I really enjoyed the aesthetic of this one!

I took me a little while to get it, but I finally managed to finish - after many deaths, as I didn't saw how to find the real children until I had finished, and so I bruteforced it :rofl:

@lereveur it would appear you are the first to beat the game, other than the play-testers. Well done. In fact, you don't have to brute force it—there is an important clue in the game that will make winning much easier. Still, whatever works for you—I hope you had a good time.

Yes, as I said, I didn't saw the clue until I finished the game, but I did find it eventually (and facepalmed when I did :face_palm: :rofl:)
I'm not surprised if I'm first, as your games are always a little cryptic at first glance, but I learnt over numerous LD we took together that with you entries I just have to persevere to be rewarded with the end scene :grin:

Interesting visuals and audio. I didn't realize at first that interacting with things would also make me fade away faster

I didn't understand this game. Too cryptic. Maybe a bit more clarity in the intro will help players figure it out.

The character art design is really nice, with a whimsical yet eerie fairy-tale style. But since I wasn’t clear on the game rules, I tried several times and finally made it to the first child’s channel—only to have no idea what to do next.

The drawings make me feel like I'm in a psychedelic nightmare/dream. There's something really interesting about that feeling, I think.

Woah, this is a fun vibe! I definitely brute-forced it to find some things, but I guess that's what we're supposed to do. It doesn't feel _so_ bad to have to start over once you know where to go. I liked the aesthetic, and the music is excellent!

A really moody game, I really enjoyed the vibes. It reminded me of my weird childhood, specifically tickles some 'creepy' memories of the past. The music is perfect, also I'm a real fan of the clip-art usage. Gameplay felt a bit wonky, though, but I managed to finish the game in a few tries.
Good job!

This location made me feel something.

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Wow. I had some difficulty figuring out what to do at first, but it was fairly easy to pick up where I left off at a game over. However, I do wish there was a restart button within the game itself. If there was one, I couldn't figure it out - I tried spacebar and the arrow keys but no response and had to manually refresh my browser every time. Thankfully, the game loads pretty fast so it wasn't the end of the world.

Some of the navigation seemed wonky (it was possible to go back to the overworld within the TV world, which I don't know if that was supposed to happen).

## Fun
I found this game engaging enough to want to try and figure out the clue. I eventually did win, but I really overthought the "clue" that was mentioned in the previous comments. Here was my thought process hunting for clues:

!>1. Looking at the flowers
!>2. Looking at the shapes (triangles, circles)
!>3. Looking at the tree on the far left - maybe branching paths, what does the bird represent?
!>4. Observing which areas had the minions in the main area before the TV.

!>Then I looked at the channel and thought "oh, it's the children and when they appear on the TV". I thought maybe it was by the order of the screens - the third channel change had a child, so I thought it would be after the 3rd screen. But it also seemed that the children on TV resemble the children in the TV world. I wasn't 100% sure which is the actual clue, but I knew it had something to do with the kiddos.


## Innovation
I found the aesthetic of the game to be very distinct, and I love the concept of being in this mysterious sort of land going into the static-y TV.

In a longer-form version of this game, I would be interested to see an alternation between going into the "real" world vs. the TV world, rather than just having one section with finding all the kids and a simple puzzle just to get into the house with a ton of backtracking. There's a lot of great setup here to expand on further.

## Theme
I didn't really feel the theme in the gameplay but rather the concept itself. The changing of the channels, what they represent - I suppose that was the most I got in terms of the theme integration. It's definitely not a bad thing - it didn't necessarily scream "signal" to me, but I do see where the theme was used when thinking of the game as a whole.

## Graphics
Using coloured pencils and paints to create your game graphics is a power move. At times, it felt a bit like a collage with the pencil-coloured flowers, minions and protagonist. It was very strange, seeing the abstract with the traditional and the cut out photos, but I think that really helps play into the game's mood/atmosphere and gives a lot of opportunity to use the art narratively.

Perhaps the combination of graphical styles could represent the worlds sort of shifting gradually - maybe the whole real world starts as a traditional art style, but as you rescue the kids, things start to become more and more abstract (or could be the reverse of that).

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## Audio
I like that the audio plays into the contrast of the TV world vs. the real world, with acoustic instruments used for the outside world and victory themes while the TV world has chiptune/synths.

I really like the acoustic overworld track and the way the background accompaniment is phased/flanged. Great use of the guitar for the lead - although the first time I heard it, I did feel the guitar was mixed kind of loud compared to the accompaniment. I did get used to it after a while.

I was surprised there weren't sfx when you interact with a minion disguised as a kid, though perhaps that would have made things a little too creepy.

## Mood
The pencil-coloured girl against the dark-coloured background with the abstract shapes creates a distinct atmosphere that works with the darker colour palette for the background. It did seem like there were a lot of elements like the flowers or the red tree with the bird that I wasn't sure if they served any other purpose other than maybe to hint at lore? But it was interesting to see these elements and think about how they would work in the game narratively.

I also think the "collage" style for the playable character worked well with the game being step-based...kind of feels like moving a paper doll along a flat scenic background akin to a stop-motion animated drawing.

@random-storykeeper I like the idea of having a sound effect for interacting with the impostors. The starting point for incorporating the theme into this game was "TV signals," although I can see now that an alternative interpretation is possible.

