Jenn's Journey - Complete

Oct 1, 2014 at 1:30 AM
thinks dogs are cool
"All your forum are belong to us!"
Join Date: Apr 6, 2014
Location: a bathroom
Posts: 620
yeah it's p good 10/10 would try again {not}

-insert walkthrough here-

But yeah. Good work, Jonathan Spider.
 
Oct 2, 2014 at 1:46 AM
scrungy
Bobomb says: "I need a hug!"
Join Date: Oct 7, 2011
Location: PrtWeed
Posts: 777
Age: 24
So, I played your latest demo and it was actually very fun.
The graphics were great, and I loved the music/story.
I didn't really see any problems with it!

Keep up the good work!
 
Oct 2, 2014 at 5:08 AM
The TideWalker
Modding Community Discord Founder
"That dog!"
Join Date: Apr 5, 2013
Location: In my mind and of my body.
Posts: 1640
Age: 26
I'm sure you did well Jon, I'll get around to playing it soon....hopefully


Anyway, Here's the pic of Jenn I Promised you.


My scanner isn't working cause I formatted my Hard drive today, I'll upload it in better quality later.

And yeah their is extra starch in the scarf
 
Oct 2, 2014 at 5:21 AM
I don't anymore.
"I'm sorry Mario, but your princess is in another castle."
Join Date: Aug 9, 2010
Location: Greener Pastures
Posts: 1190
Age: 30
p160202-0-ebc8atx.png


Was bored.
 
Oct 2, 2014 at 12:18 PM
Bonds that separate us
Forum Administrator
"Life begins and ends with Nu."
Join Date: Aug 20, 2006
Location:
Posts: 2850
Age: 33
It's been quite a while since I've played this, so let's see what's changed...

-I approve of any and all rain effects :debug:
-Not-Momorin is missing a facepic when you talk to her after getting the gun
-OH SNAP I was not expecting that closeup on the chalkboard, very nice effect :momo:
-Trying to re-enter the house from the top door leads to a broken event
-Exiting the save house in the Bristling Bushes through the same way you came in sends you back a seemingly random distance, to before the earlier save. Having said save there also seems a little redundant if failing the jump over the deathspikes resets Jenn's position like that. I like the balance of the pacifism route though, the wind puzzles are intuitive but not too hard.
Oop guess that's it. Not too different from what I remember, but I have the feeling I skipped an update that might have advanced the plot more. What happens with the gun now makes more sense, and the dialogue has a little more depth. Hopefully now that the first area is polished up, you'll be able to move onto some newer content :D
 
Oct 20, 2014 at 4:18 PM
Melon Lord
"Wacka-Wacka-Wacka-Wacka-Wacka-Wacka-Wacka-Wacka-BLEIUP"
Join Date: Sep 20, 2011
Location: Rialto
Posts: 337
Age: 27
Please read this - it's only in a Spoiler tab since it's long. It's really important that you do if you're a friend and/or a fan of Jenn and the game.
I feel as if now my priorities in trying to balance out my life in real life and the one in the Internet is starting to slip back and forth as my Senior year goes by. While I do my best to do work, I feel as if the stuff I do is not quite as good as it should be.

Then there's the times I start spending/wasting time chatting and designing with friends like you folk and many others on random stuff when I should be working, and as things only seem to get harder from here in real life, I'm feeling the impact of that harder and harder. When I'm designing levels, I should be designing data tables. When I'm writing scripts - TSC and actions/dialogue - I should be writing essays on something like History, or Science, or a book like 'The Great Gatsby'. Then I started having restless nights, thinking about the actual work and responsibilities I have to attend to, when I instead just waste time I won't get back.

Overall my lifestyle lately has been destructive, and I'm going to change that. It's why I'll be setting limits when it comes having fun on the Internet and working using it. Unfortunately, this'll mean Jenn's Journey will be on hiatus (The Death Penalty of Cave Story Mods 95% of the time) until I can get my stuff back together, and maybe even then I won't continue it.

