Loupe is an aspiring witch who wants to make an elaborate training dummy to help them hone their magic skills. Instead, they make something worse.

A micro visual novel about facing your worst enemy.

Made for the Only One of Any Asset Visual Novel Jam 2023 (O2A2) and Nonbinary Game Jam 2023! As such,  this visual novel features:

  • About 1000 words total!
  • One sprite!
  • One background!
  • One piece of music!
  • One sound effect!
  • A genderless main character!

Unrelated to the jam's specifications, this visual novel also features: 

  • 4 Endings!
  • Music by Dan Vallerand!
  • Oh, you know, the usual depression and anxiety ;D

Content Warnings: internalized transphobia, dysphoria, fatphobia, self-hate, and facial horror. Please take care.

It's highly recommended to play the most current version. The 1.1 Version is what was made during the jam and the files are still live to show what was done for the jam. Be warned that text animations are not toggleable in 1.1.

StatusReleased
PlatformsHTML5, Windows, macOS, Linux, Android
Rating
Rated 4.7 out of 5 stars
(30 total ratings)
AuthorKnickknack PJ
GenreVisual Novel
Made withRen'Py
TagsFantasy, LGBT, Magic, Mental Health, Multiple Endings, Queer, Ren'Py, Short, Transgender

Download

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Click download now to get access to the following files:

MakingAMonster-1.2-pc.zip 76 MB
MakingAMonster-1.2-mac.zip 70 MB
MakingAMonster-1.2-android.apk 84 MB
[O2A2 2023 Versions] Making a Monster 1.1.zip 127 MB

Development log

Comments

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Nice little game. 

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Great job! Loved the different variations to the ending.

Thank you so much! :D

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An interesting reflection on queer expectation, body positivity, and doubt of one's ability. <3

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I know I said this before, but I really appreciate you playing my games and giving some feedback too! Thank you so much! :D

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Yupppp

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Hello! Is there a way to play the web version using mobile by any chance? Because when I do so, the GUI is slightly buggy and some of the font used for the dummy's lines is missing even when I restart the game. 

No pressure of course, just wondering because I like reading VN on my phone. 😊

Hi! Unfortunately there isn't a web mobile version and the web version that's up right now is only optimized for desktops because, yeah, it's really buggy with mobile. I am currently working on an optimized mobile version for not only this game but for all of my games, but I don't have a definite date for when that will be released. Sorry!

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I love how the dummy's voice changes based on your feelings--a powerful illustration of how much self-talk matters! The prose did a very good job of communicating your message.

There were some nice visual effects in this game, but I thought the art was too busy--things tended to vanish into the background, and the distorted text was hard to read. Overall nice work though!

Thank you so much for the kind words, and thank you for the feedback too! I'm glad you ejoyed it. :D

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Just dropping by to say that if I had the power to manifest my anxieties and self-hating thoughts into a physical monster, I'd probably burn that into the ground too. I was probably a cruel person for choosing the 'bad' options first, but it was all worth it when I went back to redo my choices. I really like that this visual novel shows that fighting against your negative selftalk can make a difference in the long run despite how bad it can get, and I can relate to Loupe.

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Ahhh I see you're a fellow "get bad ends first to make the good end super worth it" player haha! But still, thank you for playing and your kind words. I really appeciate it! :D

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This was such a good game about self-confidence and self-doubt! I enjoyed helping Loupe get healthy working habits thanks to the choices, haha!

Also, I love the colour scheme of this game: it is so vibrant yet consistent? It feels very magical (which is the point, haha)!!! The animations and transitions were very great too, and what a clever way to work around the one sprite rule!! Congrats on the game!

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Thank you for the kind words on the art! 🥰 I try making every visual (the artstyle, the ui design, the fonts, etcetera) consistent with the vns themes, so I'm glad you like it! And thank you! I like being able to see what story i can tell with a lot of limits and a lot of code I wanted to try out lol

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Ahhhhhhh I loved this very much!!! The colors and textures of the art is simply amazing??? I want to lose myself in this world... There's just something very warm to me about it. The BG is so beautiful, and I loved how you created a GUI that felt completely integrated into the world itself too. Everything about it felt so immersive and cohesive.

