Yush! Managed to play your game after sooo long! So sorry and thank you for the wait 😭🤲🏻💞 Anyways--
The Daughters of the Sun is so beautifully tragic! They truly don't deserve to be put in this position just because their ancestor snitched on an affair. Tragedy of a patriarchal society indeed 😭 Idk if there's more to it though, since schools in my country don't teach Greek mythology, so I'm often lost with these things, haha x'3
But from what I've read here and understand, I really enjoyed it! And you wrote everything so beautifully! I feel the most for Ariadne. She seems too sweet and innocent to be roped into all this 😩🤲🏻
So, 10/10 for the writing! Short, yet still impactful. Great job, Chim! 🥳✨💞 I also ADORE the art direction. It's awesome how they look like completely different characters with just palette and face feature variations. Not even my face blindness surfaces here. That's really saying something 😳👌🏻 And the BG is GORGEOUS!! I love how the sun in the back frames Phaedra, like there's backlighting of the sun behind her. Really ties in great with her being the daughter of the sun 😭🤲🏻✨💞💞💞
Same goes with the voice acting! Just one VA and yet they all sound distinct?! Whoa! I'm impressed 🤯✨
As for improvement feedback~ There's really not much to say besides some minor typos and the music not sounding loud enough for me at 100% volume 😂 I suspect you didn't optimize it for non-head/earphone users like me? 🙉 Completely understandable tho since people like me are rare, lol. I don't use them unless absolutely necessary since they're uncomfortable to wear. So yeah, you might wanna keep non-wearers like me in mind for next time. Up to you though! 🥰💞
But yeah, solid 9/10 game for me! Great job, Chim and Justine! I'll be looking forward to playing the sequel tomorrow 😁🤲🏻💞💞
So curious what Hippolytus thinks about all this 👀
Oooh, the way you describe the fates of the daughters of the sun is very interesting and I do wonder how it's going to evolve when you play Son of the Woods and then The Thread and the Sword! For the mythology, I did write a check-up in the first devlog, but I think you should be able to navigate through these games without needing much knowledge! And for Ariadne, yes, she's the only one whose innocence can't be questioned lol.
I am happy you enjoyed the art direction! I had to work within the restrictions of O2A2 and the colour switching felt like a good idea (and gosh, the face blindness thing is A HUGE compliment, I'm flattered!!!!)
For Justine, yes, she's amazing in this game, and you'll get to hear her again in The Thread and the Sword! Only as Phaedra this time but... let's say, with a wider range of emotions lol
For the feedback, I take note, thanks! If I guess I can't escape from my typo curse (although the typo in the "This is it, Pheadra" which opens the game really is a shame lol), I do take note for the volume issue; I'll admit for the music, it was more about making sure it doesn't sound louder than the voice acting, but I do have to find a balance indeed!
Thanks for your feedback, I hope Hippolytus' perspective... moves things around!!
Omg, all this about moving things around... I feel a bigger tragedy incoming agsjksls-- 👀👀👉🏻👈🏻 Even more hyped to read! 😌🤲🏻✨
Lol, yeah, the typo thing indeed is a curse all of us writers have to deal with. Even when we do multiple passes, more seems to pop up?! Like wtf! 😭😂😂 So just having minor typos is already awesome, no worries 😌👌🏻✨
And ahh, I see~ That explains it! Is there a way to default the game's settings to what you want at players startup? This way, you can still have the asset volume at 100%, but have the volume already lowered in the game itself, so that if players need it to be louder, they can do so no problem 😁🤲🏻
I don't use Ren'py, so I have no idea how it works, lol. I wish you the best with it! 🥰💞
(honestly, there might be a way to set the default volume to a specific value, I'll need to explore that indeed for the next time I make a voiced game, because this flaw is particularly apparent in The Thread and the Sword lol!)
I knew the myth but I never thought too hard about Phaedra and her connection to Ariadne and Pasiphae. At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to play this game (Or technically read this game.) but I have no regrets! You did a great job of depicting the myths of the daughters of the sun, showing their connection to Aphrodite, and I enjoyed the writing greatly! The voice actress did an awesome job too! Overall, I really enjoyed this!
Hi, thanks for the feedback, I'm happy you tried this game (and Son of the Woods, I also read your comment!) and enjoyed it!! I can only agree for the voice acting, it was gorgeous!
(Coincidentally enough, I released the last volume of the trilogy today, if you're interested, you can click here!)
Once again, thanks a lot for the kind words (and the rating actually, it helps!), they always mean the world!!
Hi, thanks for the video, it was funny to watch! For some lore explanation, since you felt a bit lost: - the Sun, ancestor of the three characters, cast light on Aphrodite when she was trapped, with her lover, in a net forged by her husband, revealing to all the Gods the affair. Humiliated, she decided to make all the female descendants of the Sun unhappy in love; - so, Pasiphaë (red character), fell in love with a bull; Ariadne (pink character) fell in love with a man (Theseus) who abandoned her on an isle only to marry her sister; Phaedra, the sister in question (purple character), fell in love with her step-son, Hippolytus, the son of Theseus and another woman (yes, Theseus was a womaniser defvgfe); - so, at this point in the story, Phaedra confessed her love to Hippolytus, which she didn't want to for obvious incestuous reasons (+ Hippolytus hates love, but the sequel, Son of the Woods, expands more on this if you're curious, as it displays Hippolytus' perspective instead); desperate and shameful, she poisoned herself, and the game is her slowly dying from the poison
Also thanks for the compliments on the art and I agree: the voice acting is excellent, Justine did a superb work as the three characters! And I'm glad I made you discover this myth!!
Wow, I am glad you replied with the explanation! Thank you so much for watching. I'll have to keep an eye on future games because I haven't delved into this type of stuff but it's pretty interesting and I am happy to see you're passionate about it enough to make your own works on it. Keep up the great game devving!
I really like how the myth was told!! Also, the use of the sprite by changing the colors to represent each daughter is very clever. That's so cool AHHH!! The art and the voice acting were both amazing as well! Great game :D
Hey, thank you for your very nice feedback! I'm very happy you enjoyed the game, I had a lot of fun with coding the colour feature too! And yes, the voice acting is really excellent here, haha! Thanks for supporting me!
