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[dischan] Juniper's Knot (2012)

Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 12:48 am
by Swifdemon
cover_s.png
Dischan's NaNoReNo 2012 project is here, only 13 days late.

Game

Alt Link

OST

A story taking place in a village's ruins, Juniper's Knot details the meeting of a boy and a demon and is told from both of their perspectives.

Hope you like it.

Re: [dischan] Juniper's Knot (2012)

Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 12:53 am
by teacup
Downloaded it already and I'm playing it now.
I'll leave my final thoughts later, but my first impression is that it's gorgeous. I love the interface and the writing so far. Congratulations on your release! :)

Re: [dischan] Juniper's Knot (2012)

Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 12:55 am
by Aileo
Oh, it's done! Downloading now. I will update with my thoughts later. Congrats on your game.

EDIT: I finished it and now I'll share my thoughts.
So I downloaded and played right through Juniper' Knot. The gui is gorgeous. It is understated yet stylish, and I love the customization of all the menus. The art is beautiful and pair with the backgrounds very well. The guest and concept art were very interesting to look at. The music was wonderful and fits the tone of the work. Everything about this game is extremely polished.

About the story: What can I say? The best kinds of stories are sometimes the ones that are told simply. There aren't any major twists but the characters are very developed.

Of the two characters, the demon is the one that resonates most with me. Maybe it's because I like her "voice". Her mannerisms, her speech, and her interactions with the boy tells me she was someone who suffered long and had suffered enough. A couple of times I almost thought she would slip and give in to the darkness that I felt she had, but was relieved when she did not. It would have been so easy to give in. I still don't know what the demon did in order to be trapped, but in the end I suppose it really didn't matter. Despite the things she had done I could still empathize with her. I wanted her life to not be cruel and unending, and I was very glad the boy was able to save her.

The boy... I liked that despite all of the demon's growling, he was able to get past her defenses. He literally extended an olive branch to her, and allowed her to be forgiven what she'd done, if only it was for her own sake. I think he was an excellent foil for her. For me he was a reminder of her having forgotten how to live and that it was okay to put faith in an unknown.

Things change and people change, and sometimes you have to put yourself out there if you want a chance for things to be better. I think this sums up the theme of your work for me.
Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you for an excellent read and I look forward to more of your work.

Re: [dischan] Juniper's Knot (2012)

Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 3:18 am
by luminarious
Suddenly, I am overtaken by this sudden urge to polish the hell out of my own projects, even if that means making them a lot shorter..

Re: [dischan] Juniper's Knot (2012)

Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 1:20 pm
by zeroyuki92
Short and fabulous.

The use of old English amazes me, and I could connect with the protagonists very well. I love how every single sentences carefully crafted, how they create a refined chemistry between themselves.

And the perfect part is their emotion dynamic. Kudos for dischan, wished the best for your future work, Cradle Song.... Since this is a magnificent showoff for your first work (excluding demo)

Re: [dischan] Juniper's Knot (2012)

Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 3:21 pm
by Swifdemon
Most glad y'all like it! Thanks for the compliments!

Re: [dischan] Juniper's Knot (2012)

Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 6:01 pm
by DaFool
You've hit all the right buttons for me:
-"grimdark"
-onee-san character (so cute the way she bounces around and flops her ears!)
-two versus the world scenario (e.g. closest example I can think of is Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu).

Probably the best shortform kinetic novel I've read in years (even those onscripter ones released in 2006/7)

I used to have my doubts since haven't read a complete work from you before but now I know there's a writer I'm definitely following from now on. Presentation's top-notch but I'm sure everyone commented on that already.

What's the setting? 19th century England?

Re: [dischan] Juniper's Knot (2012)

Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 8:06 pm
by Swifdemon
Thanks, DaFool :D Damn nice to hear you enjoyed it so much.
DaFool wrote:What's the setting? 19th century England?
The setting is technically 20s/30s- "Jazz Age", but the fiend's stuck in a 15th and 16th C mindset and you never see any of the "modern" setting aside from the boy (and the UI, I suppose). I can't convey the fiend's speech perfectly (Old English is maddening), but I did what I could!

EDIT: Oh yeah, and I suppose it is England! Something like England, at least. ~Fantasy England~

Re: [dischan] Juniper's Knot (2012)

Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 10:11 pm
by OokamiKasumi
Absolutely stunning.
-- Art, story, GUI... Stunning.

Re: [dischan] Juniper's Knot (2012)

Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2012 6:14 am
by mugenjohncel
Is it bad that the first thing I did is extract the guts of your game data and find out what kind of sorcery you guys employed to create this wonderful piece of visual literature so I can steal your techniques and use them in my own projects?... :mrgreen:
What can I say... Graphics, GUI, Music, Writing... everything... Uncle Mugen is giving it 9 out of 10 (10 being the best) I would have given it a 10 if it's slightly longer... I mean... we want more works like this!... It didn't made it in time for NaNoRenO but what the heck... this is pure Goodness... the slight delay is more than worth it...

Congratulations Guys!...

"POOF" (Disappears)

Re: [dischan] Juniper's Knot (2012)

Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2012 7:17 am
by Efreet
I'm downloading this right now... :) The artwork is what attracted me first, I really like that art style as the dark and bold brush strokes reminds me of some Remilia Scarlet artwork...

Re: [dischan] Juniper's Knot (2012)

Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2012 8:38 am
by Swifdemon
mugenjohncel wrote:What can I say... Graphics, GUI, Music, Writing... everything... Uncle Mugen is giving it 9 out of 10 (10 being the best) I would have given it a 10 if it's slightly longer... I mean... we want more works like this!... It didn't made it in time for NaNoRenO but what the heck... this is pure Goodness... the slight delay is more than worth it...
Thanks, great that you liked it.
mugenjohncel wrote:
Is it bad that the first thing I did is extract the guts of your game data and find out what kind of sorcery you guys employed to create this wonderful piece of visual literature so I can steal your techniques and use them in my own projects?... :mrgreen:
Yes, actually: it's against our license to do so. Please refer to DISCHANLICENSE.txt that came with the game files.
Efreet wrote:I'm downloading this right now... :) The artwork is what attracted me first, I really like that art style as the dark and bold brush strokes reminds me of some Remilia Scarlet artwork...
Hope you enjoy it!

Re: [dischan] Juniper's Knot (2012)

Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2012 9:27 am
by gekiganwing
Juniper's Knot turned up on the Indie Games Blog. I was surprised to see it on the site, but there it is...

Re: [dischan] Juniper's Knot (2012)

Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2012 9:34 am
by DaFool
gekiganwing wrote:Juniper's Knot turned up on the Indie Games Blog. I was surprised to see it on the site, but there it is...
I would be surprised if it did NOT turn up on that site.

And on said site:
Easily finished within the span of fifteen minutes or so
What the heck is she smoking? The only way it would only take 15 minutes is if you play the game disrespectfully, i.e. just clicking away without basking in the ambience.

Took me a good 2 hours, but that was mostly me trying to
1.) figure out the English dialect
2.) my developer instincts kicking in and basically translating all the transitions I encounter into ATL coordinates in my brain.

edit: I have a question about 'Bleeding', my favorite track from the OST. It seems like people humming... could you or your musician elaborate on how that was composed? It's just so haunting.

Re: [dischan] Juniper's Knot (2012)

Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2012 9:20 pm
by azureXtwilight
It was a very pretty game! The art, the music, the GUI, everything was top-notch! :D I wish it would be longer, but perhaps making it longer would make it a bit different and not as epic. I guess the pacing is perfect :3

Thank you for making such a beautiful piece of art!