To Swat a Fly
For four years, the Red Valley County in Arizona was haunted by a shadowy serial killer with mysterious methods of murder. Even three years after her arrest, the "Red Valley Reaper" Mel Atkinson has refused to speak a word to the press-- until today. You've managed to get yourself an exclusive interview with the high-profile prisoner. The question is-- can you ask the right questions and make it out with the truth?
This game was made for O2A2 2023, a jam with strict asset limitations. It includes:
- 1000 words
- 3 endings
- 1 illustration
- Full voice acting for Mel!
NOTE: VA and Images may encounter loading issues in browser. Download is recommended for smoothest experience.
CREDITS:
Writing, Art, VA, and Programming by Luna Raydue
UI Design and Programming by Honey Datura
Creative Commons Music "Before Dawn" by Jason Shaw on Audionautix.com
SFX by OptronTeam from freesound.org
French Localization by Cyriaque Le Menn (translation) and Sarah Deville (proofreading)
Content Warnings
Manipulation, vague mentions of body mutilation, religious themes, player character death, warping effect
EN FRANÇAIS:
Pendant 4 ans, les habitants du comté de Red Valley, en Arizona, ont vécu dans la crainte d'une sinistre tueuse en série aux méthodes mystérieuses. Depuis son arrestation il y a déjà 3 ans, Mel Atkinson, la « Faucheuse de Red Valley », a toujours refusé de parler à la presse... jusqu'à aujourd'hui. Vous venez de décrocher une interview exclusive avec la célèbre détenue. Seulement... Saurez-vous poser les bonnes questions pour découvrir la vérité et ressortir en vie ?
Ce jeu a été créé à l'occasion de l'O2A2 2023, une game jam imposant une limitation d'assets stricte. Le jeu inclut :
- 1 000 mots
- 3 fins
- 1 illustration
- Doublage complet du personnage de Mel !
REMARQUE : le doublage et les images sont susceptibles de rencontrer des problèmes de chargement dans le navigateur.
Pour une expérience plus fluide, il est recommandé de télécharger le jeu.
CRÉDITS :
Scénario, graphismes, doublage et programmation par Luna Raydue
Conception IU et programmation par Honey Datura
Musique Creative Commons « Before Dawn » par Jason Shaw sur Audionautix.com
Effets sonores par OptronTeam sur freesound.org
Localisation française par Cyriaque Le Menn (traduction) et Sarah Deville (relecture)
Avertissement
Manipulation, vague évocation de mutilation corporelle, thèmes religieux, mort du personnage principal, effet déformant.
Download
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Development log
Comments
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I have to say, it's a shame I didn't download it first to experience the voice acting because it's genuinely amazing! You did amazing since your voice sounds quite young and soft, something that matches Mel's looks while also sounding the slightest bit deranged and calm like you're in control of the situation.
I also like how Mel doesn't show herself to be outwardly wrong, she just looks, acts, and feels unsettling until she slowly unravels how truly insane she is as she talks about creating her god. I wonder if she's trying to build a cult or if she has bigger ambitious than that.
I'm so curious over Mel's backstory, has she always been this insane in the head in childhood, or was it a budding seed that bloomed during her years in college, or did something happen that "opened her eyes" to the truth of gods?
I'm also curious over what will happen with MC and Mel now, if they'll be a crime duo together or if MC will just stay in the sidelines as Mel works to create what she envisions. Whatever it is, I thoroughly enjoyed it!
😳😳😳😳😳
how do you get ending 2
by resisting
😏
mel kinda....
Despite how short it is, I really enjoyed this. Hope to see some sort of sequel to this game!
Really effective under the given limitations. Nice work!
A simple and enjoyable experience for me, she made it so easy to crack jokes. I'm also a little curious on her statement in the game where she declares "A god needs sustenance, whatever that may be" Had me thinking she is more crazier than we gave her credit for, or she simply isn't as intelligent as we were told. If you can offer a god any sustenance, why choose people?! (Sorry about the tangent, I just found it a little funny. I can see where it makes sense for her to do what she did, if she chose a type of god that was previously created with that type of "Sustenance," but she claims she made her own, so that is why I'm in disbelief)
- A great game, I hope to see more like it!
That was very good! I got all endings!
Not a visual novel kinda person, but I absolutely loved this one!
I got all 3 endings and I loved it
I really enjoyed the interview! it was really fun and very immersive thanks to the voice acting which was well made! The visuals are amazing, the artstyle felt nice to look at. I think you've done a great job on this game :D I'm looking forward to more stuff from you (⌒‿⌒)
I played the game on my channel here:
Really enjoyed.
I loved the concept of the game and the mystery of trying to figure out things about Mel. The voice acting is a really good touch too. Good job.
Here's my gameplay of it:
It is pretty good! c:
I love the thing about: only exists if you believe
She was an interesting individual :)
Great game, love the occult vibe in it. Got all 3 endings ;)
I adore this, love folk horror and the way Mel describes her perspective on gods and her victims gave me a lot to chew on conceptually. A part of me hopes you expand upon these ideas to create a larger game, though this works well as a shorter experience.
Was a fun detective/ interview style VN! Loved the little bit of supernatural lore in it and how that escalates and develops! Great job on it!
And Finally for those of you that are simply Mel fans
Part 3/3
The Red Valley Reaper 3 #shorts #ToSwatAFly
Continuing for those of you that are simply Mel Fans
Part 2/3
The Red Valley Reaper 2 #shorts #ToSwatAFly
I got all 3 endings! :D Only thing this isn't a great game to play when you have a headache :"3
"if you don't feed it, it dies." Those words of Mel's about creating a God have never been so accurate.
I don't know what demon or spell Mel put on us, but I swear it was amazinggg, I love supernatural, mythological stuff and everything in the middle, it's always fun to see these elements in a game! And for a short and quick game, it was super well done!
When she says "I cant die" I wonder if she's immortal, some entity or made some pact... aaah, there're so many questions! I wish this game was longer, really got interested in Mel.
For those of you that are simply Mel Fans.. Part 1/3
The Red Valley Reaper 1 #shorts #ToSwatAFly
Fun fact: the whole time I thought there were 4 endings, just at the end I realized there's only 3 lol.
this is very well done but if im being honest i found mel way more annoying than scary
I just leaned right in, I don't wanna mess with someone with her kind of power ha. The facial expressions are so good, they add so much menace to Mel, especially her slightly unhinged squinting-smile. I loved it. This was fun!
Very nice game , I love the graphics😁
i found a bug. Its hard to explain but ill try. when its a mel narrative, i cant hear the voice acting, i can only see the text, but when click and then go back to that same narrative, she is able to speak.
Yes, that's a progressive loading issue in the browser version! Which is why I put a note about audio issues in the description.
Same, I think the web version tries to load the sound file on-demand with the dialogue, which ofc fails since there isn't enough time, but then the file is present so it works on rollback.
That's a really cool game!
also, voice acting and music were amazing!!
Played through all endings. It was pretty great, loved the content it offered. I played it no voice for awhile and then realised that there's voice--it was a bit younger than I expected, but it was good in the end. It didn't drag out my time and it was to point. Does the title screen stay the same?
Yes, the title screen stays the same! There will be a full version of the article posted somewhere soon, though!