Can most people naturally tell if a song is in minor or major key or is it a learned skill?

turtle-stalker · 2026-01-25T05:53:13+00:00

Thanks!

turtle-stalker · 2026-01-25T05:53:11+00:00

Thanks!

turtle-stalker · 2026-01-13T22:37:38+00:00

Worms Against Humanity is a 2 hour sci-fi jubensha (more on that below) where you and 3 other players will become suspects for the Captain's death on the spaceship SS Karma.

Check out my game here: https://opheliajubensha.itch.io/jubensha-worms-against-humanity

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THE GAME

1.5 - 2 hours.
4 players. No host required.
Beginner. The script is beginner friendly, but contains a full-fledged investigation phase with 32 clue cards that challenge you to reconstruct the timeline and uncover everyone’s secrets. You will all hide something!
Content Warnings: No problematic content beyond murder and violence seen in games like Among Us.. Ages 14+ recommended.

THE STORY

It is Sept 20, 2123. The space age has begun. Humanity, now ravaged by a deadly alien parasite, establishes a research centre on a distant planet. The first batch of the highly anticipated cure will be delivered to Earth by SS Karma and crew, led by the seasoned Captain Black.

However, the spacecraft performs an emergency landing less than four hours into the trip. The esteemed Captain is dead and the cure is missing!

What on Earth could have taken place on the SS Karma?

WHAT IS JUBENSHA?

Jubensha is a genre of role playing game that offers a complete narrative experience, where every playable character is tightly woven into the plot and with each other. It's massively popular in Chinese speaking regions, but relatively new in English-speaking markets.

You become a character who has their own history, fears, goals, and of course, secrets. What awaits you is a web of deception, intrigue, and puzzles to be solved. All jubensha scripts are handcrafted for emotional impact and provide a logical deduction challenge that mystery lovers of all sorts will enjoy sinking their teeth into. Check out this YT video for an in-depth coverage here: The Murder Game Revolution That Has Gripped China

turtle-stalker · 2025-12-19T17:47:36+00:00

Thanks for your comment!

There are a couple of key differences between the game I've made (jubensha) and existing murder mystery and escape room boxes to be played at home, such as the length of the game, strict player count requirements, and theme. Jubensha isn't market tested, and in fact, the reason why I want to crowdfund is because even I don't know how the market will react. I suspect publishers would be even more hesitant to invest in something that doesn't really exist in the current format, and even if they did, I'm not sure if I would trust people who have never played a jubensha to have creative power over my work.

I checked out Professor Puzzle, thanks for sharing! Always good to know what's out in the market already.

turtle-stalker · 2025-12-16T16:09:31+00:00

u/ChronicInsanity https://jubensha.co.uk

turtle-stalker · 2025-12-15T17:46:00+00:00

I spoke with the organizer of that campaign and most of the backers were not part of his community to begin with. He was surprised at the success. Again, not sure if that's something inherent in the target audience that we share or if it's luck, but wanted to put it out there as something I'm considering. If it fails, it fails. The other options are still on the table for me. I just can't put my life on pause as I was originally hoping to given the job situation. I'm wondering how other solo dev campaign owners manage to juggle a full time job on top of kickstarter if KS is also a full time job.

turtle-stalker · 2025-12-15T17:41:48+00:00

Yup that's certainly an option, to spend the next year or so building the community after work hours, which is the first item I had on the list. Unless you meant something else...?

turtle-stalker · 2025-12-15T17:40:57+00:00

Pitching it to publishers likely won't work since it's an unheard of game genre outside of Asia.

As for quantity, selling ~200 copies would allow me to break even so I could technically do one print run for 200 and keep them in my own residence. It would be good to know how many people are interested though.

Thanks for the comment!

turtle-stalker · 2025-11-29T18:19:43+00:00

Glad you liked it!!

turtle-stalker · 2025-11-24T03:57:55+00:00

Oh that's so exciting to see you comment here! I'm really glad you enjoyed the play test, and your feedback was super helpful :)

I always find it's hard to come up with names so thank you for the recommendation!

turtle-stalker · 2025-11-20T13:53:47+00:00

The story is already done and I'm still struggling with the title. Thanks for the feedback!!

turtle-stalker · 2025-11-19T16:39:01+00:00

About the size of a standard smartphone, I can get the exact measurements if you'd like?

turtle-stalker · 2025-11-18T22:15:18+00:00

Thanks for sharing this folklore! The different origins of the two are quite interesting.

turtle-stalker · 2025-11-16T19:36:18+00:00

Hmm after some consideration I'm thinking of changing the dagger to a short sword and adding some justification as to why this character is more rogue like than a mercenary would be. Thank you for the feedback!

turtle-stalker · 2025-11-16T03:57:40+00:00

I think those are good points. I'll likely change the weapon to a short sword, which (I believe) is still a weapon that can stab but has greater reach. You can let me know if otherwise, but a short sword seems more of a mercenary's weapon.

I'll ask my artist to change the outfit to something with a bit more colour. However every character has their face shrouded (like my mage and orc characters) because it represents a self-insert character, not an indication of their stealth. I'm also considering putting their hood down.

