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By the Way of Swans (Du côté de chez Cygne)'s itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Accessibility | #1 | 3.867 | 3.867 |
| Graphics | #5 | 4.556 | 4.556 |
| Overall | #13 | 3.578 | 3.578 |
| Originality | #19 | 3.711 | 3.711 |
| Audio | #19 | 3.511 | 3.511 |
| Theme | #23 | 3.867 | 3.867 |
| Controls | #52 | 3.022 | 3.022 |
| Fun | #74 | 2.511 | 2.511 |
Ranked from 45 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Godot Version
4.5x
Theme Interpretation
You go on a journey to bring your babies back to the nest.
Source
No
Discord Username(s)
big_ceo
GWJ Participation Level
5
Team Size
1
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Comments
There was a bit of lag for me. as I think others have said. The visuals were really impressive and stylistic
I had difficulty playing on the browser version due to lag and stuttering. The first time the game loaded there was no sound so I didn't think there was any until I came and read the comments. I had to refresh the page and it was a bit better.
Overall I like the visuals and the shaders used were really neat.
Kudos on impressive visuals, atmosphere and a very unique vibe you created!
I struggled playing the game though, as it was very laggy/slow (admittedly I only played on the browser) to the point it would freeze entirely.
Sorry to hear that! Runs absolutely fine on my machine that's over 7 years old so I'm not sure what to suggest!
This is really beautiful, the game truly has an identity of its own, this must have been lots of work for a single person! The sound design is well polished as well, even though the music may seem a bit repetitive.
Also the game feels interactive, special mention to the NPCs and sidequests that you managed to fit in. The varying speed of the swan was a bit off putting to me, but that's my taste.
The settings feel pro, first time that I see a jam submission with colorblind options. Props to the keybind settings, toi-même tu sais. One slight remark on these: there is no back/exit button, so you need find the one to restart the game, but as the settings carry over that's no big deal.
I get not liking how the swan moves but I really wanted to replicate how they move in real life as best as I could for a fun challenge haha, thanks for playing!
The art was impressive, both the assets and the shader, and the story certainly hooked me! The environment was beautiful, as was the subtle shift in camera angle as you travelled.
Unfortunately, I experienced quite a bit of lag and even when that seemed to clear up, the controls felt sluggish to respond. I wasted some time trying to get my cygnet to dive- not realizing it doesn't have an animation for it and technically enters a "diving state" while I'm diving. So I thought it just couldn't go past the log for a while.
It's also quite boring to just go on for long stretches of time with mostly silence. Apparently someone else heard background music, but I couldn't hear any? I heard birds chirping and such, but no music. The lack of a honking sound effect was also disappointing. Maybe it's a problem on my end though?
I think the game could have been more fun if it required more micro-managing of the cygnets as you acquired them. Maybe give them a chance to wander off or for certain obstacles to give them trouble unless you guide them around.
Regardless, great job finishing this game!
yes there’s absolutely music and I’ve only heard about people having problems in web on lower end systems/laptops, I had a lot of people test it whilst i was working on it and didn’t really run into this issue at all! it should run fine on the exe version!
if you couldn’t hear the honking sound effect or the music this sounds like several issues on your end I’m going to be honest! I’m sorry that you didn’t get the right experience with the game but I hope you still enjoyed anyway!
This has a really interesting style. At first I thought it was going to be like a visual novel until the swan started swimming. That was an amazing surprise. Good sound effects as well. Great Job!
This has a really interesting style. At first I thought it was going to be like a visual novel until the swan started swimming. That was an amazing surprise. Good sound effects as well. Great Job!
This has a really interesting style. At first I thought it was going to be like a visual novel until the swan started swimming. That was an amazing surprise. Good sound effects as well. Great Job!
This game had such a beautiful and unique art style, I loved it!
This game looks amazing! The atmosphere was super cool. I was very relieved to have rescued all the swans :) Great job!
Beautiful asthetics and I really enjoyed the calm swim and the interaction with the npcs along the river! I think as other said there could have been more pacing in the interaction to keep the game more engaging throughout, but I still enjoyed it! good job on the submission!
Loved the aesthetics and general atmosphere! The ending was unexpected, but fitting.
The performance on the web was a little rough on my laptop and I got stuck in a wall a little way in trying to honk at a creature, and had to restart.
The intro credits screen was so professional and really let me know i was in for something special The art and sound delivered! Congratulations, this is a great game jam entry, I think my favourite visuals of any of the games i've tried so far. Well done!
TIL the word cygnus.
Cute little game, it's really impressive that you did so good on various aspects of the game all by yourself. I'm not a fan of the CRT shader (?), I find it hard on my eyes, but that's just a personal preference. It worked well together with the music and the emotional story. Although I'm not sure what the wolf at the end was about. I'm just glad the little one survived as well, for a second I thought I have to fight a boss wolf and hoped that all the animals I helped along the way will come to my assistance.
The controls were alright, I had to get used to the movement but it fit well with the swan. The car-like steering was a bit confusing when the camera turned.
I also ran into the bug where I could not scare away the birds and I could not find the fourth baby so for a short while I thought I got stuck because I need to complete the sidequest.
Edit: also, while I'm not affected by it, kudos for including various colorblind options.
Fun game. I liked the theme, and the art. The pace of the game felt a bit slow for my liking. There were times that felt like I was waiting on my swan to catch up. Overall, great job!
The graphics is really amazing and I played on the browser without performance issues so that's even more amazing
I got a bug on the scare the bird side quest so I skipped it