There isn't a way out of this

            

The sound of dripping water echos around you, but you aren't alone in the dark. Caught in a recurring moment, you need to find a way to escape- or help

Made for the Pirate Software game jam.

Waw-sco-taw-NAWSH

• Move using arrow keys or WASD
• Interact using E
• Click on dialogue to select
• Space or enter to continue dialogue

As this is a jam game, there will be bugs and you may get stuck. For your convenience you can reset to the title screen by pressing "ESC", or to an ending screen by pressing "O"

Due to how variables are stored between scenes, you may need to fully quit the game if there is a node that is being carried over incorrectly. While I am working on fixing it ASAP, it may still be present in the currently build available

Thanks for your understanding - Len

  

Hello! I went into this wanting to try and solo a jam. While there are things that could be improved, and bugs that could be squashed, I'm pleased with the amount I got done in the 2 weeks. I enjoyed getting to try out frame by frame animation and making music; I don't want to think about coding again for a while. Probably could've saved myself some headaches by using a flowchart, but here we are...

And here we are!

It was nice to make something for the first time in a long time. If you take the time to play this- thank you. As with many a jam game, this one had bugs. So while you can complete the game, the way between you and secrets may be perilous. But folks have made it through to all the endings, so the loop is closed. Where I can, I have tried to make it as easy and possible to reach all endings.

For the first time in ... 5 years I think?- I made something. For that I'll be eternally grateful. It was nice to make something- anything- again, so thanks Pirate Software community.

I am really proud of what I accomplished by myself

• I am particularly proud that all of the fonts are my own handwriting! I made fonts!!!
• I learned a lot about animating, and it was really interesting to get to try out frame by frame
• I made music! It maybe doesn't suck! I can't listen to it anymore from playing through the game so much!!!
• I learned a dialogue system! I had never used Yarn Spinner before starting the project
• I only cried about coding ONCE in the whole 2 weeks, which honestly is a record for these types of projects
• I learned about 2D lighting!

If you'd like to know more about the characters in the game- they're based off of the rivers of Toronto. You can learn more about the buried rivers, streams, and creeks (and visit them, if you feel so inclined) at Lost River Walks.

Theming explained:

The theme of "it's spreading" is expressed through the river motif, and the ever flowing thoughts I have about exploring the relationship and tension between place, ownership, love, and cultural understanding. The idea of the fact that all of the the water below the city is being held back,  and the eventuality that it will one day flow and spread again.

 

Nothing is done alone, even if you're making a game by yourself. 

I got a tremendous amount of help through advice, emotional and moral support, and debugging and playtesting when I could no longer look at my own project. So I wanted to take some time to thank you all.

Thanks to Brynn for all of the help throughout the projects for whenever I needed coding advice, or to panic at someone. Without your help this game would likely look very different on the back end! You were extremely helpful- and thanks Liz for introducing us. You can check out Brynn's stuff here.

Thanks to Adam for being gracious in answering my Yarn Spinner questions, and putting up with random pings of me having a problem and only for me to solve it myself minutes later. I appreciate you. You can check out Adam's stuff here.

Thank you to folks on the Yarn Spinner Discord, and especially Jon and Tim for helping diagnose and fix my breaking your system trying to get variables to pass through scenes. You answering my late night panicked posting saved me hours and likely the project. You can learn more about Yarn Spinner here.

Thank you Liz for playing through and giving me feedback on almost every build. Being able to know more across so many builds was extremely helpful, and it's always a joy to hang out in voice chat. You can find Liz @lizrrdbreath on all socials.

To Ian, Pippin, Hazel, Kaelan, and Evan- thank you so much for running through the game and giving me feedback.  

And to kit- thanks for putting up with me doing a game jam for two week straight. 

Thanks to folks for creating space and being inspiring, both on and offline. You're rad!