Jester Under Pressure
A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, and Linux
Submission to NaNoRenO 2022
SYNOPSIS:
The seven kingdoms comprising the Filippinas archipelago are each named after a different color — Pula, Kahel, Dilaw, Berde, Asul, Lila, and Rosas. In a castle built on the country’s highest mountain, the sovereign of the seven kingdoms reigns supreme.
Diskarte, jester of the high castle, has one job: entertaining the queen. This would be easy except Queen Bahaghari has a penchant for magically exploding the heads of subjects falling below her exacting standards. Can Diskarte avoid this frightening fate?
CONTENT WARNINGS!!!
- Death, depicted textually and visually.
- War, depicted textually.
- One incident of self-harm, depicted textually.
FEATURES:
- Glossary with 50+ Filipino terms
- Music box with 8 original tracks
- ~28,000 words
- 3 routes (2 romantic)
- 6 chances to die
- 5 endings
CHARACTERS:
DISKARTE
Jester to the sovereign. They haven’t stepped beyond the high castle’s bejeweled gates since they first arrived as a dirt-poor orphan from the far-flung kingdom of Dilaw. Their hunger — whether for a warm meal or for a better life — is insatiable.
QUEEN BAHAGHARI
Sovereign of the seven kingdoms. Born of a dalliance between Pula’s king and Asul’s queen, she was raised by Lila’s royal family. The potency and proficiency of her malicious magic are unparalleled throughout history.
SANA
Former heir of Asul and current commander of the high castle’s knights. Although not as skilled in swordsmanship as her predecessor Yugto, she prevailed over her contemporaries from Pula’s military academy owing chiefly to her sturdy shield spells.
YUGTO
Cook of the high castle’s kitchen. The queen discovered him in the slums of Pula and decided to harness his potential by declaring him her first commander. Since his retirement from the battlefield, he has sweetened and softened, just like freshly-baked bread.
THE SEVEN HEIRS
Royal children from the seven kingdoms, one of whom will succeed the sovereign upon her retirement or death. When heirs come of age, they relinquish their right to the high castle’s throne in favor of younger heirs but continue to serve as royal advisors to the queen.
CREDITS:
- Writing: ilyilaice
- Coding & Programming: Marionette
- Sprites & BGs: applecidrdonut
- CGs: what_an_animal
- GUI: Gido
- Music: Beans
QUESTIONS:
- Who is your favorite character?
- What is your favorite ending?
- Any thoughts or questions?
Thank you so much for playing!
See the Lemma Soft forum thread here.
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- Jester Under Pressure: WalkthroughMar 28, 2022
Comments
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This game has been on my backlog for far too long and I've finally given it a try! I really enjoyed the story, I really felt the pressure the title so indicates, and felt for our protagonist's plight. Getting the good endings was a delight, and I think Deskarte's relationships with both Yugto and Sana are as sweet as cake.
The art is beautiful, I really like the character designs, and I even find the heirs to be adorably charming!
I'm happy to finally have gotten to play, and even learn a few tagalog words along the way! Thanks for making this <3
I am screaming! Thank you sooo much for this game. I cannot wait to play it. I got REALLY excited the moment I read "Filippinas" then I read "Pula, Kahel, Dilaw, Berde, Asul, Lila, and Rosas" I was so sold!
I haven't been back home in over 10+ years and I'm so homesick. I cannot wait to play this game and come back to comment again. I'm sure I'm gonna love it!!! Thank you so much. <3
Thank you for taking the time to comment! I hope you enjoy checking it out.
This game turned out great! I liked the art a lot since I first saw the initial designs and it looks amazing all put together. Tbh I can't pick my favorite character design, they're all so good! I liked the backgrounds too, especially the kitchen one (WOW that warm color palette).
I also appreciated that you had a protagonist with they/them pronouns! The conversation with the heir of Berde in the banquet hall was also very nice to see ;___; I enjoyed the interactions with the heirs in general too, I feel like you did a great job of writing them. They had a good balance of seeming like nice kids who like you but also being potentially dangerous since they do have a lot of power as heirs to the throne. I liked Diskarte's attempt to help the heirs see through the propaganda they're exposed to as well.
I played through the game a bunch of times trying to get all the endings (it took me a while but I eventually did it!). I can't decide which of the two romance routes was my favorite ending, they were both great. I just want Diskarte to get out of this situation and be happy! So I think Diskarte was my favorite character overall haha. I liked Yugto a lot too, I didn't pay as much attention to him earlier since I wasn't sure what his role in the story would be, but I ended up really enjoying all the interactions with him.
Again great job, and congrats on finishing NaNoRenO!
Thank you very much for the detailed feedback! So glad that you enjoyed your experience.
This is such a lovely game so far. I haven't been able to fully play through all of it yet, but I fell in love with Diskarte and the overall look and feel of the world right away.
This game actually wound up being one of my top picks this year for my annual NaNoRenO spotlight post—here's the link if you'd like to check it out!
In any case, congrats—both for completing NaNo this year and for making such a beautiful VN (and so quickly!). :)
Thank you so much for the feature! I enjoyed reading it.
Congrats for finishing the game! We really need more southeast asian representative!
Thank you! And I wholeheartedly agree.
It was good. I'm a Filipino itself so Im happy to see some work related to it (〃'▽'〃)
Thank you very much!
Artwork looks really nice. love the characters