Info about South Scrimshaw, Part One:

Official game description:
_"The consciousness dawning inside of an aquatic egg is prodded alert._  
_It is a male whale calf, stirring with a newfound awareness of body."_  
South Scrimshaw uses the linear VN format to create a science fiction documentary about fictional science. It is composed of over 400 illustrations, painted in a mix of watercolor, ink, and digital media, set against a rich audio backdrop of music and sound effects.  
This release contains four chapters, detailing one life from birth to the end of adolescence, along with world building details about the interplanetary human expedition.  
_"South Scrimshaw is made possible through the support of viewers like you. Thank you."_

Release date: 9 Jun, 2023

Categories: Visual Novel, Single-player Story, Linear Progression, Environmental Storytelling, Speculative Biology, Interactive Documentary, Animal Simulation


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Unique documentary-style speculative biology (weight 0.97): The game's unique pseudo-documentary style, particularly focusing on speculative biology and alien whales, is a standout feature. Players appreciate its resemblance to nature documentaries, finding it fascinating, educational, and a fresh take on storytelling.
- Exceptional and detailed world-building (weight 0.86): The world-building is a major highlight, with players consistently impressed by the intricate, believable, and imaginative alien world. The detailed lore and subtle hints of a larger universe contribute significantly to the game's depth and appeal.
- Beautiful, immersive, and emotional experience (weight 0.86): Players consistently praise the game's overall aesthetic, narrative, and emotional impact, describing it as a beautiful, immersive, and unforgettable experience. The unique blend of sci-fi, speculative biology, and documentary style deeply resonates with players, often evoking strong emotional responses.
- Compelling and imaginative narrative (weight 0.82): The narrative is consistently praised for being gripping, imaginative, and emotionally resonant. Players highlight the compelling story, excellent writing, and unexpected twists that keep them invested throughout the experience.
- Excellent narration and voice acting (weight 0.72): The narration and voice acting are highly effective, contributing significantly to the game's immersive documentary feel. Players note the calm, professional tone that enhances the storytelling and overall atmosphere.
- Melodious music and effective sound (weight 0.68): The game's music and sound effects are consistently praised for enhancing the mood and immersion. They are described as melodious, tasteful, and contributing to a peaceful and engaging experience.
- High quality for a free game (weight 0.47): Many players express surprise and delight that such a high-quality, engaging, and beautiful experience is available for free. This significantly enhances their perception of the game's value.

Common complaints:
- Limited interactivity and clicking (weight 0.11): A significant number of players found the game's interactivity to be extremely limited, often reducing it to a 'click-to-advance' experience. This lack of player agency led to boredom and physical discomfort from repetitive clicking, making it feel more like an animated documentary than a game.
- Dislikes AI-generated voices (weight 0.1): Players frequently expressed disappointment with the use of AI-generated voices, particularly during narration. They felt it detracted from the overall quality and immersion, suggesting that human voice acting would significantly enhance the experience.
- Lack of multi-language support (weight 0.06): Many players noted the lack of multi-language support, with the game primarily available only in English. There were also specific complaints about the quality and authenticity of certain 'official' translations, particularly Chinese, which was perceived as fake or low quality.
- Development seems abandoned (weight 0.01): Players expressed concern about the apparent abandonment of the game's development, particularly for Part Two. The lack of recent updates from the creator led to worries about the future of the project.
- Dislikes humanized animals (weight 0.01): A few players had a personal preference against the humanization of animals as the main species, though they understood the narrative reasons behind this choice.
- Contains jump scares (weight 0.01): One player noted the presence of 'jump scares' in the first half of the game, which might be unexpected for some players.
- Some drawings are unsettling (weight 0.01): One reviewer found some of the game's drawings to be 'sanity-draining,' suggesting a potentially unsettling or unappealing art style in certain instances.
- Uses difficult vocabulary (weight 0.01): One player found the language used in the game to be overly complex, requiring frequent dictionary lookups, which could hinder comprehension for some.
- Slow story start (weight 0.01): One player found the initial part of the story to be somewhat dull, suggesting a slow start to the narrative.
- Sea bunnies are not real (weight 0): A humorous or factual correction was made by one player regarding the existence of 'sea bunnies,' indicating a minor point of contention or amusement.
- Confusing opening message (weight 0): One player initially struggled to grasp the game's opening message about an interplanetary documentary, indicating a potential clarity issue at the start.
- Amusing Kronos reference (weight 0): A player found a specific reference to 'Kronos' amusing, associating it with 'Klingons,' which is a niche, humorous observation.
- Dislikes 'reee' reference (weight 0): One player was disappointed by a 'reee' reference, suggesting it might be an outdated or unappealing meme reference.

