CALLING CARD
A downloadable Visual Novel for Windows, macOS, and Linux
"No man is a hero to his valet---no man is a supervillain to his own henchperson."
CALLING CARD is a Kinetic Novel in which you play as a henchperson tasked with helping out their boss. Listen closely and read between the lines, and you might just find out something new about him.
Made for the Only One of Any Asset VN Jam 2023, and thus includes:
- Roughly 1000 words;
- 1 sprite + 1 BG;
- 1 BGM;
- 1 (non-UI) SFX;
and 1 swear word
CREDITS
- Art, UI, Programming, Story by HOPJAM
- Beta reading/testing by raumv
- SFX, Text message system by Nighten
- Additional UI SFX by Fesliyan Studios
- Background music by Lofi_hour
- Fonts by Github, Abelardo González
- Custom screenshake effect by TheoMinute and tofurocks
Thanks for playing!
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- CALLING CARD Q&A ANNOUNCEMENTJul 19, 2024
- POSTMORTEM & BEHIND-THE-SCENESAug 16, 2023
- Thank you for 100+ downloads!!!Aug 10, 2023
- CHANGELOGJul 31, 2023
Comments
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Such a cute little story. I loved the dynamic between the henchmen and the villain!
this was such a cute game! i found myself laughing so hard at all of agape's responses but now all i want is our beloved boss to be happy with his hero <3
Leaving my first ever itch.io comment to say how much I enjoyed playing!! The layout and characters are so cute, and I was laughing at Agape's responses
Cute!
I love this so much, the characters are so cool!
thank you!!!
OMGGGGG i loved it so much!!!!! I love the Design of the Phones of the Bossman and the general vibe so much!!!!!!
hi! thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to leave a comment!!!
OH MY GOD THIS IS THE CUTEST THING EVER! I LOVE THE ART AND THE STORY AND FREAKIN' AGAPE BEING SUCH AN ICON I AM IN LOVE!!!
I love the contrast of the boss' phone (probably a company issued one) and the cute sweet looking phone of Henchman No. 214 (I love how serious they were when they said that, I swear Val (completely forgot his obnoxious name lmao) was already endeared by Agape that he was just fondly exasperated by Agape's response. The one thing I'm questioning is how Val was communicating with Agape because apparently Agape wasn't meaning to show their messages?? That still confuses me but I am so in love with everything else it's all fine with me~!
I seriously love their dynamic, they make such a good parent and child fit with Val's dramatic polite demeanor versus Agape's chaotic hyperactive gremlin ass, I can see at first Val was reluctant to communicate with Agape but he was desperate for another opinion since Lorelai wasn't there (I assume she must have betrayed him) and as time went on and Agape showed genuine interest and listened to Val and providing him reality checks, he must have been endeared by such a character.
Honestly, I love how despite how they appear to be, Val is the one who's thoughts are so dramatic and in a flair, especially with his denial to his own crush, and Agape is there to bonk him with reality checks going "bossman, pls, who rants about Mr. Agent's smile 7 times??? U got some explaining to do <(-_-)>". I just picture this gremlin Agape running around his office providing love advice-- I mean planning advice, practically gnawing at his armchair while Val is stressing over which outfit he should wear even though they look all the same???
I'm just in love with their dynamic, I love how you characterize Agape's message, reading through it makes me smile and imagine this blob of excitement, a squirrel dashing around, and Val is just standing there going "Good lord" but will become fond of this little one.
