This was fantastic! First of all congrats on absolutely nailing the feeling of unsettling and exhaustion that is nightshift on a ward! Everyone who's ever been there has heard/experienced stories like this and you brought them to life wonderfully! The art, the music, the writing were all on point and the choose a room gameplay was awesome. Amazing job all round!
A surprisingly heartfelt story and cast of characters, considering how creepy it comes across at first!
Really well done!
I'd never been exposed to those aspects of Indonesian folklore, so thank you for sharing that.
Took me a while to get the final ending; had a feeling I knew what I needed to do, but figuring out the correct order was a struggle. ^^; Worth the effort though! 🕯
(Spoilers below)
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A nice mix of morbid tragedy and (largely) positive outcomes in the epilogues, especially the special ending. The state of healthcare workers is definitely still precarious, so thank you for shining another light on the topic, and also for the hopeful ending re: the possibility for change in the industry.
I do wish the "empty" rooms played more of a role in the game. From what I could tell, they could be mostly or even entirely ignored while trying to get the different endings and epilogues.
Also, good use of foreshadowing! I did notice early on how Lia and the nurse's sprites moved back and forth, meanwhile Satriya's were stationary the whole time - just didn't know what that meant (if anything) until Mrs. Mulyono's revelation. Clever!
You are the first to notice about the foreshadowing without me telling out loud, even the other team members didnt notice! amazing observation!
And thank you so much for playing! I wish to expand upon the game, is there anything you wish to be added? The empty rooms did have a special ending tied to them, but I would like some inputs!
Haha wow, no kidding! Clearly the foreshadowing is solid then, if it's so subtle even your team didn't pick up on it! 💪
An expanded version of the game would be really cool! 😄
One thing I think the game would benefit from is more moments of rest and downtime in between all the high octane horror. Once Lia's shift started, the intensity felt like it was at 8/10 or higher all the way until the very end, when suddenly her shift is over (if she lasts that long 😈 ).
(Possible spoilers below)
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Especially considering Mr. X will die if not attended to quickly, and his story is really intense, so padding out the story with more short moments of slower pacing so we can catch our breath between the (jump)scares would be welcome.
I am also curious to know a bit more about "Fatima" (if that's her actual name), from Mr. X's epilogue CG, and also the (nameless newbie) Nurse - does she have her own epilogue?
"The empty rooms did have a special ending tied to them, but I would like some inputs!"
Oh interesting, maybe I missed that ending then...? I got the Bad Ending, Normal Ending, and 5 Epilogues along with all the CGs so I figured that was everything.
I guess I'll wait until the guide is out to see what I might've missed.
Also, I would find it really helpful in the in-game Extras menu if missing CGs had text hints or hover tooltips with some guidance on how to unlock them - so that it's not necessary to check the upcoming guide on itch except as a last resort if really stuck (even if such hints only unlock after getting at least 1 ending, or 1 epilogue, meeting specific conditions, etc.). ♥
That is amazing feedback! I've speaking to my team about this as I write. Something to keep track of everything would be great (and we ran out of time so the special ending doesn't have any CG to it)
A break would be great! I might need to add the hours to a 12 or 24 hours shift, which is also realistic since I had that during pandemic lolol
That makes sense re: the special ending - the time crunch is real lol. It's honestly impressive how much artwork y'all finished in just one month for the jam! ♥ 💪
A 12 hour shift for a "full" release would be cool. 👀 Should give ample time for some calmer sections in between story beats, and even give you a chance to add more patients, if you wanted to and/or flesh out (heh) existing ones.
IMO, 24 hours would prolly run the risk of (even worse) scope creep: true horror when it comes to game dev. 😱 😂
Also, oof... sorry to hear that about your pandemic shifts. That sounds brutal even during "normal" times. 😢
(Possible Spoilers) Sheeeesh. What made this game so scary was the chilling reality that is the ICU. Understaffed, overworked, and dealing with all sorts of frustrations and complaints. Mr. X was a great example of something that could easily be a real situation that someone working in an ICU has to deal with. I ended up with the Normal ending, and the Satria part was a cool twist that I wasn't able to predict. Overall, this was a thrilling exploration of the psychological effects of working in such a high-pressure environment. Also - poor Mrs. Selvi ughhh.
