itch.io

Wow! I think that's an amazing visual idea! Feels like totally not an AI, warm and calm! 

Hey, One Joyful Day! Thank you so much for such a kind review!

When I first started making games, I never even imagined that one day someone would say, “Ah, this is the developer behind The Choice.” That honestly feels really special and very nice to read.

That idea about a completely new approach to strategy games is really interesting. I’ll definitely think more about it. Maybe something like a strategy game where you only define the starting conditions and then watch how everything evolves from there. Or something along those lines. In any case, thanks, you gave me a really interesting idea to think about.

And yes, I think your observations are very accurate. I agree that The Choice turned out more engaging overall (and probably more fun to play too). The newer games I’ve been making are shorter and simpler. Right now, I’m experimenting with different formats to better understand how to keep the player engaged. But I definitely want to return to longer educational game formats too. They just take much more time and energy to create. For me, this is still mostly a hobby, but I genuinely enjoy making them.

And I also agree that this probably isn’t the best time to monetize educational games. There’s a small contradiction for me: I want educational games to stay free so more people can access the ideas and knowledge, but at the same time, I’d also like to eventually find some way to support the work financially. Maybe I’ll think about Patreon in the future. 

But on the other hand, I simply enjoy creating these projects, so I’ll keep making them either way.

Thanks!

Thanks! If you liked the idea and the ethics theme, you could also try another game I made. It’s about ethics too - https://buildtounderstand.itch.io/the-choice

Just did it!

https://buildtounderstand.itch.io/reasonabledoubt

In a near future where AI predicts crimes before they happen, you must decide who deserves freedom and who should be stopped before it’s too late.

Read case files, examine probability scores, and deliver verdicts under uncertainty. A narrative moral-choice game about predictive justice, fear, and the weight of condemning someone for a future that does not exist yet. After each case, you’ll also see how other players judged the same person.

Thanks a lot for the feedback, it really means a lot to me! And I’m really glad you enjoyed it.

P.S. There actually is music in the game. You can turn it on by clicking in the footer. I didn’t enable it automatically because I didn’t want it to feel too intrusive for a browser game. But I guess I made it a bit too subtle.😅

I’ll improve the UI!

Во-первых, спасибо большое за потрясающий и очень подробный фидбек, это очень ценно для меня! И не знал про Сида Мейера, спасибо!

Да, я согласен что геймплей нужно переработать, сейчас эта игра не вовлекает, не дарит эмоции, это просто простыня текста.

Спасибо большое за огромное количество идей и мыслей, мне есть над чем подумать в следующей версии этой игры.

Особенно меня зацепила эта мысль - "Может быть вместо выборов событий, у игрока есть возможность настроить изначальные условия для цивилизаций и быстро прокручивать симуляцию наблюдая к каким развитиям это приводит". Мне нравится это направление и я вероятно попробую двигаться в нем.

И очень люблю игры Ники Кейси, как раз игра о доверии и побудила меня заняться обучающими играми-эксплейнерами.)

Еще раз спасибо большое, мне есть много о чем подумать!

First of all, thanks a lot for playing and for the feedback! And yeah, it’s more of an educational quiz than a game.

I’m really glad the idea about the limbic system overriding the neocortex came through, that’s exactly one of the key takeaways. Sounds like those people could use a playthrough too, so they’re not blind to their own emotions.

In the end, the whole point of this is just to help people understand themselves a little better.

Hi Plepguy!

Thanks a lot for the feedback, it’s really valuable to me. I agree, engagement is something I need to work on.

And thanks for pointing out the areas where it could be made more interesting!

Hi Jamjarjar!

Thanks a lot for such detailed feedback, it really means a lot to me and helps me understand where to go next.

Especially the parts that were unclear, that’s super important, and I’ll definitely add more explanations there.

I’ll also take a closer look at the building logic. That’s clearly some kind of bug. I just haven’t figured out exactly what’s causing it yet.

Funny that the book was guessed even before opening the post 🙂

Yeah, I’ve read that Guns, Germs, and Steel gets a lot of criticism, especially for its idea of geographic determinism. In the game, I try to present it as just one perspective, obviously there are others.

But overall, it’s still an important work, it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1998 for a reason.

Sorry, my bad. I've just added some

I’ve just released a small interactive game inspired by Jared Diamond's book Guns, Germs, and Steel.

