Invite the blackbird (jam version)
Invite the blackbird is a hand-drawn 2d game made in a form of comics with lovely watercolour illustrations. Follow the heart-warming story about little adventrure of Sonya and the blackbird. As the story unfolds, few light puzzles will be on your way.
Created for Great Spring Game Jam 2021
Controllers: up/down to move the camera view; mouse click to interact/open the next pad
Credits:
- Game design, Art, Amination & Code: Anastasia Merzlaya
- Music: Bartosz Maksiak
P.S. The game was created during GSGJam, but actually there are two more games about Sonya and the blackbird that I created two weeks ago. If you enjoyed this game you might also check Sonya's other adventure:
https://anamerzlaya.itch.io/trust-the-blackbird
https://anamerzlaya.itch.io/follow-the-blackbird
Please leave me your feedback if you'd like to see more of this story
P.P.S. You can check more of my art here: https://www.instagram.com/ana.merzlaya/
P.P.P.S. Did you notice the after credits scene?
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- Minor updateMar 20, 2021
Comments
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Very lovely art and storytelling. Nicely done, I really enjoyed it!
Beautiful game, hope there's a sequel
your processor can't handle the game?
I loved this very much, but I think I may have found a bug?
Thanks for review! Yes, sorry, i've heard some people reported it, but i couldn't reproduce it myself.
Here is walk-around: pinwheel exist in the corner of the frame, it is just not visible. you can just click on this place if you get stack on one of the puzzles and by this you can proceed
Really enjoyable puzzle game 9/10 . I love how it makes me feel relaxed , i love the artstyle , the chill song and the story . What a great game buddy . Here is my gameplay of it hope you enjoy
thank you for playing it and sharing on youtube!
as beautiful as the other two and a little longer :) i love these peaceful visual novels :) you doing a great job :)
maybe there will be continuation:)
great news :)
This was a very well done game. I love the art style and colors of it! The story was very nice as well. Looking forward to any other projects you put out!
thank you so much! i am thinking to continue this story:)
Well done! This was calming but also bittersweet in a very powerful way. Great art and music. My favorite puzzle was the one about blowing breath on the bus window, that was very cleverly done.
thank you! i am really happy to hear it!
What a gorgeous, lovely, thought-provoking, and heavy-hearted story. This game is an experience I won't forget.
I am really happy you appreciated the game!
OMG! I really like everything about the game and can't wait to the next part!
happy to hear! seems I should indeed make next part:)
This was really cute! I can't wait until part 2 of this story comes out!
so far there are two parts that go before this one, you can check them too:)
Haha, I already did! I didn't like them quite as much as this game, but they were still pretty good. I can't wait for your next one. :)
guess it means i am improving my skills:)
This is a really nice and relaxing game! I love the art style - reminds me of a children's picture book. Really nice job; keep it up!
thank you!
I love your art style and the story! Awesome game and very touching :)
thank you so much!
Thoroughly enjoyed the game, the story was really bittersweet at the end ahhh!
Also, the art style really helped to keep a flow in the story. Thanks a lot for making it, refreshing to see some unique games once in a while!
thank you so much for kind words!
It's seems very cute, though I wish you could scroll with the mouse. Using the keyboard is inconvenient. I mean you use the mouse for other things. Can this be implemented? Also, had a sad ending which I wasn't anticipating.
thank you for the suggestion, i think i will make it for the next update of the game!
i might make a continuation of the game (there are two previous games) and let's see how final ending will be
I do hope the dad gets found and decides to come back!
Let's see how it will go. So far I don't know even myself
Just updated the game and added mouse wheel scroll
Thank you for the reply. And thank you for adding the mouse scroll wheel. I hope it wasn't too much of a pain. Looking forward to playing your other games too!
:)
so far i have two more games following the same story, but they are shorted and are fully not polished
https://anamerzlaya.itch.io/follow-the-blackbird
https://anamerzlaya.itch.io/trust-the-blackbird
Wow, this is just lovely. Soothing, engaging, with a emotionally engaging story.
