Hello, this is Altila, the dev.

Thank you for playing Looking for My Mermaid! If you haven't, please give it a try before reading this to avoid spoilers. It's a short game, so it won't take much of your time. 

Just like my previous postmortem, important things are underlined. Feel free to skip anything but the underlined ones. Oh, also, please pardon my English.

===============

[Plot]

First, let me tell you something about this game. So, this game is actually not about a mermaid. If you think it is about a literal mermaid, that means I have successfully misled you with the narrative. But, I'm aware that not everyone knows what was happening. In short, the story is based on a real historical event (or disaster) which is a tsunami. Here is the real narrative:

This story is about a man who despite many years have passed, still continues to search for his wife who went missing in a tragedy of tsunami in 2004/2011/2018. Canonically, the setting of the game will depend on the year you choose. 

2004 is the year of the Aceh Tsunami.

2011 is the year of the Tohoku Tsunami.

2018 is the year of the Palu-Donggala Tsunami.

My condolences to the affected people and regions.

I came up with this idea when I was scrolling through X and the news and saw the stories about how people whose loved ones went missing in the tsunami 2011 in Japan. Then, I remembered the big tsunami in Indonesia back in 2004. Of course, Aceh was not the only one that got hit back that tsunami but since I hailed from Indonesia, I always refer to it as the Aceh Tsunami. It was near the end of the year. The tsunami was terrible. I only watched on TV but it was very scary. For several years, the government forbade any end-of-the-year party with fireworks and stuff. After that, somehow the topic of tsunamis came up a lot, like in a book I randomly borrowed from my friend. I also had a conversation about this with a friend who happened to have presented this topic in her class. Because of that, I remember about another tsunami in Indonesia back in 2018. Those are why I chose these three years.

So, the setting of the place depends on your choice. As for the time when the scene takes place, I will leave it to your imagination. 

===============

[Character and Art]

The art is only one CG with no change in expression. Why? Simple. I forgot to draw an alternative expression. As for why I used a CG instead of BG + Sprite, it's because that way is easier and I can add more filters and effects. Drawing BG + Sprite takes way more time than a single CG. Also, I cannot draw a BG, so I need to hide my lack of skill as much as possible. I thought about using a picture of the ocean that I took in Japan, but it doesn't really reflect what I want to convey because every single time I went to the beach, it was cloudy (sad). I wrote that the weather is great, not cloudy.

The man (whose name can be left to your imagination) has black hair, brown eyes, and tanned skin because inside my head he is my fellow Indonesian. Inside my head, I called him Bambang. If you choose 2011, let's just say he was a tourist or his wife was half-Japanese.

===============

[BGM]

OH! There is something interesting about this. I was looking for BGM to use and I found that BGM from Dova. The English title is 'Goodbye, See You One Day' and I was surprised at how perfect the title is and decided to use it. I think it fits too. Well, hopefully, you think so too.

===============

[Programming and Others]

Honestly, there is nothing much to say about the programming side. Ever since my last project, Crimson Thread of Fate, I have wanted to make the options on the side and above the textbox instead of the center of the screen like usual or inside the text box like my previous year's entry, Unsent Letter. I didn't change the default GUI that much, just made it not as tall and changed the location of the quick menu because I was kinda bored of having the quick menu on the very bottom.

===============

[Closing]

I love O2A2 VN Jam, really. In the first place, I'm not too good at making long VN (not that I'm good at the shorter ones). But, bit-sized VN is really refreshing for me, especially since I just finished Otome Jam which was quite stressful. In my personal opinion, this game jam is good for first-timers of VN-making, anyone who just wants to practice, and someone like me who just wants to take a break from a long and serious VN. By the time I write this, there is still a week left for the jam, so go and participate if you are interested.

Thank you for reading this post and playing the game!

Altila