Ratings and Reviews by Simon Deimel

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The Pinecone, by Joseph Pentangelo
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Please Answer Carefully, by litrouke
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How to say Goodbye in a Pandemic, by MajicKat
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
A short reading matter, May 19, 2020
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

This short project in Twine offers some thoughts on losing a loved one during the current crisis. The text is accompanied by graphics and sound effects. The ideas are considerately executed, but unfortunately there is no real interactivity to make it feel like an actual game. The project at hand only takes some minutes to finish, so is worth a try anyway.

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Roberta Williams Eats a Sandwich, by Bitter Karella
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The Curious Incident at Blackrock Township, by Bitter Karella
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Das Spiel, by Alexander Klimon
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Four, by R_Kasahara
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The Worst Game in the World... Ever!!!, by David Whyld
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SpeedIF #2, by J. Robinson Wheeler
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a partial list of things for which i am grateful, by Devon Guinn
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Do It | Hazlo, by Santiago Eximeno
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Famous Baby, by N.C. Kerklaan
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My Name Is, by Spanglypants McFuckyou
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Staring at a Single Face Forever, by Spanglypants McFuckyou
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The Temple of No, by Dominik Johann, William Pugh, Crows Crows Crows
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The Unstoppable Vengeance of Doctor Bonesaw, by Caleb Wilson (as Lewis Blanco)
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The Little Lifeform That Could, by Fade Manley
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The Legend of Wooley Swamp, by Molly Geene (as Elizabeth Jones)
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Not a game, July 20, 2017
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

This is a collection of articles on Wooley Swamp. I did not know the corresponding song when I started playing (or let's say reading), but checked the lyrics after clicking through and as far I can see, the main article summarizes the lyrical content of the song and there are some additional lines containing some creepypasta. So all we get is a number of text dumps that do not require any decisions. This kind of presentation is not very compelling -- it might have been a better idea to let the player be a part of the plot.
It is not the worst to read, but not recommendable for people who want a playing experience. There is no interactivity in selecting and reading some articles and most certainly not a game.

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Space Princess Coronation, by Marie Vibbert
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Cereal, by Brian Kwak
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Wolfgirls in Love, by Kitty Horrorshow
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Prospero, by Bruno Dias
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T-Shirt Blanket, by Rhetta Lynnea
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Beautiful Frog, by Porpentine
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Dead Meat in the Pit, by Christina Nordlander
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Peeling Lucky, by Peregrine Wade
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The Tower of Random Doom!, by Catherine Griffin
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"Do Not Meddle", by Teaspoon
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Birth of Mind, by Justin de Vesine
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Saybutts, by Densetsu No Gomez
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The Role of Music in Your Life, by Five Dials
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Fragile Shells, by Stephen Granade
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Moving Day, by helado de brownie
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Mushrooms Red As Meat, by A C Godliman
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Frightful, by Cuchlann
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Singular, by Gritfish
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tiny tarot, by Chelsea Stearns
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Beneath the Surface, by finefin
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The Seers Catalogue, by Sean Michaels
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Above average, June 30, 2017
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

The Seers Catalogue is a Twine game of medium length with graphic elements and suitable sound effects. The game has a great atmosphere and the player is drawn into strange events. It starts with a weird magazine that you can actually browse in. There are articles and something is going to draw your attention: The request for an accomplice...

The interactive story is mostly linear. There are some choices every now and then, but I am not sure if they change much about the outcome of the story. The game is focused on the atmosphere.

There are minor flaws like the fact that some choices are not highlighted enough in the colour schemes, but this is something you can get over easily. Recommendable for everyone who likes a story with surreal elements.

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Collision, by Daniel Burchinal
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Incomplete, June 29, 2017
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

What we have here is merely the introduction to an interactive science fiction story about a stranded space traveller, limited to some choices and some dead ends. At the time at which I am writing this review, the game (or rather introduction to a game) was posted one and a half years ago without being continued, so I may assume that the author has lost interest in this project, or there are other reasons for abandoning it. I do not mind unfinished games being online, but there should be more than some screens of text.
Nevertheless the beginning is really not that bad. The writing is decent and the way the choices are given reminds me of the old fighting fantasy game books that I loved a lot when I was younger. It is a pity that this game will probably remain unfinished. It is not a game in its current state.

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Astro Turf Space Golf, by Rusteen Honardoost
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Join This Cult!, by ClickHole
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Would You Survive A Bear Attack?, by ClickHole
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
A brief experience, June 27, 2017
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

I would probably classify this interactive story as a vignette as it is about one situation that you have to deal with -- the attack of a bear. The prose is sparse, there are some visual elements and not much else.
But still I found this little piece quite entertaining. Exploring the different branches was interesting enough to replay it a few times, and the choices branched off in amusing situations. Recommendable for everyone who can spare five minutes.

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Ziva's Conjury Mart, by Tory Hoke
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brevity quest, by Chris Longhurst
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Time to Feed, by Sharang Biswas
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9Lives, by Bill Balistreri, Hal Hinderliter, Sean Klabough, Luke Michalski, Morgan Sokol
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Stupid Kittens, by Marc Valhara
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A Walk in the Park, by Anonymous
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Skull-Scraper, by chandler groover
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16 Ways to Kill a Vampire at McDonalds, by Abigail Corfman
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Toiletworld, by Chet Rocketfrak
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Dogface Finds a Stick, by InkThinks
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left/right, by chandler groover
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Let's Get Better or At Least Different, by 3_2_1_nothanks
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Untie, by Mathbrush (as Alex Ellis)
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Enough, by Harris Powell-Smith
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We Are Unfinished, by Ade McT
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Düstere Dickichte 1: Schurken-Alarm! , by L. C. Frey
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Abgesang: Der Tag der Toten, by L. C. Frey
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TinyUtopias Football Manager: Super Soccer Slam Edition, by A. Johanna DeNiro
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Odin City – Für Ruhm und Ehre, by Hannah Baltes, Jannik Schüler
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Der Tag an dem Emilia W. verschwand, by Georg Philipp Baldwig
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The Forgotten Nightmare I, by Chris Radford
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Another Day, by Soda51
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You Arrive In America, by ClickHole
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What's in a Name?, by Gaming Pixie
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Hello Wordd, by B Minus Seven
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lucky me, by Some Strange Circus
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Sheets, by Some Strange Circus
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the last love song, by Some Strange Circus
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The Handsome Text Collection, by Hulk Handsome
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FATHERHOOD SIMULATOR 2016, by Rouser Voko
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Tailypo, by Chandler Groover
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Mysterious New File Formats, by Porpentine Charity Heartscape
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Verb!, by Neil deMause
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The Underoos that Ate New York!, by G. Kevin Wilson
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The Day After Chemo, by cyndisision
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Duel, by piato
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Map, by Ade McT
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Fingertips: Who's That Standing Out The Window?, by Melvin Rangasamy
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Midnight. Swordfight., by Chandler Groover
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Photograph: A Portrait of Reflection, by Steve Evans
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Finding the Mouse, by James Dessart
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You Are Not the Author, by Soda51
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growth, by Liz England
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Her Pound of Flesh, by Liz England
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Things, by Jacqueline A. Lott and Sam Kabo Ashwell
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Homecoming, by Carolyn VanEseltine
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Alabaster, by John Cater, Rob Dubbin, Eric Eve, Elizabeth Heller, Jayzee, Kazuki Mishima, Sarah Morayati, Mark Musante, Emily Short, Adam Thornton, Ziv Wities
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Arid and Pale, by Michael R. Bacon
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The Profesee, by Dan Schmidt
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Galaxian, by Stacy Cowley
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Six Gray Rats Crawl Up The Pillow, by Caleb Wilson (as Boswell Cain)
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Jetbike Gang, by C.E.J. Pacian
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Solitary, by Kahlan
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Reverzi, by John Menichelli
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Seeking Ataraxia, by Glass Rat Media
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Out the Window, by Molly Geene (as Bramble Bobonong)
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The Wide-Open Gate, by John Cater
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Unbeknown, by A. DeNiro
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The Speaker, by Norbez
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Home/Sick, by Felicity Banks
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Cape, by Bruno Dias
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Inventory, by Joey Fu
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Gotomomi, by Arno von Borries
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Untold Riches, by Jason Ermer
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The King and the Crown, by Wes Lesley
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Ether, by MathBrush
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GROWBOTICS, by Cha Holland
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Much Love, BJP, by Megan Stevens
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TOMBs of Reschette, by Richard Goodness
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Life On Mars?, by Hugo Labrande
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Recorded, by Nick Junius
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The Man Who Killed Time, by Claudia Doppioslash
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The Insect Massacre, by Tom Delanoy
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5 Minutes to Burn Something!, by Alex Butterfield
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Forever Meow, by Moe Zilla
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Grandma Bethlinda's Variety Box, by Arthur DiBianca
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Elsewhere, by Stacey Mason
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So Reality, by Kenya Miller
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Mrs. Wobbles and the Tangerine House, by Mark Marino
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A Little Like Rogue, by ifnyou
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Textfire Golf, by Adam Cadre
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legend of game: avocado edition, a game made by an avocado, by Avocado
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A Trip to the Clinic, by Wojit
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This Was A Man, by Piratescarfy
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Glass Jar, by elizawriteshere
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The Nemean Lion, by Anonymous
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Escape from the Man-Sized Cabinet, by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
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Mirrorwife, by Yoon Ha Lee (as Virgil Caine)
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A Face Like Mine, by daedalactic
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And so the world did end, by Giggling_Kiste
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Úrquel, the black dragon, by David T. Marchand
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Truth is Ghost, by Joel Goodwin
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Sam and Leo Go To The Bodega, by Richard Goodness
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Broken Wand, by Richard Wilkins
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Emma the Trust Fund Baby, by garcia1000
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creak, creak, by chandler groover
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land's end, by guinevak
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A room, by oranebeast
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Pie, by StapledTape
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Come to Bag, by PaperBlurt
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Well., by AnAwesomeHobbit
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Breakfast on a Wagon with Your Partner, by bananafishtoday
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Toddler RPG, by Noah Marshall
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The Choice is Yours, by zombmia
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Base of the Comet, by rosencrantz
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You Find Yourself in a Room., by Eli Piilonen
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dontPush, by Filamena Young
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To Spring Open, by Peter Berman and Yoon Ha Lee (as Two-Bit Chip)
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East Grove Hills, by XYZ
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A Chainsaw Across my Heart, by MonoS
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Ansible, by Jacques Frechet
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RPG-ish, by Stuart Lilford
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vale of singing metals, by foresthexes
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Daytime Never Had a Chance, by Snoother
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The Tiniest Room, by Erik108
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Harlowe vs Sharpe, by Sage Michael
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Submerge, by Joshua Houk (as Carlos Percival Saldanha)
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Hana Feels, by Gavin Inglis
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A man and a box, by Lester Galin
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spondre, by Jay Nabonne
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Saving John, by Josephine Tsay
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Contrition, by Porpentine
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Jane, by Joseph Grzesiak
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Trampelviecher - eine Halloween-Kurzgeschichte, by Jens Bojaryn
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CASK, by Harry M. Hardjono
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Alma Mater, by Roger Carbol
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CORDYCEPS MORTALIS, by caeth
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Room Serial, by merricart
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The Ship of Whimsy, by U. N. Owen
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The Challenge, by ViRALiTY
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The Night of the Vampire Bunnies, by Jason Dyer
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The Last Dark Day, by Bob Reeves
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Apartment F209, by Ben Parrish
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Apocolyptica, by Jake Wildstrom
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Cheats, by IamAcoconut
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Hunt the Wumpus, by Gregory Yob, Magnus Olsson, and David Ahl
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Coma!, by Nate Cull
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LISEY, by Marco Innocenti
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The Cardew House, by Andrew Brown
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Carnival, by Admiral Jota
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First Person, by Buster Hudson
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Pick Up The Phone Booth And Die, by Rob Noyes
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Undo, by Neil deMause
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Pillow, by Chad Schultz
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Niemand weint für immer, by Alexander Klimon
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howling dogs, by Porpentine
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Smote, by Robert Street
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Baluthar, by Chris Molloy Wischer
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Freedom, by Anonymous
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More, by Jason Dyer (as Erin Canterbury)
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Accuse, by David A. Wheeler
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The Kazooist, by Charlie Marcou
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Eruption, by Richard Bos
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Fuck That Noise!, by Shawn Trautman
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Bloodline, by Liza Daly
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Devil's Food, by Hanon Ondricek
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Down, the Serpent and the Sun, by Chandler Groover
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Cat Petting Simulator 2014, by neongrey
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The Binary, by Bloomengine
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Sand-dancer, by Aaron Reed and Alexei Othenin-Girard
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Zork: A Troll's-Eye View, by Dylan O'Donnell
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Accidental Character Generator, by caeth
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Fugue, by Emily Short
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The Cuban Missle Crisis-Khrushchev, by b.lee
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Somewhere, by Kazuki Mishima
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Queers in Love at the End of the World, by Anna Anthropy
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Dual Transform, by Andrew Plotkin
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Fingertips: I Hear the Wind Blow, by Jacqueline A. Lott
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zRogue, by Gevan Dutton
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The Legend of the Missing Hat, by Adri
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The Play, by Dietrich Squinkifer (Squinky)
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Transit, by Shaye
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All Roads, by Jon Ingold
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Once, by Chris Klimas
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The Phoenix Move, by Daniele Giardini
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Nevermore, by destinygod
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Almost 4 stars, January 28, 2015
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

