Hi there! I am creating a collection of fully blind accessible games, and your game is listed under the "blind support tag". The word "blind" means different things to different people, and within that wide spectrum their are various levels of expertise with visual UI's. but as a fully blind gamer, I am wondering what features this game provides for those who can not see the screen at all. Do you have "screen reader" or "text to speech" support? Is your game fully playable with a keyboard or controller, rather than having to point the mouse at buttons on the interface? If the answer to those questions is no, it would still be great to know what options are provided for those with less severe visual impairments, so that I might make them aware of your game's usability for them. Thank you for any information you can provide, it's very much appreciated! :)
I am still playing through it, so not ready to review it just yet, but I am really enjoying the pacing so far! Question: Is there any way to access that little relationship progress matrix that pops up at the end of a game day? It disappears far too quickly for me to make any sense of it!
Also, PSA for Mac users: Ren’Py games don’t seem to let you save if you launch from the Itch app. If you launch directly from the Itch folder instead, you should be fine!
I think if you don't click anything it won't go away right away, but after you complete 1 full play through you can access the "cheat menu" by clicking the tiny sun in the upper right corner of the main menu and enabling cheats. This will put a screen on throughout the entire game that will let you see how your choices effect everything.
Having that stat screen available whenever the player wants is a good suggestion I've tried to incorporate into my future games! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far! <3
Quick question before I make any decision about whether to download/play: Is this game aro/ace friendly? I really like the concept of visual novels, but I can almost never play them because they all require you to be romantic and/or sexual with other characters and it just makes me really uncomfortable. Can I get through this whole game with only platonic relationships?
No, I'm sorry but a romance option is required in this one. You can play Pinewood Island without romancing anyone and befriending Susan instead but I think there are still date-type events with the guys before that.
still playing through routes so ill have a fuller opinion/review when im done but here are my thoughts after playing through at least one ending with each character! (trying to be vague/spoiler free but heed caution)
for reference the endings ive unlocked so far: Crazy Ex-Boyfriend, Bloody Hands, Gone, Shattered Ties (YALL CRUSHED ME WITH THIS ONE OMG), Not Even a Goodbye, It's All Over, Sandmen, Exiled and Free
a lot of these werent 'good' endings lol but i still enjoyed them nonetheless, looking forward to finding happier ones
really interesting setting and characters! i really enjoy learning more about all of them, and there's really cute moments for each. even the ones you disagree with are still easy to empathize with (except the mayor lol)
the games writing does excel at both casual, funny moments, and more impactful hard hitting ones
unfortunately the mc has pretty selective agency in the story, there's a lot of moments where they simply brush aside something that feels like it could be a major choice. like "oh i dont wanna bring this up" and im sitting here shaking them like YES YOU DO JUST TALK ABOUT IT OMG
i was a bit annoyed they were immediately suspicious of the mayor and you only get to influence your opinion of him AFTER he actually starts doing shady stuff. i wanted to give him a chance but by the time im actually suspicious of him the mc seems to have chilled out over him like?? NO YOU ACTUALLY SHOULD BE SUS NOW
so far the most frustrating element of the game is the all or nothing approach to the coup. like u either have to be 100% on board with supporting the mayor' decisions or 100% willing to partipate in a violent takeover. i think replaying the game after knowing this is the ultimatum makes things a bit easier but on a first or second playthru its not super clear.
i also wish you could play a more active role in showing your support for either side BEFORE the big showdown at the end. like during the protest scene i really wished there was an option to join in. definitely got my heart broken being on the opposite side of things as my lover rip. (very effectively written 'bad' ends!)
I've really enjoyed this game! Any chance for people who own the Itchio version to get access to Steam as well? I try to have all my games on there to make it easier for my friends to discover great titles like this. I also can't seem to leave a review on there unless it's part of my library. Either way, great game! <3
I won't be adding steam keys to this title, but I am looking into doing it for future releases :D and thank you for the kind words I'm so glad you enjoyed it XD I will take a look at videogamegeek, thank u for the heads up
Ok I really like this game and also I need something to list what all the parody book titles are parodies of, because they are really funny when I do get the joke.
Most of the in-game books are references to fellow VN dev's games that were in production or recently released when we were making AWKI. Unfortunately my original list has disappeared, but I can show the in-game list and you can try to figure out the ones I don't remember anymore.
In addition a few titles were submitted by backers, while "Sexy Man Man #5" is Jaime's own creation ;)
I was so pleasantly surprised and flattered when I came across "No Alternative Remedy" on one of my playthroughs!
