Reviews by Joel Webster

This story has a very unique perspective from other stories. I'll try not to give too much away, but like the author's blurb says - it's a game of survival. You only have several turns to act and find the next item to survive, and there isn't much time to stop and smell the roses, or even take inventory. Sometimes that's for the best, since most of the scenery is not implemented at all, including things that are mentioned as being part of the player character; and without taking inventory you wouldn't know what the secret verb is that allows you to survive.
I've started playing at least thirty times, and I can't seem to get more than 30 out of 70 points before dying, though at one point I managed to get -5 out of 70 points. Doing things correctly resulted in earning points, but it took several dozen deaths to figure out how to earn points, since by the time you get to a place where you can earn points, you don't have any time left to play a full round of guess-the-verb in order to gain said points.
I appreciate the limited time for the game, since it is realistic based on the nature of the player character. The realization of what the player character actually is was interesting, and it helped to understand the game more.
However, it would be nice to have some hinting of how to get to a good ending. Of course, the forgiveness rating is Tough for a reason - this game is hard.
Overall it was a fun diversion until the extremely limited time frame, under-implemented game world, and frequent deaths made it too frustrating to play any longer.

I'm not sure if this game is complete.
I've tried playing it, and I get stuck after I explore a dozen rooms. Take this section for example:
(Spoiler - click to show)

Clearing
There is an old well in the middle of the clearing. Just by the look of it you can tell that is has long since been out of water.
You can see:

An old well

A wooden cover

>x cover
A wooden cover on top of the well. Looks much newer than the well itself. It has a lock on it. The key is probably not far away.

>unlock cover with key
You unlock the wooden cover.

>open cover
You open the wooden cover.

>down
The cover is stuck in place. There's no using this door anymore.

>remove cover
(first taking the wooden cover)
That's fixed in place.

>lock cover with key
First you'll have to close the wooden cover.

>close cover
That's not something you can close.


And based on my initial explorations, this is the only way to progress in the game.
Not a good first impression, IMHO.
I'd love to change this review, since I appreciate how much time the author must have spent on this, so please correct me where I'm wrong.

I just finished this game for the third time, and I continue to be amazed at Aaron Reed's IF prowess.
Sand-dancer follows the path of a young man at a crossroads in life. The geography of the game is small and uncomplicated, but rich in meaning and depth. Through the course of the game, the player gets to choose talents that define the main character's path in life. You can't get a bad ending, because your actions make it the way it is.
There is no accidental choice, all of the plot-altering events are very clearly defined and strikingly obvious.
I had to play through several times to catch all the endings and in-game events. This game is small but very deep. Despite knowing how things will turn out, I continue to find myself drawn into the story.
Another excellent work of IF.

This is quite a fun idea: The player is stuck inside inform.
For the player who hasn't tried their hand at writing IF, this will no doubt be a confusing experience. For example, someone who hasn't written any IF using inform will be unaware of what the significance of the 'rooms' is, or what the 'final boss' is or means.
However, for those of us who are familiar with writing in inform, it's a great little piece of satire. My favorite part is how the player finishes the game by (Spoiler - click to show)performing actions which annoy the parser enough to cause its demise.
This is a case of (literally) fighting the parser that does a good job of it. It's short, but that's a good thing.
The 'errors' one encounters in this game are intentional and part of the experience. If you want a better viewpoint on this game, try writing a piece of IF in inform and you'll understand this game better.