Les Contes Magiques - Short Demo

[chocojax]

>> LSF Thread <<

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(v0.13 - 8/20/2015)

Intro: So, this game was originally meant to be released for SuNoFes2015, but unfortunately, I was too optimistic about what I could do in a month. Though, I was able to finish a lot of things before the deadline (other than expression coding hell), so, here’s the demo! I hope you enjoy it!

Please let me know what you thought of the game, either by posting in this thread or by sending me a PM! I would love to know what I could improve in this game. (Letting me know about bugs is also very much appreciated!)

What's in the demo:
★ Approximately 3,000 words
★ 7 unique tracks - available in the Extras screen
★ Lasts for 2 weeks in game-time (it's rather short, sorry!)
★ Crafting (cooking) system
★ Scheduling/Events system
★ Stat-raising

Staff:
Artist, Writer, Programmer - chocojax (tumblr)
Musician - Ziassan (soundcloud)
Musician - Doctor Jekyll (soundcloud)
Editor - Lunch

Known Bugs:
- various typos
- song info doesn't change when music track finishes in music gallery

Questions:
1. What did you think of the game overall? (Art, writing, music, etc.)

2. What parts of the GUI weren't intuitive/difficult to understand?

3. How long did it take for you to complete one run-through?

4. Did you find any typos/bugs?

5. What did you like from the demo? Why?

6. What didn't you like from the demo? Do you have any suggestions on how to improve on those aspects?

[thornbush]

I really enjoyed playing this demo! The art was well-done and very pretty. It definitely matched the atmosphere of the game, and it was a joy to see the beautiful artwork while listening to the soundtrack, which was also very pleasant. I thought the premise of the game was interesting, and I think it'll be really great when it's fully developed.

I know you mentioned that the game will focus on darker topics, but there's no sense of that in the demo. The game seems very light-hearted; it plays like a fantasy otome game rather than anything more serious. Also, I couldn't really understand why events would happen when they did. There doesn't seem to be a trigger for any of the meetings, so I'm left to wonder what would impact who I meet or what happens when I meet them.

Also, while the GUI was very pretty, the schedule parts were extremely confusing at first. The transition between the narrative and the weekly selection was very abrupt. I think it would work a lot better if you wrote a simple transition phrase like "I should plan out my week," beforehand. Also, labels would really help because I was at first unsure which picture symbolized which activity. The skills should also probably have a separate description with their purpose because they seem very vague and purposeless at the moment, and the labeling thing goes for the cooking section as well. (Really cute items, but I had no idea what I was going to use them for!)

There were some typos, too. There wasn't anything major, but I would probably look over the script again or hire an editor. (For example, you started several sentences with "Though," or "Although," which isn't grammatically correct in the context you were using them. It's ok to start a sentence with those two words but only in a different sort of format; i.e. "Though she likes magic, she finds it very taxing." I don't see why you would put a comma after "though" unless there are two commas around it and it can be easily removed from the sentence.)

Grammar aside, I really did enjoy playing this game. It took me about ten minutes to complete it, so it was pretty short, but I definitely thought that the gameplay was good. It's very promising so far. Good luck with completing it!

[chocojax]

I honestly started writing too late in the jam, so I couldn't write enough to get to the point of "here's the plot!" But, I did want it to be light-hearted in the beginning/introduce the characters slowly first. There were triggers, but they were if you had at least X stat points after Y day (similar to other otome/date-sims, I suppose).

Haaa, I probably just got too used to the GUI after debugging so many times. I'll definitely keep that in mind as I continue workin' on this! (Haha, the items were meant to be given as presents/used during fighting scenes, but as you can see, it didn't make it to the demo.)

Yeah, I'm planning on fixing the typos that I was told about. And I never knew that! I might've assumed that though/although could be placed the same way as however. Thanks for pointing this out too!

