this was absolutely stunning, would love the ost as an alternative download or a bonus if we donate 1$ or more, the ending/piano room theme is especially touching but I can’t find it on yt, if u could upload it I would love u 2 bits
This was a well-made, masterpiece of a game. I enjoyed every twist and turn presented to me. It is calming and comforting, yet frightful and horrifying all one package and that is hard to come by in a game. The atmosphere, pacing, writing, and visuals were all really well done. Congratulations and great job!
That was one fine game! Really love the story (though pardon me but I don't think I 100% understand it), the ambience, and the artworks! Trully something I look up to as I'm also working my way to improve my coming games. Oh yeah, I'd be more than happy to translate the script to Indonesian if I may, I'm available at discord (Abeljo #2850). Again, well done!
Loved this! It's so eerie; the storyline, the music, and the art--but at times really pretty. And I love how both the true ending and happy ending are both a little bittersweet in my opinion. It was really beautiful
Did the protagonist grow up during the Great Famine? The empty store shelves, Slavic setting, and abundance of, well, meat brought it to mind... Regardless, this was an interesting play! It's very sentimental and sweet. Looking forward to your future work!
It's a personal interpretation but I felt a really special atmosphere.
In the portrait gallery for example, I had this discomfort that we can feel when a certain form of nihilism takes hold of us and makes us see humanity more than as a piece of meat without a goal.
By contrast, Nika made me feel this part of humanity that can sometimes disappear after childhood, or when diseases like depression eat away at us.
But Mika is part of this universe. All this made me think of a sort of giant Yin Yang mixing the coldness of concrete and the warmth of the flesh.
love this game for its plot and painting styles^ ^!to be honest,i'm wondering whether lera wanted to embrace nika when she created a way for lera to escape.>_<
I'd really love to know the author's thought process on this. As someone who's struggled with suicidal thoughts and existential dread for pretty much my entire life, I really related with a lot of this, from both Lera and Nika's perspectives. But it just feels so... vague? I got the happy end and I'm just not really sure what happened at the end. I suppose that's kind of the entire point, but I'm curious what it all led to.
**SPOILERS**
Like for example, did Lera actually *die* (from our viewpoint anyways) or did he become like Nika? Lera was treating Nika as if she *was* the building at some points, how true is that? What was the buildings intention when letting Lera find gasoline and leave and then just not actually following through on that? And what was Nika's "I thought you'd be angry with me..." comment at the very end about?
But yeah, I really like this game. It makes me feel at peace.
hi! first of all, i'm glad that you liked it. i'm sorry for how vague my answers will be, but i hope they provide some sort of closure.
it is intentionally vague, but i realize that's an unfulfilling answer. originally, it was intended to be fairly clear-cut that lera died at the end, but some things happened in my personal life, my viewpoint shifted, and i decided that i didn't want to release such a hopeless story into the world. i'm much happier having it be up to the player, and i hope that there is ample evidence for the view that she survived and was amalgamated into the building to lead a happier life, fully loved and part of something. i don't want her descent into the pit to be read as a suicide, at the very least.
i've always refered to nika as the "child" of the buildings-- she is a part of that family, and thus, as synecdoche, the building itself. yet, she still has independent thoughts and a seemingly human form-- she is not quite a puppet, but she's a mediator of sorts between lera and the family.
the gasoline is just a trap. the real answer to this is extremely boring, which is that i needed some sort of justification to lead lera into the building and have her stay there, and there is no deeper signifigance.
i guess the "i thought you'd be angry with me" comment doesn't make much sense in the context of the happy ending-- i wrote it after writing the true ending, to be honest. i can understand why it would be a bit confusing after the other ending.
I really appreciate you taking the time to reply/explain. Going through the game, it was really clear that it was made by someone who *got it*. It's not often I come across a piece of media that holds my same view/relationship with existentialism/mental illnesses, ya know? So hearing some extra clarification means a lot to me. And tbh I never even considered that Lera didn't become a part of the building! I like to think Nika can distinguish the parts of Lera in the building and they still interact in a sense ^^
Hey. Just to let you know I really love your game, it made me cry with the true ending, and that damn beautiful soundtrack. I'm really happy that i got to know your game.