Out of the ones you don't remember, I'm guessing "Sparrow Drue: Clover Counsel" was Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, and both "When They Laugh" and "When Waterfowl Cry" sound like they could be references to Umineko.
Phoenix Wright! Of course! You're probably right about Umineko, I just don't understand why I didn't reference the naming scheme they use. I was very happy some devs recognized their game, it was a lot of fun to make a whole list, and I tried to reference as many lemmasoft ppl I could find.
Getting some problem where the game goes non-responsive as soon as it launches. Got the PC/Linux version, unzipped, unzipped the pc version, launched the application file, and got an empty white window that goes gets a stop's responding flag if i click on it. any advice?
i deleted it and re-unzipped it, unzipped the pc version and the linux version in case maybe something important was there, deleted it and redownloaded it and unzipped x2 that and still having the same issue.
I hope you can get that fixed! I'm not sure what would cause ren'py games specifically to do that, my best guess would be make sure to update your drivers. I had an issue with programs refusing to open (ren'py included) and I had to buy a new hard drive because my old one was corrupting things apparently. I'm sending good tech vibes your way!
thanks for the good vibes! turns out my computer was just having a Rough One and felt better after i restarted it. really enjoying the game, tabby is so cute!!
i was HOOKED the entire time i played this. i'm not one to play through a game multiple times to get different endings, so i'm quite happy with just the 2 endings i got of Jude. i promise you, i kept thinking about how much i just wanted to get back to playing this game every time i needed to get some work done instead lol.
this is written like a novel, and all the dialogue flows well. i think the only negative i have for this vn is more character personalisation? every time i play a different route, i make my character look contrastingly different from the other routes so i can remember the choices easier, but i couldn't do much in this game except make my names entirely phonetically different from each other.
other than that, i love, love, love this game. all its characters are done so well and they all have a depth to them i rarely see in other visual novels. well done! i will definitely be checking out any future games made by the dev ^ ~ ^
This was a great visual novel! I loved all the character depth and backstory you get to learn as you do different playthroughs. And because of the way you go through each day, I was able to get a real sense of time passing, so relationship and story progression felt realistic, never rushed. I could feel the romances and friendships developing. I also enjoyed seeing how differently each character reacted to the storyline, it changed the experience. The endings are not exactly HEAs and are very open-ended, so do be ready for that. There's also lots of diversity among characters (POC, LGBT+, body types). Overall, I really enjoyed this story and getting to know the characters!
My favorite romance was Jude, and my favorite friendship was Trevor. Both were kinda prickly on the outside but soft on the inside <3
Note: This game is fully accessible to blind and visually impaired players! (Pointing this out because games are sometimes listed as such but then are not actually accessible.) Just press V once the game window has opened. Text will be read aloud, including menus and stats (which are based on a 50-point system), and you can play and navigate using the keyboard.
I like this games characters and more challenging subject matter. It handles a heavy topic well and balances it with everyday life and comedy. A lot of the personal background details of the side characters, LIs, and the MC are creative and really well done. The art is very nice and the music a little repetitive but overall well chosen. I got it on sale, as I think it is priced too high (no cutscenes, no extra art with LIs, able to reuse backgrounds and music... no idea why it is 15$).
I do wish it had art for cute scenes it describes (holding hands, movies, heart to heart convos, etc)...but never shows anything but sprites and a background.
Types of romance by character:
Micah: sweet and calm
Jude: sweet, funny, dealing with heavy thoughts
Eva: bubbly, cute/clumsy, sweet
Gloria: (comes in pretty late and she seems like a psycho) aggressive but nice?
I played through all the routes at least once so I could leave an honest review of the romance because it seemed lacking in Micah and Jude's routes. And having romanceable characters is kinda a big part of the game. Overall, the romance was just ok. The transition from friends who flirt awkwardly to ... what partners I guess? happens weirdly. I think it could be way smoother if the characters just had a conversation earlier on. Instead of the part where the MC tells herself she's super into someone, just talk about the relationship with the person you're pursuing. "Hey can we talk" "I really like you" and then players can have more agency with how fast they want romantic things to move maybe. (Although the amount of "romantic" things that happen after you I guess "get together" with the person is super small oddly enough). I don't recall asking or being asked out by any of them. Just more than friendly touching, blushing, then later "hanging out" that turns into ya know more than that pretty suddenly, and then you're just together after that and the story is over pretty soon after that. Interactions with LIs seem pretty short too. I feel like I connected more with Sam and Tabitha than some of the LIs.