I knew the myth so I was aware of where the story was directing towards, but this entry is beautiful nonetheless. The symbolism (yes, I caught the color of the statues), the general color of the background and sprites (going to a warm color only once) and especially the voice acting and writing really sell the tragedy to the player. It's hearbreaking to see those women being abandoned by the sun but they sure aren't forgotten! A really good game, Chimerique! Bravo!
Hi, Banya, thanks for the feedback! Haha, I'll admit the point of the entry wasn't to be mysterious (I mean, Phaedra explains she took poison line 2, the outcome is obvious), but I hope you enjoyed the direction I took with the myth! Also, there is more to the symbolism than the background, but I know some players failed to notice it during gameplay, so congrats!!! And aaaah, your last sentence, it's so heartwarming to read that! To think they will live in the memory of all those who played the game... *explosion*
Just absolutely beautiful. Everything about this was so well put together, from the choice of music, to the excellent casting of such a talented VA. Using one person capable of portraying three, as well as the colored sprites, was SO UNIQUE! I really appreciate how poetic all your games are, but this one really takes the cake for me (so far!).
It feels like a play, and I loved watching her expression slowly become more withered and broken. Even this itch page is beautiful!! How the game fades into the background and itch page art....
Chim, you truly are a master of visual novels, writing, and art. <3
Aaaah, thanks for the flattering feedback, Snakk! I agree with you: the VA is amazing, and I had a lot of fun playing around with colour matrixes to work hand in hand with the jam restrictions!!
And wowie, thanks for noticing for the itch page, haha, I also like how it blends in! I feel like playing the web version, if not buggy, is the optimal experience!
Aaaaaaaaaaaah, I really don’t feel like a master at all, but I’m glad you enjoyed everything at least!!!!!
A tragic story wonderfully told in a way that was like taking a trip to the theatre. The voice actor did a phenomenal job and the anguish of Phaedra could be felt through the expressions! Great job all-around!
Ah, thank you so much, I'm glad it felt like going to the theatre, I really wanted the game to give this vibe!! And I agree, Justine did the writing so much justice!!! Thanks for your nice feedback!
I love that feminist reinterpretations of classical mythology are having a moment right now. Lovely art and nice use of color, really captures the classical vibe. (I'm not sure whether the text is yours or from Racine; fabulous and well-integrated either way.)
Hi, thanks! It's quite shy here, haha, but I wanted to reflect a bit on the tendency of having women being sacrificed (willingly or not) for men's sake in media!
(Some parts of me, most of the imagery is Racine's. I'm working on a devlog detailing how much this game owes to Racine!)
I never thought I’d see Racine in a VN someday… And it was so so good!!
The staging focused on the monologue, the voice acting, the slow text speed worked so well together, I’ve never seen a VN reproduce the feeling of theatre so well like this!
And that helplessness, the writing was so good… Now I’m just wishing I could read a full rendition of a classical tragedy you made, ahah.
Aaaah, that is sugh high praise, thank you! But yes, I'm Racine-obsessed, so it was very fun to work on it! (I was working on a devlog yesterday to explicit how much I owe to Phaedra, since it might not be obvious to those who haven't read the play, and doing so, I realised I even owed a line to Andromache!)
I'm happy I reproduced the feeling of theatre, aaaah!!!! Another review I got was "this thing should be a play", so I guess I really got something there! I'm happy you highlighted that too!
For now... I have written some classical tragedies (I have been studying classical poetry for eight years, haha, another big passion of mine!), so if you want to read them at some point, don't hesitate to reach out!
There's some really nice voice acting and UI in this one. Using one sprite with different colour alts for different characters was very clever; a really neat way of working with the jam's rules.
Also, I'm impressed all three characters were voiced by the same person; I thought they were three different VAs, your voice actor did such a good job!
The writing is really nice, emotional, and evocative too. This feels very polished all around; you did a great job!
Hi, thanks for the feedback! I am also very excited with the voice acting, Justine did a fantastical work with the three characters! I feel like I did the bare-minimum GUI wise, but at least, I had fun trying to make something kinda visually appealing and consistent (especially considering my initial “the same sprite for three characters” idea!).
Thanks a lot for the feedback, it is highly appreciated!
Even as someone who really enjoys Greek Mythology, I hadn't heard of this tragedy before; so learning of it through this visual novel was a delight.
I find it amazing how with one sprite you made three different characters, and how the voice actress interpreted all of it. Her voice truly worked wonders to accompany this story, letting us feel her pain more than ever.
The art, too, was stunning! I like the choice of monochromatic palettes for it, it's striking!
Honestly, I myself am interested in making retellings of Greek Myths in VNs (I have a specific one in mind...) so seeing a piece of a tragedy brought to the medium makes me quite happy!
I'm glad I made you discover Phaedra's tragedy, haha! I guess Ariadne's is more famous (and even Pasiphaë's, because of the Minotaur), but I sincerely believe Phaedra is the most interesting one of the three!
Yes, I wanted to explore colour matrixes and having one sprite for the three characters was the main "narrative design" idea of the VN, so I'm quite happy with the result, if I'm honest! And Justine did a fabulous work giving a voice to these three characters!
Thank you for enjoying the art too, it means a lot from you! And I'm so excited to read your own retellings! (And I know retellings about Narcissus and Orpheus are being made for this jam... just saying...)
Yeah, Ariadne is definitely the one I'm most acquainted with- even Pasiphaë I knew little of.
The colour matrixes idea was so cool honestly! Absolutely clever >v<
And you're very welcome! I'm not sure when I'll get to my own retelling but I have ideas (whispers: it has to do with Demeter). Quite intrigued about Narcissus and Orpheus thooo hohoho
Oh my! What a beautiful tragedy! The VA did such a great job portraying such emotions, and it's a great use of a single sprite to represent the daughters. I'm happy I got to experience such a great narrative!
Yes, Justine really did wonders with the voice acting!! And I am quite happy with the use of colour matrixes to have several characters, hehe, it helped unify the three women as daughters of the sun!
