The day before the harvest by froissant

[raw]
made by froissant for Ludum Dare 52 (JAM)

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TOMORROW, THE HARVEST BEGINS!

LAST CHANCE TO CHILL.

It's the end of summer. Discover the lovely little corner of nature where you've chosen to spend a last day of rest before the harvest season begins.

"The Day Before The Harvest" is a relaxing game that invites you to explore a small map with many secrets to "harvest". Will you be able to complete your journal before the end of the day?

Screenshot 2023-01-18 215652 (4).png

(don't worry if you run out of :clock10:, your progress is carried across playthroughs! 💾)

Nouveau projet (3).png

x8VLj2 (1).png


:sparkles: The game is best enjoyed on desktop using a headset 🎧

| | ⌨️ | :video_game: | | ------ | --- | --- | | MOVE | Arrows / WQSD | Joystick | | INTERACT | Space / Enter | A / X | | JOURNAL | J / Escape | LB / LT |

:information_source: Mobile is, unfortunately, currently not supported.


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Ratings

Overall 113th 3.948⭐ 50🧑‍⚖️
Fun 282th 3.574⭐ 49🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 400th 3.304⭐ 48🧑‍⚖️
Theme 691th 3.098⭐ 48🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 72th 4.375⭐ 50🧑‍⚖️
Audio 51th 4.064⭐ 49🧑‍⚖️
Humor 128th 3.633⭐ 47🧑‍⚖️
Mood 35th 4.234⭐ 49🧑‍⚖️
Given 97🗳️ 64🗨️

Feedback

Orhu
09. Jan 2023 · 20:39 UTC
Fun game! It reminds me a lot of the experience you get from playing Animal Crossing or something like that. You manage to simultaneously create a sort of nostalgia as well as a sense of exploration in this, which is really challenging to do since those things are kind of at odds with one another. I love the music and sounds as well, it's all super well designed and a great time. The only thing I had trouble with was the game's frame rate was a little low. I can't help but feel like the experience would be so much smoother if I could play it on desktop. Amazing work though. One of my favorites of the jam for sure.
Andy-Link
09. Jan 2023 · 21:44 UTC
So cute! The mood it gives is so nice! I found 27 out of the 30 memories but I don't know if I can make the 30. Good luck to the over players :)
Nice job!
titos2k
09. Jan 2023 · 22:36 UTC
one extra point for the Monkey Island reference
🎤 froissant
10. Jan 2023 · 09:29 UTC
Thank you everyone!

@titos2k glad you caught it 😉

@andy-link some are tricky, don't hesitate if you need a hint!

@orhu our apologies regarding the framerate issue you had. We did our best to optimize everything, but it's our first game on this scale and we will use the time post-jam to understand in depth your issue and try to mitigate it in our next jams.
amkingTRP
10. Jan 2023 · 09:45 UTC
Really relaxing cosy game, perfectly captured the feeling you get at the end of the summer holidays. :)

Would love to see more games like this.

Couple of what seemed like graphical glitches for me at the top of the map, I think it's to do with the y-sorting on the trees/rocks/notice board where the player's y value is almost the same. But apart from that it's a gorgeous looking game with great chill music.
kromeboy
10. Jan 2023 · 09:52 UTC
Very relaxing game.
I didn't expect to find Gala - Freed From Desire in this :-D
Pitisek
10. Jan 2023 · 10:11 UTC
Very cool experience, calming and stressful at the same time :D Last minute or so I was just running around and spamming interaction in hope to find something :D
FionaSprinkles
10. Jan 2023 · 10:47 UTC
Haha! The walkman had me laughing! Such a cute game. Love the vibe.
🎤 froissant
10. Jan 2023 · 10:58 UTC
@amkingtrp yeah exactly, previous games we developed were built using the Unity UI framework over Canvases, but for this one we used a 2D world and had lots of issues with the sorting order of the sprites, that's also the reason we have a couple of quirky colliders 😂

@kromeboy haha glad you liked it! Way to evoke nostalgia 🎶

@pitisek nice! did you find all 30 memories? We save them between runs, so you can complete it later! We didn't have time to make a special screen when you collect everything, but if we were to polish the game that would be one of our priorities.

