Reviews by Dan Fabulich

The real treasure was in the books we read along the way!, October 3, 2020

A charming mini game.

Puzzling UI, October 3, 2020

The puzzle of this game is figuring out its menus. I played on easy mode with plenty of money, but I couldn't figure out how to buy the stuff I needed to keep my mood from falling rapidly to 0.

It's possible that figuring out the menus is supposed to be the point, somehow, but I don't think so… I think the game was trying to force me to consider trading off alternatives (money, power, mood). But since I couldn't really figure out the menus, I didn't get the opportunity to make those choices.

Unplayable without the source, August 31, 2020

This game took first place in Event One of the Second Quadrennial Ryan Veeder Exposition for Good Interactive Fiction.

Entries in Event One of the Second Quadrennial Ryan Veeder Exposition for Good Interactive Fiction were written over the course of one weekend. The challenge of Event One was to create a game in Inform 7 with beautiful source code text.

The trouble is, all of the top-ranked games are unplayable without the source, and Caduceus is no exception. It has two "guess the verb" puzzles, whose solutions make no sense, even in hindsight. (Spoiler - click to show)The gangplank is "fixed in place." Despite that, you have to "push" it. Why? Why do I have to "wave" the caduceus? None of this is explained, even in the source. (Why not "reclaim" the caduceus?)

So how did an unplayable game get four stars from me? Well, the source code is very, very good.

This game has great source code, August 31, 2020

The source code of this game is delightful, and you simply must read it. No, seriously, the game is basically unplayable (its puzzle is unfair) unless you read the source.

I played the game with the story file in an interpreter, which is normally my preferred way to play IF, but as a result, I missed out on a message that appears in the HTML "Play Online" version:

An Entry in Event One of the Second Quadrennial Ryan Veeder Exposition for Good Interactive Fiction.

The challenge of Event One was to create a game in Inform 7 with beautiful source code text. Therefore, you may be interested in viewing the source code text.

Well, it turns out that there is no way in the game to deduce how to win, or even to know that you should read the source to enjoy the game. (Spoiler - click to show)You have to get rid of your heavy guilt. You can't drop it. You win by putting the guilt on the loom, for no reason I can discover.

If the source code weren't so good, this game would merit one star, two at the most. But the source code is very, very good.

Another beautifully intimate story by quackoquack, July 27, 2020

This game and quackoquack's Moving (On) are stories about caring relationships between close friends told via the medium of parser IF.

There are precious few games like this; so much of parser IF is about using your superior intellect to solve devilish puzzles about things ("moderate-sized specimens of dry goods" as JL Austin puts it), often with a comedy theme, because solving puzzles in this way always feels faintly absurd.

quackoquack's games subvert this structure. Mind The Gap asks the player to solve a scheduling problem (and a traveling sales problem) in order to have cozy, personal moments with all of the friends you want to see in London, with bonus points available if you can help create and support connections between your friends, especially the ones who don't see each other often enough. Each meeting is sweet (bittersweet), tender, and genuine.

I very much look forward to her next work!

Nothing to write home about, July 27, 2020

I went to the trouble of typing in this game from an archived copy of Softline magazine because I had fond memories of playing this game with my dad.

The game itself is playable, and has some cute bits. The centerpiece puzzle with the dragon has adequate clues, I think, and the magic spring puzzle may catch some players pleasantly by surprise.

Unfair verbs, July 27, 2020

This game has some "guess the verb" puzzles with non-standard verbs (Spoiler - click to show)(tip, crush) without much hinting.

I'm not categorically opposed to "guess the verb" puzzles, but you can't have a GTV puzzle in a game with a limited parser, because 99% of the time, the verb you'd reasonably guess won't be supported.

For example, you can't (Spoiler - click to show)smash peanut; you can only (Spoiler - click to show)crush peanut.

The backstory was evocative, but it never became relevant to the lock-and-key puzzle the story was actually about.

It's a tech demo, July 26, 2020

The game isn't really meant to be played; it's a sample game intended to demonstrate the Adventuron -> Spectrum converter. There's a YouTube video that explain the process.

Cute, but the humor didn't work for me, July 26, 2020

To be funny, jokes have to be surprising, but inevitable in hindsight. The jokes in this game either don't feel surprising (the Ground Troll is silly!) or don't feel inevitable (what's Mario doing here?).

You can reach a winning 10-pebble ending if you use the back button when you fail, so winning is just a matter of straightforward hard work.

Play the web version, June 28, 2020

A delightful appetizer.

The web version includes lovely background music by Julian K. Jarboe, don't miss out!

It was a little hard to guess the command to get started, so here's my gift to you: (Spoiler - click to show)touch sunlight with leaf