A Daisy By Any Other Name
(The music might be a bit too loud in the browser version.)
Summary
Fourteen-year-old Daisy is at the local fair when she realizes she doesn’t want to be named Daisy anymore. But if she isn’t Daisy...then who is she?
Features
- <1,000 words, as per jam rules
- Kinetic, meaning no choices
- 1 sprite
- 1 background
- 1 piece of title screen art
- 1 original music track
- 1 sound effect
Warnings
The one thing I feel is worth mentioning is references to a controlling father.
Team
omegabutton - Concept, writer, and programmer
walwal - Character designer and sprite, background, and title screen/menu background artist
Jesse Fletcher - GUI artist and programmer
1kesoda - Logo artist
Intergalactic Fjord - Composer
Leon Artmann - Sound effect maker
Download
Comments
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This was such a sweet, introspective story! Everything about it seems a bit magical and otherworldly, from the framing of the CG, to the design of the UI, to the backing track. The writing feels so realistic, really fitting how a 14 year old might talk to themselves (and, from a personal perspective, it was also very nostalgic, haha! I could really visualize the setting and background "Daisy" came from!) The framing of the story - Daisy looking into a "mirror" and reflecting on their identity - is so clever as well!
The art is gorgeous. I love the way the the magic mirrors "frame" the sprite. The rest of the background is also drawn relatively desaturated/drawn with light hues, which perfectly frames the fully saturated sprite. The composition is very clever! It perfectly puts the sprite in full focus while also creating a somewhat magical/otherworldly air!
I love how Daisy's name is written not in the top left, but the bottom right - with a dash in front. It really makes it look like this isn't a typical VN setup, but a diary entry instead - as if "Daisy" is writing all of her thoughts and musings about their identity in their diary. I also love how the name changes as "Daisy" is evaluating all of their options - wondering what name suits them the best (until they finally find the answer!)
SPOILERS
Overall, I loved the message of this story and the journey that Cosmo goes on! How they accept that they even though they used to be one way, as they grew up they changed, and now they want to choose who they want to be. I really liked seeing "Daisy" stumble through figuring out their identity, before landing on a name that suits them - "Cosmo." Although for Cosmo, the name has celestial origins, I also think it's very clever how Cosmo also refers to a different flower - a flower that's like a daisy, but not quite! It suits the character and the story perfectly!
Really good work!! Great job to the entire team :)
AAAAHHHHH THIS WAS VERY LOVELY!!!!
As someone who loves mirror imagery and symbolism, this was actually quite nice to play! More so as it was a time and place where she was reflecting on something so big.
A name after all is one of the first steps to having an identity, it is one others call you by and one you call yourself, so to have her choose the names while being surrounded by mirrors, basically as she contemplates how she sees herself and how others view her, it was quite nice! The imagery of her being surrounded by all these versions of her AAAAHHHHHH.
And AAAHHHHH as a lover of stars I do love how she settled on Cosmo! The push and pull was just so fascinating to see! It truly is a lovely name and a lovely game!
(Personally, I REALLY love both daisies and stars, more so because of two dearly loved characters from an upcoming game of chimeriquement's, so to have both daisy and stars be central things in here just triggered a lot in my butter heart hahaha).
I’m so happy you liked it! Yes, I love the image of her being surrounded by a bunch of Cosmos, so I’m glad you did, too! Especially since someone who loves mirror imagery must know it really well, and know when it’s being used effectively.
Absolutely! It’s really about so much more than just a name, isn’t it? There’s so many layers hidden just beneath the surface.
I’m so excited you like the name! It’s lucky I thought of it. Cosmo’s past self feels like such a defined character that I’d be doing her a disservice if her new identity were too generic.
(Oh my gosh, really? It’s amazing it worked out that way, but what a weird coincidence! I’ll have to take a look at that game when it comes out.)
Ah! It just dawned on me that there are also flowers named Cosmos! Oh what a fitting link to her past and present self as well! She truly is still a beautiful blooming flower just as she was in the past and is now! Just by another name heehee~
The game is called "My Stardust Lover", though the title may still change as it's still in development, though chim has released some snippets on the characters to flesh them out and they are just so lovely!!! More so as there will be a lot of star imagery surrounding it! Heehee~
Wow, what a good game it was!
First, I love the set-up, putting the character in a room full of mirrors, for them to reflect on themself was a very clever direction for this game! Then, I enjoyed having a younger character, since we rarely see it, and I enjoy their portrayal, it felt like something logical for a 14-yo teenager. For the plot, I'll try not to spoil in the comments, it really was interesting, and I enjoyed what you did with the names! The clues left about the main character's father help us paint a blurry picture of what happens, but I don't think we needed to know more than what we understood!
