Hello, this is Altila !

First, thank you for playing and reviewing [Moonlit Wizardry]! If you haven't, please play it! Rate is appreciated too! Now that the Spooktober VN Jam 2025 has (almost) concluded, I decided to write the second postmortem for [Moonlit Wizardy]. You can find the first one here. This post will be super long. Sorry for my messy English, by the way.

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RESULTS

My game got 35 reviews, a massive improvement compared to previous years. I wrote, drew,  scripted everything, and more importantly, did the marketing all by myself. I have to say that it's an achievement for me. Actually, the number of reviews on my game actually exceeded my expectations. I'm really grateful for that. I thought people wouldn't be playing my game, mainly because it was BL and not spooky at all. I know not everyone likes BL, that's why I even put [BL] on the description. I was so surprised that there were people streaming my game because I didn't expect that. I originally believed no streamer would play my game. I guess I was wrong this time. I said this before, but I did my best this year, not only in making game, but also in playing games.  This year, I've rated 104 games. I believe it also contributed to the number of reviews I had. If I didn't do that, maybe I would be sitting on 5-10 reviews right now.

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I PLAYED MANY GAMES!!

Honestly, the first reason I managed to play so many games was because I had a bit of mental breakdance, and I kind of procrastinated from IRL responsibilities. Haha. Since I submitted early, I also played some games early. As soon as the rating period started, I gave those games ratings while downloading some games. Actually, I had priorities when choosing the entries:

1. Games from the people that I know are my very first priority.
2. Games from the people who reviewed my game.
3. Games that have browser versions.
4. Some early submitters or games that I happened to see when I opened social media.
5. Nice art.
6. Wherever my mouse led me to.

Since my goal is just to vibe and play as many entries as I can, I'm not going to be too picky. Fortunately, I'm an omnivore, so I'm basically okay with any entries. I also tried to leave comments on the submission pages. Again, since I only wanted to vibe, I tried not to be too critical or anything. I'm sorry if you were looking for real feedback. As for the score, as far as I remember, I only gave 3-5 stars (3 is mostly for the non-existent voice-acting). People tried their best to make their games, so giving low scores is going to haunt me. Originally, I didn't have any exact target for the number of games I played, but after hitting 80-something, and with time and my schedule in mind, I decided I would play 100 games.

Over the 20 days, there were days when I played like 10 games a day, but there were also days when I played nothing. Of course, there were also times when I played 3-5 games like a normal person. I felt like once I hit like 40-60 games, I felt a bit tired of playing. Once I passed that number, however, it became enjoyable again. Since the people from the devtalk server had also started to recommend their games or games they played, it was easier to find games to play. In the end, things are more fun with many people doing the same thing as you.

As for how I played... surprise! I played normally. But my normal might be different from others. I've never been the type to read very thoroughly and savor every word. Sometimes, I skimmed a lot and slowed down when I found something interesting. If I have to be honest, I hate reading. Wordy things and long descriptions were not really my thing. While I mostly played from start to finish, rather than reading everything word by word, I mostly tried to catch the overall vibe and what the game was about. It worked most of the time.

There is something that I learned during playing these games: that my laptop is too potato to run even visual novels. I didn't really use ATL that much, and I've always preferred games that aren't too animated, so I couldn't tell before, but yes, ATLs caused some games to lag on my potato laptop. Because of that, I couldn't fully enjoy some games. What a shame. It wasn't the developers' fault, though. Another thing, my storage was basically crying because of the size of these games. Haha. I should start saving money to buy a new laptop.

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WHY PLAY A LOT OF GAMES?

Wait. Why should we play many games and leave reviews? Well, many reasons.

• Making connections.
  If you are a new dev or just want more dev acquaintances, this is the best time to make connections with other devs! 
• Visibility and traffic.
  Spooktober is a big jam, and the traffic is high. If you are a new dev or not too well-known (like me), by leaving reviews, you will let people know that you exist and what kind of game you made. Unless you make a sensation, slow and steady is the way to gather traffic. Possibly, the other person will also play your game in return. The community is supportive of each other, but just keep in mind that they are not obligated to return the favor. 
• Learning!
  You can actually learn a lot of things from other people's submissions. Trust me on this.
• Feedback!
  Like I said before, there is a chance that the person whose game you played will also play your game. This is the time to get feedback for your work! It's not every day we get someone to comment on our games (unless you are famous or a veteran, I guess?).
• Festive! Celebration! Appreciation!
  I personally think the judging period is like a festival. Everyone did their best to complete their games, so it's time to celebrate by playing many games and showing appreciation to other devs.
• Some of those games will probably be paid games after the jam.
  Everything is free during this period! Free! F.R.E.E !! FREEEEE!! Are you really going to miss out on some great games when it's free? 