It is a nice story in the tradition of Edgar Allen Poe, featuring motives of his works and mixing them up with the visual works of Vincent van Gogh (both of which are characters in the play). The story has some branches, and it is worth to experience every possibility. Unfortunately the main branch seems to relate to an element which, depending on the choices before, may not have taken place, so there is an illogic moment. But nevermind. The prose is skilled and reminiscent of Poe. The dreamlike atmosphere is well put in scene.
I recommend this to friends of Edgar Allen Poe's works -- if you are familiar with his works, you will rediscover his tone and trains of thought.

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I Palindrome I, by Nick Montfort
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Candlesmoke, by Caelyn Sandel and Carolyn VanEseltine
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The Game Formerly Known as Hidden Nazi Mode, by Victor Gijsbers
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The Dog/House, by Byron Alexander Campbell
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woods leaves stream body blood, by David Demchuk
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Bellclap, by Tommy Herbert
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Knack!, by Christian Bluemke
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Lime Ergot, by Caleb Wilson (as Rust Blight)
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Virus, by Philip Dearmore
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A Fly On the Wall, by Nigel Jayne
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Wedding Day, by Emery Joyce
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Twine Story, by Mike69420666
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A AAAAA AAAAAAAAA, by AAAA AAAAAAA
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If I Wasn't Shy, by Joey Jones
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Fallout Shelter, by Molly Geene (as Amadeo Voss)
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Digital Witnesses, by rosencrantz
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Wrenlaw, by Ryan Veeder
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Dream Pieces, by Iam Curio
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Brace, by Merritt Kopas
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Ralph, by Miron Schmidt
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Celine Adventures, by natulia
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Monster Maker, by Adri ("Erin Gigglecreek")
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Bad Guys, by David S. Glasser
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Zugzwang, by Magnus Olsson
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Illuminate, by Chris Conley (as Summer Del Mono)
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Affrontotron, by Joe Mason
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Pick Up the Phone Booth and Aisle, by David Dyte, Steve Bernard, Dan Shiovitz, Iain Merrick, Liza Daly, John Cater, Ola Sverre Bauge, J. Robinson Wheeler, Jon Blask, Dan Schmidt, Stephen Granade, Rob Noyes, and Emily Short
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Get The Newspaper, by grazzZapper
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Job Quest, by Chad Comeau
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Out of Babylon, by Out of Babylon
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Mysts Demo, by Mihalis "DarkAng3l" Georgostathis
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the uncle who works for nintendo, by michael lutz
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Cobblestone, by Paper Asssassin
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Disconnected, by Jesse Shaw
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Sleep, by Snoother
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Nothing but Flowers, by Crabby O'Crankypants
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Display of Weakness, by Christina Nordlander
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Forward and Back, by MarcroSoft
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Shower Sim, by chrisamaphone
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Symetry, by Ryan Stevens
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Lack of Vision, by Ryan Stevens
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Amissville, by Gunther Schmidl
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Everybody Dies, by Jim Munroe
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Tanker and Webb, by Andrew Frederiksen
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Paint and Corners, by L. Ross Raszewski
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Riverside, by Jeremy Crockett and Victor Janmey
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The Awakening, by Dennis Matheson
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Tommy the Toaster, by Coala
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Fingertips: Hey Now, Everybody, by Melvin Rangasamy
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Shadow of a Soul, by Gaming Pixie
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Changes, by David Given
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The Fuzzy Little Adventure, by PaperBlurt
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Another Day, Another Sea Monster, by Dan Schmidt
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DEATH DEATH DEATH DEATH, by Gunther Schmidl
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The Unfortunate Training of Frank Lee, Monkey Butler to Be, by Josh Giesbrecht
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Lost Pig, by Admiral Jota
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Llangollen Rock City, by Sam Thursfield
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Who Are You Talking To?, by Matthew Kim
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Monsters, by Magic Orange
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Jack, by Jason Lautzenheiser
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Wisp, by Lea
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Fingertips: Leave Me Alone, by Kevin Jackson-Mead
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Blue, by Marius Müller
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Ice House of Horrors, by Sean M. Shore
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Fish Dreams, by Carolyn VanEseltine
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The Storm, by 05aleer
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Barbetween, by Jason McIntosh
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Revenge of the Chalupa, by Dan Schmidt
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Further, by Will Hines
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All Things Devours, by half sick of shadows
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Aquarium, by Harris Powell-Smith
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weird tape in the mail, by adam dickinson
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Gleaming the Verb, by Kevin Jackson-Mead
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Keepsake, by Savaric
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Red Moon, by Jonathan Hay
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Zombie Wizard of the Apocalypse, Episode 1, by Andrew Watt
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Body Bargain, by Amanda Lange
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Getting to know the General, by Jake Wildstrom
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Nautilisia, by Ryan Veeder
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Being Steve, by Anonymous
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Asendent, by Nate Cull and Doug Jones
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I wish I had not played this game, by Galejade - Elise Trinh
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Ponderances, by Roadcrosser
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Oh no!, by lostguitarpick
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Zero Bars, by Hulk Handsome
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How Martina Was Won, by Bronques
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Love is Zero, by Porpentine, Sloane, Brenda Neotenomie
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Craverly Heights, by Ryan Veeder
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Life as a cat, by waffle0eater
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1 AM, by Soundboy
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Bound, by Ryan E. Holman (as Starfinger X)
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Aisle, by Sam Barlow
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The Last Detective, by Catalin
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Random Life 2, by Gideon Castro
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Katzensaft - The Wedding, by Ericism
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The Story of Mr. P, by Hannes Schueller
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Die Geschichte des Herrn P., by Hannes Schueller
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Galatea, by Emily Short
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Glass, by Emily Short
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Artist Survival Simulator, by Gabriel Widing
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Assasinating Dr. Froth, by Andrew Trewin
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Ex Nihilo, by Juhana Leinonen
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Bag of Dragons, by Jordan Wildman, Richard W, and Eric Shaughnessy
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Settler of the Wastes, by joshua
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Library, by Sophia
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Survival, by lolz2579
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Adventures of a Hexagon, by Tyler Zahnke
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Patrick, by michael lutz
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Minimalism Textual Adventure, by Skywilly
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Minimalism in a good way, May 3, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

A minimalistic CYOA game that consists of nothing more than colored squares displaying room names, objects or incidents that take place, followed by keywords as choices. It should be mentioned that both elements are written in English and in French.

The lack of narrative elements is something I usually do not find appealing, but to my surprise it was different here: Being confronted with nothing else than single words I felt motivated to think about them, and a narrative of my own came up in my mind. The game manages to tell a story without existing prose, and despite its sparse style I got the feeling that there was a plot, at least for me. The style of the game inspires the readers' fantasy, encourages them to make up parts of the story for themselves.

Principally this piece of work is recommendable for everyone who does not feel offended by the lack of words (some people may consider it to be a sign of laziness, but it can also be a stylistic device). Especially recommendable for people who like something different and experimental.

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Back to the Future: Marty Quest, by George Gipe, Ryan North and Hulk Handsome
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Surface, by Geoff Moore
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The Heist, by SSHS
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Möbius, by J.D. Clemens
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Beep Boop Bitcoin, by Totally Not Satoshi
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The Factory, by SollyStartles
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Escape the Dark Room, by oneohtwo102
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Christmas Day, by Sarah
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She's Actual Size, by Jake Eakle
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The arrows, by MZELLYFOO
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What to Do Next?, by Matthew Notch
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interactive suicide note, by Anonymous
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Hoosegow, by Ben Collins-Sussman, Jack Welch
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Vigilante, by p0wn3d Games
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Vulse, by Rob Parker
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Coloratura, by Lynnea Glasser
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A UFO Landing, by Michael Bark
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20 Strokes, by PaperBlurt
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Fish Bowl, by Ethan Rupp and Joshua Rupp
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
A fine sci-fi story with horror elements and a touch of the surreal, March 15, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

The game FISH BOWL is about a beach comber who awakes one day to find a peculiar fish bowl in his shack near the beach, unable to remember where it has come from and why it is there; this makes the fish bowl a central object and the player is likely to get the idea that there is something to be done about it.