Such a phenomenal game with great atmosphere, interesting chararacters and spooky elements that I was glad to explore and take my time appreciating all the little details put into it! I really look forward to seeing what games you make in the future
超级棒的游戏！虽然剧情非常简短但是美术风格和对白深深地打动了我的心，非常感谢您能带来这么好的艺术品，我真的很喜欢这样带有一些怪异元素与怀旧元素的美术风格。很抱歉我的英文不太好，这是使用翻译器写下的评论。额外还想向您请教这款游戏是使用了什么软件进行开发的呢？Great game! Although the plot is very brief but the art style and the contrast deeply touched my heart, thank you very much for bringing such a good art, I really like this with some weird elements and nostalgic elements of the art style. I'm sorry my English is not very good, this is a comment written using the translator. What software was used to develop this game?
Very very neat game! I got stuck partway through playing on browser, during the gingerbread cookie conversation a 'failed to load cry.png' error started popping up, and prevented me from doing through doors or opening the menu. At first I thought it was intended, starting to think it might not be lol. Also tried on the desktop app but it was suuper slow. Its so cool though I'm gonna try downloading the .zip and playing it from there
huh, that's very odd! thank you for letting me know. i wasn't able to reproduce the error on my own-- what choices did you make in the conversation?
by desktop app, you mean the .exe file? i'm sorry that it was slow, rpgmaker is poor with optimization from the start but i will try to improve it in that regard
I just checked and I'm...also not able to reproduce it? Even though I had a save directly before triggering the conversation. There aren't any choices there, she just gives you a gingerbread cookie, and I guess the error came up whenever it tried to load the image of Nika crying. No clue why it started working today :P
And I meant, installing and launching it from the itch.io desktop app made it run very slow for me. I think rpgmaker games are generally wonky on the app though. If I just download the .zip file in my browser and extract it myself, it runs just fine!
oops, it slipped my mind that i'd included two conversations regarding gingerbread cookies; the second one doesn't have choices, you're right!
i'm not sure what could cause that error-- i've had issues in the past with mistyping file names, which causes that error, but then you'd expect it to happen for everyone. regardless, thank you for letting me know; i'm very sorry for the trouble, and i'll take a second look at the code and make sure that there aren't any typos!
oh, i see! i should probably read a bit about the itchio desktop app, i don't know much about it at all...
The app is wonky for a lot of other games too, including RPGmaker ones. Definitely not an issue specific to this game. The browser error IS weird though, sorry for crying wolf I guess! i really did ADORE this game <3
i'm incredibly honored by your offer to translate; my discord is io#2305 and my twitter is onisarashi, you can message me on whichever is easier and i'll send you the game files!
My English is not good, but I still hope to make you feel my love for the game! Thank you for your to develop it! But I have some questions, after the true ending, Lera survived? I hope he can survive and live positively, and it doesn't matter that if this is not the case. I feel the magic from the your work, it let me have the courage to face the difficulty! Thank you again!：D
😢This game reminds me of my past girlfriend，I loved her so much that I often fancied she was still alive and we can hold each other，melt into eternity.
really grateful i got the chance to beta this!! just replayed it and it really is fantastic, the art is beautiful too. genuinely i think this is one of the best rpgmaker horror experiences out there. the atmosphere is like nothing else ive played recently. thanks for sharing this little world you made with all of us!
i don't know if i got the message it was sending correct...but either way, that was heart wrenching and beautiful. i relate to it in a way i can't describe. such a wonderful story told in a poetic way. i hope this gets more attention.
i don't think my 'intended message' is any more valid than the messages that players take from it, so don't worry, your reading is as correct as mine! :-D
Thank you for giving me such Impressive gaming experience... My mindset changes just like Lera's. From the initial incomprehension and fear, to familiar memories gradually aroused, torn between whether to stay or not, until I saw the dilapidated car, I knew I would never leave. All the pain and sorrows faded in the homely warmth. Guess there is no other route for Lera, just because staying here seems deadly attractive. Hope that Lera could live a happy life from now on. Again, thank you for creating such a incredible game.