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TIPS ON HOW TO PLAY MANY GAMES

When I said many games, it doesn't need to be all entries or 100 games. I believe this actually depends on your style and schedule. If you are a busy person and your limit is 30 games, that's fine too. The tips below are just tips to maximize the number of games you can play during the judging period. Some tips from me:

• First and foremost, you will need this important thing called commitment to go through this. Pretty self-explanatory.
• Your health and safety first! Read the game page and descriptions. Trigger warnings are there for reasons.
• Empty your mind of expectations and anything judgmental. Since you are going to play as many games as you can, you will need to be a sponge. It's easier to jump in with a blank state, free of any thoughts.
  
• Setting a target may be good for some people. Still, I personally like to do "as much as I can" or "until I'm sick of it" until I can estimate the exact number. Having a number on the get-go makes it feel like a chore and may be overwhelming.
• Be a hungry omnivore that hasn't eaten for three days, not a gourmet. Mind your allergies (what you are not good with), though. This is why emptying your mind and judgment are important.
• Find anything, ANYTHING, to vibe with. Art not up to your standard? Well, it's cute! Or the story is enjoyable! You don't understand the story or find it a bit boring? Well, the art is good! Or that was this iconic line/part that you remembered. Find your way to have fun in some ways.
• Since we are trying to play many games, I suggest speeding up the reading part. Unless you are streaming the game, of course.
• This is probably one of the most important things, but strategize well on choosing the games you want to play. You may be tempted to play the games that piqued your interest first. And that's where you're wrong. Put some random, smaller-sized, and shorter games between your hit list. The goal here is to play as many games as possible, so playing everything that you want to play at the front might make you lose interest pretty quickly. Time is also an important factor for strategizing. Manage your time and schedule! I don't know your schedule, but you know yours. Sometimes, the word count and the estimated play time are displayed on the game page. You can play short games on your breaks or if you are busy. Leave the longer ones for the weekend or when you have more time. It depends on the person, of course. However, my point is that to achieve your goal, you need to have a strategy that suits your style.
• Don't know what to play? Ask for recommendations! Or simply change the sorting method.
• Pace yourself. It's okay if you don't play every day. You can rest or play other games! 

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SPOOKTOBER TIPS

If you are thinking of participating next year, I have some maybe useful tips. Please remember that it may or may not work for you. Also, I'm a solo dev, not a team one, so I can't speak for the team case. Also, I'm a plantser. I survived the jam as a solo dev! Haha! Okay, here are my tips:

