Nice little game, but it got a bit repetitive once i was just looking for a few letters, then just the gravestone. And i didn't see any hints to the number 2, so if somebody's not heard the phrase "ashes to ashes" before, they might not get it.
If i were to recommend how to fix those few problems, you could:
1: weight the randomness so that it tries to show them all the same number of times (like how most music apps don't give you the same song until all the others play, maybe something like that, excluding the gravestone scene) 2: Add a scene that gives you the number 2 (unless there already is one and i got really unlucky) 3: Once you see both the password hint and the gravestone, add a small gravestone button in a corner that takes you to the gravestone scene 4: Not really solving a previously stated problem, but having the option to view all the scenes in order once you enter the password could be nice
the hint for the 6th character is in the frame where Dust is thinking and there's a bunch of images flashing by. You can see a 6 above most of a 2.
At first I thought it was a question mark (? and 2 can look very similar when the bottom is cut off), but I realized what it was when I found most of the other letters.
A short yet really interesting experience. It was nice trying to rebuild what he went through his life and I admit that that final message and "parting gift" warmed my heart a little. Plus the pixel animations were really cool, even how you managed to create a 3D feeling of the virtual world in contrast with the "flatter" reality.
Also I feel like some photos spoke to me personally (for better or for worse) and even if I can't tell I had similar experiences to Dust, I could feel his emotions through the visual storytelling and understand his story.
This little shit convinced himself crypto-art was harmless and then pretended the world wasn't literally on fire within his lifetime because of his actions. If his soul can rest easy then the rest of us don't need to worry about going to hell because that's pretty scummy.
1. I didn't use any uppercase or spaces, so I don't know if that'd be an issue. Edit:Just checked it with all uppercase and that also works, so it's either an issue with your letters or if you tried adding spaces.
2. there's a number between two words. make sure you have the number.
3. there are 11 characters in total in the password.
other hints in case you want to try to guess the password, I guess:
4. the two words is the same word repeated.
5. it's the beginning of a common phrase that originated from the Bible, but is more commonly connected to poetry. The phrase refers to returning things to where they came from and where they belong.
6. it plays on how the character's name is "Dust."
ive been... struggling with thoughts pertaining to the theme of this game. the game hit that much harder when it touched on those thoughts, addressing me personally in a way. Ive been genuinely afraid to confront these things, and i decided that i need to bite the bullet in the form of this game. And well, I think im feeling a little better about it all, so i feel i need to genuinely thank you.
The game was a wonderful little experience, and I had a blast piecing together dust's life. the artstyle is awesome, and the themes were crip and clear, nearly impossible to miss. My only request is that upon 100% completion, is there should be a chronological order to play. Just to see how correct i was in the end.
if you are worried about a waste of time to anyone else reading this. Please play this game. it doesnt take more than 30 minutes, but the true ending completion is worth it.
Really wonderful little experience. Each of the animations had a ton of character to them, and they did a solid job of conveying different atmospheres + feelings. I had a great time living through the jumble of Dust's memories, and the secret ending was a surprisingly tender way to cap it off. Good luck with your miracles.
I rarely post comments on the internet, but after knowing about this game I got compelled into doing it this time.
This is probably the best game I'm not willing to play. After finding out about it by seeing a video review, I feel I'm emotionally incapable of actually playing it by myself. I've already checked out other games that I'd say have a more "immediately impacting" emotional charge, but this one in specific hit me in notes so right that it's gotten personally uncomfortable to me.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with the game whatsoever, much to the opposite, this surpasses what I'd define as an example of games being worthy of having artistic merit. The problem is entirely and exclusively on me, for not being in the right mindset to enjoy it.
I am incredibly sorry for not being able to play the game much like everyone else.
Thank you for your honesty, I really understand your point of view! I myself cannot watch other people play my "game", much less discover the ending, it's too close and personal. Thank you for going out of your way to comment this, maybe one day you'll be in the right mindset for it!
Hello! I recently completed a review of your game for my Youtube series “The First 15”! I’ve placed a link to the video down below, please check it out and THANK YOU for sharing this with the world!
