Your presence has been requested by the Great Snake Deity, Serpentus, but why? Find out in this small side-story from the Royal Duality Universe and discover the true motive behind Serpentus's strange invitation.

  • 999 words
  • Keyboard Accessible
  • Screenreader accessible (press 'v' to activate)
  • Partially voice acted
  • 2 Endings

This game was made for the O2A2 VN Jam 2024, a micro Visual Novel jam with strict asset limitations and a 1000-word limit. 

For the best experience, we recommend downloading the game rather than playing the browser version. 

Voice acting is provided by Jake McAskill.

StatusIn development
PlatformsWindows, macOS, HTML5
Rating
Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars
(10 total ratings)
AuthorHyakuten Games
GenreVisual Novel
Tags2D, Atmospheric, Cozy, Fantasy, First-Person, Short, Singleplayer

Download

Download
dinner-with-a-deity-win.zip 72 MB
Version 2 31 days ago
Download
dinner-with-a-deity-osx.zip 67 MB
Version 2 31 days ago

Comments

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(+1)

Dinner With A Deity was an absolutely lovely story (and quite melancholy). 
The art was beautiful, and the voice acting was positively charming!

SPOILERS


The the idea of the deity of festivities and merriment being lonely honestly made the entire story feel so much sadder. Even upon meeting Serpentus, it was obvious that something was bothering him in spite of the happy face he tries to put on outwardly.
He's a very compelling character, though. He seems like a decently important deity, who has been left somewhat... broken by having lost those he loves
(Although I am glad that The Panther isn't gone, per se. Just no longer living among mortals) and Serpy's wish to go live among the stars to be with The Panther was awfully sweet. 

I really liked how he decided to bring in a normal worshiper to spend his last night with, too. Even though it's awkward, it's really cute how he does his best to enjoy the evening, and even divulges his plan at the end.
(Although it absolutely broke my heart to be able to reject his desires ;-; I was glad he went through with leaving anyhow. I did love that, depending on which choice we made, we could get two variants of Ending 2 as well!)

Although the ending where he left on good terms with the worshiper was the most satisfying to get.


As an aside, even if I didn't know some of what goes on in this game's universe (and I really don't know a lot, save for what information was given in The Vulture... because I need to play the rest of the games, too xD) the story conveys enough of the overarching plot that this works incredibly well as a standalone game. 
Just enough is said about the state of their world that you get a decent idea of what's going on.

You did an excellent job with this visual novel. I'm looking forward to playing the rest of the VNs in the same universe, and I'm excited for the ones that you have planned for the future too!

(1 edit) (+1)

Thank you so much for your kind words Cryptid. We always enjoy your playthroughs and comments. May your harvests be bountiful and your cherries sweet and tasty!

This game Universe is already unfolding nicely and you can see the great Panther himself featuring heavily in a new title in December 2024 👀

(+1)

Aaah, thank you 💖

Oh my gosh! I'm excited to see the Panther!
December feels so far away, but I know it'll be worth the wait ^^

This was a very poignant and sweetly melancholic game! 

The art is beautifully rendered, particularly the background - the green color palette goes very well with the green of Serpentus' sprite, and I really loved the rendering on the twisted snake in the back. The green and gold palette of Serpentus' design is gorgeous, and the VA did an EXCELLENT job - the voice is exactly what I would expect a charming and charismatic snake deity to sound like. The dialogue flows very naturally, and the story does an excellent job of slowly introducing concepts from a larger world to the reader while maintaining a very personal focus on Serpentus and his relationship with his worshipper. I really liked how the different dialogue options allowed you to learn about different aspects of the world. 

===SPOILERS===

During the game, you are introduced to your deity, Serpentus, who invites you to dine with him - at first you're unsure of the reason behind this invitation, but as the conversation progresses it becomes clear that Serpentus is lonely, saddened by the current state of the world. Rather than a deity, he seems quite human, and, in the end, he longs to "be free" - to go to the "beautiful night sky" (whether this is a form of ascension, or simply death, I'm unsure). In the end, he seeks your validation for his decision. He leaves either way, with the ending changing depending on whether you support his decision. 

As the deity of festivities and merriment, it makes sense that Serpentus would feel particular loneliness in his current state - he's used to being surrounded by people, making merry. Yet now he is mostly alone, and has to send for his followers to spend time with him. His emotions were quite poignant and relatable, even though he is a "deity," and in the end I sympathized with him quite a bit. There is something melancholic about Serpentus' departure, as he also mourned the loss of his partner, Panther, who left the same way. However, there is also a sense of peace, as it seems like this is one thing that he does for himself and his own happiness. 

I like how the ending of the game perfectly ties into the start menu, with Serpentus gazing up at the night sky. Is he imagining his freedom there, or does he long to join his other friends, who have also chosen to leave? 

Overall, fantastic work by the devs! 

(+1)

Hi Chatter!

Thank you so much for the wonderful comment and review! We really appreciated it. You're got some great intuition re:Serpentus and the Panther.

Jake did a wonderful job with the voice acting performance, hats off to him for making Serpentus so reliable. We see this character chanage a lot during the Royal Duality saga (he's calculating in the first game, he's very driven in the audio drama and then...we see him here, a very different and humble deity). I think this game serves as a bit of a deep dive into his character and the fact that he can shed his personalities a bit like a snake sheds it's skin to suit the mood of the time he's in...but in lonely and isolated conditions, he feels very caged (a bit like how people who keep snakes as pets often have them in tanks...that's no disrespect to snake-owners by the way!)

The good news too is that Serpentus and his partner will be returning in a world that's totally different than their own! 

Thanks again for your kind words and have a great day.

Wow, this was such a beautiful and somber entry. I’m in love with the BGM, it’s very fitting! I love how glowing and cozy the background is (and I like how it draws a contrast to Serpentus’ feelings of being tethered there). I really felt for him, a stagnant being in an ever-changing world, and his lines about happiness in Ending 1 were hard-hitting. Amazing work!!

Hi Sudachys! 

Thank you so much for your comments. We really appreciate it ❤️

We hope that snake deity can sliver to a better place amongst the stars ✨

Thanks again for your kind words 😊

This was a nice addition to the Deity verse! I really feel bad for Serpy; eternity is an awfully long time, especially when you start losing those that are essentially your family. I felt mean rejecting his request. 

Nice work on the O2A2 jam the artwork is beautiful and the VA was great; I'm looking forward to seeing what else you create!

(+1)

Hi Meeka, 

Thank you so much for your playthrough. 

We've got an Panther deity based game and a couple more installments of the Deity Machine coming up this year and the next. So plenty of deity lore coming up 👍

Thanks again. 

This game was heartbreaking. Serpentus' perspective as a deity regarding his eternity versus the never-ending flowing of time; his stature amongst his worshippers, and his very somber emotions got me right in the feels.

This game's background song is beautiful. And I really adore the overall design of the game as well! I did struggle to read the light green font at times, but overall this game is superb

(+1)

Thank you so much for taking the time to review YUU! We really appreciate your comments.  


Also, we have increased the colour contrast on the lighter green text so it is easier to read, thank you so much for providing this feedback. It helps us make the game more enjoyable. :)


Thank you again.

No problem and thank you for increasing the colour contrast as well, I greatly appreciate this!!

All the best!

(+1)

I love this game. 

Hi DigitalWaveMedia. 

Thank you so much for playing our game! We're always happy to see playthroughs and we're really glad you enjoyed it! 

Thanks again 🫶