"more than friendly touching" meaning like who touches someone's cheek because they seem distressed? or who puts their forehead against someone elses while they have their hands on the back of their neck if they aren't together yet??
The single moment you sleep with one of the guys is so fast I laughed both times. Like: blushing, "you wanna stay the night"?, "you kiss", "you get on the bed together"....and you wake up the next morning...?? Oh and they are not in bed with you when you wake up and then they leave. That is the first and last time there is a direct (kinda) explanation of getting intimate with the guys. I totally missed if there was a "sleep together moment" with Eva? And Gloria's "moment" was even faster than the guys with like two sentences and then you go home.
There is a warning for "mild sexual content" but I didn't really see any? Like "He put his hand under my shirt", "she pushed me back against the wall and we laughed" and "we got to 'know each other'" is all I have seen. You could honestly take out the like 5 lines of dialogue that are vaguely referencing the "sexual content" and one thing Sam says and it would be PG13.
It is marketed as having romance but seems really light on that front which is why I am critiquing it so much I guess. I did like a lot of it except the follow through with anything romantic that was more than having a teenage-like crush on them.
Thanks for the feedback! These are things I'm aware of and am working towards doing better in my next game ^^ I'm glad you enjoyed the parts that you did. I also wish we could have gotten CGs funded for AWKI, but they are definitely a thing in In Blood.
I absolutely loved this! My fave romancable character has the same name as I do (Eva!), which I didn't know going in- good thing I didn't name my character Eva, too, lol. This game was SO fun, and I really hope to see more games like this from Jaime Scribbles in the future :)
Like a bunch of people I got this through the Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality and I found it a couple days ago scrolling through the list. I love it so far and when I'm done with it I can't wait to check out more from you!
Hi don't know if you'll see this but I was playing the game just now and I had gotten to week 2 day 1 and when I try to go to the next line it comes up with this error:
I'm sorry, but an uncaught exception occurred.
While running game code: ScriptError: could not find label '_first_day'.
-- Full Traceback ------------------------------------------------------------
Full traceback: File "script.rpyc", line 72, in script call File "time_manager.rpyc", line 89, in script call File "time_manager.rpyc", line 255, in script call File "C:\Users\Zoe\Videos\Games\As_We_Know_It-1.021-pc\As_We_Know_It-1.021-pc\renpy\ast.py", line 1422, in execute rv = renpy.game.context().call(label, return_site=self.next.name) File "script.rpyc", line 72, in script call File "time_manager.rpyc", line 89, in script call File "time_manager.rpyc", line 255, in script call File "C:\Users\Zoe\Videos\Games\As_We_Know_It-1.021-pc\As_We_Know_It-1.021-pc\renpy\script.py", line 886, in lookup raise ScriptError("could not find label '%s'." % str(original)) ScriptError: could not find label '_first_day'.
Windows-8-6.2.9200 Ren'Py 7.2.2.491 As We Know It 1.021 Fri Aug 21 03:43:43 2020
I was wondering if you could help me out with this cause I have no idea what this means other than somethings missing.
You might want to try redownloading and unzipping the game, it's missing code that should definitely be there. I can't imagine why it would be missing unless an rpy or py or rpyc file somehow got deleted. It is trying to call the first work event. It could also have happened if a career was not assigned somehow, did you skip past the career selection? It might not have stopped on that screen in the same way the other choices would stop.
It works now! I had chosen agriculture and then I rolled back to look at the other choices so it must have forgotten the choice I made so when it got to the work event it just wasn't there. But it works now. Thank you, I'm liking the game so far!
There's actually a couple of choices early on where I noticed rolling back with the scroll wheel and then rolling forward causes an error. There's also an early on free time thing that does it. Luckily I realized that there was a blank where the career should be before it caused an actual error.
This game had such a fascinating story! Let me preface this with: thank you so much for making this game part of the Racial Equality bundle (and for sharing it with such a wide audience). After going through several routes (thank you also for the guide - i would've never gotten some of them on my own), I can tell this world was carefully built with consideration for those from all walks of life.
I also appreciated how details about the world were nudged out, bit by bit, from various friendships - and how you learned just enough from one person to understand how another's life would be impacted (and vice-versa).
That said, I do have to echo other sentiments re: "the big choice" being way less obvious. On my first run, I had no idea it would lead to the love interest being on the opposite side (and how it automatically locked me into bad ends). It was clear in hindsight, with multiple playthroughs, but definitely threw me for a loop my first time around.
