Reviews by Lumin
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Better than the weak start indicates, March 7, 2021"Chosen One" plots are pretty played out, but this is pretty action packed and fun with some decent lore to the world. You're the son of the high priest of the Creator, your childhood friend is the daughter of the king, and before a political situation intervenes between you you're given ether a blessing or a curse by a strange old hermit. (Who in true fantasy cliche fashion turns out to be more than what he seems.)
I'm not sure who added the sexual content tag to this game, is it because Ebon is so Mormon and chaste that it causes a stack overflow and reverts back to maximum horny? There's like one page of optional kissing, then you're tastefully told you had sex.... Then you die because sex is bad.
Aside from the lore links you die for basically any choice that isn't the correct to move the plot forward, so get used to hitting that back button.
I still find it enjoyable though once I got past the opening page, which is just a repeat of the opening description's terrible line about the hero and the mantle of the hero and can you be the hero??!;
I want to make a terrible pun here but it would be a spoiler, August 22, 2011David Whyld's 'The Reluctant Resurrectee' took second place in the 2007 Spring Thing, and is the sequel to an earlier, smaller work, 'Back to Life...Unfortunately'. While you don't have to play that to enjoy this one, it was plenty of fun in its own right and so I recommend it as well.
When I played the first game I remember thinking how original the puzzles were (as a king who keeps getting resurrected against your will so that you can continue ruling, the goal was to kill yourself in various amusingly inventive ways until you could no longer be brought back), but
even that pales in comparison to the premise behind TRR, which takes 'non-human protagonist' to a whole nother level.
You're...um, unique form makes the traditional means of exploring a bit difficult, so the first order of business is learning some other ways to get around, preferably without dying. Unlike the first game, death is something you want to try and avoid here, though it doesn't end the game or
anything; the ever helpful Chancellor Verenor is still faithfully by your (figurative) side whether you want him there or not.
This time instead of trying to escape your problems by (re)dying, you have no choice but to man up and resolve a host of serious threats facing your kingdom, the reason you were brought back in the first place.
While there are a couple of other areas you can access, the majority of the game takes place at...er, on your desk, and there are a variety of clever puzzles that involve you trying to manipulate everyday objects, collect information and just generally get around. Eventually there's also a way to summon and communicate with a few of your subjects, though this was part of a set of puzzles that I personally found a little difficult. (Then again sometimes my brain just doesn't get puzzles in general.)
However, once I got past that little snag, the ending was plenty satisfying, and nicely paved the way for the sequel.
the only thing missing is Patrick Stewart's sexy voice, August 22, 2011Coming in third place in the Spring Thing 2007, Christy Henshaw's "Starship Volant: Stowaway" is a short sci-fi adventure about...well, a stowaway on the Starship Volant, as you might have guessed from the title. The structure of the game is a bit different from your average work of
IF, though the characters, plot, and especially the setting all contain elements that might give anyone who's ever seen an episode of Star Trek a sense of deja vu. (To me this is a good thing, but your mileage may vary...)
One of the unusual things about the game is that there are multiple main characters. Five of them, to be exact: the captain, pilot, security officer, ship's doctor, and chief engineer. Each of them are given some time in the spotlight when it comes to resolving the crisis the ship faces,
and each have distinctive personality quirks and a bit of history that makes the whole process more interesting.
Which leads us to the second unusual thing; a prologue was included to let you get to know the different characters by trying them out at your leisure, chat with other crew members, and do a little exploring on the side. The prologue isn't necessary to play the game, but it does give
some backstory, and I highly recommend at least taking enough time for a tour of the ship, since the detail here is an area where the game really shines (and later you may be too busy to enjoy it).
As I said, at a glance the setting is fairly familiar, so while most people won't have have any trouble figuring out what transporters and replicators and the like are for, there are tons of interesting little details scattered around in people's quarters and elsewhere that really help flesh out the game world.
Unfortunately that's about it for the prologue; there are no puzzles, nor anything else you can actually DO there, which can make your first impression of SV:S be that it drags a bit much and starts to get tedious, at least until you skip to the game proper. When I first played I suggested to the author that some sort of goal for that part (such as a simple non-pressing task for each person to perform) would improve the pacing, and after a recent replay I still feel that way.
However once the ACTUAL game begins, things move fast as you are switched from character to character, each with an important job to do. The puzzles themselves could have stood to be more challenging, but I thought the way they were presented was interesting in and of itself; there are a few cases where you do the typical IF thing of searching around and manipulating objects, but most of the time the obstacles you're actually faced with are decisions. The best approach to take with hostile, trigger happy aliens, whether to put moral concerns above the safety of the ship, etc.