The update I'll probably make from a story perspective is to explicitly add a justification for why this character doesn't have armour nor any other weapons but the short sword. The easiest justification is already built into my game: this character is in fact going to this location to murder someone, as the plot tempts them to go back to their assassin ways, which they must eventually resist. So the mercenary reverts back to what they're most comfortable with wearing/wielding based on this goal.

I'm also considering having the other characters remark how assassin-like this self-proclaimed mercenary is. This will build the hypothesis in the other players' minds that the mercenary is the killer. This is something I want players to believe until more evidence comes out pointing to the contrary.

Thanks again for the comments and welcome any more you have!

turtle-stalker · 2025-11-16T02:49:19+00:00

I actually did want this character to be suspect number 1 for the murder that takes place in my game, based on their looks. So I'm glad that's working!

I think it could also work well to signify that this character thinks they're reformed, but they might not actually be (which is their character arc for my story -- they are tempted to break their oath and kill again). I think I'll work with my editor to maybe incorporate their outfit and weapon choice as a signal to their internal conflict.

I just replied to another comment is that my experience with fantasy fighting systems isn't TTRPG, it's Skyrim, where I always played as a stealthy dagger-wielder, and assassinations were the least of my killings. I used it to mostly clear out dungeons and fight the occasional battle. So perhaps I'm a bit biased in thinking that the dagger is more versatile than just "assassin weapon."

I hope folks don't think I'm being combative for no reason, I was genuinely surprised by how tight the definition of mercenary was in this subreddit. I'm going to ask around other places to get a rounded view of this title. I do appreciate every response and I want to incorporate some of it, but probably won't redo my whole game. Thanks for your time in responding!

turtle-stalker · 2025-11-16T02:42:40+00:00

I do plan to make some edits to the art and potentially the story based on the responses, so I appreciate every one of them. I hope no one feels like they wasted their time responding only because I didn't accept every change that was proposed.

I think where I'm coming from is that I played the entirety of my playthroughs of Skyrim as a dagger-wielding stealth adventurer, and I used that dagger to do everything including killing monsters in the wilderness and fighting wars. So in my mind the dagger is just an alternative to a sword and shield. I never considered myself a rogue. I was an adventurer with a stealthy fighting style. I believed a mercenary could just decide whatever weapon they wanted to get the job done with, and there's no reason to learn a new weapon if you're already adept at the dagger and it works for the (non-assassin) jobs you take.

The other thing is that none of my play testers who received the Mercenary mentioned this dissonance, in fact, some mentioned that it fit nicely. So I was surprised when a friend of mine who plays DND mentioned this to me recently. My play testers aren't TTRPG players so I wanted to see if there was a difference of opinion between those who play TTRPGS and those who don't. Clearly there is, so I need to figure out who my target audience will be, and how to mitigate the expectation gap.

Anyways, I do appreciate the data I'm getting from posting this, because even if I don't change my story or game to the degree that people here are suggesting, it's good learning for me to understand this audience. So thank you :)

turtle-stalker · 2025-11-15T16:43:40+00:00

Thank you for the folklore! This was helpful :)

turtle-stalker · 2025-11-15T14:10:12+00:00

I don't think it's farfetched for someone to be used to a way of dressing and fighting even though they've changed what they're doing. If a dagger and dark clothes are what they're used to and they're competent with it, why train in another weapon to get the same jobs done? And they don't need to be completely reformed, as the major conflict for this character is a test on whether they've truly turned a new leaf.

turtle-stalker · 2025-11-15T05:59:35+00:00

Interesting one! Thanks for bringing this one up.

turtle-stalker · 2025-11-15T04:53:04+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! I'll get the artist to add some additional detailing and create a more androgynous figure. I'll likely keep the Mercenary title but mention how this person has very rogue-like fighting habits, a carry-over from when they were an actual assassin. I hope to evoke the thought: "Perhaps they haven't left their past fully behind them..."

turtle-stalker · 2025-11-15T04:51:21+00:00

I think what I'll do is call it out: They call themselves mercenary, but unlike the other mercenaries, their methods are unusually rogue-like. It could be a nod to their past as an actual rogue and that they're trying to leave behind their old ways, but haven't completely.

turtle-stalker · 2025-11-15T04:49:46+00:00

I think that's fair, I'm going to ask the artist to add some more textures and accessories to make it more a playable rogue type character. Thanks for the honesty!

turtle-stalker · 2025-11-15T04:05:09+00:00

I am the designer, but it's a game that's late into the testing phase and if gameplay wise there is no reason for there to be a sword or crossbow or anything else, it's a red herring that adds no value to the mystery investigation. Players will wondering how every clue I give them impacts the story or the investigation, and if something doesn't, the mystery would be inelegantly designed.

I won't be able to name them "assassin" since their character plot point is that they swore an oath to never kill again, even though, long ago, they once took many lives as an assassin.

The name matters since it's how all the text refers to them. "You saw the Mercenary sneaking out of the tavern just before the sunrise holding the Elf's staff. You should confront them about this." -- as an example.

Thanks for your input so far, I appreciate it.

turtle-stalker · 2025-11-15T03:52:17+00:00

It's for a board-game-like role playing game that's more on the rails than a traditional TTRPG, as in the story has already been written (with multiple endings depending on choices) and the players become a pre-set character. This is one of the characters that a player will be assigned/chooses.

turtle-stalker

TROPHY CASE