@fionasprinkles thank you 🙏🏻
Nougato
10. Jan 2023 · 12:09 UTC
Really cool game ! with tones of things to found, and lots of winks, I loved the concept, I found 29 of 30, I can't find the last one 😂
🎤 froissant
10. Jan 2023 · 13:09 UTC
@nougato when it starts raining, you can hear the cry of a creature that crawled out of hiding... try something bold with it 😘
HayriCakir
10. Jan 2023 · 13:52 UTC
So nice atmosphere, relaxing...
epb9000
10. Jan 2023 · 15:53 UTC
24/30 on the first run - that's a solid B-! So far I've found 28. Nice atmosphere and certainly a unique take on the theme.

There are spots where the collisions are indeed a little janky, but nothing unplayable. I managed to moonwalk away from the legendary fox, which was pretty great.
elFlashor
10. Jan 2023 · 16:41 UTC
I liked the chillness of all and the cute little observations here and there! Unfortunately not enough to keep me engaged and sustained through it all, as there is no other challenge than moving around to find things... But cute nonetheless! Relaxing :)
Tayteus
10. Jan 2023 · 17:28 UTC
@hayricakir Thank you! Glad you enjoyed!

@epb9000 28! You're closed to the end ! A moonwalk near the legendary fox, that's a poetic performance.

@elflashor You got it, that's a narrative relaxing game to chill around. Thank you for playing.
greenphox
10. Jan 2023 · 21:16 UTC
Really a beautiful game. The ending scene was really nice and the whole use of the theme was really emotional and deep. Nice job! The music fitted the game perfectly and the graphics, being simple and like a kid's drawings added a lot to the game. Really nice job, Kudos!!
Leon Oost
11. Jan 2023 · 10:40 UTC
Relexing and cute game! Almost found all secrets except for one.
Korvack
11. Jan 2023 · 10:46 UTC
Great atmosphere in this very charming little game! I am missing 2 memories and I will start again until I find everything! ^^ it's so relaxing and enjoyable, thank you!
🎤 froissant
11. Jan 2023 · 11:07 UTC
@leon-oost @korvack thanks for your comments, don't hesitate if you need any hints :smile: (there's one above, it might be the one you're missing)
MangoWorks
11. Jan 2023 · 13:49 UTC
Fun little exploration game :smile:
LouisHupp
11. Jan 2023 · 14:17 UTC
Just WOOOOOOOOW !


The univers is incredible ! I love the mood when you walkin inside the map.

The graphist are so beautiful, with all the details, the song and the different quest.

I also like the humor touch with the quest title.

Very good job !
Jason Wilson
11. Jan 2023 · 16:35 UTC
This is a beautiful game! Love the art so much. However, the mushroom hallucination effect would flash on and off which was hard on the eyes. I also noticed a few z-ordering issues when the player character would move too close to an object.

The music and sound were great and matched the aesthetic and vibe of the game well.

The text scroll speed on the player dialog was a bit on the slow side.

I felt the theme was a bit of a stretch as it played more a part in the back story (or after story?) than it did the actual game play.

All in all I think this is a really cute game and great work for a jam! You all did an awesome job.
🎤 froissant
11. Jan 2023 · 16:57 UTC
@jason-wilson thanks for taking the time to play the game and your kind comments!

The mushroom effect is randomized, so sometimes it flashes from zero to a full effect, sometimes it stays on for the whole duration but the effect is less pronounced 🙂

Regarding the theme, it was indeed a bit of a stretch. Our artist initially wanted to do pixel art + have a horror vibe to our game this jam, and we collectively spent more than 2 hours at the start of the night brainstorming ideas around horror games, but we never anything that really clicked. After talking about a game we all played and loved (A Short Hike), I suggested we scrap our current ideas and go for a game without a set goal where you spend your last day of free time before the harvest season and just enjoy yourself. So it's a bit of a stretch, but it helped us get out of a (creative) rut :smile:
zSharpFire
11. Jan 2023 · 19:26 UTC
Really nice little game, the atmosphere is fantastic and the gameplay nice. The only thing i can complain about is the z-fighting between the player and some sprites. Overall a great game
Bo Dangles
12. Jan 2023 · 11:42 UTC
Relaxing game with some really nice touches. The journal was a nice feature. Also some funny dialog and effects with cute sprites. Kinda reminded me of playing animal crossing!
vrerabek
12. Jan 2023 · 11:42 UTC
Fun, calm game. Love the atmosphere and just walking around with my infinity pockets :smile:

Also, can pet a cat, so 5/5.