I wound up really enjoying this approach, though as I stated the puzzles were a bit too easy for my tastes. The dilemma the ship faced might have been thought-provoking and suspenseful, rather than just mildly interesting if finding the right solutions had taken more work, with tougher consequences for screwing up.
Though of course the above paragraph all comes down to taste, and anyway I suspect that my REAL complaint is that I enjoyed the game and wanted more. Sadly, SV:S is rather brief (especially for a Spring Thing entry) and it seems like just when the plot starts heating up, it fastforwards to the end.
On the bright side, the epilogue left me with the impression that a sequel is in the works, and the setting itself could easily support a nearly infinite number of bite-sized, increasingly improbable adventures for the crew, just like a certain TV show...
way more fun than it had any right to be, August 22, 2011Maybe I'm just a sucker for mindscrew plots and hand drawn art and ominous music in an IF game. Made with the unregistered version of ADRIFT 4 (which severely restricted the number of objects, locations, etc.) and by a first time author to boot, I was absolutely not expecting this to be as entertaining and well made as it was.
This game contains some really nice writing, the intro draws you right in, and there is just so much trippy, surreal imagery here that I'm not sure how a previous reviewer arrived at a comparison to 'an episode of Buffy'. Just about every location is so unsettling, disjointed, and...well, nightmarish, as the title implies, that I was literally half expecting a cop out 'but it was aaaaalll just a dream' at any point. As it is, nothing seemed fully explained, but there is a lot of plot to sort through and the ending points at a sequel.
I did run into a problem with a segment that made use of the much-maligned ADRIFT combat system, definitely the weakest point of the game and a disruption to the pacing that took me out of the story (and cost the author a star), but in the end I still can't help but love this game for all the things it does right and how unique it is, and if Jubell really is working on a sequel, I'll be the first in line to play it.
Visit a land of magical wonder and very poor hygeine., August 22, 2011Looking at file sizes, Camelot was the heftiest game in the 2010 SummerComp, continuing Finn's trend of writing longer IF, something I always think we see too little of these days. (I suspect because it requires a whole bunch of work...) I probably spent the longest on this entry than on any of the others, and while, thinking back on it, if you simply listed the required puzzles it may not seem all that substantial, the truth is there is a LOT to do here--Camelot is one of those games that really rewards the player for taking the time to poke around the world trying different things, something I also haven't seen that often recently.
The puzzles that are there seemed a little more challenging than the usual, requiring some thought. (theoretically a good thing except I suck at logic...) Close attention to detail is definitely important here...there were a couple of points where I became seriously stuck and had to PM the author, only to realize the answer had been right under my nose all along. Also, this game has convinced me to include more secret passages for the player to discover in my own WIPs; I don't know what it is about the things, but they rock and always make me feel all smart and stuff when I figure them out. :)
On the whole I really enjoyed this game, and though ALL of the eligible entries were impressive in one way or another this year, for me at least Camelot managed to edge its way out to the head of the pack. The only real criticism I can even think of has to do with the plot--other than a handful of typos that I believe have already been fixed in a newer version, the writing was excellent, with lots of attention to the detail of the setting.
It's actually the realism there that hurts it a bit, in my mind. For the most part the player doesn't find themselves in some shiny fairy-tale Camelot, but a fairly convincing depiction of a medieval castle. (The description of the kitchen alone made me want to scrub down all my counters with bleach, and then shower in the stuff for good measure...and don't even get me started on the dungeon.)
The plot, however, gets pretty silly once it's revealed--not that that's a bad thing in itself, and there are some genuinely amusing moments there, it's just that it doesn't mesh well with the setting at all. And though it's probably beside the point, I never did figure out why it was assumed the main character would be able to fix everyone's problem in the first place...though for the sake of MY (precious, precious) MIMESIS I finally did come up with the theory that, in addition to being an underachiever he was also a gigantic nerd; Merlin must have seen all the Dungeons & Dragons supplementals in his apartment and mistakenly come to the conclusion he was an expert on the subjects. :P
disappointing, but with potential, August 22, 2011This is the most frustrating game I've ever played. On one hand, there are important things that seem broken, underimplemented, unclued, or just plain unclear. But on the other hand, this is not a game you can easily dismiss. Even setting aside the fact that English obviously isn't the author's first language, in places the writing is just so GOOD and evocative as it sets the scene ("The roofs were all covered with snow and trees were kneeling under the weight of frozen branches.") with the music and pictures enhancing the effect, that there's no denying this was a labor of love.
You play as Alessandro d'Estino, a 17th century alchemist who has discovered the secret of creating gold and been summoned to Prague by the king to duplicate his experiment. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it much farther than that; once it was time to stop reading journal entries and touring the palace and admiring the scenery, I hit a brick wall. The only clue I was given was that I needed a certain item, but there were no hints as to where I might find it, even after examining everything and attempting to talk to every NPC I could find.