* also, i don't know how feasible this would be for a future game, but when you're given such an impactful choice - the ability to change either the player's or the LI's POV would be so neat! I was half-expecting a discussion about all the shades of grey involved. Maybe I've yet to unlock those endings? But to be clearer: the ending hinging on one choice was only shocking because i believe it comes way sooner than who you romance - and depending on who you pick, the bad ends were much easier to obtain in my gaming experience.
Overall, this game was an unexpected delight, and the world felt so rich, inclusive, and diverse without once feeling preachy or heavy-handed in those themes (I'm especially thinking of the non-romanceable NPCs; I would regularly re-play Trevor's and Sam's 'routes' because they were both such compelling characters, and I really wish we'd gotten the chance to befriend Iris in the same way! Homegirl deserves some love, and not just forever pining after Vince!!). Your team has a great voice re: writing narratives, and I look forward to future games. Any critique offered here is to hopefully help re: future installments, and to explain what I personally would've loved to see!
Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed the game :D
We've taken a lot of the feedback on this game an applied it to In Blood (current game in development) and the endings and choices are a big one. It always helps to get feed back :)
Oh, I absolutely loved the game! Your team worked so hard on it and that love and passion shone through with each playthrough - it was delightful! Seriously, I was laughing and crying with all the various bits of characterization, and your choice of friends was *superb*. I cannot commend you enough for those routes and on letting us choose which one we wanted to befriend. I even wanted to befriend Iris - you made her that sweet and inviting.
I was a little late to your Kickstarter, but I look forward to seeing In Blood when it comes out, and wish you all the best of luck!! I think you've got a tremendous amount of talent, and time will only refine and hone that skill (:
I love this game so much! Admittedly I haven't finished it yet, but so far it's my favorite visual novel-type game I've ever played. I really like getting to develop friendships with all the different characters instead of just the one you decide to romance. Thank you so much for making this part of the Racial Equality Bundle!
I'm sorry you struggled with the endings, that and the repetitive parts is common feedback I've gotten so I've definitely taken it to heart to make my future games better.
For the ending, I'm not sure why you can't get it. If you want help though I'd be happy to take a look just let me know. :)
I really liked the game, and did 2 playthroughs already the last few days but had a bit of an issue with the 3rd today.
I had to leave suddenly so I pressed quick save and quit the app, but now I can't seem to start this save file anymore? Maybe I did something wrong though, I'm known to make mistakes quite a lot with quick save and quick load :-)
You should be able to find the quick save under 'Load" on the "Q" page, let me know if it isn't there! If it isn't check under "A" because it will autosave on choices and if you exit the game. (I included and image to help, it can be easy to miss)
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Hi there!
I am creating a collection of fully blind accessible games, and your game is listed under the "blind support tag". The word "blind" means different things to different people, and within that wide spectrum their are various levels of expertise with visual UI's. but as a fully blind gamer, I am wondering what features this game provides for those who can not see the screen at all. Do you have "screen reader" or "text to speech" support? Is your game fully playable with a keyboard or controller, rather than having to point the mouse at buttons on the interface? If the answer to those questions is no, it would still be great to know what options are provided for those with less severe visual impairments, so that I might make them aware of your game's usability for them. Thank you for any information you can provide, it's very much appreciated! :)
Just started Micah's route and he's quizzing me. Glad to see you got the ABC's down XD
Has anyone tested to see what happens if you max out your stress?
I am still playing through it, so not ready to review it just yet, but I am really enjoying the pacing so far! Question: Is there any way to access that little relationship progress matrix that pops up at the end of a game day? It disappears far too quickly for me to make any sense of it!
Also, PSA for Mac users: Ren’Py games don’t seem to let you save if you launch from the Itch app. If you launch directly from the Itch folder instead, you should be fine!
I think if you don't click anything it won't go away right away, but after you complete 1 full play through you can access the "cheat menu" by clicking the tiny sun in the upper right corner of the main menu and enabling cheats. This will put a screen on throughout the entire game that will let you see how your choices effect everything.
Having that stat screen available whenever the player wants is a good suggestion I've tried to incorporate into my future games! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far! <3
Quick question before I make any decision about whether to download/play: Is this game aro/ace friendly? I really like the concept of visual novels, but I can almost never play them because they all require you to be romantic and/or sexual with other characters and it just makes me really uncomfortable. Can I get through this whole game with only platonic relationships?