@kr0tyara thank you for your thoughtful comments. If some strange memory from childhood was resurrected by this game, then we have succeeded in our aim. It is quite a compliment you have given us.

@random-storykeeper the ease of movement between TV land and the outside world was intentional. Such is the nature of mass media, especially television—an insidious, diabolical force in my view.

Your remarks under **Fun** are most curious. I had no idea that folks would go clue-hunting outside the TV screen. Your determination and perseverance are impressive.

@genie, @yumi8, @AnatolyKarpov and I all worked on the art. I did the TV—I am a big fan of collage and cut-outs myself. I was reading about Soviet Constructivism in a book on graphic design recently, and perhaps it was an influence. Then again, there were many influences that shaped this game, but I shouldn't say too much about that.

In any case, I appreciate your detailed and thoughtful comments. Your kindness and consideration are greatly appreciated.

I love the vibe, and the art style also unique, a hand-drawn style that made me feel innocent yet slightly eerie. 💗 Though I guess the interaction may speed up the rate at which players disappear and yellow pills could help players, I still don't really understand the mechanics 😭

This was a very unique and engaging experience. Eerie and otherworldly, and very compelling. I enjoyed figuring out the puzzle. At first, everything seemed so alien. But after a while it all made sense.

Really enjoyed the beautiful art and the mixed media approach.

Stylistically knocked it out of the park! Your unique art style and well designed soundscape really set up the mood of the game perfectly. While the style of game is not one that I enjoy that much I could tell that it was well executed and I think you achieved the mood you were after. Overall really well done!

I love that the art is hand drawn! I also have no idea whatsoever what I'm supposed to do.

This definitely felt like a game that has depth, but I just cannot seem to figure out what to do >_< I managed to find a key and go to the world of static, but then I just fade out there. However, seeing that other commenters have reached the end without brute forcing, I still respect the game. I think it is okay for a game to challenging. :)

I love the unique look of the game and I would love to play it further. Maybe I will come back later :)
Really well done! :D

Loved the atmosphere of this game. Well done.

Hi, I am usually able to resolve your games but here I am totally stuck for days now, I just can't figure out how to not fade away after the first tv entrance, despite getting all the refills on the first level. Any chance of some tips?

Another good one, if a little short compared to some of your previous games :) Appreciate the consistent style between them. Nice, moody audio and visuals as always.

Perhaps going in with fewer preconceptions would've been better, as I thought for sure I'd have to refill my opacity to be able to get all the children, so I got one or two at a time before exiting and trying to make my way back to the yellow orbs a few times before I tried just getting them all at once, and found out it was possible (if only just).

Recognising the children from the channels before entering the static was a good way to provide the clues needed. A longer version with more things like that would've been interesting.

All in all, well done!

@kr4ft3r look carefully at the images on the TV screen, and remember that the witch's minions can disguise themselves. Some of the images are just noise, but others are "signals" from real children. Luke 18:15-17 is the key—you can also read @random-storykeeper's first post above ("Fun") for secular advice, which is helpful in its own way.

I am coming back from the previous edition to check on this unique setting more. Still awe-inspiring! :D


I like the hand drawn graphics and ambient music! I also had difficulties to solve the game, but managed to find the clue after I saw in LeReveur's comment that there is some hint. Nice entry!

Hello again, sorry it took me ages to have another go and win the game. Interestingly, this time you have slimmed down the game's scope to basically one puzzle with two - three small challenges to figure out. With your games' history I was expecting large spaces across multiple dimensions, but I think it is a good decision to make it smaller and easier for people to finish (though ironically this is the one I failed to win without asking for hints, and I see some others have overthought things).

The game is a world of its own as always, with childlike yet vivid and mysterious drawing style and awesome music. Stars on the sky alternate, a cloud moves, such tiny details that won't be appreciated by many but are important. Also I loved the environment change after the kids get rescued.

@ava-skoog that you found the game "short" bespeaks your sharp mind and your insight into our admittedly twisted games. Have we, over the years, rewired your neural structures at the deepest levels? I wonder. Considering the feedback as a whole, most players struggled with this game and failed to beat it. Whether that's good or bad I can't say. There's really no such thing as the "average player," so trying to create a game with said player in mind is a fool's errand, in my view. I've given up on that.

That being stated, I agree that it would have been an improvement to have a longer game with more content. I was aiming for such. It turns out that I had to scrap the framework I was using (Odyc.js) because it depends on Node.js (an abomination)—I found this out on Saturday night—and resort to our old mainstay, REPLICA Framework. Basically I had to start from square one on Sunday morning, for the most part. Still, I'm glad you and others got something out of the game. I have my teammates to thank for whatever faults were overcome.

I wish you luck with the ratings, and look forward to seeing your work in October.

@kr4ft3r your thoughtful comments are appreciated. As you implied, some found the game too short, others too difficult. We had an extra-tight time-frame this time around. As noted above, I had to redesign the game on Sunday morning; a lot of the original content had to be scrapped. I had to hurry to put everything in place. But by golly, we pulled through.

Your attention to detail is also much appreciated; it means our efforts and struggles were not in vain. What better praise can one receive?

I hope to see you again in October.

I like this style of painting. It gives me a feeling similar to when I was a child reading fairy tales. The narrative is also very interesting. By gradually experiencing the entire story, it gives a very immersive feeling. A really great game