At some point I accidentally destroyed another item, and after that--with the developer password protected so I couldn't even take a peek for 'inspiration' and with no way to make further progress--I had to concede defeat.
(EDIT: After searching around I discovered a walkthrough on the wiki, but unfortunately it only highlights the problems with the puzzle design. Short of literally reading the author's mind, no one would ever figure out most of the required commands, and so 90% of the game remains inaccessible unless you're willing to sit there and follow the walkthrough step by step.)
I'm convinced the seeds of a great game are in here, but the obvious lack of beta testing (and of a native English speaker to comb over the text) really shows, and makes The Alchemist all but unplayable in the end.
something completely different, August 21, 2011This was...different. Not at all what I was expecting when I loaded it up, but as a gimmick game (or is the term parser abuse?) it was done with some serious style and was a blast to play. I'm not even sure where one would start in actually WRITING something like this, and I'm willing to bet it was a headache to implement, but for me at least it was a loads of fun to play. (Even if I did keep crashing my rocket...)
'Rich guy controlling expensive machines' may not be much of a plot, but what was there was serviceable enough and obviously wasn't the point anyway. The technical aspects and gameplay were seamless in my playthrough, and really, the only complaint I have is that it was way too short.
It took me a few tries to get the rocket high enough in the first segment, but the other two I just breezed right through. Maybe the point IS just to be a fun, awesome little toy, but I felt like either more levels, or greater challenge in the levels that existed would have made it seem more like a fun, awesome, sizable game. (And can we get some old-school little bleeps and blips and crashy noises in there, please? This is the first IF game I've ever played where I felt like it actually NEEDED sound.)
Did I mention the game has pirates?!, August 21, 2011First, a disclaimer! I might very well be incapable of being objective here just because I don't think I can ever get enough of Thingamus's writing style. Even simple things like the fact that my character 'swaggereth east' instead of just, you know, moving there, puts a huge grin on my face. (Also, pirates!)
So, that out of the way, in my incredibly biased opinion this was ridiculously fun to play. Everything I did or looked at had an appropriately piratey description, and I don't think I ever even saw a single default message to break the mood.
This game also has to be one of the newbie-friendliest ones I've ever seen, with a handy (in-character) tutorial, objects with clearly described uses to remove the possibility of GTV, and a simple, straightforward plot. (Also, pirates!)
If I reeeeaaally force myself, I suppose I could still think of two minor nitpicks. First, at one point a ship shows up, but afterwards is not actually visible when you look around. (Though due to the nature of this ship and its crew, I suppose if one were creative enough it could be argued that that could actually make sense, though I'm pretty sure that wasn't the intention from a gameplay standpoint.)
Secondly, the game is way, way too short. That simple, straightforward plot is a double-edged sword; without more puzzles, or at least more complex ones, it means the game is over just when it feels like is should be beginning. I wanted more content, a bigger island and a treasure that was trickier to find.
...for that matter, remotely realistic expectation or not, after leaving the island I wanted to sail around the ocean drinking grog and having adventures on the high seas. I choose to believe that the author is working on making this so EVEN AS I TYPE THIS and nothing will ever persuade me otherwise.
A strong start as a horror game that quickly jumps genres, August 29, 2010As soon as I saw who the author of this one was I suspected I was in for a dark, twisted game with a lot of atmosphere, and I was able to make some assumptions about the ending as well. (which I won't go into here for obvious reasons) The warnings in the 'about' text as soon as I loaded it up informed me that yes, I had been right on all counts, and off I went.
Light Up gets off to a strong start, even with the somewhat familiar horror game opening of a character preparing to explore a scary house. It may seem a little cliche, but that just goes to show that EVERYTHING comes down to presentation. Exploring the house was genuinely unsettling for me; I was at first reluctant to go inside, and even then reluctant to go into new rooms, nervous about what I might find. (The way the main character is written made it very easy to slip inside his head and start identifying with him, though that's part of a problem I had later on.)
As the first bits of the mystery started to come together, I found myself getting even further drawn in. It's at that point that, without getting into spoilers, the character makes a discovery and the genre basically changes. Not to say that this is necessarily a bad thing, and there's plenty to experience in the later chapters too (the dark and twisted-ness is still there, most notably in one scene/puzzle that may well be the most disturbing thing I've ever come across in an IF--or any--game) but for me at least the jump was a little too jarring, and the game's first section will always be the high point.
