Cygnus Leapt
A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android
Three years ago Erin started dating his best friend, a ballet dancer named Cygnus. Between Cygnus' mental illness, their desire to move forward as partners, and increased demands and stress from his job, an overwhelmed Erin has recently pulled away from his relationship. His struggles with avoidance have left him and Cygnus in a limbo.
However, when Cygnus passes away suddenly, Erin's decisions are rendered irrelevant. After getting a posthumous email from Cygnus, Erin uses his position at the Department of Last Thoughts and Unspoken Words to review Cygnus' last week and things they left unsaid.
Erin now has to figure out where he stands in relation to his partner, their passing, and the where the two of them belonged. Accepting death is never easy, especially when you still have yet to accept the life you led together. One last kiss for my lover, because it's time to say goodbye.
Cygnus Leapt contains themes of avoidance, death, and (tasteful) depictions of sexual intercourse, and is thus not suitable for audiences under 18.
Writer and Creator: deepbluefeeling
Sprite and CG artist: idolater
Programmer and Background editing: MysticExile
featuring
Guest CGs by CityofSneps
Cygnus' Theme by PinkNarcissus
Credits:
Funeral BG - Image by Joe from Pixabay
Warehouse BG -Photo by Tiger Lily: https://www.pexels.com/photo/warehouse-with-concrete-floors-4483610/
Bar BG - DonnaSenzaFizato
City at Night BG - Image by Christian B. from Pixabay Photo by Matteo Modica
Swan phone BG - Photo by Trudie Roden: https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-swans-on-river-2419158/
Mail icon - Email icons created by Freepik - Flaticon
(currently unused) Rain SFX - Sound Effect by freesound_community from Pixabay
(currently unused) message icon - Message icons created by Freepik - Flaticon
Awesome shaders - Make Visual Novels! RenPy Shader Pack by Stella @ MakeVisualNovels
The rest was made in Blender or photographed by our awesome programmer MysticExile!
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Comments
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This was an utterly beautiful game, and my personal favourite of this whole game jam. The emotion, the characterisation, the music and visuals, all combined to make the subject matter both heart-wrenching and somehow uplifting. I'm super excited to see what you do next.
OAGH, thank you!!!!
It was difficult to finish. Erin was just too conflicting for me. The ballet scene was real cool, and the characters looked great. I just couldn't get into it, as the words expressed between the main characters felt alien to me, in the way that it felt too perfect. Too clinical. The relationship rotting over a long period of time was very real, however.
I actually felt like Kosta was the best character simply because they communicated the most like a human being. The way that he spoke felt the most real out of anyone, and I could actually imagine someone speaking like him (forgiving the 'lol' and 'lmao' parts).
Such a lovely tale, I got misty-eyed by the end! And Quite frustrated with our MC dragging his hooves so much with their relationship, LOL!
aw, glad you enjoyed it, thank you for letting me know (\^v^/)
I really liked how it depicted depression on both sides of the relationship, and I liked how it tricked me into thinking it was going to be a bit like Cerpin Taxt only to subvert that expectation for something much more moving. I also really liked the pacing back and forth in some scenes, I think it worked really well. I think it handled that sudden sharp loss of someone close really well, I know that feeling all too well myself.
well I'm sobbing
This was really pretty, both music and art wise.
The relationship kinda frustrated me in a way that I could see myself falling into this sort of pattern of stonewalled interactions. Which yknow, good characterization, felt very real.
Man, the authenticity in the writing of the characters hit me in a really good way. Their relationship felt real, messy and full of so much love. Seeing it develop through the expertly done time jumps left me mourning along with everyone else at the end. Art was wonderful. The music was a pleasure to listen to. Super solid story.
I'm glad the love came through, I think that's the most important part. Thank you for reading, and I'm really glad you enjoyed it!
Oh man, these was truly heart-wrenching! Both Cygnus and Erin's feeling were really well conveyed and relatable. I also really enjoyed the non-linear storytelling, jumping from past to present to see different highs and lows. Very somber and bittersweet but heartfelt story. I also really love the art and the effects done in ren'py were fun touches. ^^
woah, thank you so much! I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it, that means a lot!
Writing so raw the chicken is trying to flee from the oven.
Oof, the feels. Expertly done. This is simply a great story. The pacing of the first part felt uneven, but when we got to the Last Thoughts department, it became a strength. The relationship between Erin and Cygnus is very compelling. I also really liked the ambiguity of the nature of Cygnus’ death until the reveal at the end. The post-death message makes you think it might be suicide but as we see Cygnus’ memories and feelings, it seems somewhat less likely and indeed, it was a “normal” accident.
Visually, the sprites were really good (Cygnus in a blanket was phenomenal^^) and the simple silhouettes for the characters who couldn’t get a full sprite are really nice as well. The “sci-fi” effects are good, and the CGs were all nice as well. The backgrounds however were a uneven. Notably their scales were all over the place. (And the warehouse bg for Erin’s job seems weird)
As for the audio, the music works well with the action, but maybe it changes a bit too often?
My standout favourite so far, you all did a really great job!
Thank you for the feedback, and I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
A leap or twice won't heal the pain away... Or would it?
(Joke comment)
Black text on crimson is a torture to read. Pls change the color scheme of the page
yeah, i'm sorry graphic design is so far out of my wheel house 😭 I'll try and get something else soon!
You care and that's enough for me. Thanks.
Omg when does he die I'm so sick of him wtf :(
I kid you not he died literally right after this LOL
they* (woopsies)