“I’m happy I got to experience such a great narrative” it sounds so flattering somehow efvrgvtbgbe thank you so much!!!!!
Honestly, you are blowing me away with these JAM entries. Love the voice acting, and it was such an amazing experience! (One sprite for many characters truly work wonders)
Aaaah, thanks Azure, I’m glad you enjoyed it!! I agree, the voice acting is just perfect!! (And yes, thematically-wise, I liked the idea of having one sprite, and now, I experimented with colour matrixes and demystified them, hurray!)
aaaaaaaaa this was such a moving experience!! The art & writing combined with the music and amazing voice acting was very captivating. I have to admit I am usually someone who speeds through VNs, skipping over voiced dialogue once i've read the text (I have adhd and bugs for brains) but for this I HAD to sit through it all properly! The use of colour to convey the different characters was such a smart way of working with the limitations o2a2 presents! beaauutifull presentation overall, amazing work!! 👏👏
(also I am blown away by how well you managed to fit such a comprehensive story in under 1k words!??!)
Aaaah, thanks for the feedback Tief!! Yes, the voice acting was amazing and I’m glad you enjoyed the rest too and thought it all worked together!
Ha ha, same, I used to skip voice acting too, but I progressively learnt to appreciate it and let good voices do the reading for me, haha! And yes, I had fun with colour matrixes to work hand in hand with the limitations!
(Ah, thanks!! Honestly, I knew before writing it that the story wouldn’t be difficult to put under 1K words, but it’s true that there is a lot of context: I had to think about what was most important to keep to convey it efficiently, haha!)
I just played this early in the morning and you had me in holding on to my blanket!! this game was beautiful, it was love, it was sad! I love every bit of this! I don't do 5 stars but if I do do 10/10s and this was a 10/10!
Hey, thanks! I watched the video and commented on it, it was an amazing watch, thank you!
(For the five-star rating, I'm talking about the "Rate this game" on the right corner of the game page, haha! Most players don't think of it or even know it's there, despite it being actually helpful to the devs!).
Loved the clever use of the very limited assets, and the overall composition of the scene! You went the minimalistic route, but I think it works so well, because the focus is on the character, as it should be. (I liked the sprites very much, too, and you managed to create three (!) different characters with just one base, which is super impressive!)
Also, I can't end this comment without complimenting the fantastic voice acting. Not only the sheer range of voices (you could've fooled me if I didn't know it was one person lol), but the emotions are raw and believable, and they complete this very artistic piece. 👌
Minimalism was an important part: it's just the night, nothingness slowly surrounding Phaedra as she perishes, and I wanted the background to be more symbolic than geographic I guess(??) (like, two Aphrodites on the side, and the sun in the middle). I had a lot of fun exploring colour matrixes to have three different characters (beside the expressions used), it felt thematically-relevant and a way to have fun with the restrictions (rather than suffering because of them!)
I can only agree with you, the voice acting is phenomenal, Justice DE-LI-VERED!!
Thanks again for testing it out and giving your opinion! It always means a lot!
The quality was IN FACT TOP TIER! Justine literally couldn't have been a better choice they delivered each and every line brilliantly! But, it's a symbiotic relationship, the script is wonderfully nihilistic-ly beautiful. A tormented woman's final thoughts, presented in such a soliloquy way was just so much fun!
The presentation can not be understated here, honestly, I feel like the piece shone so much brighter due to the limitations, (and not just because you wrote about the "Daughters of the Sun" hehe) which is the beauty of this jam!
I will probably reread a couple times because I'm not familiar with the original work and I am trying to make sense of it all, but even without the full scope I entirely bought into the emotion and betrayal Phaedra felt from Aphrodite, for herself and her sisters.
This is so fantastic! It's crazy you did this in such a short amount of time, you had a vision and you DELIVERED. Huge pat on the back to you and Justine friend <3
Justine indeed did an excellent job with the game and really made the writing shine through (Racine's writing being top-tier is also part of the whole thing I guess).
I'm glad you enjoyed the presentation! I tried to make a project which wouldn't just be made under the restrictions, but also made for them!
Ha ha, if you're interested, there is a whole mythological check-up in the devlog if you need more context clues to get the full picture!
And yes!! For once, I really feel like the game is extremely close to my vision, which makes me very happy! Thanks for being so nice as always!!!!
The change of color, the different expressions, attitude and the voice acting made them so distinctive from one another!!
I also really like the background!!
Those poor women in myths, it's feels like a man can do something bad and a random woman passing by will be punish instead of him (well it's kinda worst because in so many cases they are the victim AND get punished)
I had fun exploring colour matrixes, and yes, the voice acting really sold them as three different characters!
And I agree with you, women being sacrificed for men is something we see in a lot of media and that’s something I wanted to tackle with this game! Ultimately, if I’m being honest, I don’t consider Phaedra completely innocent (in Racine’s play, she frames Hippolytus for sexual assault + confessing your love to your step-son is a bad move in general), but somehow, it still feels undeserved when you think of the origin of it all!
All I can really say after playing this was WOW, this was an absolutely stunning experience! The lines beautifully communicate the emotions of the three characters, from Ariadne's hopeful romanticism to Pasiphae's shame to Phaedra's indignation at Aphrodite's deeds. Overall the script was VERY tightly written, with extremely good pace and flow. Even for someone not very familiar with the myth like myself, I found the story to be emotionally evocative and moving.
Extremely clever use of the "one sprite" to represent the three different characters. Not only did it enable the writer to portray the three different characters within the jam constraints, but it also helped to communicate that while they are different people, ultimately all of the "daughters of the sun" had the same hellish, tragic fate. I really applaud the use of the same voice actress for the same reason! VERY well-designed game for O2A2!
This game was EXTREMELY well polished, and I loved the entire aesthetic. The color palette was gorgeous, with the use of different colors to represent the daughters and the gold tints in the background for Phaedra (I also really liked how the gold faded out to black and white to communicate when Pasiphae and Ariadne were speaking). The bold, saturated colors really stood out well against the black background. The sprite is gorgeous (I love the hair), and all three versions are beautifully expressive. The choice for the background music track was very good. The voice acting was ABSOLUTELY STUNNING, and the actress did a fantastic job portraying all three women as distinct characters.
