Monochrome Pixels

OOhhh I felt this one in my bones. 

I feel really bad for Diana (I was so happy to see the resolution in the Best Ending!) and Enya was a certified ball of sunshine. They were so cute together in all their interactions! The nightmare scenes with Godric were really good and really really creepy!!! I've (unfortunately) had my own fair share of narcissistic abusive bosses and hahahahahaha-- yeah! Felt very realistic.

Thank you for making this game about such a difficult topic.  I hope it's okay that I leave a bit of a personal reaction about "abuse in the gamedev field" below-- 

[Warning for mentions of harassment]

I just had to spend the last year recuperating after having been sexually harassed at multiple different  in-real-life gamedev events. I've never been in a field where this level of abuse is so normalized and endemic that people don't even blink when clear examples of abuse are just happening right out in the open. I'm so glad that people are able to get their stories out there with their own experiences with this, because it's really /really/ not talked about enough. 

Thank you so much for making this game. It really stirred up a lot of emotions. It's so good to know that we're not alone. 

This is an amazingly gorgeous game with refined polish in all aspects, with the distinctive character design and art (our pocket blue boi, autumn red panda mentor, and demonic-coded boss-man), heartwarming story (this was... too relatable!), sound effects and ambient music (voice acting also top-notch), and the programming (everything went smoothly, and the glitch effects were very cool)! Even the gallery extra let me flip through my favorite stills across expressions! 

I appreciate how you set up the mentor-mentee friendship with excellent anchoring details (chocolate croissants! Dream usernames! being late by 5 minutes to save a cat!), it was hurt/comfort in all the right ways, I really needed this! It also has to be said, I appreciate how both lead characters are historically underrepresented in the games industry, especially with the femme mentor and fluid mentee! 

I'm so excited to play your future games! So much inspiring work here ~

WOW, this was an incredible title. The entire team did a fantastic job, and I could tell how personal a story it was. 

The entire game is incredibly polished. There was so much thought and care put into all of the UI/various effects! The use of the "glitchiness"/chromatic aberration scheme really played well into the concept of a "video game-centric workplace" - one that is broken and glitchy. The art is so charming, and I loved how many Easter eggs there were in the backgrounds. From the script to the art, it was clear that the team has an incredible love for video games as a medium. The story was well-written, with natural dialogue, excellent pacing, and good structure. The VAs also did a wonderful job! 

All three of our leading characters were very well-written. Diana is very relatable and well-rounded. Although her life is tied to her work, you really get a lot of hints into her life outside, before work consumed her, through her desk/room/mentions of her previous relationships. I like how withdrawn she is portrayed - constantly wearing headphones, listening to music to drown out the world - unknowingly shutting herself off from anyone (her coworkers) who could lend her a sympathetic ear and support. I really liked her design - her muted "autumn" colors really give the impression that she was someone who used to be "colorful" and saturated, who was slowly beaten down. 

I like how Godric is characterized - he's not cartoonishly evil, and he almost acts "friendly" with Diana - and yet you can feel the oppression from every line. You can tell how every interaction is laced with the power dynamic between the two of them. He never says anything outwardly cruel, only words tinged with threats and disappointment, but he's absolutely hateable all the same. His black, white and red color scheme is really fitting LOL very demonic, and the fact that he wears a tracksuit to work is simultaneously ironic and infuriating. 

From the start, Enya is an adorable bean. I like how "ethereal" their design is - unlike the other characters who have very muted palettes, Enya looks very bright and colorful, almost like a "game" character (as opposed to a "human" working in an office LOL) It really sets them apart from the rest of the cast and hammers home how optimistic their perspective is. Their enthusiasm and love for their work is infectious! 

===SPOILERS BELOW===

I really loved the construction of the story and choices here. The choice of giving Diana a mentee to manage was a brilliant one; Diana is in a hopeless situation, with no agency over her work, but here the player is presented with the choice to either perpetuate the abuse/neglect that she suffers from her superior or to change, to avoid putting Enya in the same situation that she faced herself. Over the course of the story, Diana can either get progressively worse, breaking down by herself from stress, or she can receive support from Enya if she chooses to mentor them and give them proper guidance. The use of the dream sequences at the beginning of each day was a fantastic way of showcasing Diana's mental state (and, indeed, how dire it is, considering she acts so dull, detached, and "accepting" of her fate at work). I really liked how, in the bad ending, Diana's dreams get progressively worse - whereas in the best ending, they get better, with Enya eventually coming to her defense (foreshadowing what actually happens IRL). 

The development of the relationship between Diana and Enya is heartwarming to see - it's a slow, natural progression, and it was quite cathartic to see them open up to one another near the end of the route. The choice to "making games out of their passion for the craft, as a hobby" at the end of the best ending route really brings things full circle. I also like how the scene portrays a "healthy" working dynamic - in which Diana is not entirely happy with Enya's design, but they are open to critique and exchange it freely with understanding and kindness. 

The title screen change was so cute! It was such a cathartic end to the game and such a great pairing to the original title screen. The developers' notes were all really interesting and insightful as well. I am very afraid for the future of game development as an industry - and, indeed, the future of any creative profession. I can only hope that places remain in society where people can freely work out of passion instead of purely out of profit, and I hope that there's an audience that appreciates that passion. 

I'll say it again, but this was FANTASTIC! Great work! 

Wow... a gorgeous and heartbreaking critique of just some of the ugly problems lurking beneath the surface in the game development industry.

The game itself is incredibly well polished, let alone for a single month's work during NaNoRenO! 🎉🥳

Thank you for creating and sharing this (not entirely) fictional story with us, and using your creative voices to speak up about these issues! ♥

.

.

.

Also: ...First! 😉