ALSO THAT ENDING???? WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT????
aaaaa, thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to write all this out and analyze valerius and agape's characters!!! i'd print this comment out and tape it to my wall if i could!
hehe, yes! the contrast between their phones was intentional. i'm still really glad the idea to characterize the two via what their personal smartphones look like came to me in the first place, even after all this time. oh, and agape did mean for valerius to see their messages from the start, just not THAT one in particular. imagine your friend going on and on about something with a glaringly obvious solution so you type out a snarky response you intend on keeping to yourself and deleting later, only for your fingers to slip and press the send button.
yup, that's about it! the best thing a supervillain of valerius's caliber could ever ask for is an entertained audience enthralled by his performance, and what is agape if not entertained and enthralled? not only that, but despite first impressions, agape is more than capable of offering genuinely good advice val has never even thought of himself! i do wonder where lorelei disappeared off to, though...?
pffft i never thought of it that way, but that's HILARIOUS actually. valerius is waxing poetic desperately trying to frame his feelings for the agent as standard hero-villain enmity protocol, but then—what's this? it's agape with a steel chair! GOD that part about agape gnawing on valerius's armchair while he himself frets over his nigh-identical wardrobe is such a "them" thing for the two to do that i can vividly visualize it in my head thank you so much for the mental image
truth be told, i've been brainstorming how i should continue this story again lately, and you've given me lots of motivation to keep working on it. thanks for the comment again! wherever these two end up at, i hope you'll be there to greet them at their destination as well. have a nice day!
Oh my god! I was clapping my hands as I read through the reply because I am SO stoked to see what happens next! I'm really glad you're entertained by my blurbs of how much I love the characters (both Valerius, omg for typing his name out, and Agape). I don't even need to see a sprite of Agape, I just imagine them drowning in their company issue henchperson uniform (such a good boss providing uniforms) and smacking people with their long sleeves. I'm also happy that you're entertained with the vivid image of Agape gnawing at Valerius' armchair while the supervillain himself is bemoaning if three buttons on the side of his uniform isn't enough and he should add a fancy sash for his first encounter with the Hero or if he should chicken out and where his usual supervillain outfit, Agape what do you think-- Please don't gnaw at my chair the plush is GEESE feathers!!
I also imagine that Lorelai might think their genre is super serious and it might be (since I still have my theory of what happened to her) but Agape's presence changes the damn genre like how Bugs Bunny changes the genre of whatever show he's in to humor/comedy, that's Agape, a sparkling disco ball with Valerius holding a child leash, not for THEIR safety, but for YOURS.
Anyway, back to you! I hope things are doing good and you got your brain juices a-juicin'! Looking forward how things turn out and if you have any other VNs (or any other games) that don't necessarily connect to Calling Card, I'm looking forward either way~ Have a great rest of your day!!
Agape is so relatable like yessire wingman the hell out of your boss and his not-so-secret crush!!!!
of course! what else could you possibly do in their situation if NOT wingperson for your own boss?
OH MY GOD!!! posting my like 2nd comment on itch ever 2 say holy shit i loved this little game so much..... the whole premise is a bunch of plots im such a sucker for (villain and hero, good villain workplace relations etcetc) and i LOVEE the fucking pc in this. they're the only pc in a game i've ever audibly said '#they're so me wtf' about like. idk how to explain it, in a lot of texting sim vns or wtv the genre is called pcs type super formally and seeing 'yeag bossman :)' and 'LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOO' was such a breath of fresh air. yk when ur smiling a lot and ur so hyped up on dopamine u cant sit still and u get a headache? thats how i felt this was so fun PLUS. our boy ever val . please god tell me him and roseate go for coffee dates inbetween trying to sway him over 2 our side they deserve it sm.... this whole thing gen felt like i was on a fuckin call with a friend and i had to be on mute do u know the feeling. #no-mic that shit UP. n e ways thank u for making this lovely lovely experience i have found a new comfort game! hope u havge a good day :D
aaa!!! thank you so much for this comment!!!!! i'd print it out and tape it to my wall if i could!!!!!!!!
super glad you loved the premise, because it was deeply self-indulgent and based on a bunch of tropes i liked as well! and while we're on the topic of me, i've probably mentioned this somewhere else already but the henchperson's typing style was based on my own as well! or, well. it's based on my typing style whenever i'm talking to my friends, but exaggerated? yeah i think that makes sense
anyway, i get exactly what you mean by that overwhelming rush of dopamine, and i'm so happy i was able to make someone else feel the same way with something i made as well!!! it's really lovely to hear you were invested in the story enough to feel as though you were transported into valerius and his henchperson's conversation, too!
thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to tell me your thoughts! have a great day as well!