Great job!
🎤 froissant
12. Jan 2023 · 11:48 UTC
@vrerabek thank you fellow cat lover 😻🙏🏻

@bo-dangles thank you! Animal Crossing and A short hike were inspirations :smile:
Lerg
12. Jan 2023 · 14:23 UTC
What a lovely game! I really enjoyed a short hike and this one was a pleasant experience as well. Graphics are good, music is chill, great job! And indeed very similar to our game by the mood. Nice.
The only thing I'd probably remove are the mushrooms, I think they spoil the experience a little. Eating them instead of collecting... maybe that's the harvest? Haha.
moonlightbomber
13. Jan 2023 · 01:07 UTC
While I didn't get to accomplish all the tasks, the general look and feel of this game is more than enough for me to score a 5.
JUMPirate
13. Jan 2023 · 07:49 UTC
It's a very interesting casual adventure game. There are so many events in the game. Even if I just walk around in the game, I feel very fulfilling.
Mololo
13. Jan 2023 · 16:17 UTC
Awesome graphics and the game is very enjoyable. I had fun searching for events. Great game. Good job!
PatrickRMC
13. Jan 2023 · 23:04 UTC
What a relaxing experience, a really good end to the day as I get to roam around exploring the different parts of the world and reveal a somewhat story behind the place. Fun, relaxing and I love the little parts you can interact with like racing. Good job!
Tygrak
14. Jan 2023 · 12:25 UTC
So pretty! I love the artstyle so much! And the music is very calm and pleasent too. Very enjoyable, great job :)!
schnodelfactory
14. Jan 2023 · 12:26 UTC
It's full of stuff and looks incredibly beautiful! Great, charming submission.<3
miltage
14. Jan 2023 · 12:46 UTC
Love the art style! Very beautiful game and fun to hunt down all the achievements. We managed to find 25/30!
Artyom Volkov
14. Jan 2023 · 21:33 UTC
Nice little game with great visuals. Really enjoy it.
kikiriki367
19. Jan 2023 · 03:38 UTC
Fez called me to say its jealous that im cheating on him! :)) I like it, its that stop and smell the flowers game. I dislike the time a bit though, or at least i dislike that time passes while reading the different descriptions... It makes the game a bit less relaxing and adds that need for a rush. Which on one hand is great because it kind of ads that summer vacation fleeting feeling to it, but on the other makes the player want to mash skip so that he can collect all the things. Which is a message on itself if a think of it and thats yet again cool, but stressful! In any case i really laughed with the mushrooms part and got:

![29.png](///raw/a01/9/z/56a26.png)
Tayteus
19. Jan 2023 · 07:38 UTC
@kikiriki367 Thank you for your constructive comments. We probably still have some balancing to do. You did a great score! Did you kiss the frog? Most players don't dare to do that. Thanks for playing! ☺️
kikiriki367
19. Jan 2023 · 11:41 UTC
Ofcourse i did! First you eat mushrooms and then you lick frogs! Its the classic combo... Also i hoped it would turn into a prince and make me rich... But now that you mention it, being able to see what we found/missed (just its serial number maybe) would also be cool :)) And no need to thank me, it was my pleasure!
LDJam user 296412
23. Jan 2023 · 12:59 UTC
Had only 4 more to find!

Very zen.
Richard Jedlicka
23. Jan 2023 · 22:02 UTC
Nice game, I like like the music and the drawings are very nice. Eating mushrooms is funny :D
Spargit
27. Jan 2023 · 15:25 UTC
What a lovely game! Really enjoyed the way the trees swayed and the bushes reacted to the player walking through them. I also wasn't expecting so much variation on the items that you could interact with, really well done.
Snowdrama
27. Jan 2023 · 18:06 UTC
Nice game! I found all of them! Very cool, I liked the timed events like the frog in the pond in the rain and the fox that was in the way until later.
🎤 froissant
27. Jan 2023 · 18:20 UTC
@snowdrama congrats!