The Painter (and a man)
The one some call The Painter after Death receives, for the first time, a phone call from a mortal.
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Writing, programming, art : Miyuly (hi)
Music : Kevin MacLeod ("Sardana"), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
Phone texting framework : Nighten
Falling particles effect framework : tofurocks
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This game was made for the O2A2 VN Jam 2024, a micro Visual Novel jam with strict asset limitations and a 1000-word limit.
The web build has been optimized for both phones and computers. If any bugs occur, let me know in the comments !
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Do not hesitate to leave a rating !
Status | Released |
Platforms | HTML5 |
Rating | Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars (19 total ratings) |
Author | Miyuly |
Genre | Visual Novel |
Made with | Ren'Py |
Tags | 2D, Casual, Fantasy, Narrative, Short, Singleplayer, supernatural, Third Person |
Comments
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There's something to be said here about how material wealth cannot buy the answers to life's most unknowable questions - what happens after death, what defines our life-
The style of this game is so charming, though? The art and music together creating a very relaxing vibe almost. I do also adore the little death mythos you've established here, very cool! Looking forward to see what you do next!
What an intriguing premise! The aesthetic of your game is delightful - including the pleasing presentation of the text and the little icons representing each character - and the conversation has a fun dynamic, despite the seriousness of the subject. The changes of facial expressions on the painter are particularly cute! The world-building is already super interesting from the snippet we discover here, and I think it could make for excellent lore for a larger game if you wanted. :)
alternate reality potion seller :> very cute
such a cute and lovely game that looks SPLENDID !!!! You really made a banger with this one because everything from story to art is wonderful, can't wait for more of your games in the futur
I really loved this entry!
I'll touch on the technical aspects first. The art and entire aesthetic were lovely, giving a cozy and yet somewhat eerie "Halloween" vibe that is perfect for the tone of the game. The BGM fits, with its somewhat pensive guitar. The animations are all EXTREMELY well done; the texting interface was particularly satisfying to watch, and I also enjoyed the animations on the Painter's sprite (the *sparkling* one was particularly adorable!) The writing style was clean and poetic. I also liked how rich the worldbuilding was for such a short game - hinting at a larger world beyond what the player sees without overwhelming the player with too much information. It was a very good balance.
===SPOILERS===
As the call progresses, it is revealed that the Painter is actually a "god of death" who, after people die, tells their "life stories" through paintings. The client wants to see his legacy after his death.
The client is renowned - a successful businessman, who made a lot of money and owned a lot of land - a "rich" and "plentiful" life that would surely leave a similarly rich legacy. However, after he dies (implied to have committed suicide after speaking with the Painter) - the only thing on the client's painting is a brush/paint pallet. In the end, for all of his "achievements," the one thing that defined his life was his concern over his legacy and the worth of his life - so in the end, his life ended up quite empty. It was quite the poetic ending and one that I found very appropriate and very well-executed.
Really fantastic work by the dev, I can't wait to see future projects!