Reviews by Janice M. Eisen
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More of a philosophical art piece than interactive fiction, January 5, 2016Constraints is a metagame composed of three short chapters and a z-abusing finale. It is, for the most part, very well written, and it provokes thought about free will and whether everything is futile. I wouldn't say it was fun, but it's worth playing through to appreciate the experience.
The best section is the third, because there are more things to try, even if in the end the lesson is the same. I gave up on the final section after I realized that (Spoiler - click to show)the Rogue-like dungeon never ends, there's nothing to do apart from map it, and it's designed so that the next staircase doesn't appear until you've mapped most of a level. Certainly in line with the rest of the game, but no less frustrating for all that.
Your attitude toward the "game" will probably depend on your tolerance for frustration. It's an interesting and worthy experiment.
A silly idea, and a fond tribute, November 2, 2015Full disclosure: the author of this game is my son, so feel free to dismiss anything I say about its quality. I just thought it was important to state that Sam Kabo Ashwell's interpretation of the author's motives is wrong. There's no "sneer of dislike" intended; it's meant to be a loving, if silly, nod to both Guitar Hero (Bill's generation) and text adventures (mine, but he practically teethed on my old Infocom games). He had a funny idea, and he quickly implemented it as a game which he figured few would ever see (didn't expect to get BoingBoinged).
Now, obviously, like any work,this game has to stand on its own. If it came across to some players as dislike of parser IF, that's unfortunate, but ultimately on the author. I'm fond of some of the details and the different endings available, but as a relative it's not my place to argue with anyone about the game's quality. I did feel that it was necessary to clarify the author's intent.
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