Bloom from Requiem
A downloadable visual prose for Windows, macOS, and Linux
Bloom and Requiem is a kinetic micro visual novel of 1k words of prose and reflection between Ari's past self (the fragmented memory that has almost faded from depression) and future self (the fragmented memory that shares recovered feelings of what different types of love has felt like for them).
This project was made for O2A2q 23 jam (one sprite, one background, one soundtrack, one thousand words).
Features:
- Prose and character monologue reflecting on mental health and memory through stacked metaphors
- 3 main poems concerning different types of love that Ari faces:
- Queerplatonic love as explained in "Butterfly eyes"
- Unshakeable bond as explained in "The Pillar with vines"
- Angst and Reminiscence as explained in "Broken Clock"
- a full body sprite and dream-like vertical illustration representing a healing mind (no AI art was used )
- manipulation of camera and color tinting to convey emotions of depression, guilt, hope, and healing
Content Warnings: There is nothing explicit, but the metaphors about rain and fire imply about depression and PTSD. The process of feeling like losing one's identity is also portrayed like becoming a ghost as well.
Credits
Programming, art, writing: @bardicblaze (Bardic Blaze Games)
soundtrack: royalty-free track from Mainroom Warehouse's Cinematic sound kit
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Comments
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It's the way your poetry evokes some powerful imagery and emotion on its own, and the way the art and subtle choices you made (having lines appear on the left, the tints and the creative use of your background) elevates it.
Thanks for taking the time to play it! Your live reactions to it too were also super encouraging!
Oh, gosh.... this was beyond gorgeous. I'm left sitting here after playing it just... in my chair... thinking about it... I got a lot of feelings from this??? Though I'm having a hard time putting them into words.
Can I just say first off that art is absolutely GORGEOUS? The background?? All the washes of colors, the details, the vibrant surreal landscape?? I felt like every time it showed me a different part of it, I was noticing new things, like how the colors would swirl around in such a way or the details of the tiny grasses and flowers or the texture of the purplish smoke. I wanted to just stare at it forever! And perhaps get lost in it. That would be quite nice I think LOL New headspace where I can just sit by this river and get lost in the colors.
Next, the writing is fantastic. It's like a lilting song, a beautiful poem, like a dance in my head as I read it. From the colorful word choices to the elegant rhythm of the sentences -- and also all the different metaphors going on! The way you would describe the landscape. Comparing the different aspects of it to various feelings and memories and experiences. I would sometimes just sit and reread a sentence again a few times because it was so beautiful. I read the descriptions on your game page after I played the game and saw all the different connections you were trying to make about love and experiences and memories and it made me connect with it even more afterwards, so I played it again with all those in mind. I just thought it was really well done -- and I think that even if people don't notice all those connections themselves or resonate with all of them, they'll surely still feel something resonating in their hearts that they can connect with in the words and the music and the art.
GOD. Just. This was just such a beautiful experience. Thank you so much for making this!! It's going to sit with me a while lol.
Thanks for playing Carrot! And I am really glad you enjoyed the scenery, a colorful headspace is something I aimed to deliver! It makes me really happy to know that something I made was able to resonate with you!