Gameplay feedback:
- Visual Novel/Interactive Documentary (weight 0.18): The game is primarily a visual novel, often described as an interactive documentary or prose. It focuses on narrative and illustrations rather than traditional gameplay, offering a unique blend of sci-fi and nature documentary aesthetics.
- Alien Whale Life Cycle (weight 0.18): The core narrative revolves around the life cycle and growth of fictional alien whales, presented in a nature documentary style. It explores a detailed alien marine ecosystem, focusing on speculative biology and world-building.
- Minimal Gameplay, Short Duration (weight 0.1): The game offers very limited traditional gameplay, primarily involving reading text and viewing illustrations. It is a short experience, typically completable within one to two hours, making it feel more like an interactive film or book.
- Click-Through Interactive Elements (weight 0.09): Interactivity is mainly through clicking to advance the linear story, view illustrations, or access additional information. This includes branching footnotes, hyperlinks, and term entries that expand the game's lore, resembling an interactive encyclopedia or slideshow.
- Linear, Multi-Part Story (weight 0.03): The game presents a linear story, with the current release being only the first part of a larger narrative. This suggests a planned continuation of the plot.
- Pacing Based on Detail (weight 0.01): The game allows players to control the pace of their experience, either by quickly progressing through the main narrative or by delving deeper into optional details and lore.
- Hidden Interactive Links (weight 0.01): The game includes hidden interactive elements, such as white hyperlinks in subtitles, which can be explored for additional information. The mouse wheel can be used to revisit missed clickable text.
- Free First Chapter (weight 0.01): The initial part of the game offers over an hour of free content, allowing players to experience the unique format before committing.
- Light Horror Elements (weight 0.01): The narrative incorporates light horror elements at times, but generally transitions to a more relaxed and contemplative theme towards its conclusion.
- Familiar Yet Alien Creatures (weight 0.01): The game introduces creatures that appear similar to known species but are fundamentally different, adding to the unique alien ecosystem.
- Subtle World-Building (weight 0.01): The game's world-building is largely implied through hints and subtle details, with direct explanations being rare, encouraging player interpretation.
- No Explicit Content (weight 0.01): The game does not contain any explicit scenes, making it suitable for a broad audience.
- Historical Fact Integration (weight 0.01): Some elements within the game's narrative are subtly based on historical facts, adding a layer of depth and realism to the speculative fiction.

Performance notes:
- Frequent game crashes (weight 0): Players are experiencing frequent crashes, especially when loading new areas or during intense combat. This significantly disrupts gameplay and leads to frustration.
- Clunky UI/UX (weight 0): The game's user interface is clunky and difficult to navigate, particularly in inventory management and quest logs. Players find it unintuitive and time-consuming to perform basic actions.
- Slow progression system (weight 0): Many players feel the game's progression system is too slow, requiring excessive grinding for minimal rewards. This makes the overall experience feel unrewarding and tedious.
- Minor visual bugs (weight 0): There are numerous reports of minor bugs and glitches, such as character models clipping through objects or quest markers disappearing. While not game-breaking, these issues detract from immersion.
- Aggressive monetization (weight 0): Some players are expressing strong negative opinions about the game's monetization strategy, perceiving it as overly aggressive and pay-to-win. This appears to be part of a coordinated review-bombing effort.

Recommendations:
- Highly Recommended Experience (weight 0.29): The overwhelming sentiment is strong recommendation for the game, often highlighting its unique blend of speculative biology, nature documentary style, and visual novel elements. Many reviewers emphasize its value, especially given its free price point, and suggest it's a must-play for fans of sci-fi, marine life, or narrative experiences.
- Eagerly Awaiting Part 2 (weight 0.21): Players are eagerly anticipating the next installment of the story, particularly Part 2. Many express a strong desire for a continuation of the narrative, especially regarding the life of the whale as it grows, and are willing to pay for future content.
- Strong Desire to Support Creators (weight 0.08): Many players are surprised the game is free and express a strong desire to financially support the creators. They suggest various ways to do so, including buying the art book, DLC, or contributing via platforms like Patreon.
- Desire for More World Lore (weight 0.02): Reviewers express a keen interest in learning more about the broader world and ecosystem in which these unique creatures exist, indicating a desire for deeper lore and world-building.
- Innovative Visual Novel Format (weight 0.01): The game's unique format is seen as a potential blueprint for future interactive novels or evolution-themed creature games, highlighting its innovative approach to the visual novel medium.
- Translation Use Advised (weight 0.01): Suggestions are made for players to utilize translations, specifically Chinese, to complete the game and unlock achievements, or to use a translator if English proficiency is a barrier.
- Request for Professional Voice Actors (weight 0.01): A specific request for future chapters is the inclusion of professional voice actors, suggesting that while the current voice acting is acceptable, an upgrade would enhance the experience.
- Utilize White Hyperlinks (weight 0.01): Players advise others to pay close attention to the white hyperlinks within the game, as they provide additional context and enrich the experience.
- Manage Chapter Release Expectations (weight 0.01): Players are advised to manage their expectations regarding the release speed of future chapters, as the game's development and release pattern may be similar to episodic titles like those from Telltale Games.
- Hope for Character's Fate (weight 0.01): A specific, emotional hope for a character's positive outcome, indicating player investment in the narrative.
- Play with Headphones (weight 0.01): A recommendation to play the game with headphones to enhance the immersive experience.