This is fun, weird, bizarre, surreal, and creepy. There's no clear order to any of these events and it makes you wonder what happened in Dust's life, or indeed their whole world. The viewer is left filling in the gaps on their own.
EDIT: OH THERE'S SECRETS. That was so sweet.
The note to Linux users is very sweet, although I do have some good news there: using the Itch.io app and installing the Windows version, it will very transparently Just Run with Wine without any sort of issue. If I didn't see that Windows icon and name in the zip, I might as well not have known it wasn't available natively. :)
Edit 2: this was made in AGS? There's a cross-platform version of that on Github! I think you should be able to release Linux and MacOS native versions for this!
Beautifully displayed, without any words even spoken.. This was an amazingly well put-together game, life flashing by and seeing all the highs and lows, it was nice. Although reading the comments to get an idea of how long the game might be sorta ruined my experience of finding the pw by myself, it was worth the play. The ending message was beautiful as well, amazing work!
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I thought the end was gonna be creepy but I was pleasantly surprised! super nice experience :)
It was a pleasant experience :)
Nice little game, but it got a bit repetitive once i was just looking for a few letters, then just the gravestone. And i didn't see any hints to the number 2, so if somebody's not heard the phrase "ashes to ashes" before, they might not get it.
If i were to recommend how to fix those few problems, you could:
1: weight the randomness so that it tries to show them all the same number of times (like how most music apps don't give you the same song until all the others play, maybe something like that, excluding the gravestone scene)
2: Add a scene that gives you the number 2 (unless there already is one and i got really unlucky)
3: Once you see both the password hint and the gravestone, add a small gravestone button in a corner that takes you to the gravestone scene
4: Not really solving a previously stated problem, but having the option to view all the scenes in order once you enter the password could be nice
Overall, good little game, solid 7.5/10
the hint for the 6th character is in the frame where Dust is thinking and there's a bunch of images flashing by. You can see a 6 above most of a 2.
At first I thought it was a question mark (? and 2 can look very similar when the bottom is cut off), but I realized what it was when I found most of the other letters.
A short yet really interesting experience. It was nice trying to rebuild what he went through his life and I admit that that final message and "parting gift" warmed my heart a little. Plus the pixel animations were really cool, even how you managed to create a 3D feeling of the virtual world in contrast with the "flatter" reality.
Also I feel like some photos spoke to me personally (for better or for worse) and even if I can't tell I had similar experiences to Dust, I could feel his emotions through the visual storytelling and understand his story.
So pretty good job on this little piece of art!
Hi! I'm writing a summary on this game, do you mind if I can post it here? :) I will label it with spoilers of course.
Go ahead!
Thank you <3
For those who are interested I put it down here \/\/\/
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KV6zZz3mrV-8VI669cfjFN0Mm7yieX1cFk3vbZhbu8k/...
omg you're here i love your games
This little shit convinced himself crypto-art was harmless and then pretended the world wasn't literally on fire within his lifetime because of his actions. If his soul can rest easy then the rest of us don't need to worry about going to hell because that's pretty scummy.
lol
EMAIL ME FOR THE SECRET PASSWORD ALSHEHRIABDUSALAM@GMAIL.COM
ashes2ashes
thx
Spoilers?
Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust.
what engine was this made in?
Adventure Game Studio 3.5.0
Thank you! Also, love the art direction for this game!
Checked it out. It looks really cool!
Such a MASTERPIECE
Quick question: Is this a horror game? It kinda feels like one, just wondering if there are any jumpscares or maybe some spooky memories ;-;
Can confirm, not a horror game. There are some ominous sound cues and surreal imagery, and one case of Spooky Eyes In The Dark, but nothing jumpscary.
Thanks dude!
spoilers:
When i try entering the password it doesn't seem to work but I litteraly put all the characters. What am i doing wrong?
Spoilers!!
1. I didn't use any uppercase or spaces, so I don't know if that'd be an issue. Edit:Just checked it with all uppercase and that also works, so it's either an issue with your letters or if you tried adding spaces.
2. there's a number between two words. make sure you have the number.
3. there are 11 characters in total in the password.
other hints in case you want to try to guess the password, I guess:
4. the two words is the same word repeated.