Outside of the story, I loved the art style and the music was perfect. This was beautifully done.
i didn't even get all the endings yet but this game has such a beautiful and emotional story. never did i think, starting this game, that i would get so invested in all these characters - the way you wrote all of them, with their individual ambitions and flaws and backstories, made them all feel so real. satria and angela's stories were the highlights of this game for me - they're just so well written. genuinely this game took me through such an emotional rollercoaster, from fear to happiness to sadness all at once. i was DESPERATELY REPLAYING to get to the good ending for angela
i rly want to talk more about satria. right from the beginning he was such a sympathetic character - but the ending truly made him one of the most memorable characters in this game. when i got to the end my jaw DROPPED
and can i just say i love the mechanic of having us choose which room to go to? i didn't think we'd get so much freedom for this game LOL but wow. rly stressed me out
so grateful to have come across this game, it really was a lovely experience. thank you so so so so much for sharing, and i'll look forward to your next projects
also love the cultural elements in the story haha southeast asia represent!!!
There are so many wonderful things I can say about this project. For a horror title, which is very effective at the kind of horror it wants to convey, it's strangely comforting in the best kind of way. There's something intrinsically horrific about real life and death is a part of it. This devastation from loss doesn't take away from its beauty though and that comes through earnestly in the VN. The setting and characters are written in a very grounded way despite the paranormal elements and the subject matter. It's one I've been telling you was always a strength of your work! How you write characters. :))
Thanks for sharing more of your work and perspective with us. Looking forward to the next one!
Finished a run blind and had to come back and see everything I could! There's way more than I expected here, I think I got 5 endings in total? But this was a really engaging journey!
The horror was really engaging, I thought! Really felt the Paranormasight vibes in the art, but the setup w/ the horror also kinda gave me Death Mark-series vibes? Probably more so, we're completely unprepared to be in a scenario haunted like this and it shows really well!
The art in this one is gorgeous and the atmosphere is very spooky. It was fun trying to unlock all of the scenes too! It's impressive you were able to make so many art assets which are all so high quality in such a short period of time, this is a really ambitious project!
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This was fantastic! First of all congrats on absolutely nailing the feeling of unsettling and exhaustion that is nightshift on a ward! Everyone who's ever been there has heard/experienced stories like this and you brought them to life wonderfully! The art, the music, the writing were all on point and the choose a room gameplay was awesome. Amazing job all round!
Thank you!
!! BEWARE, MULTIPLE JUMPSCARES !!
Ahem. With that out of the way...
A surprisingly heartfelt story and cast of characters, considering how creepy it comes across at first!
Really well done!
I'd never been exposed to those aspects of Indonesian folklore, so thank you for sharing that.
Took me a while to get the final ending; had a feeling I knew what I needed to do, but figuring out the correct order was a struggle. ^^; Worth the effort though! 🕯
(Spoilers below)
.
.
.
.
.
.
A nice mix of morbid tragedy and (largely) positive outcomes in the epilogues, especially the special ending. The state of healthcare workers is definitely still precarious, so thank you for shining another light on the topic, and also for the hopeful ending re: the possibility for change in the industry.
I do wish the "empty" rooms played more of a role in the game. From what I could tell, they could be mostly or even entirely ignored while trying to get the different endings and epilogues.
Also, good use of foreshadowing! I did notice early on how Lia and the nurse's sprites moved back and forth, meanwhile Satriya's were stationary the whole time - just didn't know what that meant (if anything) until Mrs. Mulyono's revelation. Clever!
You are the first to notice about the foreshadowing without me telling out loud, even the other team members didnt notice! amazing observation!
And thank you so much for playing! I wish to expand upon the game, is there anything you wish to be added? The empty rooms did have a special ending tied to them, but I would like some inputs!
Haha wow, no kidding! Clearly the foreshadowing is solid then, if it's so subtle even your team didn't pick up on it! 💪
An expanded version of the game would be really cool! 😄
One thing I think the game would benefit from is more moments of rest and downtime in between all the high octane horror. Once Lia's shift started, the intensity felt like it was at 8/10 or higher all the way until the very end, when suddenly her shift is over (if she lasts that long 😈 ).
(Possible spoilers below)
.
.
.
.
.
.
Especially considering Mr. X will die if not attended to quickly, and his story is really intense, so padding out the story with more short moments of slower pacing so we can catch our breath between the (jump)scares would be welcome.
I am also curious to know a bit more about "Fatima" (if that's her actual name), from Mr. X's epilogue CG, and also the (nameless newbie) Nurse - does she have her own epilogue?
"The empty rooms did have a special ending tied to them, but I would like some inputs!"
Oh interesting, maybe I missed that ending then...? I got the Bad Ending, Normal Ending, and 5 Epilogues along with all the CGs so I figured that was everything.
I guess I'll wait until the guide is out to see what I might've missed.