Thank you so much for taking the time to write out your thoughts! I'll try my best. :>

[paradigmshifty]

Just played today it was a very good demo

1. What did you think of the game overall? (Art, writing, music, etc.)

Very solid, I can't believe it was all done in a month! How long will the whole game be btw?

2. What parts of the GUI were intuitive, what parts weren't?

I didn't find anything un-intuitive when I played through.

3. How long did it take for you to complete one run-through?

About 25 mins.

4. Did you find any typos/bugs?

A bug that really bugged me (hmm..) was that I was unable to roll back a line of text with page up or the back button at the bottom of the textbox, both did nothing. I spotted a missing space character between 2 sentences near the start as well I think!

5. What did you like from the demo? Why?

I really loved the sprites they were amazing. (blushies! intricate gold detailing!)
Also the cooking! That really made me want to keep playing and trying different combinations.

6. What didn't you like from the demo? Do you have any suggestions on how to improve on those aspects?

Just the roll back a line issue. I can't suggest a fix as I think the script file is in an archive!

[chocojax]

Very solid, I can't believe it was all done in a month! How long will the whole game be btw?

Thanks! I don't really have a good estimate of how long it'll be (both for playtime and word count), so I can't really answer that. :[

A bug that really bugged me (hmm..) was that I was unable to roll back a line of text with page up or the back button at the bottom of the textbox, both did nothing. I spotted a missing space character between 2 sentences near the start as well I think!

Aaaa, I'm really sorry about that! I actually didn't know it couldn't rollback (I've been coding/playtesting on a tablet screen, heh). It turns out that rollback was disabled since I called the special events with call_in_new_context(), but I managed to fix it. (I also believe I fixed the typo you're talking about!) :>

[hiko27]

1. What did you think of the game overall? (Art, writing, music, etc.)
Very, very nice. Needs a bit of polishing, but I seriously think it's got potential to be a very addicting game (mostly because I love games with cooking systems). The writing was confusing sometimes... Like how did I suddenly know Antoine's name although my internal dialogue only mentioned him as someone I recognized in class? The music was nice, I liked it. Art was really nice, not gonna nitpick about every detail the way I do when I'm in the art section lol.

2. What parts of the GUI weren't intuitive/difficult to understand?
The main menu text. It's thin, so it took me a while to read them. If you made them a little thicker, it would probably help. Also, the date on the upper right was too small. It's like one of those things that you notice later on, then forget it was ever there. You could probably make it bigger, or place it near the textbox. The patterns on the main menu to the right were too simple? Can't explain it any more than that. Another is the text for the recipes. I knew I learned another recipe, but I didn't exactly notice at the bottom the levels. You could probably make the background for the buttons lighter? Or anything to make it more noticeable.

3. How long did it take for you to complete one run-through?
10 minutes or less, probably because I read too fast...

4. Did you find any typos/bugs?
Not that I know of.

5. What did you like from the demo? Why?
Art, music, the GUI was nice as well. But mostly the cooking system. It's a personal favorite of mine lol. Doesn't really pertain to one aspect of the game, but I like the colors you used in the GUI, the art, and the BG. It's bright, which is probably why at first glance, I thought it was going to be a very light-hearted, comedic game. I also loved the animation with the main menu. I'm a sucker for those, very nicely done! If I could clap here, I would lol.

6. What didn't you like from the demo? Do you have any suggestions on how to improve on those aspects?
Not exactly a fan of the font from the main menu. Also, I think it'd be nice to know what the options are for the simulation part... At first, I thought brewing was the clouds option... AND TOO SHORT GIVE ME MORE jk. Also, a log would probably be nice. There are times I click too freaking fast, and there are times I forgot what was said before (blame it on my sucky memory).

[chocojax]

The writing was confusing sometimes... Like how did I suddenly know Antoine's name although my internal dialogue only mentioned him as someone I recognized in class?