Hey I really like the way you organized the symbols and built the atmosphere. I just want to say this one is an absolute masterpiece even if this is your first time making a game. With sincere appreciation, I prefer to feel the emotions of the story rather than find origins for each element that appears within the game, but you did use some very interesting factors like Башня Татлина. your design is excellent and I'm looking forward to your next work. If you are willing to construct a story line of more than five hours, it will surpass 99% of episodic games. Again, thank you for this game!!
btw the bgm on the rooftop was really great, reassuring but a bit sad. If I am Lera and Nika say something to me at this point, I would be absolutely happy to be her family
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I got true end. Great game it made me cry at the end, I'm gonna miss nika too (T＿T)
I like cheese
i like this feeling，feel like mango put on the raw meet
A tour in a beautiful world for 1 hour,thx for creating.Love you.
btw the music is excellent,thx*2
this game is so beautiful yet depressing and horrifying in a good way<3333 thank you for creating this
i cry every time
this was absolutely stunning, would love the ost as an alternative download or a bonus if we donate 1$ or more, the ending/piano room theme is especially touching but I can’t find it on yt, if u could upload it I would love u 2 bits
yeah,we all love the wonderful music!
this game is amazing! thak you for making it
Can you make it as an APK download, please 🥺
Because I really want to play this again
I think you can play it mobile. Through the web.
This was a well-made, masterpiece of a game. I enjoyed every twist and turn presented to me. It is calming and comforting, yet frightful and horrifying all one package and that is hard to come by in a game. The atmosphere, pacing, writing, and visuals were all really well done. Congratulations and great job!
That was one fine game! Really love the story (though pardon me but I don't think I 100% understand it), the ambience, and the artworks! Trully something I look up to as I'm also working my way to improve my coming games. Oh yeah, I'd be more than happy to translate the script to Indonesian if I may, I'm available at discord (Abeljo #2850). Again, well done!
Loved this! It's so eerie; the storyline, the music, and the art--but at times really pretty. And I love how both the true ending and happy ending are both a little bittersweet in my opinion. It was really beautiful
equal parts charming and disgusting, thought provoking game
Did the protagonist grow up during the Great Famine? The empty store shelves, Slavic setting, and abundance of, well, meat brought it to mind... Regardless, this was an interesting play! It's very sentimental and sweet. Looking forward to your future work!
What a masterpiece! The atmosphere, the score, the story, the feel..it's just a phenomenal work! Loved it! :)
(sorry for my english i'm french ^^)
Thank you very much for this game!
It's a personal interpretation but I felt a really special atmosphere.
In the portrait gallery for example, I had this discomfort that we can feel when a certain form of nihilism takes hold of us and makes us see humanity more than as a piece of meat without a goal.
By contrast, Nika made me feel this part of humanity that can sometimes disappear after childhood, or when diseases like depression eat away at us.
But Mika is part of this universe. All this made me think of a sort of giant Yin Yang mixing the coldness of concrete and the warmth of the flesh.
Bravo pour ce jeu ! 5/5
hello julien! i am a fan of your game invitationem and i really enjoyed playing your game! :)
oh :3 Thank you so much koizu
love this game for its plot and painting styles^ ^!to be honest,i'm wondering whether lera wanted to embrace nika when she created a way for lera to escape.>_<
I'd really love to know the author's thought process on this. As someone who's struggled with suicidal thoughts and existential dread for pretty much my entire life, I really related with a lot of this, from both Lera and Nika's perspectives. But it just feels so... vague? I got the happy end and I'm just not really sure what happened at the end. I suppose that's kind of the entire point, but I'm curious what it all led to.
