One year ago, Jam and the Mystery of the Mysteriously Spooky Mansion released on itch.io. I hope you’ve enjoyed at least two or three of the game’s jokes in the time since then!

I’m truly grateful for the support and enthusiasm JatMotMSM has received. Reading your kind words and watching Jam played on sites like Twitch has been an overwhelmingly positive experience as a new developer. Thank you!

To commemorate the occasion, I would like to share a few changes I have made to the game in order to improve the experience. These changes comprise the Version 1.1 update, which is now available for download. Due to modifications to the game’s internal structure, this new version is unfortunately incompatible with previous save and completion data. However, this is primarily a bug-fixing update, so it is largely identical to Version 1.0 in terms of content. The changes are as follow:

Version 1.1
Major updates

• Added checklist to track which endings you’ve completed
• Main menu art changes after 100% completion (the new image is included as this post’s header, for those who have already cleared the game in version 1.0)
• Made the clown puzzle a little less obtuse

Minor fixes

• Reworked the game’s internal structure to fix a number of issues
• Fixed bug where objects were still clickable while behind the in-game menu screen
• Fixed bug where player can leave the living room without confronting Alexandre
• Tooltips now track cursor
• Corrected various typos

JatMotMSM will also have a Version 1.2 update in the future, primarily to introduce a new translation of the game. More details to come about this at a later date.

Finally, from today until 31 October 2020, 11:59 PM PST, Jam and the Mystery of the Mysteriously Spooky Mansion will be free on itch.io. If you haven’t played JatMotMSM and don’t already have the game through the Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality, please enjoy a relatively seasonal treat for Halloween. It’s sweeter than a box of stale raisins, more social-distancing-compliant than trick-or-treating, and at least half as likely to give you cavities.

— Res

(A last note, unrelated to Jam: earlier this year, I collaborated with Kevin Sun of Strandline Games on a dark fantasy visual novel titled Revenant March, for which I provided the art, music, and programming. There’s about a 0% tonal overlap between Jam and Revenant March, but if VNs are your thing, you can find it here: https://strandline-games.itch.io/revenant-march)