I also really enjoyed the logo, the GUI, the art, the music and the sound effects! The logo reminded of daisies, the GUI of mirrors, the sound effects were very agreeable to listen to, the music was enchanting, and the art was excellent (special thought to the main menu piece which is magnificent)!
It was a very good entry!!
EDIT: The jam isn't over yet, you might want to submit the game to the Nonbinary Game Jam, there are a few hours left: https://itch.io/jam/nonbinary-game-jam-2023
Oh my goodness, another long comment. I’m so happy. And I’m glad to hear from you specifically!
Just as I told Carrot, it was originally going to be just one mirror! Afterward, I decided on something more interesting than a bedroom. The fact the protagonist was believably 14 means a lot coming from you, since you’ve created some great depictions of teenagers in the past. Coming up with names was one of the most fun parts of this, so I’m glad you liked it! And I’m relieved you think what I revealed about the father was enough. If I’d explained further, I would have gone over the word limit!
Thanks for complimenting all the other aspects; I agree it’s all absolutely amazing, and I’ll have to show the team your comment. I adore the main menu piece, too. Including all those objects from the main character’s past was the artist’s idea!
Thank you for the suggestion about submitting it to the Non-binary Game Jam, but the character wasn’t actually intended to be non-binary! While I definitely see where the interpretation comes from, I had in mind that she’s a cis girl who’s also a tomboy. If I made her trans or otherwise not cis, then the sequel I had in mind would require her to get misgendered repeatedly, and I don’t feel equipped to handle that.
Oh, I misinterpreted the game, then! It was more about a girl breaking from her father's obsession with hyperfeminity than about non-binarity, got it!
Also, I'm discovering I did great depictions of teenagers haha, thank you (but writing-wise, it is indeed a very interesting age to explore, since these characters don't have the naivety of a child, and yet have to figure out who they are as people and have to develop their sense of boundaries, while I would expect young adult characters to at least know how to respect others'... but I digress!).
Anyway, looking forward to the sequel!
Yes, exactly! Though I recognize it’s ambiguous. I understand people taking different things away!
I never thought of teenagers that way before, but it’s a good way of putting it! “Coming of age” is popular for a reason. And I think I know what you’re talking about with regard to boundaries. I’ve definitely had the thought of “The only reason this behavior is understandable is because he’s so young” when writing a teenage character!
Thank you! I’ll post a devlog here if I decide I’m going forward with it.
Oh my gosh, I loved this so so much!!! Not only the story, and Cosmo's conflicted internal thoughts, but everything about how you've set it up. The mirror idea was so cool??? Such a great, dynamic visual while also simultaneously acting as symbolism for Cosmo's current conflict with themself. As someone who's also fought tooth and nail with these issues and had so many similar internal conflicts about who I am, how I want to be seen, how I don't want to be seen, and growing out of a past self that I was only going along with because of external factors............. I felt very strongly. And I hope that Cosmo is able to keep learning and becoming more and more comfortable and confident in who they are 🥺💕
The music is super great?? I love how it's got a child-like quality to it while also feeling a bit surreal and dream-like. Much like how you might feel while inside a maze mirror tbh LOL And both the title screen art and in-game CG are SO cute and beautifully done! I love the art style so much!! Cosmo looks so sweet lakdjfad I'll cry 😭💕
All in all just a wonderful little game that really said something to me! I enjoyed this so much! And a fantastic job!!
Let me tell you, it was an honor to open my notifications and see one of your long comments.
Anyways, I’m so happy you liked it! My first idea to was to have her look at herself in her bedroom mirror, but then I thought, “Why not go with something more visually interesting?” It’s also a relief to know it spoke to you. I don’t typically go for theme heavy stories; most of my stuff is high concept, plot-based “Hey, wouldn’t it be funny if this happened?” This was definitely outside of my comfort zone, so it’s great to know I delivered.
I’m really pleased with how the music turned out! What I told the composer was vague, so I am very impressed they managed to capture the emotion we were going for perfectly. And I was blown away when I first saw the artist’s portfolio, and again when I saw the art! The CG especially. I just love the colors.
This is so cute!!
Re-defining oneself, how we can grow to be almost a different person, that kind of stuff really resonates with me and it made me really happy to see those kind of themes in this game!
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it! I wish I could say I got the idea because I wanted to explore those themes, but the way I got here was much more complicated.
But I do admire people who put the effort in to change how they present themselves. To make their own persona, for lack of a better way of putting it!