**SPOILERS**
Like for example, did Lera actually *die* (from our viewpoint anyways) or did he become like Nika? Lera was treating Nika as if she *was* the building at some points, how true is that? What was the buildings intention when letting Lera find gasoline and leave and then just not actually following through on that? And what was Nika's "I thought you'd be angry with me..." comment at the very end about?
But yeah, I really like this game. It makes me feel at peace.
hi! first of all, i'm glad that you liked it. i'm sorry for how vague my answers will be, but i hope they provide some sort of closure.
it is intentionally vague, but i realize that's an unfulfilling answer. originally, it was intended to be fairly clear-cut that lera died at the end, but some things happened in my personal life, my viewpoint shifted, and i decided that i didn't want to release such a hopeless story into the world. i'm much happier having it be up to the player, and i hope that there is ample evidence for the view that she survived and was amalgamated into the building to lead a happier life, fully loved and part of something. i don't want her descent into the pit to be read as a suicide, at the very least.
i've always refered to nika as the "child" of the buildings-- she is a part of that family, and thus, as synecdoche, the building itself. yet, she still has independent thoughts and a seemingly human form-- she is not quite a puppet, but she's a mediator of sorts between lera and the family.
the gasoline is just a trap. the real answer to this is extremely boring, which is that i needed some sort of justification to lead lera into the building and have her stay there, and there is no deeper signifigance.
i guess the "i thought you'd be angry with me" comment doesn't make much sense in the context of the happy ending-- i wrote it after writing the true ending, to be honest. i can understand why it would be a bit confusing after the other ending.
I really appreciate you taking the time to reply/explain. Going through the game, it was really clear that it was made by someone who *got it*. It's not often I come across a piece of media that holds my same view/relationship with existentialism/mental illnesses, ya know? So hearing some extra clarification means a lot to me. And tbh I never even considered that Lera didn't become a part of the building! I like to think Nika can distinguish the parts of Lera in the building and they still interact in a sense ^^
Hey. Just to let you know I really love your game, it made me cry with the true ending, and that damn beautiful soundtrack. I'm really happy that i got to know your game.
wish to play it on Android
You did well, used the assets pretty much as it should be, it's a fun time to play this. I got the happy ending btw.
Such a phenomenal game with great atmosphere, interesting chararacters and spooky elements that I was glad to explore and take my time appreciating all the little details put into it! I really look forward to seeing what games you make in the future
I love this game.I don't use the window, but I enjoyed playing with the browser!!
i got happy ending!! the characters were well made & as someone who likes gory horror, i loved that the parents were just huge organs hehe
Anyone know who composed the music or where its from?
pretty sure you can see that in the credits!
This game was great, really thoughtful and well made
超级棒的游戏！虽然剧情非常简短但是美术风格和对白深深地打动了我的心，非常感谢您能带来这么好的艺术品，我真的很喜欢这样带有一些怪异元素与怀旧元素的美术风格。很抱歉我的英文不太好，这是使用翻译器写下的评论。额外还想向您请教这款游戏是使用了什么软件进行开发的呢？Great game! Although the plot is very brief but the art style and the contrast deeply touched my heart, thank you very much for bringing such a good art, I really like this with some weird elements and nostalgic elements of the art style. I'm sorry my English is not very good, this is a comment written using the translator. What software was used to develop this game?
Very very neat game! I got stuck partway through playing on browser, during the gingerbread cookie conversation a 'failed to load cry.png' error started popping up, and prevented me from doing through doors or opening the menu. At first I thought it was intended, starting to think it might not be lol. Also tried on the desktop app but it was suuper slow. Its so cool though I'm gonna try downloading the .zip and playing it from there
huh, that's very odd! thank you for letting me know. i wasn't able to reproduce the error on my own-- what choices did you make in the conversation?