Slight spoilers - I thought that the themes were quite interesting and in line with what I know of Greek mythology! Aphrodite punishing the daughters instead of Helios despite being a victim of a patriarchal society herself, and Phaedra ultimately blaming Zeus, the father of the problems that led to this horrific fate. I think that it reframes tragedies that would normally be blamed on the women involved (Ariadne for her betrayal, Pasiphae/Phaedra for their lust, Aphrodite for her curses) instead on society/factors outside of their control, which I found to be quite fascinating!
Overall the dev can give himself a pat on the back! Racine would be proud (probably)!
I’m happy you enjoyed the story and found it touching! Phaedra is really my favourite myth (but also because she’s a contrasted character: it shows more in Racine’s play than in my game, but falling in love with your step-son because you’re cursed by a Goddess is a thing; framing your step-son for sexual assault is another).
And thanks for noticing the way I tried to work around the restrictions of the jam to make sense of them thematically and symbolically! You can also notice that even Phaedra’s background progressively loses its colour, ending up being the same one used for Pasiphaë and Ariadne: she finds herself in the same state in the end.
I can only agree for the voice work: Justine offered an amazing performance which made me feel things I didn’t think I could experience with one of my texts (her “I yelled at Hippolytus, I begged him to STRIKE” always gets me, and the way she plays the ending, aaaah)!
Oh, for clarification, when Phaedra mentions “the father and master of all gods”, she isn’t talking about Zeus, but still about Helios (as the sun, he’s above them all, that’s why she says that; the periphrasis is taken from Racine)! And glad you caught up on the questioning about women paying for men’s actions! Ultimately, I’ll admit I don’t think Phaedra is totally guilty, but she isn’t totally innocent either (something Racine states in his preface, on which I agree)!
Now, I don’t know if Racine would enjoy this game (if he was alive today, I SWEAR he would be conservative), but I hope I honoured what I enjoy about Phaedra! Thanks for the nice feedback, Chatter!
Aaaah, thanks a lot for the nice feedback! I can only agree on the voice acting, Justine really nailed the three parts! For the writing, I'll admit it's heavily inspired from Jean Racine, so I have to agree too!
Ha ha, I had a lot of fun with the expressions and with making them diverse, despite the restrictions of the jam! And yes, I wanted to have some "ugly" crying, it felt more desperate?
(I'm glad it did! Phaedra is my favourite myth, but there are so many to explore!)
And yes, I was surprised but the web version is really smooth this time? (+) I don't know but I think it really fits the game page?? But thanks for letting me know!!
Oh my actual gosh. This was breathtakingly beautiful!!! The design, the art, the music, the voice acting -- literally everything! I feel like I've just witnessed an absolutely beautiful and heartbreaking work of art; one that continues to gouge away at my heart even as I sit here now writing this comment... 💦
Like. Just. OK the design??? How it really brought to life the feeling of a Greek tragedy just in the composition? And the style of your gorgeous art? And the COLOR USE! In love with how you used the different colors to differentiate the three of them (and what a clever way to use the jam restrictions lkdjaldskfa). It's like. So simple. But so effective. Honestly just dripping with style all the way down to its code LOL
The music choice? SPOT ON. At times it practically felt like it was harmonizing with the voice. Literally gave me chills.
AND THE FREAKING VOICE ACTING IS SOOOOOOOOO GOOD. My gosh the emotiveness in those lines! Absolutely heartbreaking, heartwrenching, heart-cut-into-a-million-pieces-ing. Not only that but to play the three different characters and have them feel so distinct! Honestly just an amazing job.
I admit I didn't really know much about the story of Phaedra (or her mother and sister) before this. I know like, some of the main Greek myths and stories but not a ton of them. So this was really cool to kind of like, get this little introspective piece about a not-so-oft talked about myth. The poem is so beautiful and filled with so much vivid imagery!
GUH.
ANYWAY.
Absolutely fantastic! This was such a moving experience. Just beautiful and haunting. Thanks for moistening my eyes yet again!! 😭💦💕
Aaaah, thanks Carrot for your detailed feedback, I'm glad you appreciated this "game"! (I'll admit it feels less like a game than something more experimental, but still!)
And yes! I had a lot of fun trying to play around with colour matrixes! I was worried but in the end, it wasn't hard at all, so being able to use a same base and to yet differentiate the three women thanks to it was very satisfying! And yes, my idea was to use the restrictions of the jam in a clever way, and to have a project that could be produced only under these restrictions!
Honestly, the imagery is mostly stolen from Racine, but I'm happy I made you discover the myth and have a glimpse of his amazing writing! It was the whole point of the project, haha, just me being a Racine's fanboy (well, of his work at least, as the man, in himself, was kind of a jerk, even from the 17th century's standards??)!
I wanted to use another music track at first, but it was too intense, and I'm glad I could find this one because it really works perfectly for this game! And I can only second you on the voice-acting, it is EXTREMELY good, and Justine is highly skilled!!! She really brought the three characters to life, which is a real display of her abilities!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts per usual, they always are so precious!! And you're welcome, hydratation is important, even for the eyes!