The game is segmented into two parts, the first of which mainly deals with the fish bowl, the second concerning the search for the truth about the situation. Amnesia is a subject of the first part and resolved in the second, which justifies the use of this trope. The change between illusion and reality is nicely arranged and conveys a surreal feeling. The storyline is sinister and dismal; I felt absorbed into it.

It is a quite short game and positively worth playing; the necessary actions can easily be found and there are hints given. I am not good with puzzles, but found out what to do without resorting to a description of the solution. I may recommend this interactive fiction to people with the same preference; also to beginners who want to check out a tight sci-fi narration without running the risk of a headache.

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Machine of Death, by Hulk Handsome
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Tragedy strikes at the XYZZY awards!, by Adam Biltcliffe
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Koan, by Esa Peuha
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Spiral, by Justin Morgan
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Kids, don’t eat your Halloween candy without having your parents inspect it first because there are SICKOS out there who will put RAZOR BLADES in it and you will CUT YOUR MOUTH and GET A POISONED INFECTION and DIE, all from eating your candy early. So don’t do that., by Dan Shiovitz
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Door Simulator, by Giggling_Kiste
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NecroKnight, by Chace Jones
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Missing implemetations, March 1, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

According to the description, this was made for a friend of the author.
The adult elements consist of a laptop described as displaying adult material, the existence of a dildo (which cannot be taken, and using it results in an error message) and references to playing with oneself. The implementions are shallow, typical examples:
>lie on bed
You can't lie on it.
>switch on TV
You can't turn it on.
There are sudden deaths when the house is left, resulting in falling out of a window or being hit by a meteor.
I could not find anything like a story. I originally wanted to state that the game has the quality of a SpeedIF entry, but due to the lack of story elements it is not more than a programming exercise.
It may be funny among friends, but not suitable for a general audience.

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A speedIF O entry, by David Welbourn
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Little Blue Men, by Michael S. Gentry
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Metaphorical, March 1, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

Blue men is a game about an office worker who discovers that not everything is as it seems. I am not an office worker, but I think I would have similar thoughts about it as the protagonist.

The story is very intriguing, the character descriptions leave no doubt about the protagonist's true feelings. He (we can postulate that the protagonist is male) is obviously on the edge -- there are repeated comments how annoying his co-workers and his boss are. The game can bee seen as a metaphor for the wish to break away from the daily grind. The players even have the choice whether they accept their fate of being trapped in their position as office workers.

I was not sure about the rating -- I wanted to give four stars, but finally gave three. The reason is that the game is quite difficult and mistakes can very easily take place, and then the player has to repeat the previous actions when he realizes that what he did was not the series of actions that will lead to the desired ending. So every player is advised to save the game position frequently and keep various save files to prevent trouble. About the endings: the author states in a postscript that there is no real winning ending -- the player has to decide if the reached ending is satisfactory or not, and that is true: When I reached the final ending (it announces that the player has reached the ending which is considered to be the best), I wondered if I would not have preferred something different. But the author offers some thoughts on it in the postscript, so we get an insight in what he was thinking.

The prose is great, even if it contains some profanity (I tend to dislike strong expressions in written texts). It was still acceptable.

I would rather not recommend this game to beginners; it is quite tough, the puzzles are above average and some things may appear confusing. I can heartily recommend it to advanced players though.

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Raising the Flag on Mount Yo Momma, by Juhana Leinonen
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Debt, by Tony Perriello
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The Warbler's Nest, by Jason McIntosh
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Chicken Farm - An Interactive Guide to Raising Cocks, by Shawn Pillai
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
The wrong medium, February 26, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

The author wrote a short story and tried to pack it into a game with a parser -- this medium is not suitable for the presentation.

Let's ignore the initial error message -- I wonder why it occurs anyway, there are hardly any implementations -- and take a look at the way this game is designed. The game consists of several rooms, mostly to be passed in a certain order, and the room descriptions consist of parts of the story -- so going to the next room is not different from turning the page of a book, and returning to a visited room is like reading the previous page: dialogues and initial observations are repeated. Actions apart from going to the next room are redundant. The game ends when the last room is reached.

It might work in a CYOA-format, although there is still the lack of interactivity. Even in a format with hyperlinks there would be hardly any choices. In the current version it is just a short story without any possibility of interaction worth mentioning.

So after all it is not a game, but a story. What about its contents? Well, that depends on personal tastes. I would not call it literate. It is pulp, throws in sexual elements. It is a question of taste how a player/reader receives such provocations. For me it has only trash value.

Not to lose respect for the author, the prose is acceptable. He surely had some work with it. It could be published in a forum for pulp short stories, without any doubt. But it cannot pass as interactive fiction in the current version.

Note: I removed my rating because I do not consider it fair to give a rating based on the use of the medium. There are more factors that should be equally regarded. My initial impression was just that this project is not working properly.

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A Trick-or-Treat Adventure, by Adelynn Snyder
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Adorable, February 26, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

A very cute story about some kids going trick-or-treating on Halloween. A very short CYOA-game, one of the endings can be reached after a short time -- but there are different endings, so it even has replay value.
The game was written by a young Miss with some help of her father (also an IF author). It has to be mentioned that the storyline is pretty much her own creation. Of course it contains some fantastic moments, but that's fairly okay -- to be honest, I felt reminded of some R.L. Stine story, so nothing wrong with that.
I also liked the numeration of the pages -- it conveys the feeling of the old Fighting Fantasy books (in case anyone happens to remember those).
So cheers to Adelynn and her first work.

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The Visitor, by Peter Polkinghorne
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
An interactive portrait, February 25, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

This project was an entry for the IF Art Show 2000. The works published in this context concentrate on observation without an apparent plot -- like watching a piece of art in a museum and experiencing its details.

THE VISITOR lets you visit an elderly woman in a nursing home, and you can have a conversation with her. (Spoiler - click to show)It is also useful to examine the room to find suitable conversation topics. The conversational system is basic, but adequate. According to the topics chosen and actions done, the player will influence his/her relationship to the elderly woman. The game presents the final result when it ends.

It is not a real art show, but moreover a character study. When I played it, I was eager to find out more about the woman and to attain a good relationship. In some way the story has a lot of heart.

It is recommendable for everyone who likes a short diversion; there could be more to it, but it surely meets the requirements of a short character portrait.

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9:05, by Adam Cadre
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Love, Hate and the Mysterious Ocean Tower, by C.E.J. Pacian
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Deklinator, by Chris Menear
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Asylum, by cpuguy89
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My Desk, by Matthias Conrady
Simon Deimel's Rating:

Ajiaco, by Matthias Conrady, Carolina Arciniegas
Simon Deimel's Rating:

No Room, by Ben Heaton
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Experimental, but not for the player, February 23, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

Yes, I get it. It is an experiment. Create a game without an actual room. It sounds impossible, but obviously here we have an example of what can be done. It is surely interesting in terms of programming, but does it contribute to the gameplay? Well, it hardly does. The game starts nowhere, in darkness; for the player it is actually like a room without a lightsource and without any exits; I could not see a difference.

The game itself consists of one puzzle which is not difficult to solve with some experimenting. The implementation of verbs is okay, I did not have to do any guesswork. There are no storyline and no characterizations at all -- the player is confronted with the problem, has to solve it, and that's all, folks.

(Spoiler - click to show)I played (and solved) the puzzle on my mobile phone for the first time, using ZMPP (which does not show the cover pictures). So I saw the picture later, and I really wonder why it was designed in such a way. It actually gives away the complete solution of the only puzzle. The picture is not only giving a clue, but shows the final objective of the game. Honestly, you would not put the picture of the arrested murderer on a film poster of a mystery thriller, would you? It would spoil the whole plot. In this case, carefully spoken, the choice of the game cover is slightly inconsiderate.

For me this was a short puzzle, nothing more. I cannot say that it is bad, but there is not much content. It may be a great experiment, but a player will probably not experience anything special. Referring to general gameplayers, it is recommendable if you like a short diversion that focusses on one puzzle.

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baby tree, by Lester Galin
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> by @, by Aaron A. Reed
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Babel, by Ian Finley
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You are a Chef!, by Dan Shiovitz
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Original in a silly way, February 22, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

A very short game with a silly premise: So you are a chef and have to prepare a meal. There is a list of ingrediences that you have to use, and then a number of objects fall from the sky and you have to put the ones mentioned on the list into the pot (Spoiler - click to show)(or you take everything and then "put all into the pot" -- it also works, the game will automatically choose the right ones). Some things cannot be taken without previously getting hold of corresponding objects (luckily the game explicitly states the possession of which other item is required, as in some cases there is hardly any logic -- maybe it is knowledge based on community conventions which I am not familiar with). So there are no puzzles and the game progress takes place almost by itself. It just takes a short time to reach the ending.

Recommendable to people who feel like being silly for some minutes and cast the deadly seriousness aside.

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Empty Rooms, by Kevin Lovegreen
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Technically inaccurate, February 22, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

A storyless collection of puzzles, intended as a tutorial for people who are new to IF. Principally a tutorial is not a bad idea, but anything with educational intention should show the basic concepts of an idea.

This game succeeds in teaching some basic commands, but it fails to get a new player accquainted with general conventions in IF, such as the use of containers (in this game the backpack has to be taken to make the possession of certain items possible; but they just coexist in the inventory, because the backpack is not programmed as a container), or the difference of inanimate and animate objects (the kids are programmed as inanimate things, not as persons). I did not care much, but it may be confusing for beginners. The puzzles are not too difficult to solve, but some of them may be a bit too underclued for beginners.

For me it was a short puzzler, nothing more. I found the ending a bit annoying, because the game lets you lose for a reason without any logic(Spoiler - click to show) -- the win requires dropping a certain object before exiting the last room (or not having taken it before), and I don't think any player will reconsider having the thing in the inventory (as picking it up does not suggest any lethal danger) before exiting. In the end this game cannot be recommended as a tutorial.