HONESTLY- this was the cutest game I've ever played and i hate that it's so short because i loved every single second of it! i love the art style and the color palette of the whole thing, especially the character design and the phones !! i also wish to see what this hero looked like see what's making valerius- ( realized i can't finish because i'll spoil ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝ ) i can't wait to finish and i'll definitively support this when it continues!
thank you for making this game and i adored it aaaa !! i made a video on this game and i left my final thoughts at the end! :D
thank you so much for your kind words!!! your playthrough of the game was super entertaining and your thoughts at the end of the clip were really sweet!
thanks for your support as well! if i ever continue the story of valerius and his henchperson, hopefully i'll see you there too!
This is so cool and cute at the same time ! Both of the characters are so silly AND I LOVE THEM !! o((>ω< ))o
hi! thanks so much for joining them in their silly little conversation, hehe!
So charming! Such a lovable villain protagonist. I'm also super impressed with the level of visual polish--it has a very professional look.
(Reminds me of Miike Snow's Genghis Khan music video if you haven't seen that one...)
hello! thank you for your praise. i'm happy to hear you liked my work!
(unfortunately, i must admit to living under a rock when it comes to music... i really enjoyed the song, though! both the MV and the music itself are to my taste, hahaha.)
THIS IS SOOO CUTEEEE!!! i luv it! i hope to give mr bossman some more advice lol! the song was comfy and i think i'd love to fall asleep to it ^^♡
thank you! perhaps you'll get the chance to some day, haha.
if you'd like, you can find more music by the same composer here!
forgot to say smth: THANKS!! i absolutely love all of the songs! :D
I LOVE IT SM THE GAME IS JUST AJSHSJ AND SISBSH (´∇ﾉ｀*)ノ
ヾ(＠^∇^＠)ノ
RAD AS HELL!!!! OMG !!!! COOL ASS COLORS ???@!?!? SO RAD ?!??AND SILLY FUNNY GUYS. OBSESSED.
this is ant btw
hi ant ✌️ the silliest ever!!!
The interactions between the two were highly entertaining and a lot of fun to read, definitely makes me want to play through more game with these characters.
hi!!! i'm super honored to see you've made a video of your playthrough of the game!!!!!
you're the first person to point out the phones, actually! because of the jam restrictions, i could only include a handful of sprites for valerius and none for the henchperson. so, i got the bright idea to try and convey their personalities more through their belongings instead! seems like my plan worked as planned, hahaha!
happy to know you enjoyed valerius' interactions with his henchperson! i haven't thought about what else i want to make with these two yet, but i'll be sure to consider it if an idea ever comes to me.
The interface is so cool!! I love the color very much. This henchperson did a very good job lolol. Everything is so nice, I might play it again just to talk with the boss the same way over and over xD You did a very great job, thank you for the game!
hello, thank you for telling me your thoughts! it's wonderful to know you liked the user interface and the vibrant colors, haha! i designed it according to my tastes, so i was a little worried that it might've been Too Much at first.
i'm flattered you liked the game enough to consider replaying it over and over again, too (and thank god for the henchperson, right?)! if wasn't for the restrictions of the jam and the length of the game script as it stands now, i probably would've included a handful of choices.
either way though, you're welcome for the game! i had a lot of fun making it. thanks for leaving a comment once again!
i liked the part where valerius was gay
that man's as straight as a spaghetti noodle and babey i'm putting him in a pot of boiling water
that was very fun and silly, i loved it! good job making this short KN so entertaining
hello, thanks for playing!!! i'm really glad to hear you enjoyed it!
this valerius guy seems gay as hell
no yeah thats really weird. i wonder why that is.