The Ocean, Like Time

Would love to play this on hardware - is there a ROM available?

I like the sort of Gameboy-esk aesthetic of it, being similar to Pokemon or Undertale. 

only played through it once but didn't try any other options that existed, but the game was nice in the way that it was short and sweet while leaving you to wonder about what is going on in this world. 

The only thing different I would want to see is a change to the loading screens (i.e. Flashbang) but overall it's a great little narrative game.

What a fantastic short story! With such a short amount of time, the game knew exactly what it wanted to say and said so perfectly! 

I love the little details and mysteries that dot the world! Why does everyone speak silently to us? Why do the people look so strange? The empty train tracks that lay still, the strange advertisements you can find on the road, even the outline of a body in chalk, all mysteries that the game does not answer, pushing you toward your own conclusions. These details go towards making the world feel alive. A world where many other stories are yet to be discovered. 

Also, the detail of our protagonist noting he hasn't felt like leaving his bed in days is so perfectly evidenced by the unfamiliar creek in the boards. Just a single small line I appreciated.

The second gift we brought is my favorite. It was the one that made me begin to truly feel for Pluto. So much is perfectly encapsulated in those few lines about the candy. We see the way Pluto feels about the candies and how the two felt about each other. And though they never interact in the game, through something as small as a bag of candy, we can assume that every part of their relationship meant the world to Pluto. 

The game had a wonderfully optimistic ending. Although I won't spoil the ending itself, the message it had was beautiful. The way it tied back to the beginning in a wonderful little title drop was delightful and one I was not expecting at all.

I even found myself humming the main area soundtrack. Such a great earworm!

Gorgeous muted colorways!! side projects while working on more ambitious ones is always a good idea to keep in the right headspace :) the trailer is especially charming!! The use of negative space is beautiful as was the music. I've seen a lot of GB studio pop up esp in game jams recently, and I'm glad to see another!!

The vibe of the game really got me.

Reminds me a lot of "narrative rpg maker games". Which I liked a lot. The empty vibe and narrative centered on just a few characters certainly reminded me of that.

I also liked the scenery that represents the city, it's familiar and uncomfortable at the same time.

The game's narrative is interesting and simple, but because of its simplicity it's easier to relate, as if it were a story from someone close to you.

There are some common bugs in the programming, it seems that there is no variable remembering the player's actions, so something like a door always closing after leaving the area will happen. This is very simple to solve, just signal with a command such as "if".

I loved playing it, it's short, but it was worth it, because of games like this it's encouraging to see new work.