{"author_link":"\/users\/sockenpuppe","author_name":"Sockenpuppe","author_uid":"sockenpuppe","comments":[],"epoch":1728484881,"event":"LD56","format":"md","ldjam_node_id":405370,"likes":8,"metadata":{"p_key":"208756","p_author":"Sockenpuppe","p_authorkey":"1261867","p_urlkey":"447124","p_title":"Behind the scenes of \"Are you listening?\"","p_cat":"LDJam ","p_event":"LD56","p_time":"1728484881","p_likes":"8","p_comments":"0","p_status":"WAYBACK","us_key":"1261867","us_name":"Sockenpuppe","us_username":"sockenpuppe","event_start":"1728000000","event_key":"115","event_name":"Ludum Dare 56"},"node":{"_collation":{"body_sanitizer":"TextUtils::SanitizeHTML via existing importer","event":"LD56","removed_author":false},"_superparent":395186,"_trust":1,"author":261867,"body":"![thumbnail.png](\/\/\/raw\/bee\/f3\/z\/6849d.png)\n\n\nIn my last \"Behind the Scenes\" posts I talked about the art side of my visual novel \"Are you listening?\"\n\nToday, I want to talk about some story stuff, mainly how story and gameplay mechanics intersect and my thought process regarding the decisions I made for the three endings and how to reach them. There's also some design stuff that I'll probably mention as well.\n\n\nSince my game is a visual novel and therefore story driven, this post will contain spoilers. If you haven't already played \"Are you listening?\" and want to experience the story spoiler-free I'd advise you not to read any further.\n\n\nYou can check out the game right here:\n\nhttps:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/56\/are-you-listening\n\nYou can always come back later to this post if you're interested in the making of this stuff.\n\n\n~~(Although I do believe that spoilers don't affect the enjoyment of a story. But that's just my opinion.)~~\n\n\n\n_______\n\n\n**Okay. Spoiler time. Please be warned!**\n\n\n\"Are you listening?\" is a story about dealing with the grief of losing a loved one. Early on I made the decision that I wanted to use this event's theme \"Tiny Creatures\" to represent depression.\n\nThat means these cute little critters\n\n![ezgif.com-animated-gif-maker(1).gif](\/\/\/raw\/bee\/f3\/z\/684a0.gif)\n\nare everywhere Leah - the game's protagonist - goes. They are the dark thoughts clouding her mind. The weight clinging to her limbs. You get the picture.\n\nNow why did I go with something cute? Why not chose something with a sinister look?\n\nSimply put: Because I don't want to demonize depression.\n\n\n\nNow, since this is a visual novel, there are choices to be made by the player. But depression can make it hard for someone to make a choice. Especially the \"good\" ones. Simply knowing what would help you with taking care of yourself isn't enough. It often requires effort.\n\nWhich is why (most of) the choices in this game look like this:\n\n![2024-10-0901-31-55-ezgif.com-video-to-gif-converter.gif](\/\/\/raw\/bee\/f3\/z\/684a1.gif)\n\nThe \"good\" choice is buried under depression critters. They have to be removed in order to make the \"good\" choice available.\n\nInitially, I wanted the player's previous decisions to influence the number of critters that would appear on the next choices. I had to cut this mechanic. It would have required a bit more time to implement ~~(and I lost an embarrassing amount of time getting my choice system to work)~~ and I would have to find a balance between placing too few or too many of the critters. (It's something I'll probably look into some time later.)\n\nSo I kind of took a **story first, gameplay second** approach to this. There was a story I wanted to tell. A story that I wanted the player to experience in full. It wouldn't do to annoy the player too much or they would stop playing the game. A tiny effort has to be made, yes. But it shouldn't be a chore.\n\n\nNow, let's talk about the endings.\n\n\"Are you listening?\" has three endings.\n\nOne that is obviously the \"good\" one.\n\nOne that is obviously the \"bad\" one.\n\nAnd one that I wouldn't exactly call \"neutral\" but one that's also ending on a hopeful note.\n\n\nSince not every player will play this game multiple times and since I really wanted to stress that **depression is not the end** I made the decision that the \"good\" ending would be the one that most players would reach on their first try. It's the story I was the most interested in telling.\n\nAgain **story first, gameplay second**.\n\nI was thinking hard about the amount of \"good\" choices that would have to be made in order to get to this ending. I thought about it a long time tbh. And then I said to myself: As long as Leah makes **one** good decision, **there's still hope**. That means, as long as the player engages with the main gameplay mechanic at least once they would get the \"good\" ending.\n\n\nWhat about the other two endings? Well, if the player **only makes \"bad\" choices** this leads to Leah having a breakdown in her bathroom. ~~(It also leads to one of my favourite illustrations I worked on. But that's irrelevant.)~~\n\nA breakdown that is interrupted by a phone call. This last decision determines which one of the last two endings the player would get. Is Leah lost and sees no way out or does she recognise that she needs help and is able to gather the strength to reach out?\n\n\nSo, yeah. That was my thought process. ~~I hope I didn't bore you with my ramblings haha~~\n\n\nThanks for your attention! And sending positive vibes to everyone <3","comments":0,"created":"2024-10-09T14:23:13Z","files":[],"files-timestamp":0,"id":405370,"love":8,"love-timestamp":"2024-10-24T23:01:23Z","meta":[],"modified":"2024-10-24T23:01:23Z","name":"Behind the scenes of \"Are you listening?