Cross Country Practice

1. The game definitely made me nostalgic for when I ran cross country, I had very similar feelings towards the sport.

2. I liked how the game was just a nice jog in a straight line and think it's better this way.

1. I'm not really sure how it made me feel but it did feel nostalgic in a sense when the mom comes for after practice.

2. I feel like it was pretty good maybe could have added a twist to it perhaps, like finding a missing object or collecting something.

The drawings, animations, and sounds are very relaxing and nice to look at!

1) This definitely captured a feeling of nostalgia for me when I ran long distance during football training for High School. Starting always sucked, but I always eventually got lost in the scenery.

2)They were definitely sufficient for this game. I didn't miss anything, I felt engaged the whole time.

1) I don't know that nostalgia is the right term, but it did evoke a certain serenity/calmness. 

2) I would say so. The colorful backgrounds, while I had no idea what most of them were, really lended themselves to telling an interesting story. The limited movement was also really good at forcing the player to focus on the dialogue and item descriptions. 

1) definitely a feeling of nostalgia, who hasn't been outside because they have to do something they hate that eventually fades away in favor of making the most out of their time? really cool concept.

2) i think simplicity is best with games like this because i feel like the purpose is to convey an idea, or in this case, a relatable experience. there's the potential for gameplay mechanics to get in the way of that goal so i don't mind the lack of "conventional" or "active" gameplay because i feel like that's not what's trying to be accomplished here.

1. My main emotion was curiosity because after every frame I'd think "what's going to happen next?" or "where is this going?" The background sound definitely made me feel nostalgic, though I can't say I relate to the cross country theme but that's me. 

2. I think the limited mechanics actually fit the style of the game very well! It would be hard for me to imaging a game like this with dungeon-crawling elements, in my opinion.

Fantastic work as usual, Em!

love the backgrounds and how they get more and more whimsical

1.) I love the loss of focus from "i hate running" to exploring the world and crunching on leaves and looking at frogs and slugs on the ground.

2.) Despite it being just a straight line and interacting with various things on the way, the backgrounds and the palettes and animations are gorgeous to look at.

I thought this game was really really cute! I definitely had thoughts like these when I was made to play softball when I was little. 

1) this game definitely captured a sensation of being forced to participate in school sports. I can definitely relate to the 12 year old.

2) I don't think anything was lacking gameplay-wise. I enjoyed just interacting with various different items. These minimal actions tell a huge story without being super in your face and I really appreciate that!

For the first question, the game evoked a sense of wonder, because of the fact that we are seeing through the perspective of a 12-year-old. It did not capture a feeling of nostalgia, because it seemed like it was more a reflection of one singular person's memory (i.e. the whole mention of Manasquan Reservoir, instead of a generic place name).

For the second question, the limited mechanics were okay (but not great), in the fact that the player was sort of limited to pre-determined guide lines on the screen.

I really like the sound design. As well as the colour pallet changing with the scenery. I've been to the Manasquan reservoir before, it's a really neat place. It's cool seeing the location being used in a video game. Considering that running is a pretty meditative and generally overall basic task, the game captures that aspect of it quite well. The addition of interactions with the surroundings in the form of leaves and other wild life is a nice touch. It's a cool way to explore everything that you can observe while running.

What emotions did the game evoke?  Did it capture a feeling of nostalgia?

There was definitely a feeling of nostalgia captured for me, with the memories of having to push through an extracurricular activity and not being able to leave until a set time when your parents came to pick you up, to looking at the random things around you and commenting on them (the frog / slug section) .

Did you feel like the limited mechanics were sufficient, or did you find yourself missing more active gameplay (ie finding items, solving puzzles)?

• Some players may have appreciated the simplicity of the limited mechanics, finding it refreshing and easy to pick up and play. On the other hand, myself and others might have felt that the game was too passive, and wishing for more interactive elements like item collection or puzzles to make the gameplay more involved.