It’s a step-by-step journey through human history where your decisions shape how civilizations develop.

The goal was to let players experience the key ideas, not just read them.

You explore:

- How geography influences outcomes

- Why some societies advance faster than others

- How small decisions can change long-term trajectories

Would love to hear your thoughts and what kind of civilization you end up building.

And this is the link to itch.io to try my game
 https://buildtounderstand.itch.io/evolution-of-civilizations

Hi! First of all, thank you so much for the detailed feedback.  I really appreciate it!

I completely agree that the dilemmas can feel flat and limited. Real life is far more complex and full of additional variables (like the possibility that the Captain could be lying, as you pointed out). I intentionally simplified many situations to avoid overwhelming the player with too much information in each scenario and to keep the experience concise. Otherwise, the game would take 50 minutes instead of 17–20, and not everyone would be willing to finish it. That said, I agree that this simplification can make things feel too flat, and I’ll think about how to make it more nuanced and engaging.

I tried to structure the branches so they would always challenge the player’s choice by presenting an alternative perspective. My goal was to show that in complex moral situations there is never just one viewpoint and never a single “correct” answer. The idea was more to encourage reflection and help players understand themselves better.  To understand why they make certain decisions in these situations.

And thank you again for such precise feedback. That’s exactly why I released the game in beta - to understand how different players perceive and experience it.

Thank you so much for your feedback! It means a lot to me and I really appreciate it! I'll keep creating games like this, especially since I enjoy it too!

First of all, thank you so much for such a detailed review. It really means a lot to me. I’m happy that you found the game interesting and enjoyable.

Your point about what happens when a player’s reasoning doesn’t match the way the moral dilemma is framed (like in the examples with guns or the factory) is very insightful. I think this situation could come up quite often, depending on the person and their perspective.

I’ll definitely think about how to make this more flexible. Maybe by adding more branches, or by introducing an option like “I have my own op,” which wouldn’t directly affect the final calculation. This is truly valuable feedback, and it gives me a lot to think about.

If you have any ideas about how you, as a player, would like this to work, I would love to hear them.

And once again, thank you very much for taking the time to write such a thoughtful review of my work. I really appreciate it!

Thanks!

Thank you so much for the feedback, and I’m glad you felt that you could learn something from the game. That’s exactly why I made it.

That loop was left intentionally, to show through gameplay that if you keep postponing a decision, sooner or later you’re forced to face it, or you stay stuck in a loop. You’re not the first person to mention this, so I’ll definitely think about how to make it clearer or handle it better. It’s something I clearly need to improve.

Thanks! It’s really nice to hear that it worked out!

Nice to read!

Nice one! Fun gameplay — I enjoyed playing it, especially the way the sound design is done.
As a thought: it could be cool to have not only a choice of opponents, but also some kind of story or relationship between them, to get the player more emotionally involved.

I'll definitely do it next week!

 Thank you for the feedback! I’m happy you found the game interesting.

Thanks as well for highlighting the issues with the Russian translation and the reply system. I'll double-check them and make corrections.

Nice game! I like the gameplay and visuals!

Hm🤔

Nice one! It was fun to play! 
I liked it!

Thank you! I’m happy the idea resonated with you.

Yes, that’s exactly the part of games I really love - no one else will ever make the same game as you, even if the idea is similar. Every story can be told in thousands of different ways!

It’s a solid first attempt with Twine, and I’m sure your next projects will only get better!

Yeah, it is a bit like an ethics test, that’s exactly the feeling I was experimenting with. Maybe too many tests.
I wanted to create a slightly unusual, reflective experience, so I’m glad it came through. Thanks for playing!

Thank you so much! I'm really glad the ending and the morality scale worked for you. I tried to keep the story simple on purpose, so it’s great to hear that the educational part still felt balanced and not biased toward any single moral philosophy.

And I checked out your game and left a rating and a comment. Happy to support fellow creators!

First of all, it was really nice to see that you made it in Twine — I use Twine as well, so that was great to discover. I especially liked the core idea about the robot developing emotions. I haven’t played through all four branches yet, but the parts I went through were really good.

I really liked the atmosphere! And this game makes me think about being more attentive to my friends' feelings!

Hey, nice one! I liked to play in it!