MZ Happenstance V1.0

[Rienyaa]

Happenstance V1.0

​

SYNOPSIS

Spoiler

• 
  Summited for Yandere Game Jam 2024
  [CW/TW]
  There are talks and/or instances and/or visuals of the following content:
  • alcohol, smoking, drugging, kidnapping, and death.
  
  
  Take control of either elder brother Kevin or younger sister Chloe! It's your last week at your bartending job before you move on to bigger and better things- like a boring office job! Starting Monday is your last week at the bar. Surely you'll make it to Friday, long enough to move to your new apartment and start a new chapter in your life! Make drinks, get good tips, hang out with friends!
  
  Things seem to get complicated after one of your friends admits they like you to the others, though...

IMAGES/SCREENSHOTS

Spoiler

DOWNLOAD LINK

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Download Link

CHARACTERS

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Kevin; 25. One of the main playable characters. If you don't end up choosing Kevin, then he's your older brother in game.

Chloe; 23. One of the main playable characters. If you don't end up choosing Chloe, then she's your little sister in game.

Andrea; 25. Kevin and Chloe's best friend. Andrea is easily the most extroverted of the friend group. She tends to be the life of the party where ever she goes. A strong willed girl, who can also have a bit of a temper if pushed. When she loves, it runs deep...

Nisha; 23. Kevin and Chloe's friend from college, and also their next door neighbor. A sweet and mild manner girl. Nisha is very smart, while having the drive to go far in life. It would seem Nisha has feelings for someone in your group...

Flynn; 24. A talented artist, who's working on getting his degree at college. Flynn is quiet, and usually just enjoys the company of his friends with out saying much. Despite his looks, he rivals Nisha for having the biggest heart in their group. It would also seem Flynn has a crush on someone in the group...

Emil; 22. The youngest in the group of friends, as well as Andrea's little brother. He works with Kevin and Chloe at the bar, as a cook. Emil tends to be shy, but has come a long way since joining the group of friends. Kevin and Chloe seem to have quite a crush on him...

Callum; 26. The oldest member of the group. Callum's uncle owns the bar Kevin and Chloe work at, himself working as security. A bit of an alcoholic, the only person who can drink as much as him is Andrea. Currently is roommates with Flynn.

Me and two IRL friends collabed on this game for a gamejam! And is the first project we've ever finished. It feels weird having finished a project finally? We usually tend to start projects, but this is the first one we've seen through to the end! We've learned a lot from it, and at the end of the day feel proud of what we were able to make within the time limit of the gamejam!

It's a 2d side scroller visual novel type game. We've also added a mini game of making drinks when you do your job at the bar. This is how you earn tip money to buy things through out the game. Everything in the game is custom. Me and Roi doing art assets, and our friend Goats doing the music and SFX. Currently there's two endings to the game.

This is a game we would love to keep working on over the years, adding more options, character paths, things to buy, etc! This game was made with a lot of love and sleepless nights! We'd be happy enough for anyone to come and take a look at it!

 

[TRIDIUM]

Will play this and give feedback later today. Love the art!

EDIT, finished the game.

I'm spoilering this all because it's a game best experienced blind. So please DO NOT read if you want to play the game

Spoiler: The good

I liked a lot of things about this game. Namely, the art. It all looked clean and professional. Characters were visually unique and had lots of character. The small town was beautifully drawn, and the walking sprites...chef's kiss! All superb.

The effect when you're drugged is really awesome as well. Super trippy but cool and not too hard on the eyes. I also liked that you changed outfits. The barmaid one was really cool.

When there was sound, it was very good.

The writing was very good, but there was a bit much. More on that later.

The mixing drink minigame grew on me. I would suggest the time to mix being shorter though

I'll save story stuff for the summary.

Spoiler: The not so good

The UI. White background with black text was very hard to read.

As for the menu, I would suggest this plugin. https://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?threads/a-simple-main-menu-for-rmmz-do-exist.137872/

It removes all the party stuff and is perfect for a VN like this.
That, and the save screen is bugged. It shows the walking sprite, which is way too big for the slots.

I really like talking SE, but these ones felt a little better suited for something akin to undertale. The bloops and blips kinda clashed with the rest of the game, IMO.

When you're drugged, there's a little white line that flashes over your head. The sheet must be offset.

There was general lack of music at points, which was a little weird.

So much walking. It would be nice to skip certain sections of the town when you just need to get home. A lot of time was spent walking back and forth doing nothing.

Spoiler: Story and Writing

This is in its own section because I have mixed feelings.
The writing was good. Characters were engaging and had distinct voices. My main issue was that there was too much.

It took me 2 hours to beat the game. I'm a pretty quick reader. There were a lot of scenes I feel like could have been cut a little shorter. I understand that a lot of it is important to the mystery, but a lot of the "just chatting" parts dragged on. Especially at the beginning, before I knew anything was amiss, I considered giving up.

I think the game did a good job gaslighting you, and I never really knew who was doing all this. There were many times I was like, "Aha! I know what's going on" and then five minutes later I changed my mind. I was genuinely surprised by the ending.

As for the ending, it was a bit upsetting. I thought I was the one who did it, and uh yeah, things didn't go so well. (BTW, I played as Chloe)

I don't exactly know why (I can usually stomach anything), but I felt pretty icky after that end, and I didn't want to play it again. Maybe it was her sort of acceptance of it all? IDK.

Emil being the killer was an interesting choice. I feel like it could have been set up better, but maybe I didn't pay attention. It wasn't on of those times where you finish a movie/game, and you're like "Oh crap, that's why X happened and why he said Z".

Anyway, congrats on finishing a game, especially for a jam!

Seems like you're going to keep updating it, so I hope my feedback is helpful.