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Yush! Managed to play your game after sooo long! So sorry and thank you for the wait 😭🤲🏻💞 Anyways--
The Daughters of the Sun is so beautifully tragic! They truly don't deserve to be put in this position just because their ancestor snitched on an affair. Tragedy of a patriarchal society indeed 😭 Idk if there's more to it though, since schools in my country don't teach Greek mythology, so I'm often lost with these things, haha x'3
But from what I've read here and understand, I really enjoyed it! And you wrote everything so beautifully! I feel the most for Ariadne. She seems too sweet and innocent to be roped into all this 😩🤲🏻
So, 10/10 for the writing! Short, yet still impactful. Great job, Chim! 🥳✨💞 I also ADORE the art direction. It's awesome how they look like completely different characters with just palette and face feature variations. Not even my face blindness surfaces here. That's really saying something 😳👌🏻 And the BG is GORGEOUS!! I love how the sun in the back frames Phaedra, like there's backlighting of the sun behind her. Really ties in great with her being the daughter of the sun 😭🤲🏻✨💞💞💞
Same goes with the voice acting! Just one VA and yet they all sound distinct?! Whoa! I'm impressed 🤯✨
As for improvement feedback~ There's really not much to say besides some minor typos and the music not sounding loud enough for me at 100% volume 😂 I suspect you didn't optimize it for non-head/earphone users like me? 🙉 Completely understandable tho since people like me are rare, lol. I don't use them unless absolutely necessary since they're uncomfortable to wear. So yeah, you might wanna keep non-wearers like me in mind for next time. Up to you though! 🥰💞
But yeah, solid 9/10 game for me! Great job, Chim and Justine! I'll be looking forward to playing the sequel tomorrow 😁🤲🏻💞💞
So curious what Hippolytus thinks about all this 👀
Hey L, thanks for your detailed feedback!
Oooh, the way you describe the fates of the daughters of the sun is very interesting and I do wonder how it's going to evolve when you play Son of the Woods and then The Thread and the Sword! For the mythology, I did write a check-up in the first devlog, but I think you should be able to navigate through these games without needing much knowledge! And for Ariadne, yes, she's the only one whose innocence can't be questioned lol.
I am happy you enjoyed the art direction! I had to work within the restrictions of O2A2 and the colour switching felt like a good idea (and gosh, the face blindness thing is A HUGE compliment, I'm flattered!!!!)
For Justine, yes, she's amazing in this game, and you'll get to hear her again in The Thread and the Sword! Only as Phaedra this time but... let's say, with a wider range of emotions lol
For the feedback, I take note, thanks! If I guess I can't escape from my typo curse (although the typo in the "This is it, Pheadra" which opens the game really is a shame lol), I do take note for the volume issue; I'll admit for the music, it was more about making sure it doesn't sound louder than the voice acting, but I do have to find a balance indeed!
Thanks for your feedback, I hope Hippolytus' perspective... moves things around!!
You're welcome! 😁💞
Omg, all this about moving things around... I feel a bigger tragedy incoming agsjksls-- 👀👀👉🏻👈🏻 Even more hyped to read! 😌🤲🏻✨
Lol, yeah, the typo thing indeed is a curse all of us writers have to deal with. Even when we do multiple passes, more seems to pop up?! Like wtf! 😭😂😂 So just having minor typos is already awesome, no worries 😌👌🏻✨
And ahh, I see~ That explains it! Is there a way to default the game's settings to what you want at players startup? This way, you can still have the asset volume at 100%, but have the volume already lowered in the game itself, so that if players need it to be louder, they can do so no problem 😁🤲🏻
I don't use Ren'py, so I have no idea how it works, lol. I wish you the best with it! 🥰💞
(honestly, there might be a way to set the default volume to a specific value, I'll need to explore that indeed for the next time I make a voiced game, because this flaw is particularly apparent in The Thread and the Sword lol!)
Sounds good! That settles it then. Good luck 😁🤲🏻💞
I knew the myth but I never thought too hard about Phaedra and her connection to Ariadne and Pasiphae. At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to play this game (Or technically read this game.) but I have no regrets! You did a great job of depicting the myths of the daughters of the sun, showing their connection to Aphrodite, and I enjoyed the writing greatly! The voice actress did an awesome job too! Overall, I really enjoyed this!
Hi, thanks for the feedback, I'm happy you tried this game (and Son of the Woods, I also read your comment!) and enjoyed it!! I can only agree for the voice acting, it was gorgeous!
(Coincidentally enough, I released the last volume of the trilogy today, if you're interested, you can click here!)
Once again, thanks a lot for the kind words (and the rating actually, it helps!), they always mean the world!!
The art was beautiful and I wasn't really well versed in the myth, I was happy I got to play it. The voice acting is really great as well!
Hi, thanks for the video, it was funny to watch! For some lore explanation, since you felt a bit lost:
- the Sun, ancestor of the three characters, cast light on Aphrodite when she was trapped, with her lover, in a net forged by her husband, revealing to all the Gods the affair. Humiliated, she decided to make all the female descendants of the Sun unhappy in love;
- so, Pasiphaë (red character), fell in love with a bull; Ariadne (pink character) fell in love with a man (Theseus) who abandoned her on an isle only to marry her sister; Phaedra, the sister in question (purple character), fell in love with her step-son, Hippolytus, the son of Theseus and another woman (yes, Theseus was a womaniser defvgfe);
- so, at this point in the story, Phaedra confessed her love to Hippolytus, which she didn't want to for obvious incestuous reasons (+ Hippolytus hates love, but the sequel, Son of the Woods, expands more on this if you're curious, as it displays Hippolytus' perspective instead); desperate and shameful, she poisoned herself, and the game is her slowly dying from the poison
Also thanks for the compliments on the art and I agree: the voice acting is excellent, Justine did a superb work as the three characters! And I'm glad I made you discover this myth!!
Wow, I am glad you replied with the explanation! Thank you so much for watching. I'll have to keep an eye on future games because I haven't delved into this type of stuff but it's pretty interesting and I am happy to see you're passionate about it enough to make your own works on it. Keep up the great game devving!
I really like how the myth was told!! Also, the use of the sprite by changing the colors to represent each daughter is very clever. That's so cool AHHH!! The art and the voice acting were both amazing as well! Great game :D
Hey, thank you for your very nice feedback! I'm very happy you enjoyed the game, I had a lot of fun with coding the colour feature too! And yes, the voice acting is really excellent here, haha! Thanks for supporting me!
Just realized that I forgot to drop an actual comment LOL ^^;
But as I said earlier, great game Chim! Interesting myth you've drawn from and well executed by everyone involved. Yay you!! <3
Ha ha, don't worry, Tyme! I love this myth (and especially Racine's depiction!). Thanks for the comment, yay you too!