Rather, I'll be working with programs like Game Maker and Unity to make things, using the same method I did when I first started CS Modding - looking at Tutorials/Guides, attempting to replicate them, fucking up, doing it over, make new stuff from that, fucking up again, trial and error, and finally asking questions for answers. Cave Story has been great and all, but I feel I have to go for harder stuff that I'll actually use and try making things CS can't be, even with modding. I might just post development stuff, trials, and new mini-projects/'games' I hope to make on the Game Development section.

At this point I'll be sharing info and other things about Jenn and Saki. Maybe release the plans I had for them and some other assets so modders can use them if they wished. I could even write JJ as a third-person story in my actual free time. While her story hasn't been finished (in interactive media anyway), you guys go ahead and make your own, with or without her.

If I start getting a bit too involved in the forums, or in Skype for you guys in the CSTSF Group, just....call me out on it, please? I'm depending on willpower and programs like Cold Turkey to help me out on my attempts to stop playing so much, but ADHD and Aspergers (Small factors that probably influence my major flaws a lot) can cause me to slip sometimes.

I'm not gone from the forums at all, but I do thank all of you for the encouragement, ideas, content, and especially critique on my first real attempt at basic Game Design. I will go and make other games and, hopefully, experiences for all of you to enjoy.
 
Oct 20, 2014 at 10:27 PM
Giving it my all and shooting for the moon.
Modding Community Discord Admin
"What're YOU lookin' at?"
Join Date: Apr 23, 2013
Location: In a cave above the surface.
Posts: 1069
Age: 25
I haven't played Jenn (It's in a list of "play these probably someday") but from what I can gather it was an earnest effort and many a person supported it.

It's not easy, but it's necessary. Everyone here has to grow up and reach higher, putting down the relatively "small stuffs" to make room. I might not be there yet, but I know that the time myself to advance onward shall come very soon...


Okay, this is all really cheesy, but you got some nice experience and your full productions will be greater for it.
 
Oct 21, 2014 at 9:20 AM
Indie game enthusiast
"What is a man!? A miserable pile of secrets! But enough talk, have at you!"
Join Date: Apr 18, 2006
Location: Forever wandering the tower...!
Posts: 1789
@EnlightenedOne - You should give it go! It's quite short, but worth it... Though wish the current release at least ended where the previous demo left off...

@Jon -
Hmmm... That's a mature move. It's best to focus on that which is most critical right now. Especially time sensitive things like your senior year of classes and the relationships you have with those around you. And then later after things are going smoothly in your life, you should have a better idea of how you might manage/make free time in your schedule to devote to any possible future work should you still be interested. And be able to avoid falling into destructive habits by keeping to good established patterns...

...Though, at the very least, I do recommend that you finish the next scene and boss battle before you consider putting Jenn to rest. It would make a great addition to a portfolio after all... And the battle and meeting Saki would make a satisfactory conclusion.

But, no rush for that. Focus now and maybe over xmas break if there's a little time, maybe then...

[hiddentext]Then when you realize that the most important thing in life is Gaming, Cave Story and Jenn. You will come back to us... and you will become a permanent resident forum member... Forever... Hohoho...[/hiddenunavoidabletragicfate]

But seriously, good luck and thanks for sharing your work Jon!
... you've already done plenty. The idea of Jenn exists thanks to you ;D
(...and if you write more about Jenn's story someday, sign me up!)
 
Oct 25, 2014 at 5:38 PM
Melon Lord
"Wacka-Wacka-Wacka-Wacka-Wacka-Wacka-Wacka-Wacka-BLEIUP"
Join Date: Sep 20, 2011
Location: Rialto
Posts: 337
Age: 27
X-Calibar said:
...Though, at the very least, I do recommend that you finish the next scene and boss battle before you consider putting Jenn to rest. It would make a great addition to a portfolio after all... And the battle and meeting Saki would make a satisfactory conclusion.