by desktop app, you mean the .exe file? i'm sorry that it was slow, rpgmaker is poor with optimization from the start but i will try to improve it in that regard
I just checked and I'm...also not able to reproduce it? Even though I had a save directly before triggering the conversation. There aren't any choices there, she just gives you a gingerbread cookie, and I guess the error came up whenever it tried to load the image of Nika crying. No clue why it started working today :P
And I meant, installing and launching it from the itch.io desktop app made it run very slow for me. I think rpgmaker games are generally wonky on the app though. If I just download the .zip file in my browser and extract it myself, it runs just fine!
oops, it slipped my mind that i'd included two conversations regarding gingerbread cookies; the second one doesn't have choices, you're right!
i'm not sure what could cause that error-- i've had issues in the past with mistyping file names, which causes that error, but then you'd expect it to happen for everyone. regardless, thank you for letting me know; i'm very sorry for the trouble, and i'll take a second look at the code and make sure that there aren't any typos!
oh, i see! i should probably read a bit about the itchio desktop app, i don't know much about it at all...
The app is wonky for a lot of other games too, including RPGmaker ones. Definitely not an issue specific to this game. The browser error IS weird though, sorry for crying wolf I guess! i really did ADORE this game <3
there's no need to apologize for anything, don't worry! i do sincerely appreciate you telling me, and i'm happy that you enjoyed the game ^^
this game is so so so amazing especially the artwork i love the atmosphere and everything
also, i could possibly translate this into lithuanian if you're still open or somethin ^^
hi, thank you so much!
i'm incredibly honored by your offer to translate; my discord is io#2305 and my twitter is onisarashi, you can message me on whichever is easier and i'll send you the game files!
HI just saw this my discord is blair#8905!! i'll add you ^^ glad i can do this
Thank you for creating this game :) It`s a warm hug in winter for me . Thank you.
i'm very happy to hear that!
My English is not good, but I still hope to make you feel my love for the game! Thank you for your to develop it! But I have some questions, after the true ending, Lera survived? I hope he can survive and live positively, and it doesn't matter that if this is not the case. I feel the magic from the your work, it let me have the courage to face the difficulty! Thank you again!：D
thank you so much, i'm so happy that you liked my game!! it means the world to me, i'm very grateful!
there is no concrete answer regarding the ending, but i wish that lera survived, too ^^
snow tracks les go
😢This game reminds me of my past girlfriend，I loved her so much that I often fancied she was still alive and we can hold each other，melt into eternity.
this is a gorgeous game. i love the feeling, so melancholy. it’s really well written. you did an amazing job.
happy ending yay and nay
really grateful i got the chance to beta this!! just replayed it and it really is fantastic, the art is beautiful too. genuinely i think this is one of the best rpgmaker horror experiences out there. the atmosphere is like nothing else ive played recently. thanks for sharing this little world you made with all of us!
i don't know if i got the message it was sending correct...but either way, that was heart wrenching and beautiful. i relate to it in a way i can't describe. such a wonderful story told in a poetic way. i hope this gets more attention.
i'm really happy that you enjoyed it!
i don't think my 'intended message' is any more valid than the messages that players take from it, so don't worry, your reading is as correct as mine! :-D
I'm scared, impressed, and disgusted in a good way O.o
Thank you for giving me such Impressive gaming experience... My mindset changes just like Lera's. From the initial incomprehension and fear, to familiar memories gradually aroused, torn between whether to stay or not, until I saw the dilapidated car, I knew I would never leave. All the pain and sorrows faded in the homely warmth. Guess there is no other route for Lera, just because staying here seems deadly attractive. Hope that Lera could live a happy life from now on. Again, thank you for creating such a incredible game.
Hey I really like the way you organized the symbols and built the atmosphere. I just want to say this one is an absolute masterpiece even if this is your first time making a game. With sincere appreciation, I prefer to feel the emotions of the story rather than find origins for each element that appears within the game, but you did use some very interesting factors like Башня Татлина. your design is excellent and I'm looking forward to your next work. If you are willing to construct a story line of more than five hours, it will surpass 99% of episodic games. Again, thank you for this game!!
btw the bgm on the rooftop was really great, reassuring but a bit sad. If I am Lera and Nika say something to me at this point, I would be absolutely happy to be her family