I knew the myth so I was aware of where the story was directing towards, but this entry is beautiful nonetheless. The symbolism (yes, I caught the color of the statues), the general color of the background and sprites (going to a warm color only once) and especially the voice acting and writing really sell the tragedy to the player. It's hearbreaking to see those women being abandoned by the sun but they sure aren't forgotten!
A really good game, Chimerique! Bravo!
Hi, Banya, thanks for the feedback! Haha, I'll admit the point of the entry wasn't to be mysterious (I mean, Phaedra explains she took poison line 2, the outcome is obvious), but I hope you enjoyed the direction I took with the myth! Also, there is more to the symbolism than the background, but I know some players failed to notice it during gameplay, so congrats!!! And aaaah, your last sentence, it's so heartwarming to read that! To think they will live in the memory of all those who played the game... *explosion*
Just absolutely beautiful. Everything about this was so well put together, from the choice of music, to the excellent casting of such a talented VA. Using one person capable of portraying three, as well as the colored sprites, was SO UNIQUE! I really appreciate how poetic all your games are, but this one really takes the cake for me (so far!).
It feels like a play, and I loved watching her expression slowly become more withered and broken. Even this itch page is beautiful!! How the game fades into the background and itch page art....
Chim, you truly are a master of visual novels, writing, and art. <3
Aaaah, thanks for the flattering feedback, Snakk! I agree with you: the VA is amazing, and I had a lot of fun playing around with colour matrixes to work hand in hand with the jam restrictions!!
And wowie, thanks for noticing for the itch page, haha, I also like how it blends in! I feel like playing the web version, if not buggy, is the optimal experience!
Aaaaaaaaaaaah, I really don’t feel like a master at all, but I’m glad you enjoyed everything at least!!!!!
Great visual novel, heart breaking. :(
Thanks a lot! And alas, it is the doom of tragedy: to break hearts!!!!
A tragic story wonderfully told in a way that was like taking a trip to the theatre. The voice actor did a phenomenal job and the anguish of Phaedra could be felt through the expressions! Great job all-around!
Ah, thank you so much, I'm glad it felt like going to the theatre, I really wanted the game to give this vibe!! And I agree, Justine did the writing so much justice!!! Thanks for your nice feedback!
I love that feminist reinterpretations of classical mythology are having a moment right now. Lovely art and nice use of color, really captures the classical vibe. (I'm not sure whether the text is yours or from Racine; fabulous and well-integrated either way.)
Hi, thanks! It's quite shy here, haha, but I wanted to reflect a bit on the tendency of having women being sacrificed (willingly or not) for men's sake in media!
(Some parts of me, most of the imagery is Racine's. I'm working on a devlog detailing how much this game owes to Racine!)
I never thought I’d see Racine in a VN someday… And it was so so good!!
The staging focused on the monologue, the voice acting, the slow text speed worked so well together, I’ve never seen a VN reproduce the feeling of theatre so well like this!
And that helplessness, the writing was so good… Now I’m just wishing I could read a full rendition of a classical tragedy you made, ahah.
Aaaah, that is sugh high praise, thank you! But yes, I'm Racine-obsessed, so it was very fun to work on it! (I was working on a devlog yesterday to explicit how much I owe to Phaedra, since it might not be obvious to those who haven't read the play, and doing so, I realised I even owed a line to Andromache!)
I'm happy I reproduced the feeling of theatre, aaaah!!!! Another review I got was "this thing should be a play", so I guess I really got something there! I'm happy you highlighted that too!
For now... I have written some classical tragedies (I have been studying classical poetry for eight years, haha, another big passion of mine!), so if you want to read them at some point, don't hesitate to reach out!
There's some really nice voice acting and UI in this one. Using one sprite with different colour alts for different characters was very clever; a really neat way of working with the jam's rules.
Also, I'm impressed all three characters were voiced by the same person; I thought they were three different VAs, your voice actor did such a good job!
The writing is really nice, emotional, and evocative too. This feels very polished all around; you did a great job!
Hi, thanks for the feedback! I am also very excited with the voice acting, Justine did a fantastical work with the three characters! I feel like I did the bare-minimum GUI wise, but at least, I had fun trying to make something kinda visually appealing and consistent (especially considering my initial “the same sprite for three characters” idea!).
Thanks a lot for the feedback, it is highly appreciated!
Even as someone who really enjoys Greek Mythology, I hadn't heard of this tragedy before; so learning of it through this visual novel was a delight.
I find it amazing how with one sprite you made three different characters, and how the voice actress interpreted all of it. Her voice truly worked wonders to accompany this story, letting us feel her pain more than ever.
The art, too, was stunning! I like the choice of monochromatic palettes for it, it's striking!
Honestly, I myself am interested in making retellings of Greek Myths in VNs (I have a specific one in mind...) so seeing a piece of a tragedy brought to the medium makes me quite happy!
Hi Flor, thanks for the feedback!
I'm glad I made you discover Phaedra's tragedy, haha! I guess Ariadne's is more famous (and even Pasiphaë's, because of the Minotaur), but I sincerely believe Phaedra is the most interesting one of the three!
Yes, I wanted to explore colour matrixes and having one sprite for the three characters was the main "narrative design" idea of the VN, so I'm quite happy with the result, if I'm honest! And Justine did a fabulous work giving a voice to these three characters!
Thank you for enjoying the art too, it means a lot from you! And I'm so excited to read your own retellings! (And I know retellings about Narcissus and Orpheus are being made for this jam... just saying...)
Yeah, Ariadne is definitely the one I'm most acquainted with- even Pasiphaë I knew little of.
The colour matrixes idea was so cool honestly! Absolutely clever >v<
And you're very welcome! I'm not sure when I'll get to my own retelling but I have ideas (whispers: it has to do with Demeter). Quite intrigued about Narcissus and Orpheus thooo hohoho
Oh my! What a beautiful tragedy! The VA did such a great job portraying such emotions, and it's a great use of a single sprite to represent the daughters. I'm happy I got to experience such a great narrative!
Hey, thanks for the feedback!!
Yes, Justine really did wonders with the voice acting!! And I am quite happy with the use of colour matrixes to have several characters, hehe, it helped unify the three women as daughters of the sun!
