Running from the throne by drakryttare

[raw]
made by drakryttare for LD 39 (COMPO)

banner.png Running<em>from</em>the_Throne2.png This is my first Ludum Dare!

"Running from the throne" is meant to be a digital "choose your own adventure". It has 11 endings, 7 if one count similar endings as one.

The game is somewhat rough and I have a hard time not feeling embarrassed, but I take the plunge and submit so that I may do better next time.

I used: Ren'py as the engine (first time using Ren'py!), Clip studio paint for art, and Grammarly for spell checking.

Note: Ren'py offered to generate a "PC" version, in addition to Mac, Linux, and Windows versions. I said "Thank you Ren'py!" and generated them all, enjoy!

Edit 2017-07-31: After some sleep, I took a new look at the game and see now that some endings are a bit on the weird side. You have been warned.

Ratings

Given 3🗳️ 1🗨️

Feedback

Linky439
31. Jul 2017 · 17:55 UTC
Well, that is certainly a new type of game!

The lack of audio bothers me a bit, as well as it seems that no matter what I do, I either disappear in the vast outer space or get captured to marry the King instead.

I have to admit, if you gave it a bit more time now that the LD is over, I'd be glad to come back to it. In the meantime, I think the portraits are fine if a little expressionless, and I like the genre of "choose your own adventure". I just wish we had a bit more info on the background and everything, because I can feel there's a universe behind the game, but I can't really see it.
🎤 drakryttare
31. Jul 2017 · 21:07 UTC
@linky439 Thank you! That was much kinder words than I anticipated while running out of time.

I fully agree on audio and lack of expression. Both were on my todo-list but my time management wasn't up to par. And some dialog was more than a little rushed. If I find the time in the coming weekends I might fix some of that and make a "post-LD" version :)

Regarding endings: I probably should have made it more transparent how much currency/power/fuel is left when the game ends. The majority of the "good" endings require that one made choices so that one has enough of either when encountering the right person. I realize now that why one got a certain ending might be a bit too arbitrary without this information.
stefvanschie
02. Aug 2017 · 08:32 UTC
I quite liked the game. The artwork is pretty good and the story is pretty interesting. The lack of audio made the game feel a bit empty though. I also noticed some tabs on the main menu didn't do anything (like About), and the preferences section contained some movable stuff, but I didn't really know what everything did (or if it even does anything at all).
Emery
02. Aug 2017 · 08:38 UTC
I really liked the idea of the game, yet there were not many endings I could find. Overall this is a fun idea and a cool premise, and if you keep working on it, I can see it being really good. You could also add some audio. Good Job
undi
02. Aug 2017 · 08:39 UTC
I really liked that the action begins immediately. It creates strong momentum. And the plot and characters being developed around your choices has two good consequences: it pushes that momentum even forward, and at the same time feeds the curiosity about replaying the game.

All the endings I found were short enough, the prose and dialogue is concise and simple enough, and the main character's motivations simple enough, to not make another replay a drag.

If you were able to improve the text without making it much longer, verbose or purple, that'd be my main concern, together with what @linky439 pointed out about the fuel UI. And maybe a list of endings.

My biggest concern would've been the harem ending, because it was too abrupt and out-of-character, but I was certainly warned in the description. And, really, who I am to judge?
Esokishi
02. Aug 2017 · 09:36 UTC
Cool game, the universe seems really promising !! If you want to polish the game a little more, it would be nice to have a kinda hall of fame thingy, with black and white portraits of the princess, each one in color for each different ending you got ^^