But, no rush for that. Focus now and maybe over xmas break if there's a little time, maybe then...
Something stirs in the bushes...
p160207-0-teaserpicture.png


Oh X-Cal, you always do seem to read my mind. I do intend to at least finish what I started before I made the hiatus announcement. At least after I do finish it, I don't have to keep worrying about it in my conscious when I do get on the computer.

On unrelated news though, I am working on another OC if I ever do make something like a Top-Down Space Shooter. Here's the first two concept sketches followed by a more....decent/refined-looking product. I'm sure I'll still be working on it more though (It's intended to be Androgynous, and I still cannot draw hands for the life of me). Also to note - the reference/similarity only came in after I did the initial drawings. After that I just rolled with it on the helmet.
p160207-1-ocdoodle.png

p160207-2-sidebyside.jpg
 
Dec 22, 2014 at 7:19 PM
Junior Member
"It's dangerous to go alone!"
Join Date: Jun 1, 2014
Location:
Posts: 32
Pretty good mod, just wish there was more of it.
 
Mar 7, 2015 at 2:24 AM
Melon Lord
"Wacka-Wacka-Wacka-Wacka-Wacka-Wacka-Wacka-Wacka-BLEIUP"
Join Date: Sep 20, 2011
Location: Rialto
Posts: 337
Age: 27
It's done. On the Eve of my Birthday, I can say that I've finished what I wanted of Jenn's Journey.

I've thought about it for a while, but I realized that things here have been really busy for me, and the project I had in mind would be too big in scope to really do in a productive manner. I figured that at least wrapping up the first Chapter of Jenn's Journey and celebrating the completion of that would be much more satisfying. Better than leaving a half-finished game that has no discernible end, or a game abandoned completely like many other Cave Story Mods here.

If I were to post something about a game I'm making here again, I'll do it in the Game Development and Modding Showcase. I want to try learning how to make things from the ground up, even if they might be crap in the end. At least there, any ideas I'll have won't be restricted, as long as I can learn how to do it in code and keep the friendships I've made here.

I don't expect this to be put on a pedestal among other famous mods made in this community, but I hope that maybe people who come across it and have ambitions in Game Design can learn a lesson or two from it. I can, however, say with certainty that I'm happy with my first project, and I hope the forums and you, the person reading this, will enjoy what it has to offer.

Thank You.
 
Mar 7, 2015 at 3:21 AM
Amaya
Discord Group Moderator
"What're YOU lookin' at?"
Join Date: Jan 18, 2013
Location: Somewhere quiet with many birds
Posts: 1118
Age: 25
I'm happy for you - congrats on your achievement, Jon. :3

If I'm not too sleepy after work right now, I'll give it a go once I get home! I haven't played Jenn's Journey in a year, so it should be fun. ^_~
 
Mar 7, 2015 at 5:44 AM
Senior Member
"Huzzah!"
Join Date: Feb 13, 2015
Location: Canada
Posts: 216
Age: 25
Congrats indeed!
This is really great! 10/10! Can't wait to see the rest of Jenn's Journey!
 
Mar 7, 2015 at 10:57 AM
Indie game enthusiast
"What is a man!? A miserable pile of secrets! But enough talk, have at you!"
Join Date: Apr 18, 2006
Location: Forever wandering the tower...!
Posts: 1789
Nice Jon.
It certainly has evolved over time... Love those remixes. Love the new graphics... Mmmm, mmm good. Memorable new areas. I didn't see dead space filler. Whether I was exploring the grave yard, the town hall, a watermelon bucket, staring at a certain critter... or travelling while Not shooting for an entire map... I enjoyed it all.

Plus all those familiar sights, making you wish you could continue to explore what became of everything (and everyone) on the island.

And those new mysterious ruins were a nice update too... not to mention that whole time stopped section... :3 Mmmmm perfect for Saki. <3

There was a lot of text in that short adventure... I'm glad you were so detailed and I saw few issues. Although I did have a little trouble catching some of the things Jenn was going on about, like when Jenn asked "should I tell her?" I wasn't really clear on what Jenn was exactly going to do... And Insignia..? hmm.... what the... lots of mysteries...