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Zombie Death Gauntlet, by sgreig
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You wake up.., by Katie
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Wichtel, by Maximilian Kalus
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When I Was Shot By Elephants III, by Ray
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A Gummi Bear's Night Out, by Roger Carbol
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
The escape of a gummi bear, February 21, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

For a speed IF this game is neatly done. The player directs a gummi bear trying to avoid being eaten alive. The actions are quite obvious and can hardly be called puzzles. The implementations are sparse and sometimes a verb that I considered to be the right one was not what the program was waiting for; but regarding the short time in which the game was written, perfection can not be expected.

All in all a cute story. This short amusement is recommendable for people who have some minutes of free time.

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Fingertips: I Heard a Sound, by Kevin Jackson-Mead
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Fingertips: Fingertips (Reprise), by Melvin Rangasamy
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CRY$TAL WARRIOR KE$HA, by Porpentine
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Alone In Cinder, by Russell Quick
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Not too shabby, February 19, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

I normally do not like CYOA-style games. I prefer a parser, because choices in a game made with Twine or Inkle most of the time do not require much thinking. A choice is right or wrong, and if it is wrong, do it different when you start up. In this game it is similar: Some choices, some of them lead to points already known, some later lead to death or win.
I liked the writing, and this is an important thing for CYOA stories -- they have to create atmosphere by the prose, and the author succeeds in my opinion. I recognized two typos or so, but the rest is flawless and creates nice images.
The actual flaw of the game is something else.(Spoiler - click to show) It is a contentual shortcoming: The author starts the story with an often used trope (amnesia -- someone awakes in a room and does not know how he arrived there), and the conclusion is the victory over the beast. But in the end the author simply forgets to resolve the initial situation of amnesia. He also created a new problem: The player is trapped on the island, as the barge drifted away, so what is he/she going to do? As a reader I was not be fully satisfied with the ending. But the game was not too long, the considerable length of a medium sized short story, so I recommend to give it a try and enjoy the existing prose.

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Perilous Magic, by David Fillmore
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Very short, but not bad, February 19, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

The game is set in modern times, but contains elements of a Zorkian adventure: spell scrolls. So you basically have a modern slice-of-life setting with a modern aim to be achieved, but to finish the game you have to draw on casting a spell (not much of a spoiler, the player is going to find this out very soon). The game is easily solved and ends with a joke.

I did not play the whole bunch of Infocom games when I was young, so there was no nostalgia effect for me. Nevertheless I found the story entertaining enough to make me find a solution. The method how to solve it was easy to find, the trick is very obvious.

Recommended mainly for beginners -- it is short and does not cause much frustration. Veterans of IF will probably feel unchallenged. Then again the game is very short, so there won't be much time lost.

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Conan Kill Everything, by Ian Haberkorn
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Knowing what to do, February 19, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

There is not much time spent on finding out what to do in this game: the player simply has to behave like a tough barbarian, destroying everything which can possibly destroyed.

The game offers some little puzzles, but they can be solved quite easily. There is hardly anything like a plot -- so the story is about doing what the title of the game is, and there is not much more to be done. Just kill everything. And if there is not any such a thing, try to find it. And then kill it.

It sounds dumb and it probably is, but in a funny way. The ending highlights the joke behind it all. As the puzzles are quite easy, this game is recommendable for beginners of the genre. It is short, straight to the point and positively worth a try.

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You Have to Put the Baby New Year in the Champagne Bottle, by SoftSoft
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Go West, by Hulk Handsome
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Camel, by Heath Users Group
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Nudists Gone Wild, by Hulk Handsome
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Absurd, but delightful, February 18, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

In this little game the player takes the role of a person who is prone to nudism. But the protagonist wants to extend this lifestyle. You as the player have to cross a part of a town to reach the nudist camp. Not to forget, you refused to wear your clothes and are naked. It is a story in the tradition of the author -- I checked out some of his games and liked them despite their briefness.

The situation sounds absurd, but that's what happens if you give in to your inclinations.

The game is very short. There is not much to do and the end is reached in a jiffy. There are easy puzzles and the solutions are more than obvious. Nonetheless I liked the absurd atmosphere. The implementation could be better, but it is sufficient for the easy play. The language is also okay. For me it was a nice diversion.
I recommend this game to people who are new to IF and want to check out the mechanics, and also to players who like a short absurd comedy.

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The Minimalist Game, by NOM3RCY
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Little more than nothing, February 18, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

I can only agree with the former reviews: this is not a game.

This project cannot pass as IF. Sure, there is interactivity to a minor degree (in answering one question), but there is no fiction, no story, not even the slightest bit of it. It cannot pass as a joke either, at least not for the player. A joke normally works with expectations and their dissolution in a punchline, but there are no expectations built up in the player by asking a single polar question.

I did not expect much when I started this, and I got even less. I did not feel especially annoyed or insulted, but there are no gaming contents here.

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Bane of the Builders, by Bogdan Baliuc
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Quite solid, February 18, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

BANE OF THE BUILDERS is a quite solidly arranged game with a sci-fi theme. The player explores an alien planet in search of a missing professor and encounters the ancient race of the so-called Builders, getting acquainted with their culture while holding out for the missing academic. The game ranked about in the middle of the 7th annual IF competition.

The game itself is not too bad. A science fiction story that complies with the standards. There are a redundant maze and some arbitrary puzzles, things that could have been more polished. But the writing is decent and the game features in-built hints. There is also a walkthrough available on the database, so the player can find help when he/she gets stuck.

I can recommend the game to fans of science fiction and people who want to get a taste for the sci-fi category, although there are probably better choices for people who wish to check out the genre for the first time.

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Pick Up the Phone Booth and Dye, by Eric Schmidt
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Hiding, by Ilovehetalia
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The Coffee Apocalypse (DEMO), by kabahaly
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Oth., by Gunther Schmidl
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Suicide, by Dan Doyle III
Simon Deimel's Rating:

The X Chicken, by David Cornelson
Simon Deimel's Rating:

Burn the Koran and Die, by Poster
Simon Deimel's Rating:

Hedge, by Steven Richards
Simon Deimel's Rating:

Cold, by hardy
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Promising start, February 16, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

My first impression is not that bad, the story is okay and the writing sufficient. Unfortunately the coding is not complete (error messages because answers to a verb have not been defined), and synonyms are not implemented (Spoiler - click to show)(you discover that the top of the container where you start is a lid. "push lid" results in the reply that there is no lid, "push top" then works and the reply is "you push the lid", which is contradictory). This game should be revised, the start is not too shabby.

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Intangible, by bzzz
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Escape, by Kekka
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Chicken and Egg, by Adam Thornton
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Silence of the Lambs, by Anonymous
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
The shortest game ever?, February 12, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

A simple guess-the-verb game. One obvious matter has to be solved with one move. This cannot be called a puzzle, there is hardly any logic thinking required. The solution is obvious, but still you might not see the wood for the trees.
I gave this two stars because in the end I found it funny -- not that kind of funny to have long laughs about, but funny in a way that makes you bump your head against the wall.
It is somehow stupid, but I recommend it. I clearly recommend this to people who like to check out stuff that does not fit into the usual categories.

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Riddle Run, by Hayden
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Something is missing, February 12, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

Basically this game is a collection of riddles, presented in rhymes. I liked them. I really did, even if I could not find the solution to the second half of the fourth riddle. But the first ones were nice, quite easy, but you had to think about them for a short while.
But something is missing, something which is essential for a good interactive fiction: a story. I can not find much of it, I just know that I am locked in somewhere and have to solve riddles, nothing more. Maybe there will be explanations after the last riddle is solved, but it might be not a good idea to introduce a storyline right before the ending. I would have liked the game better with a background. Why am I there? Why do riddles appear? And who is the unknown riddler? Maybe I am Batman, trapped by the Riddler? It would have been little work to create some scenes around the riddles, just to establish some atmosphere. There could have been more effort to this.

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All Alone, by Ian Finley
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Spider and Web, by Andrew Plotkin
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
A masterpiece, February 12, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

So, as this game seems to be praised by everyone, I finally decided to check it out. It is hard to give a review about this game without spoilers, so read with care. It starts with a scene that let's you think you are a tourist, but the player will very soon be taught better.

In the first part of the game two kinds of scenes take turn -- the protagonist tries to retrace what he previously did, and if there is something deviant from the actions that happened before the actual gameplay, the gameplay will move to an interrogation room where the player is told why it cannot have happened like he tried it. These interludes are helpful, they give hints what to do. The player has to work with certain gadgets found in the inventory. It is fine to experiment with them -- if something is not correct, the game will switch to the interrogation, and the situation can be replayed. The conversational system is quite simplified and reminds of a platonic dialogue: the player can only confirm or negate the questions of the interrogator. It is easy, but sufficient.
It all changed for me when the protagonist's life was at stake for the first time. I had read some comments before, it had been inevitable; and there had been remarks that the game contains one outstanding puzzle -- and there it was. Thinking about actions that might have effect -- no matter how likely they would succeed -- I tried something, and then something happened that changed my whole point of view about the situation. Yes, the voices had been right. This puzzle is one of the best I have ever encountered. It is perfectly integrated into the storyline.
It is advisable to save the game frequently during the second part, especially in the end game. There are tough situations and the player has a hard time not making a mistake. These moments come very close to what we call stealth action, in a text-based version -- it is excellently managed to convey a feeling of being pursued and trying to evade from the scene. The second part may be a bit tedious, because the puzzle conjoining the parts has too much of an actual climax. But it still fits the frame.

So, what is the conclusion? The game may be a bit too tough for beginners, but everyone who likes interactive fiction has to play it sooner or later. This is a masterpiece.

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Pure Again, by Kevin McGowan
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Nooga Vol 1 Beta, by Tom
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This is the game that I wrote, by David Welbourn
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Nice wordplay, February 11, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

Considering that it was a speedIF entry, this game is very well done.
The wordplays are not difficult to understand, and the prose is written in stanzas, making this a piece of poetry. The ending is heart-warming.

It is recommendable for beginners who want to see the basic concepts of IF and advanced players who like a short diversion.

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Dad and Chloe, by Romanos Fasoulis
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Emotional, February 10, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

A short story about a dad and his daughter, about emotions and things that can disturb them.
I was intrigued from the very beginning, although there is hardly any interactivity in the story. The dialogues are powerful, coming to live with an authentic feeling. The ending is sad, but the reader also sees a glimmer of hope, so it is very satisfying.

The pacing is fantastic. There are some pauses and the lines of each dialogue part are not revealed all at once, but little by little... it makes the reader feel like being part of the scene.
The use of different colors is also great: the dialogues use a different color for each character to make obvious whose statement we are reading.

The prose is totally okay. There are dialogues, presented as mentioned above, and narrative parts. I recognized one or two typos, which could easily be fixed.

