very much! :3

 

[Elle]

Just a quick update for everyone; I've updated the game file download link with new all the bug fixes we can currently manage in time for the deadline. Special thanks to Nuri Yuri for helping with the bug fixes and admittedly doing the majority of the work. :)

 

[catwithnojob]

Since the game wasn't compiled, I've made some fix that should solve the following issue

I'm hoping I'm reading this wrong because I'm hoping this is common sense, but please don't "fix" someone else's game just because the files weren't encrypted. It doesn't matter if you're the creator of the engine that it runs on, it's still a serious issue.

If you were asked to help, then great! Just ignore me. But as I'm reading it, this is completely different from helping with things in a Discord channel, you downloaded someone else's project, changed it, and uploaded it yourself.

 

[Elle]

I'm hoping I'm reading this wrong because I'm hoping this is common sense, but please don't "fix" someone else's game just because the files weren't encrypted. It doesn't matter if you're the creator of the engine that it runs on, it's still a serious issue.

If you were asked to help, then great! Just ignore me. But as I'm reading it, this is completely different from helping with things in a Discord channel, you downloaded someone else's project, changed it, and uploaded it yourself.

Don't worry Cat, it's all sorted out. Nuri has been helping me and in a burst of excitement or desire to help, jumped the gun and posted that. But everything is fine, we fixed the game link, toned back the comment a bit so it doesn't overshadow the main post and yeah, all set. But I appreciate your concern, it's very understandable. :)

 

[Deleted member 1065]

I'm hoping I'm reading this wrong because I'm hoping this is common sense, but please don't "fix" someone else's game just because the files weren't encrypted. It doesn't matter if you're the creator of the engine that it runs on, it's still a serious issue.

If you were asked to help, then great! Just ignore me. But as I'm reading it, this is completely different from helping with things in a Discord channel, you downloaded someone else's project, changed it, and uploaded it yourself.

Yeah, I didn't phrase it well. I was asked for help :p

 

[catwithnojob]

Good good! Just wanted to make sure. Don't forget to submit your resources at https://eeveeexpo.com/resources/add And congrats on finishing your entry for the game jam!

 

[Radical Raptr]

Question, but upon playing your game, I wonder if I have stumbled upon lore or if I'm reading too much into this. You mention that there are both humans and a fantasy race that is not a demon. However, upon closer inspection, all humans have collars? Also, most humans tend to be working class, is this intentional that this game has classist undertones? Just wondering!

 

[Elle]

Question, but upon playing your game, I wonder if I have stumbled upon lore or if I'm reading too much into this. You mention that there are both humans and a fantasy race that is not a demon. However, upon closer inspection, all humans have collars? Also, most humans tend to be working class, is this intentional that this game has classist undertones? Just wondering!

I was wondering if someone might notice. It's not exactly a classist society but rather the collar or other optional accessory is given to humans and have the ability to disable their ability to mention the existence of this other race of peoples. It's sort of like a voluntary security measure so their life can stay hidden from the rest of the normal world. This was going to be mentioned in a side event thing and doesn't spoil the story in any way so there's no harm in me answering.

Nice attention to detail! :D

 

[Elle]

Good good! Just wanted to make sure. Don't forget to submit your resources at https://eeveeexpo.com/resources/add And congrats on finishing your entry for the game jam!

All done and thank you! :D

 

[Aki]

I played and honestly the biggest complaints I could think of can be boiled down to "The game's not finished." so if this is only a third, I hope the next two thirds do get released!
On what is here already: The lighting is beautifully moody, all the artwork is top notch and the maps are great. If you're looking for an example of an atmospheric opening to a game, this is a good one.

I wanna talk about this experience just as a contained demo though.

Spoiler

Every character, including Juliette, seems largely unconcerned/unsurprised about the amnesia. Everyone's very helpful and relaxed about their friend stumbling into town in the middle of the night with no memory of the last few hours/days. The questions about the man Juliette was with are even seen as juicy gossip by a few of the characters. Is this suppossed to be a depiction of some kind of chronic memory loss condition, that everyone is used to already?
I kind of thought that it was, but this doesn't really match up with the strong Romeo and Juliet vibes I was seeing.

 

[Elle]

I played and honestly the biggest complaints I could think of can be boiled down to "The game's not finished." so if this is only a third, I hope the next two thirds do get released!
On what is here already: The lighting is beautifully moody, all the artwork is top notch and the maps are great. If you're looking for an example of an atmospheric opening to a game, this is a good one.

I wanna talk about this experience just as a contained demo though.

Spoiler

Every character, including Juliette, seems largely unconcerned/unsurprised about the amnesia. Everyone's very helpful and relaxed about their friend stumbling into town in the middle of the night with no memory of the last few hours/days. The questions about the man Juliette was with are even seen as juicy gossip by a few of the characters. Is this suppossed to be a depiction of some kind of chronic memory loss condition, that everyone is used to already?
I kind of thought that it was, but this doesn't really match up with the strong Romeo and Juliet vibes I was seeing.

Trust me, I'm not a huge fan it had to be a demo either; not to mention I had to shorten a few main story events so I could end on a decent story checkpoint in time. When I do finish the game I'll post it in the regular fangame section so the work is clear that it was made post-jam and represents new and upgraded content beyond the game jam's guidelines. That being said, I'm glad you liked the visuals; I put a lot of work into them along with animated tiles, suitable BGM & SFX, etc.

As per the experience...