Short, but packed full of content, and ended at a good spot. Couldn't ask for more... [Well... actually... I want moree..... lol, but thanks for completing this release. Everyone who contributed too. Kudos. Wish I could more eloquently express myself but... SWEET WORK! V]

I'll have to go back and try some other choices tomorrow ;D
 
Mar 7, 2015 at 12:59 PM
Mrs. Policewoman
"Wacka-Wacka-Wacka-Wacka-Wacka-Wacka-Wacka-Wacka-BLEIUP"
Join Date: Oct 24, 2011
Location: Canada
Posts: 330
Age: 25
Congrats man, seriously.
 
Mar 7, 2015 at 3:34 PM
tem go to colleg and make u prouds!!!
"Big Joe Tire and Battery Restaurant! Opening Soon! Eat at Big Joes!"
Join Date: Jun 28, 2013
Location:
Posts: 517
Jpzarde said:
Congrats indeed!
This is really great! 10/10! Can't wait to see the rest of Jenn's Journey!
Did you not read any of that post
 
Mar 7, 2015 at 11:48 PM
Amaya
Discord Group Moderator
"What're YOU lookin' at?"
Join Date: Jan 18, 2013
Location: Somewhere quiet with many birds
Posts: 1118
Age: 25
I did the thing! In accordance with the way I played the contest mods, the thoughts I wrote down while running through this mod are in the spoiler. Be warned, a terrible city of text awaits you inside. :momo:

-Jenn's Journey-
Ah, looks like some cave was flooded. The title screen music is quite pleasant~

I remember the first version of this MyChar, how she's changed over the years. I still think the original version with a yellow shirt and blue earrings looked nice, but I guess that's just me.

Oh, this is the cave from the intro! It's considerably less flooded than I would expect. Maybe Jenn fell in through the ceiling, Reservoir style? I like her dialogue, it's very down to earth. The graphical changes are simple, but they work well.

Still called Bats n' Buggers, I see! Funky name.

I like that the exclamation block triggers her speech, though it took me a moment to realize that I had to press down because I'm an unsmart person. The dialogue so far has been nice and natural, like something I'd prefer to write, and I'm liking it!

The watermelon-picking theme is a tad strange. Watermelons themselves are excellent, though.

Ah, an abandoned village. I remember this. All of the level design has been pretty new, though, as far as I can tell, and generally interesting and varied.

Still enjoying the dialogue and the amount of things you can check. Looks like Jenn's had some alcohol before...or it could just be something gross like mineral water. The calculus board is lacking some periods, it seems.

You're a new face too! Reminds me of Sue and/or Saki's old design. Never did learn whether there was a connection between the two, but since new Saki kind of looks like a Mimiga there might be.

Jenn's annoyed face amuses me. I like the variety of facepics that she has, makes her thoughts and conversation feel more organic and smooth than in most mods.

Got the Polar Star! Yeah! :D
I know it's called the Old Gun but whatever. I kind of expected the choice not to take it, but I think that I DID hear something about the morality system being removed. Saki's chalkboard drawing is cute, although her mother's bed is missing an event.

I remember this house. Fishy watermelon get!

...Jenn dies of food poisoning an hour later.

Oh, hey, looks like Sue's journal. Did something awful happen? This was where the widow used to be...

...oh. This is straight up the Mimiga graveyard. So this has to be the village, maybe altered after the earthquake. Sorry, Ma, you had to die for someone cuter than you >:

After checking Toroko and King's graves, I can't help but compulsively grind to Lv 3 (don't worry, Jenn, it's okay to shoot strange orange creatures that come after you with knives).

Straight back down to the cave, this time to shoot through the local wildlife. But sure, why not, let's not use the gun! Better back up the save, I'd like to see the other path.

Immediately lots of horrible things and instant death spikes. This was a bad idea, but I will persevere! Probably. I wonder if Jenn's handled a gun before, that seems to be implied here.

Well that was a touch awful. For the first time in this mod I honestly needed the bed in Chaco's old house. ^_^;

Dramatic music fade. I guess I'll go down here first.

