Shards of God

[Honza]

On a distant desert planet, a crime has been committed. As Mother Tiabata and Sister Ava set out to solve the mystery, they soon find themselves facing an impossible conundrum: how does one murder a god?

Shards of God is a retro hand-painted point and click murder mystery - think Agatha Christie in a fantasy/sci-fi setting. It was originally started as part of AdvJam2023, and the full game was then finished within two months.


Check it out here:
ITCH | AGS database

Credits:

Written, drawn and coded by Jan Vávra

Music by Paco Diago

Sound by Maxim Grachev

Enjoy!

[RootBound]

I had the pleasure of play testing this game, and it is fantastic. The art and music are amazing and the lore of the setting and story go very deep even though the game is short. The puzzles are logical and not too frustrating. Really great fun with a fascinating story. Highly recommend.

[KyriakosCH]

I will have a look (first impression is that it is very elegant)

[heltenjon]

I played this today, and I have to agree with RootBound. The game is nothing short of great all around.

The first thing you notice, obviously will be that it looks magnificent and sounds superb. But in addition, is is brilliantly written. The world building is fascinating, and the characters came alive to me. I really enjoyed this a lot. 

[KyriakosCH]

I am stuck. How do I

Spoiler

create some background noise, after I've given the priest the scroll to examine?
I have to suppose that after I extract the rod, I will use that in the machine at the forge, to create a knife version - which likely was the murder weapon

[close]

[Honza]

I am stuck. How do I

Spoiler

create some background noise, after I've given the priest the scroll to examine?
I have to suppose that after I extract the rod, I will use that in the machine at the forge, to create a knife version - which likely was the murder weapon

[close]

Did you

Spoiler

examine the center-left carving and speak to Catalus about the fact that it needs renovation? You're right about the rest!

[close]

[KyriakosCH]

Thanks ^^ Not sure how I missed that. I thought I had

Spoiler

examined all, multiple times. Maybe it was triggered by talking to the priest only after examining the room - ie it didn't matter if you had examined everything in previous attempts? Anyway, thanks, I will do the rest now.

[close]

Game is great, by the way 

[Honza]

Thanks ^^ Not sure how I missed that. I thought I had

Spoiler

examined all, multiple times. Maybe it was triggered by talking to the priest only after examining the room - ie it didn't matter if you had examined everything in previous attempts? Anyway, thanks, I will do the rest now.

[close]

Game is great, by the way 

Thanks, glad you're enjoying the game!

Spoiler

Examining the carving at any point in the game counts, but I guess it's easy to forget to right-click each picture.

[close]

[KyriakosCH]

Finished the game now.
Beautiful, well done 

If I wasn't in a difficult financial situation, I'd support by buying. I hope many others do.

[Catch22Alk3]

AGS 2023 GOTY

[heltenjon]

AGS 2023 GOTY

So far, it's definitely a contender, together with Dreams in the Witchhouse. We'll see which full length games comes out during the remainder of the year. I am sure I will nominate this one in multiple categories. I agree with Wiggy that mother Tiabata is a scene stealer. 

[KyriakosCH]

Oh, Dreams in the Witchhouse is also excellent! I just thought it wasn't made with AGS (?).

[jfrisby]

This was fantastic, thanks! 

[MIGGO]

Oh my, this game really nails it in all fields. Only gripe I might have would be the shortness, but then again there are so many games and so little time that it's pretty much just welcome. Wonderful game!

[Dave Gilbert]

This game was exceedingly good. Well done!

[KyriakosCH]

Apart from the gfx (and some animation), the plot also was pleasant. Humorous, despite the murder and political intrigue. The aesthetic, however, imo is what makes the game memorable and I hope to see more in the future 

[Shadow1000]

I absolutely enjoyed every minute of the game. As others said, the graphics and animation are top quality. Puzzles were on the easier side and things just fell into place intuitively without really getting stuck. In my opinion, the story is outstanding and just keeps getting more complex as you play.

Well done.

[vertigoaddict]

This looks gorgeous and I love the premise. I have a long day ahead of me and I can't wait to unwind with this later   

[Honza]

Version 1.2 of Shards of God is out! First, a word of warning: YOUR OLD SAVES WILL NOT WORK IN THE NEW VERSION! Now that that's out of the way, here's (some of) the new stuff:

• A clever autosave system which creates separate labeled saves throughout the game's story. Even obsessive types shouldn't have to worry about saving manually anymore (the option is still there though!)
• Mother Tiabata now acts as a hint system. If you're stuck, she'll nudge you in the right direction
• Volume controls!
• More interactions give meaningful responses (eg. using items on characters), and one puzzle has been sliiightly streamlined
• Some small changes and additions to dialogue. For instance, the lamp puzzle is somewhat better motivated now, you can ask Radina about Plint leaving, etc
• A few cosmetic changes to backgrounds (can you spot them?)
• A fancy new Mac launch screen, courtesy of Nahuel! That readme file should be harder to miss now

All in all, if you haven't played yet or feel like revisiting the story, now's the time!