• Have at least a rough plan before the jam starts.
  This is a bit funny coming from me, because I don't have any plans before the jam, but please have at least a rough plan on what you want to make. Since we only have a month, it's better to do things like planning beforehand. The planning includes the concept, general flow of the story (if you are a planner, it's better to list out what scenes should be included), and the assets that you need. The asset part is essential, by the way. If you are in a team, have a discussion with your team regarding what is needed, what each person will do, and when the time frame. Make it as clear as possible before jam for a smoother start and process. If you are a solo dev, a clear definition is nice because you will be free to start your work from any part (art first or story first) or jump around tasks.
• Plan wisely.
  The time is just a month, and there are a lot of things that we need to do. Be sure to know your limit and not to overestimate yourself. You are an absolute beginner, but want to make AAA-level game? You'd better reconsider. You are a solo developer, but want to make a lot of CGs and draw everything? Wow wow, wow! Calm down! If you really, absolutely, want to do a lot of things, but don't know if you can do it or not, maybe it's time to make a priority list. List every asset and feature that you want to be present in your game. After that, put them into categories: top priority (the game cannot run without it), middle (once the necessary ones are fulfilled, you can do this one to make your game look more polished), and low priority (basically just your passing thoughts, and the game is fine without it). The categorization is up to you, but it may help, as you know the things you should be focusing on.
• Beware of scope.
  Now, to the problem of many devs: over-scoping. I feel like having a priority list will minimize the risk of over-scoping, but there is still a chance that it happens. As soon as you realize that you are over-scoping, making it too difficult to finish in time, bring out that scope scissor and cut it down. For me, I trimmed my game into a kinetic novel. There are also people who cut their games into demos. You can also scrap any gameplay or extras.
• Having a proofreader or a tester is a great idea.
  I don't have a tester this time because everyone is busy, and my usual tester, my friend, is not into BL. The results? Uncaught exception caused by VSCode auto-capitalized dissolve to Dissolve. Nobody told me before a certain content creator made a video of my game. I'm grateful to that person. So, yeah, having a tester is great. Also, as an ESL who usually starts working at my stuff at midnight, I feel like it's necessary to have a proofreader. Of course, Grammarly or something like that helps, but not as reliable as an actual human IMO. Believe it or not, I read my stuff many times and even used Grammarly, and still found grammar mistakes.
• Nice thumbnail and screenshots help!
  Thumbnail, description, and screenshots are like the introduction of your game, the very first things that people notice about your game. A nice thumbnail helps to catch people's eyes. Descriptions will let people know what your game is about and what to expect from your game. Screenshots too! To be honest, I didn't click on any games that don't have screenshots on their page. Screenshots is like the visual representation of your game, and they also let people know that your submission is an actual submission, not a virus (if that makes sense).
• Submit early
  Yup. Submit early. There are reasons, like in case itch is down or slow upload time, but those are not all. The crucial time for a game to gain attention is in the first week of release. There is a section for newly released games on itch's front page. You need to capitalize your time there. The gods and goddesses of VN and big teams will likely submit close to the deadline. Let's be honest, shall we? We stand no chance against them and their games in terms of visibility. If we submit close to theirs (and everyone else's), our game will just get drowned out and go unnoticed.  On social media, the hashtag will be flooded too. By submitting early, you get extra days to market your games. Many submitters won't play your game at that time, but hey, this is Spooktober. Unlike the usual time, you can still gain traffic by the time the judging period starts. Speaking about the judging period, the rating is redirected to the submission page around this time. You can do it from things to rate, of course, but it requires extra steps, and maybe not everyone knows that. So, by submitting early, you can have the chance to get an actual rating instead of the jam rate. Another advantage of submitting early is that you will still have time if someone, or you, finds bugs in your game that are previously unnoticed! It's extremely important! Oh, one more thing. You can start playing other games early too.
• Unfortunately, you need to market your game.
  We did our best making a game for a month, but it's not the end. We need to tell others that we made something and get them to play ours. I'm also not sure how to market games, actually. Anyway, I usually just post something about my game on social media and related servers. This is just as tiring as making the game, but yeah... necessary, especially in the first week and during the judging period. Playing other entries and leaving a comment is also another way to market your game (at least to let people know we also made something). Oh, right. I personally won't count on streamer(s) to stream my game. Of course, I will be happy and grateful if they do, but I tend to treat it as a surprise or bonus. I mean, streamers and content creators need traffic too, and I'm not sure if my game can bring them traffic. Also, it's not like our traffic will spike if streamer(s) play our game. Unless they are super popular, of course. But I doubt a super popular one will even glance at mine. Well, my point is, don't count on streamers to market or endorse your game. Do it yourself!
• Play other games!
  I've listed the reasons above. If you have read this far, you should've known already.

Not quite general tips, but these are some other things, more like personal taste and experience, that you may or may not take into consideration:

• Game is a project, so the project management concept can be applied in game development.  This is not a lecture, I swear. The one I want to talk about here is the triple constraints or project management triangle. Triple constraints refer to time, cost, and scope. This triangle is about delivering a product, in this case, a game, with a certain quality within the scope, cost, and time. I believe min-maxing this triangle can be beneficial for decision-making in a game project. For example, in Spooktober, we have one month for the time. If we want to deliver the expected quality within the allocated time, we need to tweak the scope and the cost, either make the scope smaller or increase the cost (can be money, manpower, or both). Or, if we want to stay at the same cost, we can lower the output quality. I believe, sometimes sacrifice is needed. It's about what you are willing to sacrifice. I hope it's not your health, though.
• This is personal taste, but... learn where to cut your sentence. Like I said, this is personal. Looking at a textbox full of text is kind of... overwhelming. I think if you are using the Ren'Py default UI, three lines should be maximum. Four lines look like a text wall. But if you want to have a lot of text at once, you probably would want to consider switching from ADV to NVL mode.
• Another personal taste, but... is that animation necessary? This is maybe due to my potato laptop, but... I found ATLs were sometimes distracting, like ATL in text. I tend to miss something because I was impatient and didn't wait for the ATL on text to finish appearing, and had to either rollback or use history. When I was playing at 3 am, ATL on text also made it even harder to focus because the text was... twerking. I was like, "Stop moving, I want to read!" haha, maybe just me. There was also the case where I was trying to read something, and the BG was animated and blinking. Whoa. Still, I respect people who coded ATL and thought it was very cool. Like I said, this one is purely subjective.
• If you are going to leave comments, remember to be kind and mindful of others. Also, if you found bugs, report them to the dev. Bug fixing is a tiring process. Just saying the game you found it a shame that the game was bugged and didn't mention where, is honestly, not too helpful. Maybe you were frustrated because of the bugs, but your comment might cause the dev to feel disheartened. Spooktober is a merry event, so let's cheer each other up!

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CLOSING

Thank you for reading! I hope there is something useful in this very long post. Are you looking forward to my recommendations? Too bad. All the typing makes me tired. How about checking out the submissions here?

Altila.