No, I'm sorry but a romance option is required in this one. You can play Pinewood Island without romancing anyone and befriending Susan instead but I think there are still date-type events with the guys before that.
still playing through routes so ill have a fuller opinion/review when im done but here are my thoughts after playing through at least one ending with each character! (trying to be vague/spoiler free but heed caution)
for reference the endings ive unlocked so far: Crazy Ex-Boyfriend, Bloody Hands, Gone, Shattered Ties (YALL CRUSHED ME WITH THIS ONE OMG), Not Even a Goodbye, It's All Over, Sandmen, Exiled and Free
a lot of these werent 'good' endings lol but i still enjoyed them nonetheless, looking forward to finding happier ones
really interesting setting and characters! i really enjoy learning more about all of them, and there's really cute moments for each. even the ones you disagree with are still easy to empathize with (except the mayor lol)
the games writing does excel at both casual, funny moments, and more impactful hard hitting ones
unfortunately the mc has pretty selective agency in the story, there's a lot of moments where they simply brush aside something that feels like it could be a major choice. like "oh i dont wanna bring this up" and im sitting here shaking them like YES YOU DO JUST TALK ABOUT IT OMG
i was a bit annoyed they were immediately suspicious of the mayor and you only get to influence your opinion of him AFTER he actually starts doing shady stuff. i wanted to give him a chance but by the time im actually suspicious of him the mc seems to have chilled out over him like?? NO YOU ACTUALLY SHOULD BE SUS NOW
so far the most frustrating element of the game is the all or nothing approach to the coup. like u either have to be 100% on board with supporting the mayor' decisions or 100% willing to partipate in a violent takeover. i think replaying the game after knowing this is the ultimatum makes things a bit easier but on a first or second playthru its not super clear.
i also wish you could play a more active role in showing your support for either side BEFORE the big showdown at the end. like during the protest scene i really wished there was an option to join in. definitely got my heart broken being on the opposite side of things as my lover rip. (very effectively written 'bad' ends!)
I've really enjoyed this game! Any chance for people who own the Itchio version to get access to Steam as well? I try to have all my games on there to make it easier for my friends to discover great titles like this. I also can't seem to leave a review on there unless it's part of my library. Either way, great game! <3
Oh and can I also recommend adding it to videogamegeek.com?
I won't be adding steam keys to this title, but I am looking into doing it for future releases :D and thank you for the kind words I'm so glad you enjoyed it XD I will take a look at videogamegeek, thank u for the heads up
Thanks for the quick reply! Figured it was worth asking, as it'd help get the word out about this wonderful game.
Ok I really like this game and also I need something to list what all the parody book titles are parodies of, because they are really funny when I do get the joke.
Thank you for the kind words :)
Most of the in-game books are references to fellow VN dev's games that were in production or recently released when we were making AWKI.
Unfortunately my original list has disappeared, but I can show the in-game list and you can try to figure out the ones I don't remember anymore. In addition a few titles were submitted by backers, while "Sexy Man Man #5" is Jaime's own creation ;)
Horror:
Zombie Holmes and the Giant Crabs (not a VN reference)
Pinewood Island
Lets Feast Steve - Let's Meat Adam
Magnitude Death - possibly Quantum Suicide
Doki Doki School Club Series - DDLC
The Note - The Letter
Pursuer and Maniac - Stalker & Yandere
Censored Life - Redacted Life
Spirit Terminal - Yurei Station
Which one is the real Mich? - Might be Who is Mike?
Recognize Recall - ?
Prof. Wurst’s Construct-A-Companion - Dr. Frank's Build-a-Boyfriend
9 Moments, 9 Lives, 9 Archways - 999
Faith’s Terminal Award - Virtue's Last Reward
Consort or Croak - Date or Die
Awareness of the Lifeless - ?
When they Laugh - ?
Comedy:
XOXO: Tales of jerks in love - XOXO: Droplets
Owlful Partner - Hatoful Boyfriend
Lady’s Woman in a Tight Spot - Ladykiller in a Bind
Fantasy Father - Dream Daddy
Revelatr - Celestial Convoy - ?
Within the Basket - ?
Convenience Store Tale - Konbini Life
The Cutoff - ?
High Jinx Adept - could possibly be Prank Masters
Hoof & Tail: My horse is a Hominid! - Paws & Effect: My Dogs are Human!
My Mystic Annulment Office - My Magical Divorce Bureau!!
Pitching for the Win - Coming Out on Top
Sparrow Drue: Clover Counsel - ?
Fantasy:
The Rise of the Hawks (Not a VN reference)
The Final Rhino (Not a VN reference - The Last Unicorn)
Carbons - Cinders
Trunks: the Troll dating experience - Tusks: The Orc Dating Sim
The Enchantress in the Woods - The Witch in the Forest
Hotfoot Feline - Hustle Cat
An Elfishly Unique Fortnight - An old, unfinished VN I made
Stadium Bazaar - Arena Circus
The Seven Streets of Shortcomings - ?