“I’m happy I got to experience such a great narrative” it sounds so flattering somehow efvrgvtbgbe thank you so much!!!!!
Honestly, you are blowing me away with these JAM entries. Love the voice acting, and it was such an amazing experience! (One sprite for many characters truly work wonders)
Aaaah, thanks Azure, I’m glad you enjoyed it!! I agree, the voice acting is just perfect!! (And yes, thematically-wise, I liked the idea of having one sprite, and now, I experimented with colour matrixes and demystified them, hurray!)
aaaaaaaaa this was such a moving experience!! The art & writing combined with the music and amazing voice acting was very captivating.
I have to admit I am usually someone who speeds through VNs, skipping over voiced dialogue once i've read the text (I have adhd and bugs for brains) but for this I HAD to sit through it all properly!
The use of colour to convey the different characters was such a smart way of working with the limitations o2a2 presents! beaauutifull presentation overall, amazing work!! 👏👏
(also I am blown away by how well you managed to fit such a comprehensive story in under 1k words!??!)
Aaaah, thanks for the feedback Tief!! Yes, the voice acting was amazing and I’m glad you enjoyed the rest too and thought it all worked together!
Ha ha, same, I used to skip voice acting too, but I progressively learnt to appreciate it and let good voices do the reading for me, haha! And yes, I had fun with colour matrixes to work hand in hand with the limitations!
(Ah, thanks!! Honestly, I knew before writing it that the story wouldn’t be difficult to put under 1K words, but it’s true that there is a lot of context: I had to think about what was most important to keep to convey it efficiently, haha!)
Hey, thanks! I watched the video and commented on it, it was an amazing watch, thank you!
(For the five-star rating, I'm talking about the "Rate this game" on the right corner of the game page, haha! Most players don't think of it or even know it's there, despite it being actually helpful to the devs!).
OOOOOOooooOOOOO Okay!! I did it!! and I hope to see more from you!!
Thanks!! I definitely have games in the works, haha!
Sad and poetic, I liked it a lot 🥲
Loved the clever use of the very limited assets, and the overall composition of the scene! You went the minimalistic route, but I think it works so well, because the focus is on the character, as it should be. (I liked the sprites very much, too, and you managed to create three (!) different characters with just one base, which is super impressive!)
Also, I can't end this comment without complimenting the fantastic voice acting. Not only the sheer range of voices (you could've fooled me if I didn't know it was one person lol), but the emotions are raw and believable, and they complete this very artistic piece. 👌
Amazing job, Chim 💕
Ah, thanks Hiro, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Minimalism was an important part: it's just the night, nothingness slowly surrounding Phaedra as she perishes, and I wanted the background to be more symbolic than geographic I guess(??) (like, two Aphrodites on the side, and the sun in the middle). I had a lot of fun exploring colour matrixes to have three different characters (beside the expressions used), it felt thematically-relevant and a way to have fun with the restrictions (rather than suffering because of them!)
I can only agree with you, the voice acting is phenomenal, Justice DE-LI-VERED!!
Thanks again for testing it out and giving your opinion! It always means a lot!
The quality was IN FACT TOP TIER! Justine literally couldn't have been a better choice they delivered each and every line brilliantly! But, it's a symbiotic relationship, the script is wonderfully nihilistic-ly beautiful. A tormented woman's final thoughts, presented in such a soliloquy way was just so much fun!
The presentation can not be understated here, honestly, I feel like the piece shone so much brighter due to the limitations, (and not just because you wrote about the "Daughters of the Sun" hehe) which is the beauty of this jam!
I will probably reread a couple times because I'm not familiar with the original work and I am trying to make sense of it all, but even without the full scope I entirely bought into the emotion and betrayal Phaedra felt from Aphrodite, for herself and her sisters.
This is so fantastic! It's crazy you did this in such a short amount of time, you had a vision and you DELIVERED. Huge pat on the back to you and Justine friend <3
Hi Joy, thanks for your feedback!
Justine indeed did an excellent job with the game and really made the writing shine through (Racine's writing being top-tier is also part of the whole thing I guess).
I'm glad you enjoyed the presentation! I tried to make a project which wouldn't just be made under the restrictions, but also made for them!
Ha ha, if you're interested, there is a whole mythological check-up in the devlog if you need more context clues to get the full picture!
And yes!! For once, I really feel like the game is extremely close to my vision, which makes me very happy! Thanks for being so nice as always!!!!
i love this, this is RAW, this was GREAT, justine really did it justice *wink wink*
Justine really did justice, and I’m glad you enjoyed the rawness of the emotions! (+) Minotaur
It was great!
The change of color, the different expressions, attitude and the voice acting made them so distinctive from one another!!
I also really like the background!!
Those poor women in myths, it's feels like a man can do something bad and a random woman passing by will be punish instead of him (well it's kinda worst because in so many cases they are the victim AND get punished)
Hey Taumi, thanks for the feedback!
I had fun exploring colour matrixes, and yes, the voice acting really sold them as three different characters!
And I agree with you, women being sacrificed for men is something we see in a lot of media and that’s something I wanted to tackle with this game! Ultimately, if I’m being honest, I don’t consider Phaedra completely innocent (in Racine’s play, she frames Hippolytus for sexual assault + confessing your love to your step-son is a bad move in general), but somehow, it still feels undeserved when you think of the origin of it all!
All I can really say after playing this was WOW, this was an absolutely stunning experience! The lines beautifully communicate the emotions of the three characters, from Ariadne's hopeful romanticism to Pasiphae's shame to Phaedra's indignation at Aphrodite's deeds. Overall the script was VERY tightly written, with extremely good pace and flow. Even for someone not very familiar with the myth like myself, I found the story to be emotionally evocative and moving.
Extremely clever use of the "one sprite" to represent the three different characters. Not only did it enable the writer to portray the three different characters within the jam constraints, but it also helped to communicate that while they are different people, ultimately all of the "daughters of the sun" had the same hellish, tragic fate. I really applaud the use of the same voice actress for the same reason! VERY well-designed game for O2A2!