I really love this game!!
thank you so much!
:3 ♡ (your artwork is amazing)
thank you for playing my game and sharing it on youtube!
A touching little story and inspiring format! I like the art style of choice too :)
thank you, I am happy to hear it:)
Peaceful experience! The artwork is beautiful, it reminds me of a lot of children's books. There was a nice variation and challenge to the puzzles. (Not too hard, but not overly easy.) The story itself is wholesome but gets surprisingly sad at the end. (Hopefully the next game will have a happy ending!) The music was very relaxing as well.
I did run into a bug on the bus window puzzle. One of the pieces didn’t fit properly. I looked up other people’s comments here and found a solution. (The pinwheel is always there, it’s just invisible until the puzzle is solved. Also, I played on the browser version.) Would be nice to get that fixed, but didn’t take away from the overall experience thankfully!
Overall, fantastic work. Looking forward to more!
thank you so much for such nice review!
i am sorry about the bug, i will try to do something about it, but firstly i have to reproduce it to know what is wrong, which so far i didn't manage.....
If it helps, I was using Google Chrome Version 89.0.4389.90 (64bit) Played the game in Fullscreen mode as well.
Update: Looks like I'm able to put that piece in fine when I'm not in Fullscreen mode. (So might have something to do with that)
ok, thanks for details!
i can see from your video that it indeed doesn't work. i will work on it
Очень красивая, интересная и милая игра!
P.S. На механике одной Вашей головоломки я сделал всю игру для Jam`а =)
thanks! what is your game, i'll try it?
I will post the game tomorrow night. Now I am polishing and fixing bugs. I would be glad to hear your feedback.
sure!
Well, you have a unique style, and that's beautiful. it 's very inspiring.
To get good feedbacks, let kids play the game and look at their face when they do the puzzles, to know if it 's too easy or too difficult, if they are frustrated by something etc... so when you will hit the market, everything will be perfect. Congrats again
thanks! I'll try to ask around for people with kids so thay will try. But i think adults might enjoy it too. at least i still enjoy watching cartoons and games like Lumino city which might also be considered as 'for children':)
yes you 're right, the fact its 's beautiful hand drawn style , it can works for both adults , teenagers and kids. it 's even better. lol
:)
I love the concept of this game, it's super cute and relaxing to play. The pinwheel detail is a really cute addition, and I love the art. The only problem is it wouldn't let me place the sun on the window drawing level and I couldn't continue. Other than that, I see no issues!
I am sorry to hear, I just tested it again and I can't see any problem with this pizzle. You tired on browser? I have a tip for you: pinwheel exist in the corner of the frame, it is just not visible. you can just click on this place if you get stack on one of the puzzles and by this you can proceed
I experienced the exact the same issue, can't place the sun.
I used the trick to skip the puzzle. Thanks.
the browser version?
Firefox 86
i use the same, i can't reproduce it..... i'll try to catch it
I said it before and I will say it again, this is one of the coolest art I have ever seen on videogames. It's so relaxing, it sent me back to my childhood, again!
The music is great, and I like that in this version, we have some puzzles. Not too challenging, but it gave me some entertainment and more fun than the previous game. I would definitely love to have some kind of this art in one of my games, hopefully, we can do something together someday.
I will let my kids play this game, I'm sure they will like it.
I give this game 10/10. Negative feedback? I don't have any.
Looking for the next part of the story :)
Thank you so much for this nice review!
Sure, maybe we can collaborate on a game someday:) actually it'd be great since i am not feeling confident enough yet in my unity skills
I love the art so much, the music complements the storytelling well too.
thank you so much!
This is really great! Definitely tugging on the heart strings!
I am invested in the story :) looking forward to the next installment!
Great art as always!
thank you! i am pleased that you'd like to see the continuation:)