Spoiler: Spoiler

Yeah that was something I wanted to expand on while also not making every character sound like a broken record, but unfortunately I ran out of time to expand on that. Amnesia isn't a natural thing and so the events do feel a bit unnatural and I am ashamed I kept the events as they were for the demo. I will make sure to have it fixed so there is more concern while also not making it seem like the end of the world. Interesting you noticed some Romeo and Juliet vibes; no promises, but you may be on to something. ;D

 

[Lunos]

I'm slowly trying this FanGame and I wanted to drop my thoughts and report whatever bugs or glitches I come across.

Thoughts:

Spoiler

-The game runs very smoothly, unlike it has always happened to me and the games made with Essentials, which have screen tearing and frame pacing issues.
-The very beginning of the game feels well executed, with a character who's suffering a nasty headache and can't seem to remember whatever happened before their slumber. Pretty nice.
-The game also makes sure to set the proper atmosphere. I'm not just saying it because of the weather at the time, but also because of the messages detailing the environment and how harsh everything feels to the character.
-The use of shadows, light sources and other effects is absolutely gorgeous. The music is pretty nice too.
-I like how the game rewards the Player for exploring and interacting.
-It's a little bit weird to have characters that are seemingly non-human in a Pokémon game...? Though it might make sense within the storyline, so I'll just roll with it for now.
-The tips that the game gives here and there like the one you see after meeting Dr. Maple are a nice touch.
-The more conversations I read, the more I feel like this is not really a Pokémon game but some attempt at writing a fanfic or the story for a manga. I don't try to be rude here or anything, but that's what I personally think.

Bugs/Glitches/Others:

Spoiler

-You can close the message box as you get an item even though their fanfare has not finished playing yet.
-Lack of proper punctuation marks and an overuse of semicolons, but it's not really a big deal, specially when this is just a demo and there's plenty of time to polish that sort of stuff.
-When you talk to Katherine or Eve and a multichoice box shows up, pressing X should close it, not go into the Heal or Buy/Sell Menus respectively.
-The volume slider in the options menu doesn't seem to do anything. I'm at the Azuré Boutique and the music's volume is not going down.
-I suppose I shouldn't be able to walk over this table?

And at this point, I reached the end of the demo. See you again for the final release ^^

EDIT: Thinking about the dialogues again, I have to agree with @Aki here. The characters all seem to know Juliette, it's a little bit weird that no one is surprised in the slightest by her having amnesia. Although as I said this IS a demo, so that stuff can still be polished, so it's not that big of a deal for now.

 

[bravestbat]

Loved this game, and can't wait for its completion. Easily one of the best fangames I've played, despite its length. And I'm happy to try out a PSDK game - runs better and cross-platform. If I could go back in time and remake my game in PSDK, I probably would.

 

[Elle]

I'm slowly trying this FanGame and I wanted to drop my thoughts and report whatever bugs or glitches I come across.

Thoughts:

Spoiler

-The game runs very smoothly, unlike it has always happened to me and the games made with Essentials, which have screen tearing and frame pacing issues.
-The very beginning of the game feels well executed, with a character who's suffering a nasty headache and can't seem to remember whatever happened before their slumber. Pretty nice.
-The game also makes sure to set the proper atmosphere. I'm not just saying it because of the weather at the time, but also because of the messages detailing the environment and how harsh everything feels to the character.
-The use of shadows, light sources and other effects is absolutely gorgeous. The music is pretty nice too.
-I like how the game rewards the Player for exploring and interacting.
-It's a little bit weird to have characters that are seemingly non-human in a Pokémon game...? Though it might make sense within the storyline, so I'll just roll with it for now.
-The tips that the game gives here and there like the one you see after meeting Dr. Maple are a nice touch.
-The more conversations I read, the more I feel like this is not really a Pokémon game but some attempt at writing a fanfic or the story for a manga. I don't try to be rude here or anything, but that's what I personally think.

Bugs/Glitches/Others:

Spoiler

-You can close the message box as you get an item even though their fanfare has not finished playing yet.
-Lack of proper punctuation marks and an overuse of semicolons, but it's not really a big deal, specially when this is just a demo and there's plenty of time to polish that sort of stuff.
-When you talk to Katherine or Eve and a multichoice box shows up, pressing X should close it, not go into the Heal or Buy/Sell Menus respectively.
-The volume slider in the options menu doesn't seem to do anything. I'm at the Azuré Boutique and the music's volume is not going down.
-I suppose I shouldn't be able to walk over this table?

And at this point, I reached the end of the demo. See you again for the final release ^^

EDIT: Thinking about the dialogues again, I have to agree with @Aki here. The characters all seem to know Juliette, it's a little bit weird that no one is surprised in the slightest by her having amnesia. Although as I said this IS a demo, so that stuff can still be polished, so it's not that big of a deal for now.

Thank you for your comment; sorry for the late reply. I appreciate the feedback and it's helping me to make the next version better. And yeah, I do use semicolons a lot, though I'm not sure why. I'm glad you liked it and hope you look forward to the next version! :)

 

[Elle]

Loved this game, and can't wait for its completion. Easily one of the best fangames I've played, despite its length. And I'm happy to try out a PSDK game - runs better and cross-platform. If I could go back in time and remake my game in PSDK, I probably would.

That means a lot to me, thank you; one of the best compliments I've seen! :D

 

[emzee]

I didn't realize how short it was until I finished! It's a very lovely demo!

Just a small nitpick that I couldn't run or there isn't a speedup option. But I think the music and the scenery more than make up for it. It gave me a lot of nostalgia for the X/Y games. If that's only 1/3 done, I can't wait to see the rest of the 2/3 parts! Great job!

Also I love

Spoiler

Delphox

. Love that.