Also, I would find it really helpful in the in-game Extras menu if missing CGs had text hints or hover tooltips with some guidance on how to unlock them - so that it's not necessary to check the upcoming guide on itch except as a last resort if really stuck (even if such hints only unlock after getting at least 1 ending, or 1 epilogue, meeting specific conditions, etc.). ♥
That is amazing feedback! I've speaking to my team about this as I write. Something to keep track of everything would be great (and we ran out of time so the special ending doesn't have any CG to it)
A break would be great! I might need to add the hours to a 12 or 24 hours shift, which is also realistic since I had that during pandemic lolol
Glad to hear that about the feedback. 👏
That makes sense re: the special ending - the time crunch is real lol. It's honestly impressive how much artwork y'all finished in just one month for the jam! ♥ 💪
A 12 hour shift for a "full" release would be cool. 👀 Should give ample time for some calmer sections in between story beats, and even give you a chance to add more patients, if you wanted to and/or flesh out (heh) existing ones.
IMO, 24 hours would prolly run the risk of (even worse) scope creep: true horror when it comes to game dev. 😱 😂
Also, oof... sorry to hear that about your pandemic shifts. That sounds brutal even during "normal" times. 😢
(Possible Spoilers)
Sheeeesh. What made this game so scary was the chilling reality that is the ICU. Understaffed, overworked, and dealing with all sorts of frustrations and complaints. Mr. X was a great example of something that could easily be a real situation that someone working in an ICU has to deal with. I ended up with the Normal ending, and the Satria part was a cool twist that I wasn't able to predict. Overall, this was a thrilling exploration of the psychological effects of working in such a high-pressure environment. Also - poor Mrs. Selvi ughhh.
Outside of the story, I loved the art style and the music was perfect. This was beautifully done.
Spoiler alert
Mrs. Selvi still lives if you don't go through her route
And thank you so much for playing! I wish to expand upon the game, is there anything you wish to be added?
I think it was great as is! I'll have to do some different routes.
just wow. i dont even know where to start
[spoilers ahead!]
i didn't even get all the endings yet but this game has such a beautiful and emotional story. never did i think, starting this game, that i would get so invested in all these characters - the way you wrote all of them, with their individual ambitions and flaws and backstories, made them all feel so real. satria and angela's stories were the highlights of this game for me - they're just so well written. genuinely this game took me through such an emotional rollercoaster, from fear to happiness to sadness all at once. i was DESPERATELY REPLAYING to get to the good ending for angela
i rly want to talk more about satria. right from the beginning he was such a sympathetic character - but the ending truly made him one of the most memorable characters in this game. when i got to the end my jaw DROPPED
and can i just say i love the mechanic of having us choose which room to go to? i didn't think we'd get so much freedom for this game LOL but wow. rly stressed me out
so grateful to have come across this game, it really was a lovely experience. thank you so so so so much for sharing, and i'll look forward to your next projects
also love the cultural elements in the story haha southeast asia represent!!!
Thank you so much! And I am really glad you like Satria's story because it is something personal to my heart.
I am wishing to make a sequel or something similar so we can introduce more SEA ghosts!
There are so many wonderful things I can say about this project. For a horror title, which is very effective at the kind of horror it wants to convey, it's strangely comforting in the best kind of way. There's something intrinsically horrific about real life and death is a part of it. This devastation from loss doesn't take away from its beauty though and that comes through earnestly in the VN. The setting and characters are written in a very grounded way despite the paranormal elements and the subject matter. It's one I've been telling you was always a strength of your work! How you write characters. :))
Thanks for sharing more of your work and perspective with us. Looking forward to the next one!
Thank you for playing and I am honestly so touched by your comment!!!!
Finished a run blind and had to come back and see everything I could! There's way more than I expected here, I think I got 5 endings in total? But this was a really engaging journey!
The horror was really engaging, I thought! Really felt the Paranormasight vibes in the art, but the setup w/ the horror also kinda gave me Death Mark-series vibes? Probably more so, we're completely unprepared to be in a scenario haunted like this and it shows really well!
Very compelling, I enjoyed this a ton!
Thank you for playing the game! I think you already got all the endings!
I need a guide, please?
I am liking the game a lot
We plan to release a guide some time next week!
Yaaay
I just lack of one cg
I really love the game<3
Which one is it? Maybe I can helpp
I don't know, the one in the middle of the bottom row
Save Angela, then Mr.X, then visit Mr. Joko for the 3rd time!
The art in this one is gorgeous and the atmosphere is very spooky. It was fun trying to unlock all of the scenes too!
It's impressive you were able to make so many art assets which are all so high quality in such a short period of time, this is a really ambitious project!
Thank you so much! We're very lucky to have a professional artist on board, their work ethic is just amazing.