Selfish Addiction - Ego Holic
A Worgen Advantage, Apparently - A Werewolf Opportunity, Obviously
WonderlandMafia - OZMAFIA
Reverbs of the Unholy - is this.. Echoes of the Fey
Aged - ?
Specter Procession - Spirit Parade
Demonconstruct - ?
The Core of Fables - The Heart of Tales
Romance:
Sexy Man Man #5 (Not a VN reference)
Checkers of Daggers - Chess of Blades
Moth Chowder - Butterfly Soup
A Palm in the Twilight - A Hand in the Darkness
Entice Me the Romance - Seduce Me the Otome
Longing: Ur Queer Story - Yearning: a Gay Story
Twosomes - Pairs
So Many Untruths - ?
Lovemade - ?
Where We Set Our Sight - Where We Lay Our Scene
Date Almost Everything - Date (Almost) Anything?
Affectionate Charlatan - Sentimental Trickster
Generic Cherry Blossoms - ?
Abnormal Physics - ?
Flatmates - Roommates
Drama:
No Alternative Remedy - No Other Medicine
Phantoms of Florida - Ghosts of Miami
Onwards the Perimeter - Along the Edge
Delusion Liberator Daigaku - Dream Savior Gakuen
How We Have Changed - Who We Are Now
Father's Fibs - Daddy Lies (now The Secrets We Keep)
When Waterfowl Cry - ?
Felony Opus: The Ripple Effect - ?
Some of the parody titles are... less bad than others.
(Posting with the right account this time)
I was so pleasantly surprised and flattered when I came across "No Alternative Remedy" on one of my playthroughs!
Out of the ones you don't remember, I'm guessing "Sparrow Drue: Clover Counsel" was Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, and both "When They Laugh" and "When Waterfowl Cry" sound like they could be references to Umineko.
We were hoping devs would notice! :D <3
Phoenix Wright! Of course! You're probably right about Umineko, I just don't understand why I didn't reference the naming scheme they use.
I was very happy some devs recognized their game, it was a lot of fun to make a whole list, and I tried to reference as many lemmasoft ppl I could find.
Woah thank you! I love these! And now I have a new list of vns to look through
PM was so happy someone took notice of the books! :D we're glad you enjoyed that part
Getting some problem where the game goes non-responsive as soon as it launches. Got the PC/Linux version, unzipped, unzipped the pc version, launched the application file, and got an empty white window that goes gets a stop's responding flag if i click on it. any advice?
i deleted it and re-unzipped it, unzipped the pc version and the linux version in case maybe something important was there, deleted it and redownloaded it and unzipped x2 that and still having the same issue.
wait hang on this is happening to all my renpy games. the problem was me all along. sorry to bother you.
I hope you can get that fixed! I'm not sure what would cause ren'py games specifically to do that, my best guess would be make sure to update your drivers. I had an issue with programs refusing to open (ren'py included) and I had to buy a new hard drive because my old one was corrupting things apparently. I'm sending good tech vibes your way!
thanks for the good vibes! turns out my computer was just having a Rough One and felt better after i restarted it. really enjoying the game, tabby is so cute!!
I'm glad it worked out :D
i was HOOKED the entire time i played this. i'm not one to play through a game multiple times to get different endings, so i'm quite happy with just the 2 endings i got of Jude. i promise you, i kept thinking about how much i just wanted to get back to playing this game every time i needed to get some work done instead lol.
this is written like a novel, and all the dialogue flows well. i think the only negative i have for this vn is more character personalisation? every time i play a different route, i make my character look contrastingly different from the other routes so i can remember the choices easier, but i couldn't do much in this game except make my names entirely phonetically different from each other.
other than that, i love, love, love this game. all its characters are done so well and they all have a depth to them i rarely see in other visual novels. well done! i will definitely be checking out any future games made by the dev ^ ~ ^
Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked the writing :D I hope you like future games as well
This was a great visual novel! I loved all the character depth and backstory you get to learn as you do different playthroughs. And because of the way you go through each day, I was able to get a real sense of time passing, so relationship and story progression felt realistic, never rushed. I could feel the romances and friendships developing. I also enjoyed seeing how differently each character reacted to the storyline, it changed the experience. The endings are not exactly HEAs and are very open-ended, so do be ready for that. There's also lots of diversity among characters (POC, LGBT+, body types). Overall, I really enjoyed this story and getting to know the characters!
