Absolutely loved this game. The art was really good, it was cute and simplistic but didn't take away from the seriousness of the horror vibes. The creature designs were really cool, and I especially loved their sound design. The breathing sounds coming from them as I get closer, especially when I'm in the dark and can't see them, and then when they are running after you and their breathing turns quicker and more excited. I know you mention in the game credits that the audio wasn't yours, but you still did a really good job of selecting them. Despite the cartoon graphics I was actually a bit scared trekking through the forest, and even got jumpscared once by one of the enemies and got killed before I could regain composure and aim. I know you also mention you didn't get to do everything you wanted, but I still thought your use of the theme was really interesting. The "select an upgrade" thing is done by a lot of games, but the way you had it where it comes from getting killed by an enemy is neat, because there's the caveat of getting sent back to camp while also getting the chance to upgrade stuff, so there's some strategy to deciding whether to kill the enemies because you don't have the time to have to walk all the way back, or take the set back in order to have an easier time collecting stuff. The only issue I ran into was a bug at one point where, after getting killed and doing my upgrade, some wood remained in my inventory and I could not longer feed the fire even with more wood collected. Overall though this was a great game, one of my favorites in the game jam. Well done!
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Damn, a whole essay for my game? Now I gotta check your game out.
It is true that the audio samples aren't mine. However, the monster sounds did not sound like that out-of-the-box. I edited them to sound the way they do. The original breathing sound was just a generic "main character breathing" sound effect. But I edited it in Audacity to until it sounded creepy and uncanny. Where it seems kinda human-like, but something is wrong with it.
(Also fun fact: The sample used for the monster death noise was from Super Minecraft Kid screaming.)
As for the wood bug you mentioned, I think I might have encountered it before. I assumed I just forgot to update the HUD. But if you can't add wood to the fire anymore, that's probably a bit more concerning.
But yeah, thanks! I'm glad you liked it!