I recommend this story (yes, it is a story rather than a game) to everyone who likes tales that appeal to the heart.

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Rolling Dice, by AnonyPuss
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Acid Whiplash, by Ryan Stevens and Cody Sandifer
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Total Paddling Mania, by Dr. Aloysius, Ph.D Beltway
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A Tight Spot, by Quim K. Holland
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Steine, by Kai Roos
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
A review, parts of it in the language of the game, February 9, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

This was an entry for a speed IF competition in German language.

In dem Spiel geht es darum, zwei Plutonite (bestimmte Arten von Gestein) zu finden und so eine Wette zu gewinnen. Man wandert also in den Wald und untersucht die verschiedenen Orte, um der Steine habhaft zu werden. Dabei gibt es auch ein kleines Puzzle, welches sich jedoch wie von selbst löst; es wäre auch nicht klar, daß die ausgeübte Handlung einen Stein zu Tage fördert, also ist das eher im Sinne des Spielers.
Für einen Speed-IF-Beitrag ist die Geschichte ganz ordentlich gemacht. Mir hat sie jedenfalls Spaß gemacht und ich denke, man kann sie gut und gerne weiterempfehlen.

It is also recommendable for people who learn German as a foreign language. There were no obvious mistakes in the writing, and the prose is sparse, so there is not much translation work required.

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Suveh Nux, by David Fisher
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The Realistic Nascar eXperience, by Nathaniel Tayerle
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
A joke which needs improvement, February 5, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

It is just a joke, alright. I get that. It might have been funny in some way, but it does not work for me in the current version.

It may be a coding exercise, but there is not much exercised here: "straight" and "left" and "right" are not defined as proper directions (the game simply demands the cardinal directions to be used -- in a way that makes them meaningless), the commands not in use are not implemented or deactivated (so "X car" produces the standard response of not seeing any such a thing), and there is no proper ending (the player ends in a room called "End Game" with the room description of the victory). There is no prose -- some descriptions should have been added to convey a feeling. These are just some of the things which might have been improved and which deviate from what I am used to find in Z-code games. Joke games are okay, in fact I like them. A short play with a punchline, a nice ending -- it is good. But jokes can be polished too. The basic idea is not bad, but needs more prose and some improvements.

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Broken, by Claudio Medina
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Kasi doesn't like vegetables, by Kristoffer Zetterberg
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
A very short lecture, February 4, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

This is not really a game, but an electronic book. There is no real interactivity, each of the short paragraphs presents a drawing of the scene and only one option, so choosing it is like flipping a page in a book. The player, or in this case reader, cannot make decisions which change the progress of the story line. There is not a possibility to win or lose -- the ending is predetermined.

Regarding the fact that there is not even the illusion of interactivity, I would give a rating of two stars, but the drawings have heart, I like them; there can be a moral interpreted into the story; it is short and the colours of the background are friendly; so I want to add one star.

I recommend to take a look. It is a very short lecture and there is not much time wasted if the concept is not your cup of tea.

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A Day for Fresh Sushi, by Emily Short
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Kudos!, February 4, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

For a speedIF entry this is an extremely well organized game with well crafted details and a hilariously unpleasant NPF (non-player fish). The atmospheric messages are funny and give a personality to the fish. The game can be solved within a few moves, but the enjoyment of it emerges from realizing the little details found in the room and exploring the life and motives of the acting person.

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Ecdysis, by Peter Nepstad
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Tube Trouble, by Richard Tucker
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
A question of causality, February 3, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

This is a quite short game which does not take much time. The story is okay, there are some puzzles and an ending, and a solution to prevent getting stuck.

The story presents the player being stuck in a subway section, unable to escape from that place. The player has to deal with various items. The puzzles appeared a bit arbitrary to me -- I sometimes failed to see the causality of them -- I solved one puzzle and then something happened, and I did not necessarily find it related to my previous actions. So it was not always easy to find out what to do next, and I had to consult the walkthrough sometimes to find sense in what was going on. The aim is a bit unusual, one would expect that the player is supposed to escape from the tube station, and in the end he might succeed, but it is not explicitly made the purpose of the game. A player will maybe find the actual aim a bit unspectacular to feel motivated.

I can recommend this game anyway, it is surely a nice diversion, as long as you don't expect a masterpiece.

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The Screw!, by j0die_
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
A good purpose, February 2, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

I am sure the writer of this game had a good intention. So the game is supposed to show the importance of safety at work, and that is fine. Improvised methods at a construction site can be dangerous for instance. I have seen photos of painters on adventurous ladder constructions.
So this game is located in an office building -- also okay. There are potential dangers. Let's see, what comes to mind? A partially broken wire of an office computer. Or another scene, an office worker places a candle with an open flame on his desk around Christmas, then is called away and forgets about it...
So no offence, but using a coffee vending machine (which has nothing to do with the work itself) as an object to demonstrate the importance of safety seemed a bit strange and even amusing to me. There are probably better examples, like those mentioned above.

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Annoyotron, by Ben Parrish
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Ruby Red, by DamaratheRam
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Buried In Shoes, by Kazuki Mishima
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For a Change, by Dan Schmidt
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Creating a world of its own, February 1, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

Probably no other beginning of a noncommercial game is as well known as the opening paragraph of FOR A CHANGE. It gets right to the point: that is what happened, that is what you have to do, and for some reason you have something.

The game comes up with a world that is different from what we know. To show how different it is, the language makes use of unusual words for common things -- the player gets hold of a dictionary soon and can consult it about the unusual expressions.

The atmosphere reminds me of graphical adventures like Myst or Riven -- even without using graphical elements FOR A CHANGE succeeds in depicting a surreal world. Exploration is one part of it, even if the player gets to know what has to be achieved in the first paragraph. There is no reason explained why the player has to do it, but you get the feeling that it makes perfect sense. There are not too many locations, not too many objects, but they are parts of a comprising puzzle and have to be put together.

The game is puzzle-orientated. Some of the puzzles are cleverly made up, some let me stumble over unusual expressions. But that was probably my own fault. I clearly recommend this game: although there is not much characterization of the player, the puzzles will be a worthy challenge.

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The Intruder, by Shane Anderson
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Dig My Grave, by Ryan Veeder
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The Mad Bomber, by Neil James Brown
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Z-snake, by Zach Matley
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Comp00ter Game, by Brendan Barnwell
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Bad in being bad, February 1, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

Sure, the game is probably a satire, presented in a language that can be found in chatrooms populated by some troglodytes. The author makes the joke of including remarks that are only meant for himself and "accidently" displayed in the game; calling the players stupid behind their back; making errors that are obviously deliberately included.

I got the point, and I did not find it very funny; nevertheless I continued playing, just to see what would happen. After short time I encountered problems which were probably not intended by the author: ambiguity errors, property mismatches, finally error messages that were not the work of the author but obviously coding errors, because I got stuck in a room and the exit was no longer accessable. That's when I had enough.

Honestly, the language makes playing this one a bothersome chore, so I would have appreciated to finish it within some minutes. Which turned out to be impossible.

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The Devil Made Me Do It, by David Cornelson
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Tricky -- but too tricky, January 31, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

First things first: for a speedIF this game is astonishingly rich. There are only two locations, but many items that are implemented, some of them with nice descriptions. The story concept is also nice and motivates the player. Also good: after a while it is clearly stated what has to be achieved to win the game.

But then it becomes incredibly hard to deal with the different objects; I had to take a long look at the walkthrough. It is almost impossible to find the solution: exact timing is necessary to make progress, and if the right moment is missed, the game can easily be brought into an unwinnable state without any information about it. There are hardly any hints given which object has to be used at which time. Some aspects can only be found by guessing them. The difficulty level is increased dramatically.

So, playing this without a walkthrough is almost a waste of time in my view; it is a pity that the author has not revised this game with an otherwise fine premise and added more hints to make it more accessible.

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Sins Against Mimesis, by Adam Thornton
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The Small Room, by Anthony
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The Possibility of Life's Destruction, by Gunther Schmidl
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The Package, by Emma Fearon
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
A brief clicking, January 30, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

A small twine game with a story where you are drawn into criminal activities.
The narrative is brief, but enough to get the point of the story.
The NPCs are named A.,B. and C. without much characterization -- there could have been more effort put into their persons to bring heart and soul into the story.

(Spoiler - click to show)Unfortunately the decision tree seems to be a bit awkwardly designed. The best ending obviously is that which can be reached within one move, taking the other choice will inevitably lead to a worse ending. So the game can only be won if it is finished as soon as possible, and the gameplay actually has to be avoided? Or maybe I missed something?

As the story is very short, there is not much time lost if you try it and find out the endings, so it is worth a try.

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Being Cecile Meier, by Andrew Girardin
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Legend of Time (Demo), by Jsimmons
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Labyrinth, by Finn C. M. Beauchamp
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Klein Collins High School, by Hugh Jass
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Slouching Towards Bedlam, by Star Foster and Daniel Ravipinto
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Impressive, January 27, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

Having heard so much about it I had to give it a try.

The setting and atmosphere are very deep and compelling. The reader/player can easily immerse in the events that take place and thus is motivated to explore the mystery. Elements of conspiracy and kabbalah are integrated; the authors obviously did some research on that.

The appearance of various machinery is intriguing. The personal assistant (a gadget called Triage) is cleverly integrated as a device to help the player. The function of the fantastic contraptions is explained in manuals that can be found, so there is not much guesswork to be done.

The narrative is remarkable, but the authors deliberately use some archaic expressions, which made it a bit difficult for me; nevertheless it contributes to the atmosphere of the Victorian age. The prose is extremely rich, has literary quality; sometimes it is almost too rich, so objects mentioned in the room descriptions are not implemented, resulting in contradictory messages, which were a bit confusing sometimes. On the other hand, deceisive objects are implemented with thorough descriptions and proper names that prevent ambiguities.

Furthermore the game is quite player-friendly; an elaborate menu of hints is contained. There are different endings, so it has replay value.
It is clearly recommendable for both beginners and veterans who like a steampunk setting.

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A Bind in Eternity's Wake, by AgentCooper
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Deep Breathing, by Admiral Jota
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Nice little something, January 25, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

This is a nice story, a very brief speed IF. It is principally not too difficult, but the solution requires knowledge beyond the game -- surely common knowledge in the US, but for me it was not so common(Spoiler - click to show) and resulted in an annoying guess-the-verb moment: 'man, how am I supposed to warm up?' I knew the story which the game is based on, but unfortunately I did not know the original line (by now I checked it, and okay, the order of unusual verbs makes sense as soon as you know the line; probably every kid in the US knows it by heart, but they told me different tales here when I was young), so in the end I had to read the code, which luckily was available.
Anyway, a cute story and in the end a new lesson for me.