\"","node-timestamp":"2024-10-09T14:41:21Z","parent":396828,"parents":[1,5,9,395186,396828],"path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/56\/are-you-listening\/behind-the-scenes-of-are-you-listening","published":"2024-10-09T14:41:21Z","scope":"public","slug":"behind-the-scenes-of-are-you-listening","subsubtype":"","subtype":"","type":"post","version":1272908},"node_metadata":{"n_key":"405370","n_urlkey":"447124","n_parent":"396828","n_path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/56\/are-you-listening\/behind-the-scenes-of-are-you-listening","n_slug":"behind-the-scenes-of-are-you-lis","n_type":"post","n_subtype":"","n_subsubtype":"","n_author":"261867","n_created":"1728483793","n_modified":"1729810883","n_version":"1272908","n_status":"WAYBACK"},"source_url":"https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/56\/are-you-listening\/behind-the-scenes-of-are-you-listening","text":"![thumbnail.png](\/\/\/raw\/bee\/f3\/z\/6849d.png)\n\n\nIn my last \"Behind the Scenes\" posts I talked about the art side of my visual novel \"Are you listening?\"\n\nToday, I want to talk about some story stuff, mainly how story and gameplay mechanics intersect and my thought process regarding the decisions I made for the three endings and how to reach them. There's also some design stuff that I'll probably mention as well.\n\n\nSince my game is a visual novel and therefore story driven, this post will contain spoilers. If you haven't already played \"Are you listening?\" and want to experience the story spoiler-free I'd advise you not to read any further.\n\n\nYou can check out the game right here:\n\nhttps:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/56\/are-you-listening\n\nYou can always come back later to this post if you're interested in the making of this stuff.\n\n\n~~(Although I do believe that spoilers don't affect the enjoyment of a story. But that's just my opinion.)~~\n\n\n\n_______\n\n\n**Okay. Spoiler time. Please be warned!**\n\n\n\"Are you listening?\" is a story about dealing with the grief of losing a loved one. Early on I made the decision that I wanted to use this event's theme \"Tiny Creatures\" to represent depression.\n\nThat means these cute little critters\n\n![ezgif.com-animated-gif-maker(1).gif](\/\/\/raw\/bee\/f3\/z\/684a0.gif)\n\nare everywhere Leah - the game's protagonist - goes. They are the dark thoughts clouding her mind. The weight clinging to her limbs. You get the picture.\n\nNow why did I go with something cute? Why not chose something with a sinister look?\n\nSimply put: Because I don't want to demonize depression.\n\n\n\nNow, since this is a visual novel, there are choices to be made by the player. But depression can make it hard for someone to make a choice. Especially the \"good\" ones. Simply knowing what would help you with taking care of yourself isn't enough. It often requires effort.\n\nWhich is why (most of) the choices in this game look like this:\n\n![2024-10-0901-31-55-ezgif.com-video-to-gif-converter.gif](\/\/\/raw\/bee\/f3\/z\/684a1.gif)\n\nThe \"good\" choice is buried under depression critters. They have to be removed in order to make the \"good\" choice available.\n\nInitially, I wanted the player's previous decisions to influence the number of critters that would appear on the next choices. I had to cut this mechanic. It would have required a bit more time to implement ~~(and I lost an embarrassing amount of time getting my choice system to work)~~ and I would have to find a balance between placing too few or too many of the critters. (It's something I'll probably look into some time later.)\n\nSo I kind of took a **story first, gameplay second** approach to this. There was a story I wanted to tell. A story that I wanted the player to experience in full. It wouldn't do to annoy the player too much or they would stop playing the game. A tiny effort has to be made, yes. But it shouldn't be a chore.\n\n\nNow, let's talk about the endings.\n\n\"Are you listening?\" has three endings.\n\nOne that is obviously the \"good\" one.\n\nOne that is obviously the \"bad\" one.\n\nAnd one that I wouldn't exactly call \"neutral\" but one that's also ending on a hopeful note.\n\n\nSince not every player will play this game multiple times and since I really wanted to stress that **depression is not the end** I made the decision that the \"good\" ending would be the one that most players would reach on their first try. It's the story I was the most interested in telling.\n\nAgain **story first, gameplay second**.\n\nI was thinking hard about the amount of \"good\" choices that would have to be made in order to get to this ending. I thought about it a long time tbh. And then I said to myself: As long as Leah makes **one** good decision, **there's still hope**. That means, as long as the player engages with the main gameplay mechanic at least once they would get the \"good\" ending.\n\n\nWhat about the other two endings? Well, if the player **only makes \"bad\" choices** this leads to Leah having a breakdown in her bathroom. ~~(It also leads to one of my favourite illustrations I worked on. But that's irrelevant.)~~\n\nA breakdown that is interrupted by a phone call. This last decision determines which one of the last two endings the player would get. Is Leah lost and sees no way out or does she recognise that she needs help and is able to gather the strength to reach out?\n\n\nSo, yeah. That was my thought process. ~~I hope I didn't bore you with my ramblings haha~~\n\n\nThanks for your attention! And sending positive vibes to everyone <3","title":"Behind the scenes of \"Are you listening?\"","wayback_source":[]}