H-HAHA, I actually edited all of the scenes (with the help of my friend Lunch) a couple of days before the deadline. I'm pretty sure I did have him introduce his name, but then might've cut it out (and forgot to put it in). Thanks for pointing it out. qq

Not exactly a fan of the font from the main menu.

The font from the main menu buttons and stuff is my own handwriting, actually HAHHA. I was planning on going back and using a better font for them, though.

Also, a log would probably be nice. There are times I click too freaking fast, and there are times I forgot what was said before (blame it on my sucky memory).

Ooooh, yeah, I was planning on doing that but I should probably write it down in case I forget. I click fast all the time. :p

Thanks for answering the questions! Didn't respond to everything, but I'll try my best to fix/better what you pointed out. \o/

[hiko27]

H-HAHA, I actually edited all of the scenes (with the help of my friend Lunch) a couple of days before the deadline. I'm pretty sure I did have him introduce his name, but then might've cut it out (and forgot to put it in). Thanks for pointing it out. qq

The font from the main menu buttons and stuff is my own handwriting, actually HAHHA. I was planning on going back and using a better font for them, though.

Ooooh, yeah, I was planning on doing that but I should probably write it down in case I forget. I click fast all the time. :p

Thanks for answering the questions! Didn't respond to everything, but I'll try my best to fix/better what you pointed out. \o/

Haha, it's perfectly fine, that's very understandable. It was just something I pointed out, in case you did miss it. But, it might just be me clicking too fast as usual....... If it is, I'll take back what I said and apologize for making you worry lol.

OMG Did I just indirectly insult you? Lol I think the font is fine on its own, but yeah, it didn't work for the whole main menu because it was so thin. Probably because they were the same shade (from what I remember). The font was brown while the background was orange right? You could probably fix it like that as well. My real problem was it was hard to read.

Yeah... Guess we're on team clicking-too-fast. My finger just automatically clicks before I can register what it's doing. It has a mind of its own lol.

And you're welcome! And it's fine, as long as you get the feedback, you don't have to reply to every one of them. It's really up to you how you want to do your game, I'd like to think of what I say as just suggestions you have the option of taking. Wouldn't want to ruin the vision you have for you game, but if it does help you, glad to have helped!

[svarn]

1. What did you think of the game overall? (Art, writing, music, etc.)
I think it was really fun, from the start music sets up a nice and cheerfull mood. I liked all assets (art writing and music) and I think they were working together quite nicely.

2. What parts of the GUI weren't intuitive/difficult to understand?
Maybe the first activity setup could've been explained or introduced a little better. Because player suddenly gets this window, which doesn't tell anything and has to hit random buttons and see what happens.

3. How long did it take for you to complete one run-through?
25 minutes

4. Did you find any typos/bugs?
Nope (I wasn't looking for them thou)

5. What did you like from the demo? Why?
As mentioned in first question. I really liked art, music and writing, and the mood they created together.

6. What didn't you like from the demo? Do you have any suggestions on how to improve on those aspects?
No complains really, wish I could be more usefull. But I thought I'd still post since I've played throuht it.

[chocojax]

1. What did you think of the game overall? (Art, writing, music, etc.)
I think it was really fun, from the start music sets up a nice and cheerfull mood. I liked all assets (art writing and music) and I think they were working together quite nicely.

2. What parts of the GUI weren't intuitive/difficult to understand?
Maybe the first activity setup could've been explained or introduced a little better. Because player suddenly gets this window, which doesn't tell anything and has to hit random buttons and see what happens.

3. How long did it take for you to complete one run-through?
25 minutes

4. Did you find any typos/bugs?
Nope (I wasn't looking for them thou)

5. What did you like from the demo? Why?
As mentioned in first question. I really liked art, music and writing, and the mood they created together.

6. What didn't you like from the demo? Do you have any suggestions on how to improve on those aspects?
No complains really, wish I could be more usefull. But I thought I'd still post since I've played throuht it.

I know this is pretty late, but I just wanted to say, thanks for taking the time to post this! I really appreciate it.