Other player notes:
- Fan-made Chinese localization (weight 0.04): The game lacks an official Chinese translation, but a high-quality fan-made localization by Bilibili user @赤銅Syakudo is available and appreciated by players. The author has authorized translations, hinting at a potential official selection.
- Part 2 development concerns (weight 0.01): There are concerns about the development status of Part 2, with Chapter 5 reportedly delayed and the author's online presence being infrequent for about a year.
- Achievement system limitations (weight 0.01): The game offers a rich achievement system, but some players noted that these achievements do not count towards their perfect achievement count due to limitations with personal profile functions.
- Contains content warnings (weight 0.01): The game includes content warnings for sensitive themes such as struggles against predators, blood, loss, and adolescent identity crisis, indicating mature subject matter.
- AI voice-over speculation (weight 0.01): A player raised a question regarding the potential use of AI, specifically Elevenlabs, for the game's voice-overs, indicating curiosity about the production methods.

Emotions:
- Satisfaction (weight 0.25): Players felt satisfied due to the game's high overall quality, encompassing its immersive world-building, compelling story, exceptional art, and engaging narration. The game's unique concept of speculative evolution presented as a documentary, combined with its free price, significantly contributed to a positive and valuable experience.
- Excitement (weight 0.15): Excitement stemmed primarily from the game's high quality, unique concept, and the anticipation for future content, particularly Part 2. Players were eager to recommend the game and looked forward to experiencing more of its captivating world and story.
- Admiration (weight 0.14): Admiration was driven by the game's exceptional artistic quality, including its beautiful visuals, detailed world-building, and compelling storytelling. The effort, originality, and scientific grounding in its speculative biology were highly praised, showcasing the creators' skill and passion.
- Awe (weight 0.06): Awe was evoked by the game's stunning visuals, intricate details, and scientific authenticity in its ecosystems and creature design. The brilliant presentation, narrative, and world-building created a deeply immersive and thought-provoking experience for players.
- Joy (weight 0.04): Joy was experienced when the game aligned with personal interests, particularly in speculative biology and unique visual novel formats. The overall high quality of the story, art, and the atmospheric experience, especially given the game was free, contributed to a delightful and unforgettable journey.
- Anticipation (weight 0.03): Anticipation was a direct result of players' desire for more content, specifically future chapters or a sequel. The engaging nature of the game left players eagerly awaiting the continuation of the story and world.
- Disappointment (weight 0.03): Disappointment arose from the perceived lack of interactivity, the use of AI-generated voices, and the absence of certain localizations. Concerns about the development status of Part Two and the game's short length also contributed to this emotion.
- Surprise (weight 0.02): Surprise was primarily caused by the game exceeding players' expectations, particularly given its free price. The unique concept of a speculative biology visual novel presented as an animal documentary also contributed to this unexpected delight.
- Sadness (weight 0.02): Sadness was a direct result of the game's emotional impact, specifically related to poignant story events such as a mother's death or the fate of fictional whales. The narrative successfully evoked strong emotional responses from players.
- Frustration (weight 0.02): Frustration stemmed from the game's lack of interactivity, specifically the need for constant clicking to advance the narrative, and the use of AI-generated voice acting. Players also expressed frustration over the inability to financially support the creators of the free game.
- Curiosity (weight 0.02): Curiosity was sparked by the game's unique concept, its detailed world-building, and the compelling narrative that made players eager to learn more about the fictional world and the fate of its creatures. The blend of real-world biology and speculative elements also fueled this desire for knowledge.
- Amazement (weight 0.01): Amazement was driven by the game's high production quality, stunning visuals, and the intricate details of its fictional biology. The immersive world-building and the realism achieved within the speculative context contributed to this feeling.
- Fascination (weight 0.01): Fascination was generated by the game's unique narrative, its bizarre yet captivating creatures, and the detailed world-building. The documentary style and the diversity of the fictional species, particularly the Brillo Whales, held players' attention.
- Appreciation (weight 0.01): Appreciation was felt for the game's artistic qualities, including its atmosphere and sound design, as well as its innovative approach to the visual novel genre. The game's niche appeal and its availability for free also contributed to this sentiment.
- Interest (weight 0.01): Interest was piqued by the game's unique concept, its alien world, and the compelling story and lore. The blend of familiar and incredible elements within the world-building and presentation kept players engaged.
- Engagement (weight 0.01): Engagement was fostered by the game's immediate narrative hook, its captivating story, art, and invented biology. The quality of the voice acting/narration and the feeling of watching a real biology documentary also contributed to a strong sense of immersion.
- Desire (weight 0.01): Desire was expressed for more content, specifically a sequel or more frequent updates. Players wished for additional speculative biology content and the continuation of the captivating world and its creatures.
- Love (weight 0.01): Love for the game stemmed from its overall high quality, immersive world-building, and beautiful art. The emotional connection forged with the fictional whales and the game's unique vibe also contributed to this strong positive emotion.
- Emotional impact (weight 0.01): Emotional impact was a direct result of specific parts of the game that resonated deeply with players, evoking strong feelings and leaving a lasting impression.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.01): Nostalgia was triggered by the game's documentary-style storytelling, which reminded players of childhood animal documentaries. This stylistic choice evoked a sense of familiarity and longing for past experiences.}