Twisted Times in Twinsmouth
A point-n-click pixel-art adventure game about writers, killings, undersea dreaming gods, and time tunnels - done for #AdvJam2023
[Warning: Despite the comedic mood, this game contains (unrealistic) blood, death and monsters, and even talks about mental illness (caused by monsters and gods... so not exactly a common situation, but).
Where do writers get their wonderful ideas?
Yes, like you, we KNOW they're hiding something from us - a place - a food - something that makes them LOOK smarter!
So let's try to find out their secret SOON - after all, the story of the jam game is not going to write itself!
The Story
Who is the mysterious and powerful lord who asked E. A. Poe to come to his house a few days before he died? Is he the same person who, almost a century later, would send a similar invitation to H.P. Lovecraft?
And how do two small towns founded by twin brothers on either side of a small stream relate to all these events?
A mistake made in grief may have unleashed something that should never have come ashore.
Where are you when the game starts?
Marco and Stefania are in Pinkhouse Cove, a small seaside town in Massachusetts. Not because of its 2-star hotels or its dangerous food, but because Marco seems to be close to discovering the "Big Writers Lie" about the origin of ideas and to finally be able to create a decent game.
But things may be a little different than this great guy thinks. And much more dangerous - not only for him.
How to play
Left-click: use / interact / talk to
Right-click: look at / move to
To change area, click to move to the exit point, then once there, click again
You can switch between the two main characters anytime, using the two bottom-left icons
Pressing space you can see the usable hotspots (including directions)
Credits
Story, Graphics, and Animations by Marco Giorgini (@marcogiorgini)
Original Music by Andrea Baroni (@bluegestalt)
The game was built with Defold engine (http://www.defold.com)
Walkthrough
If you need some help finishing the game, you can use the Walkthrough file available for download
Source & Resources
As I said, my engine is based on Defold - in the next weeks my plan is to release the full source code of this game (but with different licenses for code and resources)
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- Small bugfixes + Linux versionJun 11, 2023
- Windows version had a really stupid problem (now fixed)Jun 10, 2023
- Twister Times in Twinsmouth [advjam2023]Jun 09, 2023
Comments
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A great game, the story was awesome! I loved the humour, really made me chuckle, and the famous writers were really well defined!
thank you :-) really happy for your feedback :)
web-version:
met poe. when he went into hotel the conversation started again leaving me stuck.
restarted. this time i was able to enter hotel. got sneakers. was able to go east. but still couldn't go south leaving me stuck.
uh :-| - I'm going to check - choose the third option (more than once if it doesn't work at first)
This game is LONG. I didn't play it earlier for that reason, but I liked the plot around the writers and such. Congratulations for finishing on time!
thank you so much :-) - really happy you played it and for your kind words :-)
Great game! It was fun playing you and your wife. Your game didn't feel like a short game. I really like the graphics and animations. I also like that the player character's head turns in the direction the mouse cursor is pointing.
The plot was exciting and thrilling, but IMO some puzzles didn't fit well. For example, you have to look inside a box. But later you have to check the same box again. This can be confusing because I thought there was nothing interesting left in the box. Also, I felt like you have to go to some places more than once, even if you only have to look at certain objects.
The maps are handy for getting to some places really quickly. It was nice to switch between you and your wife. The ending was great. I was glad to see you and your wife safely back home. It's amazing that you made it within 2 weeks.
Well done, Marco! :)
Thanks :-) I'm really happy that you played my game and that you overall enjoyed it. But I'm also glad for your feedback - that's useful to try to improve (my game, post jam, and me as (indie) game dev in general)
Thanks again :-)
It's nice to see that an autobiographical adventure has made it into the Jam. You don't see that very often. ;)
How you managed to finish such a long game in 14 days is beyond me. I mean, it has graphics, a story, puzzles, everything! And they're good, too. Like what?
The walkthrough was very handy. Had to look up the solution to get the key code. I knew what to do, but I couldn't figure out how to do it. I was trying to do the right thing, but advancing the puzzle only works from a certain place, as far as I can tell. I think this could do with a clue. But that might just be me.
It's a great game. Nice visuals, good puzzles, an interesting Lovecraftian touch. I really enjoyed my time in Twinsmouth.
It's just a shame you didn't make it to 1800th place. Maybe next jam, eh? :)
he he he - thanks :-) - for your kind words, for your feedback, and for your time. I really appreciated this note (here too)
The graphics somehow remind me of Zak McKracken, I like it :) Thank you for supporting Mac.
thanks to you for playing it :-)