My favorite romance was Jude, and my favorite friendship was Trevor. Both were kinda prickly on the outside but soft on the inside <3
Note: This game is fully accessible to blind and visually impaired players! (Pointing this out because games are sometimes listed as such but then are not actually accessible.) Just press V once the game window has opened. Text will be read aloud, including menus and stats (which are based on a 50-point system), and you can play and navigate using the keyboard.
We're so glad you liked it!! Thanks for playing it :D
(Vague spoilers ahead)
I like this games characters and more challenging subject matter. It handles a heavy topic well and balances it with everyday life and comedy. A lot of the personal background details of the side characters, LIs, and the MC are creative and really well done. The art is very nice and the music a little repetitive but overall well chosen. I got it on sale, as I think it is priced too high (no cutscenes, no extra art with LIs, able to reuse backgrounds and music... no idea why it is 15$).
I do wish it had art for cute scenes it describes (holding hands, movies, heart to heart convos, etc)...but never shows anything but sprites and a background.
Types of romance by character:
Micah: sweet and calm
Jude: sweet, funny, dealing with heavy thoughts
Eva: bubbly, cute/clumsy, sweet
Gloria: (comes in pretty late and she seems like a psycho) aggressive but nice?
I played through all the routes at least once so I could leave an honest review of the romance because it seemed lacking in Micah and Jude's routes. And having romanceable characters is kinda a big part of the game. Overall, the romance was just ok. The transition from friends who flirt awkwardly to ... what partners I guess? happens weirdly. I think it could be way smoother if the characters just had a conversation earlier on. Instead of the part where the MC tells herself she's super into someone, just talk about the relationship with the person you're pursuing. "Hey can we talk" "I really like you" and then players can have more agency with how fast they want romantic things to move maybe. (Although the amount of "romantic" things that happen after you I guess "get together" with the person is super small oddly enough). I don't recall asking or being asked out by any of them. Just more than friendly touching, blushing, then later "hanging out" that turns into ya know more than that pretty suddenly, and then you're just together after that and the story is over pretty soon after that. Interactions with LIs seem pretty short too. I feel like I connected more with Sam and Tabitha than some of the LIs.
"more than friendly touching" meaning like who touches someone's cheek because they seem distressed? or who puts their forehead against someone elses while they have their hands on the back of their neck if they aren't together yet??
The single moment you sleep with one of the guys is so fast I laughed both times. Like: blushing, "you wanna stay the night"?, "you kiss", "you get on the bed together"....and you wake up the next morning...?? Oh and they are not in bed with you when you wake up and then they leave. That is the first and last time there is a direct (kinda) explanation of getting intimate with the guys. I totally missed if there was a "sleep together moment" with Eva? And Gloria's "moment" was even faster than the guys with like two sentences and then you go home.
There is a warning for "mild sexual content" but I didn't really see any? Like "He put his hand under my shirt", "she pushed me back against the wall and we laughed" and "we got to 'know each other'" is all I have seen. You could honestly take out the like 5 lines of dialogue that are vaguely referencing the "sexual content" and one thing Sam says and it would be PG13.
It is marketed as having romance but seems really light on that front which is why I am critiquing it so much I guess. I did like a lot of it except the follow through with anything romantic that was more than having a teenage-like crush on them.
Thanks for the feedback! These are things I'm aware of and am working towards doing better in my next game ^^ I'm glad you enjoyed the parts that you did. I also wish we could have gotten CGs funded for AWKI, but they are definitely a thing in In Blood.
I just finished it! I see you made huge improvements in comparison to demo version and I mean more than just the artstyle.
The plot was great. I chose Eva as the romance route and I got The New Beggenings End.
Great game, I really enjoyed it.
I'm so glad you liked it!
I absolutely loved this! My fave romancable character has the same name as I do (Eva!), which I didn't know going in- good thing I didn't name my character Eva, too, lol. This game was SO fun, and I really hope to see more games like this from Jaime Scribbles in the future :)
Thank you! That would have been pretty funny to stumble on mid-game lol
Like a bunch of people I got this through the Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality and I found it a couple days ago scrolling through the list. I love it so far and when I'm done with it I can't wait to check out more from you!
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it!! :D
Hi don't know if you'll see this but I was playing the game just now and I had gotten to week 2 day 1 and when I try to go to the next line it comes up with this error:
I was wondering if you could help me out with this cause I have no idea what this means other than somethings missing.