5. it's the beginning of a common phrase that originated from the Bible, but is more commonly connected to poetry. The phrase refers to returning things to where they came from and where they belong.
6. it plays on how the character's name is "Dust."
:)
Thank you! I already know the password i just didn't type it in the way you did.
amazing game 1000/10
THAT WAS CUTE
ive been... struggling with thoughts pertaining to the theme of this game. the game hit that much harder when it touched on those thoughts, addressing me personally in a way. Ive been genuinely afraid to confront these things, and i decided that i need to bite the bullet in the form of this game. And well, I think im feeling a little better about it all, so i feel i need to genuinely thank you.
The game was a wonderful little experience, and I had a blast piecing together dust's life. the artstyle is awesome, and the themes were crip and clear, nearly impossible to miss. My only request is that upon 100% completion, is there should be a chronological order to play. Just to see how correct i was in the end.
if you are worried about a waste of time to anyone else reading this. Please play this game. it doesnt take more than 30 minutes, but the true ending completion is worth it.
Really wonderful little experience. Each of the animations had a ton of character to them, and they did a solid job of conveying different atmospheres + feelings. I had a great time living through the jumble of Dust's memories, and the secret ending was a surprisingly tender way to cap it off. Good luck with your miracles.
I rarely post comments on the internet, but after knowing about this game I got compelled into doing it this time.
This is probably the best game I'm not willing to play. After finding out about it by seeing a video review, I feel I'm emotionally incapable of actually playing it by myself. I've already checked out other games that I'd say have a more "immediately impacting" emotional charge, but this one in specific hit me in notes so right that it's gotten personally uncomfortable to me.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with the game whatsoever, much to the opposite, this surpasses what I'd define as an example of games being worthy of having artistic merit. The problem is entirely and exclusively on me, for not being in the right mindset to enjoy it.
I am incredibly sorry for not being able to play the game much like everyone else.
Thank you for your honesty, I really understand your point of view! I myself cannot watch other people play my "game", much less discover the ending, it's too close and personal. Thank you for going out of your way to comment this, maybe one day you'll be in the right mindset for it!
THIS IS SO GOOD AND CUTE IM SOBBING
Hello! I recently completed a review of your game for my Youtube series “The First 15”! I’ve placed a link to the video down below, please check it out and THANK YOU for sharing this with the world!
Show post...
cool
This is fun, weird, bizarre, surreal, and creepy. There's no clear order to any of these events and it makes you wonder what happened in Dust's life, or indeed their whole world. The viewer is left filling in the gaps on their own.
EDIT: OH THERE'S SECRETS. That was so sweet.
The note to Linux users is very sweet, although I do have some good news there: using the Itch.io app and installing the Windows version, it will very transparently Just Run with Wine without any sort of issue. If I didn't see that Windows icon and name in the zip, I might as well not have known it wasn't available natively. :)
Edit 2: this was made in AGS? There's a cross-platform version of that on Github! I think you should be able to release Linux and MacOS native versions for this!
The character kinda reminds me of the store clerk in Wario Land 4 too, as well. I've always liked that design.
waiiit a second, is the one with the 1st place, 2nd place and 3rd place podium thingies a reference to the Chao Garden races?
This was amazing!
This was epic
Lovely game! It was very cute and fun to play through!
ASHES TO ASHES
but hes du-ASHES TO ASHES
Did not expect to be emotional right into the end but well told story
this hit hard at the end
What a touching experience - and it invokes a lot of personal memories, too. Fantastic game!
time to cry
Great. You touched me deeply with your game, thanks.
Nise! this Is Good
WOW! I really enjoyed this game a lot. I found you through your animations and thought your work was very cool!
Thank you for the amazing art! I hope to see more from you!
sweet little critter, glad to have known him
this is too cute
btw the password is
ashes2ashes
Beautifully displayed, without any words even spoken.. This was an amazingly well put-together game, life flashing by and seeing all the highs and lows, it was nice. Although reading the comments to get an idea of how long the game might be sorta ruined my experience of finding the pw by myself, it was worth the play. The ending message was beautiful as well, amazing work!
great game with a lot of heart