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Three Cows and Two Doors, by NOM3RCY
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Indy Wrestler, by faraz
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Guitar of the Immortal Bard, by Jason Burns
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Textos Blast from the Past, by TextoMcPesto
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Posh's New Year's Eve, by Ondrej Scerbej
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luna at the moon, by alora
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Choices, by Sophie3
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Cheater, by Wesley Osam
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Like it or not, January 23, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

The idea of CHEATER is not new, but surely interesting; it is a big advantage if you tried to program with Inform yourself. It is not difficult once you find out the principles.
It is a very short game. I played around a bit until I found the solution, and unfortunately, despite its shortness, there were some inaccuracies.
(Spoiler - click to show)The pillar that supports the cave can be taken in a normal way. Meh. The pedestal can be purloined and will still be mentioned in the room description -- and the toaster, resting on it, will still be present in the room, maybe hovering in the air. Meh.
These things are a little shoddy and could have easily been detected with a little testing (Spoiler - click to show)(applying the commands that are required for the solution to other possible objects). Nevertheless we must honor that it is the authors first game and it is finishable. I recommend it to people who like to think outside the box.

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Punk Points, by Jim Munroe
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Bender Lyfe, by Kevin10
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Wurm, by Cedric Knight
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Nibatrus(TM), by vanaskalaproducts
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Clay Pigeon Shooting, by Thomas
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Drunken Mind Control Slaughter, by Tom Smith
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Barrow Escape, by MistrBlue
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Credit is Due, by travislucas
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Nice writing, January 20, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

Checking this I had the impression of reading a short story instead of playing a game, and a second playthrough with different choices just confirmed this impression: the selections did not change much and the story would return to the predetermined course soon. So in the end there is not much interactivity, and not much replay value.
The writing is okay though, despite some typos and inconsistency of the tense (most of the story is written in past tense, but some paragraphs or single sentences are written in present tense without discernable motive). The writer should have proof-read and revised the text thoroughly. Nevertheless I want to acknowledge the content of the story. I suppose it is the authors first work and it is well worth a try in my view.

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Adventures in USPS-land, by EvanDurrant
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Photopia, by Adam Cadre
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Laboratory Madness, by Giggling_Kiste
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Quite okay, January 18, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

It is a fun story about a scientist trying to make up some inventions. The inventions and the way how to (randomly) find them is entertaining enough. Unfortunately there is no handling of choices which already have been made, so they can be repeated over and over again; it would have been better to take them away from the list of choices after they have been chosen, because the gameplay gets confusing when the player decides to chose them for a second time and the result is just the same.
(Spoiler - click to show)The occurence of time travels does not explain this, because this aspect aims at different parts of the story.
A negative thing is that I did not find an ending... or maybe I missed it?
The basic premise is not bad though, and maybe this could be improved in a later version one day.

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Halb Zwei, by Florian Edlbauer
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Trapped, by Kate Barnard
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
An exercise, January 17, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

Basically this was probably a programming exercise, so it is centered around some common tropes such as obtaining keys of different colors and unlocking corresponding doors. It is just what an author does to check out the mechanics of an engine (I did the same and later expanded the results).

It is short and I cannot say that it is really bad. The solutions can quite easily be found and I did not encounter too annoying moments that made me give up. There is a good will behind it, it contains a story (more or less) and it is finishable. Of course there could have been more to this and it cannot be compared with the masterpieces of interactive fiction, but for a first try it is okay.

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The Minimalist, by Mark Cook
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Good one, January 17, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

All in all a very good game with a tight story, probably influenced by the Matrix movies. Considering the short time in which it was assembled we can overlook missing implementations and little inaccuracies (there should not be the possibility to drop a tattoo, for instance). Regarding the fact that Quest was used for creating this game, I instantly tried the "use a on/with b" command when I did not find the required synthax, and mostly it turned out to be what the program was waiting for (as opposed to Inform, Quest contains "use" as a standard verb). For instance, in a certain situation I was unable to put one thing into a container, but instead could use it on the latter; or I could not enter a certain device, but use it instead.

The game contains two endings and I discovered the bad one first -- the game then mentions that there is a better ending and suggests further investigation, so replay is encouraged.

The puzzles are quite logic and once you get accustomed to the "use a on/with b" command, you can easily make progress. I recommend this game to everyone who likes a short science fiction story and does not back off from the mechanics (which sometimes may appear unusual to many gamers).

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GameBook Guide, by R. J. Kenny
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Mathematicism, by JAXON
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Five Words (go go go), by Big Shell Incident
Simon Deimel's Rating:

Wheel, by John Toomey
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Serves its purpose, January 14, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

The project consists of a room and an art object to fiddle around with. There is no aim, no plot, just the art object. This is an interactive art show, not a game.
The main thing to do is to turn the wheels and get random sentences as a result, which is entertaining for at least some minutes (not a spoiler, there is not much more to do). The implementation is sparse, not very thorough outside of this context; but the actions are centered on spinning the wheels and reading the sentences. I tried to examine the parts connected to the wheels, but I did not get to know much more; the only deceisive thing to do was to spin the wheels, and that worked fine.
I would have liked some more implementations, more to examine about the wheels. An exit of the room could have been provided to leave the art show, it would have been more authentic.
I like the main idea despite the aforementioned shortcomings.

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Inherit!, by Gunther Schmidl
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Tic-Tac-Toe, by jatekos101
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SABBAT, by Eva
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Wie finde ich eine Wohnung in Dresden?, by Marinning Hardewasser
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You're Going To Be Fine, by Anonymous
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Windows., by TaylorScire
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Eat Cow To Live, by Paper Asssassin
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In the Hall of the Mountain King, by Paul Butler
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404- Life not Found (Beta), by Evan Derby
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
The wrong strategy, January 12, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

It seems to me that the writer came up with the idea of a zombie apocalypse, created a room with some items and a little puzzle how to exit it, then he created a vast area with room descriptions (and the writing is not that bad at all), and then stopped continuing. Most of the things mentioned in the room descriptions are not implemented, some exits mentioned are not further pursued. It is simply unfinished, for whatever reason: maybe the writer lost interest, maybe he did not have time anymore. It is still not justified to label it as a "beta". It should not have been published in the current state.
It is much better to have a smaller game with a tight story and maybe just a small amount of locations than an unfinished code that presents many locations and details and the promise "have a look, this is unfinished, but will maybe become awesome one day". People who visit this database want interactive fictions, not a text that could become an interactive fiction one day.

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A Week in the Life, by Neil James Brown
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Makes you think, January 12, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

Honestly spoken, I liked the concept, although the game exclusively presents guess-the-verb puzzles. The description of the location (which is not a concrete place but an abstract concept) contains several objects, and the player has to find a way to deal with them. Some of these actions seemed arbitrary to me, so I really relied on guessing and sometimes was surprised when I got it right.
The author states in an afterword that he is aware of the aforementioned disadvantages. I think I understand the meaning of this game for the author, and I pay respect to it. In the end I did pass the week, so the game can be finished. The writing is okay. The implementations are not perfect, but sufficient, and I did not find obvious bugs.

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What-IF?, by David Ledgard
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Not what I need, January 12, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

This project is not bad in itself, but it does not fit into the category of a game; it is a collection of articles about alternate histories. It may serve educational purposes, yes, it may even be informative. If someone wants to read a number of essays, that is. But I suppose that is not what people search for in Inform projects; they want text based games with interactivity and a positive ending that can be reached. Nothing of it can be found here.

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They're After You!, by Bob Reeves
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Zombocalyse!!!, by Mr.Manpants
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Another little diversion, January 9, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

It is a short story with the background of a typical zombie apocalypse. So nothing new at all, but how is it executed?
Principally not bad, the paragraphs are quite short, so it is an easy and fast-paced reading from choice to choice. And there are some choices and some endings, so yes, this is interactive. On the negative side it is a short piece and the ending is a bit too abrupt -- an open ending. I felf slightly unsatisfied and did not have the feeling that the story had come to an end... it did not seem like a resolution to me.
Nevermind, even though I think this can not compete with the flagships of interactive fiction, it is surely worth a try.

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Badlands - Prologue, by AlexThorland
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
A rush job, January 8, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

The approaches to a story are not bad, I was thinking about the choices that were to be made. The paragraphs were short, the language sufficient. It was an easy walk to the ending. There should have been more to it and again I get the impression that the author was hastily publishing it without even trying to make improvements to the result.

Unfortunately this is not a genuine game, but just a prologue -- there is no plot, this is just one scene meant to be an introduction to a story, so I do not want to give a rating on the scale. The writing, although there is not much of it, seems to be relatively competent as opposed to other novice authors; the author should have finished a small project instead of starting a big one and publishing only a first small part of it. Nobody wants to read the prologue of a book without a chance to read the rest, as it is usually just a tiny fragment of the storyline; people want to read a complete story.

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Our Boys in Uniform, by Megan Stevens
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Interesting concept, January 7, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

When I started this and saw the first page, I just thought, "Oh no, what is this gonna be? A history lesson?" I am not a history buff, because what history teaches is more or less the history of politics, but I prefer the anthropologic aspects.
But to my own surprise I found this very short piece not that bad. It is not fiction, but has educational approaches. The concept is simple: try to find truth and lies within history as it was recorded. I found pleasure in checking out the highlighted words. It is a clever idea.
In the end it was a pity that this piece is very short. It could be expanded. Other continents could be included. There are many possibilities.

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Calliope, by Jason McIntosh
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CRUSH, by Thom Scullion
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Acceptable, January 7, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

It was okay, I have seen worse, but also better developments of a story. The narrative is sufficient, the structure is logic and events happen in a likely order.
I replayed this some times but I could not find any way to win -- in the end there seemed to be no possibility to "win" this game. Maybe there should have been a possibility to score with the crush (or maybe I just missed it).
The premise is not groundbreaking but fairly promising, so i think this could be extended.

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Journey to Alpha Centauri (In Real Time), by Julian Fleetwood
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for the sake of illuminating the movements of my thoughts, by Finny
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Justice?, January 6, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

The text is quite abstract and makes you think about it, and there is surely some truth behind it, but the excessive use of metaphors has an effect of disadvantage on me: it lets the arguments become blurry. Maybe a philosophical statement (and justice is a philosophic topic) would have more impact without many metaphors. So language may be created in a sense of beauty, but its message may be partly lost or misinterpreted as an unwanted side effect. Nevertheless it is sometimes enjoyable to read the thoughts of someone else.