Thanks! :)
You might want to try redownloading and unzipping the game, it's missing code that should definitely be there. I can't imagine why it would be missing unless an rpy or py or rpyc file somehow got deleted. It is trying to call the first work event. It could also have happened if a career was not assigned somehow, did you skip past the career selection? It might not have stopped on that screen in the same way the other choices would stop.
Let me know if one of those things helps out!
It works now! I had chosen agriculture and then I rolled back to look at the other choices so it must have forgotten the choice I made so when it got to the work event it just wasn't there. But it works now. Thank you, I'm liking the game so far!
Thank you, and I’m glad you got it to work!
There's actually a couple of choices early on where I noticed rolling back with the scroll wheel and then rolling forward causes an error. There's also an early on free time thing that does it. Luckily I realized that there was a blank where the career should be before it caused an actual error.
Thanks for letting me know!
This game had such a fascinating story! Let me preface this with: thank you so much for making this game part of the Racial Equality bundle (and for sharing it with such a wide audience). After going through several routes (thank you also for the guide - i would've never gotten some of them on my own), I can tell this world was carefully built with consideration for those from all walks of life.
I also appreciated how details about the world were nudged out, bit by bit, from various friendships - and how you learned just enough from one person to understand how another's life would be impacted (and vice-versa).
That said, I do have to echo other sentiments re: "the big choice" being way less obvious. On my first run, I had no idea it would lead to the love interest being on the opposite side (and how it automatically locked me into bad ends). It was clear in hindsight, with multiple playthroughs, but definitely threw me for a loop my first time around.
* also, i don't know how feasible this would be for a future game, but when you're given such an impactful choice - the ability to change either the player's or the LI's POV would be so neat! I was half-expecting a discussion about all the shades of grey involved. Maybe I've yet to unlock those endings? But to be clearer: the ending hinging on one choice was only shocking because i believe it comes way sooner than who you romance - and depending on who you pick, the bad ends were much easier to obtain in my gaming experience.
Overall, this game was an unexpected delight, and the world felt so rich, inclusive, and diverse without once feeling preachy or heavy-handed in those themes (I'm especially thinking of the non-romanceable NPCs; I would regularly re-play Trevor's and Sam's 'routes' because they were both such compelling characters, and I really wish we'd gotten the chance to befriend Iris in the same way! Homegirl deserves some love, and not just forever pining after Vince!!). Your team has a great voice re: writing narratives, and I look forward to future games. Any critique offered here is to hopefully help re: future installments, and to explain what I personally would've loved to see!
Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed the game :D
We've taken a lot of the feedback on this game an applied it to In Blood (current game in development) and the endings and choices are a big one. It always helps to get feed back :)
Oh, I absolutely loved the game! Your team worked so hard on it and that love and passion shone through with each playthrough - it was delightful! Seriously, I was laughing and crying with all the various bits of characterization, and your choice of friends was *superb*. I cannot commend you enough for those routes and on letting us choose which one we wanted to befriend. I even wanted to befriend Iris - you made her that sweet and inviting.
I was a little late to your Kickstarter, but I look forward to seeing In Blood when it comes out, and wish you all the best of luck!! I think you've got a tremendous amount of talent, and time will only refine and hone that skill (:
Thank you for all the kind words!! :D
I love this game so much! Admittedly I haven't finished it yet, but so far it's my favorite visual novel-type game I've ever played. I really like getting to develop friendships with all the different characters instead of just the one you decide to romance. Thank you so much for making this part of the Racial Equality Bundle!
Thank you so much! I'm glad I was able to add the game to the bundle and I'm really happy that you enjoyed it!
I'm sorry you struggled with the endings, that and the repetitive parts is common feedback I've gotten so I've definitely taken it to heart to make my future games better.
For the ending, I'm not sure why you can't get it. If you want help though I'd be happy to take a look just let me know. :)
I really liked the game, and did 2 playthroughs already the last few days but had a bit of an issue with the 3rd today.
I had to leave suddenly so I pressed quick save and quit the app, but now I can't seem to start this save file anymore? Maybe I did something wrong though, I'm known to make mistakes quite a lot with quick save and quick load :-)
You should be able to find the quick save under 'Load" on the "Q" page, let me know if it isn't there! If it isn't check under "A" because it will autosave on choices and if you exit the game. (I included and image to help, it can be easy to miss)
Thanks, I found it!
Yay! I’m glad
I got the there for you ending, I was really sad about sam but loved all the different characters, thanks for making this great game! <3
Thank you! I worked really hard on the characters so I love hearing people appreciate them :D