The Forgotten, eh? Well, this is new...and old. I remember this area as the place where you fought the forest spirit before. There's Saki! I don't buy that those droopy ears are hair, Jon. You can't fool me! :v

Suddenly, death! Suddenly, text errors. Suddenly Bunny.

Saki's walk cycle amuses me ^.^
Her facial expressions are less amusing and more heartbreaking, though.

Cave?'s quite interesting visually. And this Geothermal remix is super rad :3

These frozen water pillars are really neat! Actually, all of this is neat. I love this area~

Oh, hey, more hints towards some dark past. The forest spirit looks more or less the same, but is infinitely more of a jerk. Doesn't seem like there's anything to do but kill it, so I do. Handily. ^_^

Funky cutscenes. Pomfy's drawing is adorable as usual - although, I have to wonder why you put up such a fuss about the green shirt considering her MyChar sprites were wearing the blue sweater she originally drew. Maybe I'm missing something, so whatever.

And...credits! With really nice music. I like that you went with your own style here, if mods last long enough to see credits at all it's usually the original version and sometimes unedited on top of that. Time to try the other path, I suppose!

Besides the fact that you literally can't go up at all because of a random forcefield and an extra watermelon, it seems to be about the same. Hm. Didn't notice before, but Saki's eyes get strangely violet when she's on the verge of getting upset. I also noticed that Jenn actually /is/ wearing a green shirt - it's kind of a dull green so it blends with the scarf a bit, but I still should have paid more attention. =o

Looks like that's all, then!

Overall it was short, but quite sweet, I'd say~!

I can tell you put a lot of thought into how the areas go together and what's in them. The platforming was solidly done and I liked the dialogue a lot, though the Forest Spirit is still a simple boss and doesn't even come with a second phase this time around. Still, I really enjoyed it as a whole, and as the first chapter it's a pretty excellent beginning. Well done, Jon. :3
 
Mar 8, 2015 at 6:15 AM
War criminal
"Life begins and ends with Nu."
Join Date: Jun 27, 2013
Location: Phoenix
Posts: 2765
Age: 29
Even though I played through the demo and the couple skype demos before this one, I thought of playing through this one to see how much has improved since then. I recorded myself playing it, which is uploaded on Youtube now, meaning you can shout at the monitor for me dying at some easy parts.

I loved playing the new Jenn's Journey demo. It was definitely worth the long wait for the completion of the first part. The tiles gave quite the impact on the ambience of the levels. I was kinda at a bit of a frustration when I faced the Forest Spirit, until I realized that I didn't shoot the EXP capsules, which helped me win. The levels were at a fair difficulty, I thought the elevators in the levels were a brilliant idea to implement. The artwork is amazing, all of which fits together very nicely. (PS - Pomfy's art looks awesome, as always)

Every great mod also has a couple bugs and/or missing flags. The first time I fell in the frozen time level, it said "That didn't happen either.", so I guess there was a missing flag on that part.

This bug, I remembered to screenshot, and while I found it cute when Jenn was carrying Saki, I think the double Sakis in the scene gave me a cuteness overdosage.

p160216-0-rzxnlcl.png

It can be fixed though. Despite how hilarious and cute this looks.

Overall, I'm satisfied with everything that was put into this mod. This was definitely worth your time into making this. :)
 
Mar 8, 2015 at 6:54 AM
Neophyte Member
"Fresh from the Bakery"
Join Date: Mar 8, 2015
Location:
Posts: 5
can i ask you, How many endings in this game?
 
Mar 8, 2015 at 10:10 AM
Melon Lord
"Wacka-Wacka-Wacka-Wacka-Wacka-Wacka-Wacka-Wacka-BLEIUP"
Join Date: Sep 20, 2011
Location: Rialto
Posts: 337
Age: 27
SuperAR said:
can i ask you, How many endings in this game?
There is actually just one ending in this version of the game. Though, I did have an extra ending in mind. Might just make if hidden though.
 
Top