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The Editor, by Matthias Conrady
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
A little diversion, January 6, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

The concept is not bad, but there is something missing behind it. The game makes the player read summaries of newspaper articles and decide which of them are interesting enough to appear in the newspaper. The article suggestions are entertaining and I had some thoughts about them. (Spoiler - click to show)The game ends with a list of the articles that were chosen and a statement concerning my choice. I replayed some times but the choices obviously did not affect the final statement, so the interactivity is just an illusion. There should have been a genuine evaluation of the topics chosen. There is not much time needed to check this out, so it is surely worth a try.

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Talentless Hack, by Tami Baribeau
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Something for everyone, January 6, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

Probably everyone who likes to be creative in one or the other way will find something to relate to in this interactive piece of fiction. I found the beginning rather depressive, but the texts became more encouraging after some time, and I found myself between the lines. I must say that the aspects pointed out were very comprehensible.

The interactivity is often limited to only one choice, so clicking it is like simply turning a page to the next paragraph. The language is quite simple, but the content is sensible. It is a good start for the author.

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All the pleading emoticons, by Finny
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69,105 Keys, by David Welbourn
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ALL I WANT IS FOR ALL OF MY FRIENDS TO BECOME INSANELY POWERFUL, by Porpentine
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The Empty Room, by Matthew Alger
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Murder, by :3
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Interesting start, January 4, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

The start is quite interesting, but like so many Quest games it is unfortunately not complete -- I don't know why, but I suppose that many novice authors start their games, finish it to a certain degree, then put online what they have with the announcement that they will continue it later (which I can understand -- it is something that they are proud of, even if it is just a part of a finished product, and Quest games can easily be put online), and finally forget about it, for whatever reason. Maybe they find something more interesting, or they don't have time for it anymore, I can't tell.
In this case, the story is promising. It makes the player want to know what is going on. It introduces several characters who can become suspects later. But the game ends abruptly with the forementioned announcement; so as a player I felt a bit betrayed, I hoped for a solution and there was none.
I encourage the author to continue this.

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Violet, by Jeremy Freese
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Spider Bites, by Keltor
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
So far, so good., January 3, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

A nice short story with a disturbing ending. The writing is sufficient, the concept promising. The ending comes a bit too abrupt and made me wonder if it was meant to be the regular ending, also regarding the fact that there is a broken link some pages before, so I got the feeling that I had missed something. I encourage the author to revise the code and fix the bug, and maybe to continue this story, as it has some potential.

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Blue Chairs, by Chris Klimas
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Alone/Awake, by PaperBlurt
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Nice additions, January 2, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

This is a quite short Twine story with additional animations.
The content is okay, a standard science fiction in a brief version. The prose is well written, its design successfully created the impression in me that the depicted incidents are a dream or a vague memory.
There were graphic elements in the form of easier animations included, and it has to be acknowledged that they are not parts taken from an exterior source but the author's own creation. It shows that the author tried to bring new aspects into a Twine game without resorting to materials of someone else.
There are different courses towards the ending, so the story can be played more than once. I would have given four stars if it had been a bit longer. But so far it is positively worth a try.

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The Life of a Computer Tech (Testing), by RandyG
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Several bugs, January 1, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

The beginning looks promising, an apartment that is simulated in detail, a way to the working place and the work. The descriptions are nice, and this is announced as a test version, so two stars (with leniency).
The things mentioned in the room description are not implemented. It does not seem to have any consequences whether the player gets dressed or appears at work without his clothes. The mapping does not work once you leave the path between home and work (it is quite confusing). And I did not find an obvious clue what to do at work.
I hope the author will continue this.
Note: this rating relates to the test version.

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For Bears, by WishWashington
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Not too bad, January 1, 2014
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

This is a nice little game with good prose. The graphic elements are dispensible; the author is able to present good writing and I would have preferred further descriptions of the animals over the display of pictures. The game is principally a CYOA-game, although there are commands to be chosen by clicking on the hyperlinks; it was written as a conventional text adventure, and the command line has been removed. This is a technique which is possible with the Quest editor. (I see that Quest does not have the best reputation among programmers. I think it is not bad in itself though, it just requires some additional work.)
The story is short, but a nice diversion.

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Dining Table, by Leon Arnott
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The Absolute Worst IF Game in History, by Dean Menezes
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My First Game - Talking to Twilight, by Blazang
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Lost Dog, by Claire6129
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Spending Money, by swampmaiden
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Hallowed, by @mrtavo
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A Collection Of Houses, by Jonny Arachnid
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Autumn's Daughter, by Devolution Games
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Cuddlefish, by Misty De Meo
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my father's long, long legs, by michael lutz
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The Event Horizon, by Craig Berry
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Is it true or is it not?, December 28, 2013
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

Generally including graphic elements is not a bad thing. The player is enabled to visualize the locations, which can be of advantage. But such elements should be used with care. I am not sure about the common conventions, but using material of external sources is not really creative in my opinion. Displaying a (principally copyrighted) picture of an alien taken from a Predator movie is a different thing than describing an alien inspired by those movies. A game should be new, original, and not put together by parts that already exist in other places (and were somebody else's creation).
The game in the current version contains severe bugs and is subsequently unplayable. A weapon is there, taking it results in a description how it feels holding it, but it is not moved to the inventory, so cannot be used in the next room. There is another room that cannot be entered: an error message appears. So in the end the game obviously cannot be finished.

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Sycamora Tree, by David Dyte
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Too Tall, by swampselkie
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Horse Master, by Tom McHenry
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Vespers, by Jason Devlin
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The Acorn Court, by Todd S. Murchison
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Press X to Hex, by Barclay Hanks
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Anger, by M3L4N01D
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Words Get Twisted Round and Tumble Down, by Gunther Schmidl
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The Price of Freedom, by Wyatt Ryder
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Escape The Room, by George Vicarey
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
A short diversion again, December 26, 2013
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

This short game is not comparable with the masterpieces of interactive fiction, but I have seen worse. The commands seem a bit arbitrary, because things that should normally be understood don't work. (Spoiler - click to show)I had a code on the paper, but reading it did not work... instead unlocking something was enabled without any further actions. It was not obvious that I did not even have to do something with the code. I think it is due to the structure of the development system -- the writer probably tested his own game by clicking the command panels instead of checking the parser, so the use of the command line has been neglected. Many objects lack a description, they are just "nothing out of the ordinary". There could have been more effort to describe the story world, or in this case the story room.
Furthermore there could have been more of a story. I was not satisfied with the ending, I wished to know why I had been trapped there. But I think this is a general subject of escape-the-room-games: They cast a player into a situation and the story is not important. So not a real disadvantage.

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A Fable, by Stan Heller
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Buggy and not much to do, December 26, 2013
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

The game has a crazy quilt environment, a common device in surreal settings. Different rooms are patched to each other. It may contribute to a surreal atmosphere, but here it makes navigating the rooms and scenes more difficult. Talking about scenes: they are integrated into static room descriptions, so will happen every single time when the room is entered. That is something which I can live with, maybe even done on purpose. But then the room descriptions (and described scenes) reveal objects again and again when the room is entered, even if the object has been taken or moved into another room, but the thing is not actually there anymore. That is annoying. Which brings us to the next point: The room descriptions contain things and most of them are not implemented as objects, so dealing with them is met with a reply that this object is not existent. Which is frustrating and makes the player wonder if there is a reason to try any interaction.
The basic idea of the game may be fine -- I suppose it deals with a mental landscape of memories -- but the technical side leaves a lot to be desired.

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You are Snow 1935, by Megan Stevens
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Santa Rescue, by legodan99
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Skate your Bleep Off demo, by Wilson Trent
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Z-Files, by Gunther Schmidl, Michael Baum, Paul de Valmency, Michael Baum, Neil James Brown, and Brendon Wyber
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Candy, by Ryan Stevens
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Camping, by Gunther Schmidl
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Inspiration!, by Jacob Polar
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The Chicken Under the Window, by Lucian P. Smith
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Animals, by David Fisher
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Conversations With My Mother, by Merritt Kopas
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YOU ARE A TIGER, by Slashie
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Hypnagogue, by Mitch Alexander
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Moonglow, by Dave Bernazzani
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Short and sweet, December 20, 2013
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

Despite its brevity the game includes some relatively easy puzzles and conveys a nice story. The objects are limited, so it is not too difficult to figure out how to use them. The basic idea is not new, but the peaceful ending is heart-warming. Recommendable for everyone.

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Robot Finds Kitten, by David Griffith, Leonard Richardson
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A Boy And His Goat, by Ola Sverre Bauge
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Your Lover Has Turned Into a Flock of Birds, by Miranda Simon
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scarfmemory, by Michael Brough
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Adventureland, by Scott Adams
Simon Deimel's Rating:

Positive Space, by Merritt Kopas
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Don't Read the Comments, by Ashton Raze
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
That's how it goes, December 18, 2013
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

A nice story. In the end it is a bit exaggerated, but part of it is surely true. It reminds me of the days when I posted my own music into forums and about half of the comments were made by users promoting their music instead of commenting on mine.
The structure is fine, it develops gradually until finally the reader feels urged to do what he or she is not supposed to do, just out of curiousness. It shows that the average computer nerd will be able to identify with the motives that occur in the story.

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Der Schatten jener Sekunde, by Horst-Günther Rottenschneider
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
A review, only parts of it in the language of the story again, December 17, 2013
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

Es handelt sich hier um eine verzweigte und über einen großen Zeitraum erstreckende Kurzgeschichte, die einige momentane Entscheidungen fordert und daraufhin auf unterschiedliche Weise fortgesetzt werden kann. Sie zeigt, wie die Entscheidungen das Leben unterschiedlich beeinflussen und zu verschiedensten Ergebnissen führen. Die Sprache ist ordentlich. Der Inhalt wirkt durch die Zeitsprünge eher abstrakt und ich hatte teilweise etwas Mühe, dem Verlauf zu folgen, trotz seiner Kürze. Dennoch eine ordentliche Präsentation.
I also recommend this story for people who want to learn or train the German language, as the writing has some literal quality.

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Z-Life, by Julian Arnold
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Good old times, December 17, 2013
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

I remember something similar that ran on my old Amstrad machine, a public domain version. You could place cells and simulate their culture, based on a mathematic algorithm. Depending on the original pattern that you created, interesting geometries would come to life.
This is basically quite the same process. I regard this as a great example of what is possible with Inform. There is hardly any interactivity, so it is really just a demonstration and not a game. It could have been expanded or some pieces of information added.