And the animations!! In love not only with what you did with the magic because WOAHHH. But also the way you used all the text animations!! The combination of the wonky text with the unnerving flow really made those self-deprecating internal thoughts feel that much more haunting and visceral. Godddddd... I feel like so many of us can relate to those thoughts that we aren't good enough, we'll never be good enough. And I know I can personally relate to so many of those gender thoughts, too... It really hit home in a lot of ways. While also acting as an encouraging message that there are still ways past those thoughts. There are still ways to "rework things" even if it doesn't always seem that way (well at least in the first ending I got lakdjfasd)

At any rate, just a really wonderful experience that's not only beautiful to look at but hard-hitting on the heart in all the right ways. A fantastic job ðŸ˜­ðŸ’•

Thank you so much for the kind words Carrot, I'm glad you enjoyed my game and the art and writing! :D I legit want to stay in Loupe's room for a while like yes I'm biased because I designed and drew it, but still!

O2A2 is one of my favorite jams because it forces me to think about how to make animations and visuals in ways I wouldn't be able to in my longer works~ Like the magic was a solid hex color code and telling Ren'Py to make it transparent, and ImageDissolve with a black and white image of the magic circle. I don't deserve all the credit for the wonky text code since the base code was made by someone else and I just edited it, but I love the results from it!

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I loved this, so so so much. The way you utilized the hud effects and the magic circle scene transformation was so impressive! I was a bit shocked at how actually cruel the protags intrusive thoughts were but in a way it was a bit… I don’t know, refreshing? Like a lot of the times writers will try to either go Way Edgy or Too Soft but these felt like authentic in a way that truly hurt and made me feel for the protag. They deserve the world and this was such a compelling story. Great job!

I'm really glad to hear that The Doubts were written just right! At some point I was wondering if I was being too soft and if I should make it more scathing, but I find the most insidious pieces of doubt that hurt the most are not the ones that are so edgy that you immediately take notice how biting it is. They just happen so plainly yet frequently enough and you only take notice when it's progressed for too long, like you’re the frog just now noticing the water is bubbling and getting hot.

Thank you for the kind words, I’m glad you enjoyed it! :D And yes I agree, Loupe deserves so much.

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tried to play in browser but for some reason it doesn’t want to load? It just has the ‘renpy loading’ screen :( I’ll try to play it downloaded when I get to my computer but figured it was worth mentioning 

Thanks for telling me! Someone else had also told me that the browser version isnt working, and im trying to see if I can fix it

I got the web version working now! Thanks for bringing it to my attention. :D

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Damn I really felt this. Self-doubt really is a monster!!!

The bg was beautiful and as usual I loved the ambience of the game! Loved this and loved exploring the different endings! 

Thank you! I'm super ultra proud of how the bg came out, and I'm glad you liked it. :D

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Felt. Self-doubt is a monster we create ourselves and it may well destroy us if we don't stand up to it 🥲

(also, loved the bg and the magic-circle-wipe-thing)

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Thank you for the kind words and I'm glad you liked the game! I'm proud of how both the bg and the magic circle transition came out and its nice to see others like it too. ^^

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Yet another really interesting short project from you! I feel a tiny bit nauseous from the wavy text but that's alright, really. I LOVE the whole making a monster thing that comes with all the doubts, I love Loupe, I'm amazed by the fact that you could give us 4 endings in such a short game. We all have the Doubt Monster, we just don't have magic to personify it. Great job!

Aww thanks! And thanks for bringing the wavey text to my attention! I edited it in hopes it won't be as nauseous and I'd like to apologize for it doing that to you.

I've seen people do 6+ endings and omg I don't know how they can manage that with 1000 words because even with my endings it feels more sparse for my liking. I'm glad you liked the game and yea I love Loupe too~!

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i dig it! (i'll admit that tho the wavy text is a cool effect, i didn't love how it clipped the words sometimes when it expanded to it's full size, but i loved the effect otherwise!) tbh it's very impressive for the limitations involved & it succeeds in telling a story/making a point in such a succinct, but satisfying way!

Admittedly I've been trying to figure out how to make the wavey text not do that weird clipping since I put it in the game, and due to time constraints I published the game in hopes of solving it later. I've worked on it since and honestly I couldn't figure out how to make it not clip, so I just did away with it and stylized it differently.

And thank you for the kind comments! :D I love jams like O2A2 that forces me to think about how to make a story in its limitations. It's helped a ton in making me figure out more functions of Ren'Py I'd never be able to touch in my longer projects.