This game was EXTREMELY well polished, and I loved the entire aesthetic. The color palette was gorgeous, with the use of different colors to represent the daughters and the gold tints in the background for Phaedra (I also really liked how the gold faded out to black and white to communicate when Pasiphae and Ariadne were speaking). The bold, saturated colors really stood out well against the black background. The sprite is gorgeous (I love the hair), and all three versions are beautifully expressive. The choice for the background music track was very good. The voice acting was ABSOLUTELY STUNNING, and the actress did a fantastic job portraying all three women as distinct characters.
Slight spoilers - I thought that the themes were quite interesting and in line with what I know of Greek mythology! Aphrodite punishing the daughters instead of Helios despite being a victim of a patriarchal society herself, and Phaedra ultimately blaming Zeus, the father of the problems that led to this horrific fate. I think that it reframes tragedies that would normally be blamed on the women involved (Ariadne for her betrayal, Pasiphae/Phaedra for their lust, Aphrodite for her curses) instead on society/factors outside of their control, which I found to be quite fascinating!
Overall the dev can give himself a pat on the back! Racine would be proud (probably)!
Hi Chatter, thanks for the feedback!
I’m happy you enjoyed the story and found it touching! Phaedra is really my favourite myth (but also because she’s a contrasted character: it shows more in Racine’s play than in my game, but falling in love with your step-son because you’re cursed by a Goddess is a thing; framing your step-son for sexual assault is another).
And thanks for noticing the way I tried to work around the restrictions of the jam to make sense of them thematically and symbolically! You can also notice that even Phaedra’s background progressively loses its colour, ending up being the same one used for Pasiphaë and Ariadne: she finds herself in the same state in the end.
I can only agree for the voice work: Justine offered an amazing performance which made me feel things I didn’t think I could experience with one of my texts (her “I yelled at Hippolytus, I begged him to STRIKE” always gets me, and the way she plays the ending, aaaah)!
Oh, for clarification, when Phaedra mentions “the father and master of all gods”, she isn’t talking about Zeus, but still about Helios (as the sun, he’s above them all, that’s why she says that; the periphrasis is taken from Racine)! And glad you caught up on the questioning about women paying for men’s actions! Ultimately, I’ll admit I don’t think Phaedra is totally guilty, but she isn’t totally innocent either (something Racine states in his preface, on which I agree)!
Now, I don’t know if Racine would enjoy this game (if he was alive today, I SWEAR he would be conservative), but I hope I honoured what I enjoy about Phaedra! Thanks for the nice feedback, Chatter!
What a stunning game! The voice acting was divine, and the writing ✨ chef's kiss!
I also loooved how expressive Pasiphae, Ariadne and Phaedra were—the tears, the snot, they were everything!
(This also rekindled my love for Greek mythology so THANK YOU!)
EDIT: Also, I played this in browser and I'm happy to report it ran flawlessly 😁
Aaaah, thanks a lot for the nice feedback! I can only agree on the voice acting, Justine really nailed the three parts! For the writing, I'll admit it's heavily inspired from Jean Racine, so I have to agree too!
Ha ha, I had a lot of fun with the expressions and with making them diverse, despite the restrictions of the jam! And yes, I wanted to have some "ugly" crying, it felt more desperate?
(I'm glad it did! Phaedra is my favourite myth, but there are so many to explore!)
And yes, I was surprised but the web version is really smooth this time? (+) I don't know but I think it really fits the game page?? But thanks for letting me know!!
Oh my actual gosh. This was breathtakingly beautiful!!! The design, the art, the music, the voice acting -- literally everything! I feel like I've just witnessed an absolutely beautiful and heartbreaking work of art; one that continues to gouge away at my heart even as I sit here now writing this comment... 💦
Like. Just. OK the design??? How it really brought to life the feeling of a Greek tragedy just in the composition? And the style of your gorgeous art? And the COLOR USE! In love with how you used the different colors to differentiate the three of them (and what a clever way to use the jam restrictions lkdjaldskfa). It's like. So simple. But so effective. Honestly just dripping with style all the way down to its code LOL
The music choice? SPOT ON. At times it practically felt like it was harmonizing with the voice. Literally gave me chills.
AND THE FREAKING VOICE ACTING IS SOOOOOOOOO GOOD. My gosh the emotiveness in those lines! Absolutely heartbreaking, heartwrenching, heart-cut-into-a-million-pieces-ing. Not only that but to play the three different characters and have them feel so distinct! Honestly just an amazing job.
I admit I didn't really know much about the story of Phaedra (or her mother and sister) before this. I know like, some of the main Greek myths and stories but not a ton of them. So this was really cool to kind of like, get this little introspective piece about a not-so-oft talked about myth. The poem is so beautiful and filled with so much vivid imagery!
GUH.
ANYWAY.
Absolutely fantastic! This was such a moving experience. Just beautiful and haunting. Thanks for moistening my eyes yet again!! 😭💦💕
Aaaah, thanks Carrot for your detailed feedback, I'm glad you appreciated this "game"! (I'll admit it feels less like a game than something more experimental, but still!)
And yes! I had a lot of fun trying to play around with colour matrixes! I was worried but in the end, it wasn't hard at all, so being able to use a same base and to yet differentiate the three women thanks to it was very satisfying! And yes, my idea was to use the restrictions of the jam in a clever way, and to have a project that could be produced only under these restrictions!
Honestly, the imagery is mostly stolen from Racine, but I'm happy I made you discover the myth and have a glimpse of his amazing writing! It was the whole point of the project, haha, just me being a Racine's fanboy (well, of his work at least, as the man, in himself, was kind of a jerk, even from the 17th century's standards??)!
I wanted to use another music track at first, but it was too intense, and I'm glad I could find this one because it really works perfectly for this game! And I can only second you on the voice-acting, it is EXTREMELY good, and Justine is highly skilled!!! She really brought the three characters to life, which is a real display of her abilities!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts per usual, they always are so precious!! And you're welcome, hydratation is important, even for the eyes!
This isn't a game. This is an experience. That's all I'm gonna say, five stars, goodnight
No gameplay, just angst and tragedy 🤝🤝