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Shorn Face, by fnmsp
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Replay value, December 16, 2013
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

A story with an abstract dystopian background. Some passages reminded me of the classics (Orwell, Huxley), others were rather interactive poetry. All in all a solid piece of work with a high replay value, because many choices are not part of a "foldback scheme" which lets a player make a decision and returns to a predesigned path after a number of paragraphs; here the choices result in actually different stories which end at some point, and the reader is motivated to start over.

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Corvidia, by Anya Johanna DeNiro
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The Lighthouse's Tale, by rine
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Worship the Pig, by Heal Butcher
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Bench, by :3
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Promising but incomplete, December 15, 2013
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

The style of this story is brief, the paragraphs short, but the plot is promising and made me want to know more about the background of the happenings.
I am not sure if the following statements are spoilers, but I don't think so. I rather think it is something that should be pointed at before starting this interactive fiction. Unfortunately the game ends abruptly without giving an explanation of the events. It ends with a cliffhanger and the writer announces a continuation of the story. I was a bit disappointed, because nothing indicated that this version is not finished, and so I encourage the author to continue.
Note: this rating refers to the incomplete version.

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Tapes, by Jenni Vedenoja
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The Cradle of Eve, by Kitty Horrorshow
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Aunt Nancy's House, by Nate Schwartzman
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Gourmet Gaffe, by Hulk Handsome
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Forest, by Wiggin72
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Several bugs, December 13, 2013
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

My rating is very merciful, there are bugs concerning the room descriptions and the choice of commands, but I am inclined to overlook them as this is the author's first game. Nevertheless it seems that there should have been more testing. Such bugs can easily be detected by the author himself/herself if he/she takes effort to explore some eventualities.

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Fingertips: All Alone, by Joey Jones
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Finding a way to get the chairs, by abraxDaCabrax
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Not too bad, December 12, 2013
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

Very short, but the writing was funny and so it offered some diversion.
Not too bad for a first interactive story. I recommend to have a look at it.

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The City, by Sam Barlow
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Dystopia, December 11, 2013
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

The basic premise is quite fine. There are missing pieces in the story, but that makes the scene more surreal, so it is not necessarily a bad thing. The puzzles are quite difficult, mainly because some elements are not efficiently implemented. These are shortcomings which would have easily been detected during playtesting. (Spoiler - click to show)Examples: I try to TAKE the black cable and there is not enough of it to get a hold of, but it can be PULLED anyway; CLIMBING the hole results in the standard response that there is nothing to be achieved by this, but GOING THROUGH it is fairly okay. So I had to resort to the walkthrough and sometimes my idea had been correct, but the game didn't show me that I was expected to try something very similar.
Nevertheless I liked the surreal and dystopian setting.

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Metal Sonic's Quest, by Jay Comix Inc
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Reels, by Tyler Zahnke
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Color of Milk Coffee, by Anonymous
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Defined by inactivity, December 10, 2013
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

I can hardly rate this, because it is a flash fiction, so supposed to be short, and the main idea is not that bad. I understand that this is a kind of miniature interactive fiction, but some more actions and implementations should be there. I mean, the title of the game lets the milk coffee become an object of the scene, the room description mentions milk coffee, so I examine the milk coffee -- but no, I cannot see any such a thing! There is hardly any interactivity because the game/story consists of inactivity.

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Not the Same Old Lang Syne, by Jacqueline A. Lott
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Fingertips: The Day That Love Came To Play, by S. John Ross
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Fingertips: Aren't You the Guy Who Hit Me in the Eye?, by Michael D. Hilborn
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Cryptographer, by David Fisher
Simon Deimel's Rating:

Cut the Red Wire! No, the Blue Wire!, by David Whyld
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Show Me Your Back, by keres
Simon Deimel's Rating:

Two, by Tylor
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How To Get Ahead In Advertising, by Tylor
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
A short one, December 9, 2013
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

It is a short story with interactive elements. Some strong expressions, but that was still acceptable... I did not feel offended at any point. It reminded me of a typical story by Charles Bukowski.

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Afternoon in the House of Secrets, by Anna Anthropy
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The Lighthouse, by Eric Hickman and Nathan Chung
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Not spectacular, but I have seen worse, December 8, 2013
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

This little game is not a challenge for anyone -- finding keys and the corresponding doors right after that; no further implementations, no real story. But going through it did not hurt me, and finally there is a good will behind this game, as opposed to others which were simply made to be annoying. I have seen much worse. And stuff of the same quality which got better ratings for reasons that I do not understand.

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Roofed, by Jim Munroe
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
A nice diversion, December 8, 2013
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

This story is quite short, and the locations are clearly limited.
The special thing about it are the responses and actions of the central NPC, your sidekick who shares the fate of the story with you. They appear funny and brighten up the gameplay without ever becoming annoying. The NPC is well intergrated into other aspects like the hint system and the puzzles which cannot be solved without interaction with the NPC.
This is an excellent example of NPC integration.

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The Fat Lardo and the Rubber Ducky, by Anonymous
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Human Resources Stories, by Harry M. Hardjono
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Terrormolinos, by Peter Jones, Trevor Lever, Mike Robinson, James Byrne, and Roger Taylor
Simon Deimel's Rating:

Fail-Safe, by Jon Ingold
Simon Deimel's Rating:

FutureGame, by Anonymous
Simon Deimel's Rating:

Amishville, by Jacob Amman
Simon Deimel's Rating:

Triumphant Return of the Evil Sea Grape, by Adam Biltcliffe
Simon Deimel's Rating:

Last Minute, by Ruderbager Doppelganger (A.K.A. Hulk Handsome)
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Rape Escape!, by Alan Francis Ang
Simon Deimel's Rating:

Fingertips: Please Pass the Milk Please, by Adri
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Pass the Banana, by Admiral Jota
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Samhain, by Marc Valhara
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I pressed on, being chased by a stapler with my name on it., by Charlie Marcou
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It's election time in Pakistan: Go rich boy, go!, by Jahanzaib Haque
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My Great Return, by K1ngkill3r35
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Just browsing..., December 3, 2013
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

...and again I stumbled upon a CYOA-game. I do not really like them, but sometimes they offer a short diversion without being brain busters. So I started and I think there were three choices until the game stopped without a true end... I tried again with other options... all of them lead to an untimely death or return to the choice... so the path I had chosen at the beginning was actually the one intended by the author... I wonder if the game is meant to be complete, because it is not. So, if this is one fifth of the game (and it is surely less) the rating is self-explanatory.
As usual, I apologize for harsh words. I am aware that interactive fiction is a free product for everyone, and authors must be respected. I can only speak for myself and encourage people to put efforts in what they do.

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Wish, by Edward Floren
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Fingertips: I Found a New Friend, by Adri
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Critical Breach, by Grey
Simon Deimel's Rating:

Moquette, by Alex Warren
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Choices, December 3, 2013
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

I understand that opinions will differ on MOQUETTE.
The prose is exellent. I enjoyed reading it, despite some vulgar elements (I usually reject verbal abuse). As some critics already pointed out, I can just say the same: The beginning was a bit aimless, I did not understand what to do, and when the main encounter finally happened, I had the feeling that my choices actually had not made any difference. The author gets an extra praise for implementing each of the mentioned passengers in detail and rendering thoughts about them. The text effects were interesting.
All in all this is a well-crafted piece of interactive fiction, which put a focus on fiction rather than interactivity. Nevertheless I must say that the first part was somehow tedious and I wondered "when is something gonna happen?" too many times.
Note: I posted a similar review on the webpage of the game.

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Interview with a Rock Star, by Molly G.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
A short diversion, December 3, 2013
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

This is a short game with no apparent deep plot. It describes just a single scene, and there is not much else. There should have been more implementations maybe. I did not find much interesting about the dialogue, but it is my opinion that there is some potential in a situation of this fiction, which could have been developed. All in all it is worth a try anyway.

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Quest of 9s, by DavidH
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Buggy and unplayable, December 2, 2013
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

I started the game and found a test and opening it produced the first error message. Not a fatal one, so I continued. The text said I needed a GDC for the test, so I went and found the GDC -- whatever it was, examining it only produced a standard reply -- and returned to the test, and again it replied with an error message.
None of the things mentioned in the room descriptions were implemented. There was a hint that you needed a rope to reach a different part, but when I found the rope I could not take it without getting a reason for being incapable.
I do not question the good intentions of the author, but this is a half-baked attempt and needs to be revised.

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Win an Election, by BenjaminGoldberg
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Shade, by Andrew Plotkin
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
A reference, December 2, 2013
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

SHADE is not a long game. It is not an extensive game in the sense of locations. It has a quite linear course. It is not very difficult, once you get the hang of it. SHADE is simply awesome, just because of the story that is tells.
After a long time, remembering the old text adventures that I played on my old Amstrad machine, I decided to look for something similar nowadays, and I started with SHADE. Now the game is surely much shorter than commercial games were 20 years ago, but the atmosphere was overwhelming. After a while it was easy to find out what to do next, and each action is rewarded with another disturbing reaction of the environment. I felt drawn into the story and could hardly stop until the end, which can be interpreted in various ways. The game takes place in a single location, but the many implementations create a true-to-life experience, even as things start to change.
All in all SHADE is a reference how interactive fiction has to be composed. It is a delightful treat for both beginners and veterans of text-based games.

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O, by Marco Bakera
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Ein kleiner Ausflug in surreale Gefilde, December 2, 2013
by Simon Deimel (Germany)
Related reviews: german

Let me write a review in the language of the game.
Es handelt sich bei "O" (der Titel spielt vermutlich auf die Form eines Kreises an) um ein sehr kurzes Abenteuer mit surrealistischem Hintergrund. Ich habe mir auch den Film dazu angesehen und muß sagen, daß die Atmosphäre gut eingefangen wird. Ein paar wenige Rechtschreibfehler, aber die Story ist sehr solide.
Leider ist sie nur etwas zu kurz, um eine höhere Bewertung zu geben.

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Vicious Cycles, by Simon Mark
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Dad vs. Unicorn, by PaperBlurt
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Wrong expectations, November 29, 2013
by Simon Deimel (Germany)

The first two parts of the story were quite well written. A father neglecting his son, a son feeling misunderstood by his father, both parts ending in a surreal moment. So I expected a solution to the appearance of the unicorn -- was it a metaphor? But I was disappointed. (Spoiler - click to show)The third part describes the unicorn embarking upon a destructive romp, maybe the author wants to show how air-built castles can crash when the truth is revealed, but this approach will not work for everyone. These passages make use of a vulgar language, which was way too extreme for my taste. Conclusively there is not much time wasted if you check it out, but do not expect a philosophical statement.

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