 

[Rienyaa]

Seems like you're going to keep updating it, so I hope my feedback is helpful.

Oh wow, thank you so so much! I didn't expect a message so soon!

I just wanna start off by saying thank you for giving the game your time, and all the kind things you've said! It's really made my day, and I'm so happy! And what's more, thank you so much for all your awesome feedback! It's so nice to get to hear about the game from another persons perspective.

I'll post the rest under spoiler!

Spoiler

- I totally see what you mean with the white bg with black text! We'll def think of a message display that's more easy on the eyes.

- THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PLUGIN!! This is rly awesome! Me and Roi did so much research trying to find a good plugin for menu stuff, but somehow didn't come across this! We'll def be using it!

- As for the talking SE honestly me and Roi just really wanted to play with shiny new plugins XD and it was also fun for us trying to think of what kind of tone the characters would have! But I totally get what you mean, and I think we'll def talk about getting rid of them. Our biggest goal would be to have voice acting for it one day!

- The lack of music was def my fault tho, Goats made a lot of awesome tracks, but I was so behind on code and sleep that stuff kept falling thru the cracks. Once Goats gets their own MZ I would have them insert music! (I'm so proud of goats, this was their first time making music and SE!)

And then as for the writing! Thank you so much for this really great feedback! If you don't mind, I'd love to figure out what we can do better, so I hope you don't mind a question or two!

- I def agree that the beginning probably has a bit too much. Is there anything you would recommend cutting in specific, if you remember anyways. (if not no pressure! we'll def be looking at it again and trimming some fat!) I feel like beginnings are so hard to write, because you really want to show people who these characters are before the plot really takes off. Or would you say the stuff they talk about is fine, but just making it less wordy? (im sorry i feel like im rambling now XD my brain is going at lighting speed!)

- Also I'm really happy to hear that the ending was a surprise for you! When me and Roi were going over the plot/script I was originally so worried that Emil was too obvious, but that doesn't seem to be the case and I'm glad! (it's hard when you know the whole plot so for me at least it was so hard to look at it from a perspective of 'I have no clue') Now if anything I wonder if
we should have laid out even more hints that it was Emil? I'm not sure, but this is def something we'll be talking about now!

- It sounds like maybe you got the box ending/bad ending? I'm really sorry that it made you feel icky! It was def the vibe we were going for with a bad ending, but I'm still sorry none the less. MC def goes thru a lot that ending, and I imagine they're def just- pretty broken and accepting by the end of it all.

Overall though, just thank you so much for taking the time and play through our game! It means the world to us. And for giving back such wonderful feedback! I'm just sitting here giggling in bed, being really happy about this! We really do want to improve and make fun, engaging, and interesting stories!

 

[TRIDIUM]

Hey @Rienyaa!

First off, thanks for being so chill about the feedback! Not everyone is that way

I'll try to answer everything.

Spoiler

I totally see what you mean with the white bg with black text! We'll def think of a message display that's more easy on the eyes.

Thanks! You could also look at making it an option? I think the Visustella options core lets you do that.

The lack of music was def my fault tho, Goats made a lot of awesome tracks, but I was so behind on code and sleep that stuff kept falling thru the cracks. Once Goats gets their own MZ I would have them insert music! (I'm so proud of goats, this was their first time making music and SE!)

Totally understand, especially for a jam.

I def agree that the beginning probably has a bit too much. Is there anything you would recommend cutting in specific, if you remember anyways. (if not no pressure! we'll def be looking at it again and trimming some fat!) I feel like beginnings are so hard to write, because you really want to show people who these characters are before the plot really takes off. Or would you say the stuff they talk about is fine, but just making it less wordy? (im sorry i feel like im rambling now XD my brain is going at lighting speed!)

I don't think there were any scenes I would cut out, per se. Just general cutting down.

It's hard, lol. Because you want the conversation to sound natural, but actual conversation can go on forever.

Maybe make side conversations optional? Or split them up across multiple interactions? I think that would really help. Then again, I don't really play many visual novels (despite the only 2 rpg maker games I've completed being VN's) so maybe the VN crowd won't mind as much.

Also I'm really happy to hear that the ending was a surprise for you! When me and Roi were going over the plot/script I was originally so worried that Emil was too obvious, but that doesn't seem to be the case and I'm glad! (it's hard when you know the whole plot so for me at least it was so hard to look at it from a perspective of 'I have no clue') Now if anything I wonder if
we should have laid out even more hints that it was Emil? I'm not sure, but this is def something we'll be talking about now!

This is the writer's bain. It really helps to run stuff by someone beforehand who doesn't know. But that can be difficult, given the length of the project.

The best twists (IMO) are the ones where you can look back and go "OHHHHH I SEE NOW!"
So, maybe instead of putting more clues that would make it easier for the player to guess, you could put subtle details that the player will remember at the end?

My favorite show (fanboy gush warning!), Link Click, does this really well. During the twist at the end, they show a lot of the relevant scenes while the person is monologuing and it really helps. You did something similar, but I think if you added some more that would be great.

It sounds like maybe you got the box ending/bad ending? I'm really sorry that it made you feel icky! It was def the vibe we were going for with a bad ending, but I'm still sorry none the less. MC def goes thru a lot that ending, and I imagine they're def just- pretty broken and accepting by the end of it all.

Fairly confident I got the bad ending, lol.
I did tottaly blast past the content warnings so don't worry, it was my fault
Her just being numb makes a lot of sense. It's a little hard to tell. Maybe a shot of her face or something?

Anywho, your welcome! Glad to help!

It's kinda funny, as I was reading through your response, there was a ton of super relatable stuff. Great minds think alike, amiright?
When I saw this, I had that feeling of "oh, this is my kind of game".

Good luck, and am looking forward to future projects.