As far as gameplay goes, the technical aspects of the writing were sound, and there were only a couple of puzzles (in the second chapter) that I thought should have been clued better. This game also features the one and only example of combat in an IF game that didn't immediately irritate/bore the heck out of me, even if it did get kind of tedious before it was over.
The ending, I hate to admit, I didn't really care for. Partially because, as I said, I saw it (or something like it) coming from the beginning, and partially because I couldn't stop myself from identifying with the main character anyway, especially compared to the other people around him. I also felt that there were a couple of fairly major plot points that got introduced and then dropped; in the end, as interesting as this was in other ways, I couldn't help but wish I'd also been able to play the 'terrifying mystery in a creepy house' game this had seemed to start out as.
Revisiting one of my favorite ADRIFT titles, August 28, 2010Way, way back in the forgotten mists of time (2005 I believe) David Whyld proposed the idea of a Finish the Game comp. The idea was that he'd create six rooms with basic descriptions that could then be added to and elaborated upon to make a full game. The comp did surprisingly well, garnering six entries, all of which were fairly good.
However, Richard Otter's game, Pathway to Destruction, was far and away my favorite, and took first place by a healthy margin as well. I replayed it recently and was pleasantly surprised to see that it had lost none of its charm. I'll admit that a lot of the time I'll make allowances for this type of game, taking into account a deadline that may have forced the author to finish in a rush without much testing, but that was completely unnecessary here. Sure, there were a few flaws that I'll get to in just a moment, but on the whole it's a solid, well-written game that's enjoyable in or out of the context of the contest.
The only real problems I came across (and ones that would be easily fixable, assuming the author was inclined to do an updated version after all this time) were a few guess-the-verb issues that made some of the puzzles much harder than necessary.
In particular, there were a couple of connected puzzles involving a metal bar that I never would have had a chance of figuring out on my own. Luckily, if you don't mind doing things the easy way it's all but spelled out for you in the hints and a 'useful information' topic at the beginning of the game, but in my opinion a far better solution would to have clearer clues in the game itself, and more synonyms for the commands. The same applies to two items in the game, a jewel and a ring, both of which caused me some confusion and could have used more detailed descriptions that at least give you an idea of their purpose and how to use them.
Again, the robust hint system keeps all of this from becoming too much of an obstacle, but I've always founds puzzles that all but REQUIRE hints and/or a walkthrough to be a major annoyance.
But don't get me wrong; despite these problems, PtD is still an great game. The writing in particular is excellent, even if the contrast between the six rooms in the beginning with their bent towards fantasy, and the sci-fi city just outside is at first a little jarring. I seem to recall that the contest rules allowed you to modify the original descriptions a bit, which may have helped smooth the transition, but either way it's a minor issue. In fact it may have even added to the sense of atmosphere that impressed me so much. (What can I say, I'm a sucker for the mysterious ruins of an alien civilization.) I only wish the game was a little longer with a slightly expanded plot, because I would have loved it if I could have done some exploring in the city itself, and done a bit more detectiving before the end.
At first glance it seems like the author might have tried to add some more content by letting you choose whether you were male or female in the beginning, but after trying both options I would have to write it off as a failed experiment. Nothing about the plot changes no matter what you pick, and in fact the only thing choosing a female does is shunt you off to some bizarre 'grrl power' alternate universe where you worship a goddess instead of a god, you're female, your co-workers are female, etc. Everything else is identical. I don't really see a reason to have included the option in the first place, but it seems like that's something just about EVERY game that lets you pick your gender is guilty of, so I can't really hold it against this one. (I would love to see an IF game with a significant difference there, different solutions to puzzles, etc. though sadly the genre that's most likely to tackle this first would be AIF, and that's not the kind of 'puzzle' I had in mind...)
But even as a small game it's pretty satisfying. Without giving away too much of the plot, I'll just say that Something Bad has happened, and one of the more interesting tasks is to figure out exactly what it was. For some reason I've always been fond of information gathering in IF games (maybe because Anchorhead was my first). There's just something about finding a bunch of scattered pieces and then fitting them together myself that's so much more engaging for me than the traditional 'unlock the door, pull the string, attach the gidget to the gadget and steal the gloves from the gardener' type of situation.
I liked the last puzzle in particular, even though I didn't catch the significance to something the first time through and had to play through again. Oh, and just a warning; you CAN die and after that you CAN'T undo. I guess technically the 'no undo' thing is Adrift's fault for essentially booting you out of the program when you lose, but it's something that's so simple to work around I tend to count it as a mark against the game when it hasn't been. But PtD is short enough that even if you forgot to save it's no big deal to get back to where you were, and strangely enough it was actually kind of refreshing to play a game that gave me the freedom to screw up. (If I want to do something dangerously stupid I should be allowed to, dang it! :P)
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