Reviews by manonamora

one way is a short kinetic dialogue through text between Syn and Lily, though it feels more like a monologue, as the latter doesn’t respond much. In the messages, Syn talks about the writing progress (or lack of) on a story, and the struggles of being relatable, even when drawing on one’s identity. The messages go unanswered, worrying Syn, who ends up confronting Lily for a sign of life.

Because of that one-sidedness in the exchange, and the minimal formatting, I thought at first I was reading Syn’s diary entries (the first few pages being pretty relatable, being in a writing rut is not fun). Though it was after going through the passages again did I wonder whether we were playing as Lily, clicking the arrow link to forward time, as if reading but avoiding answering, making Syn’s plea for a response all the more heartbreaking.
Or maybe I’m reading too much into it, and we’re simply a complete outsider.

story of my life is a tiny kinetic slice-of-life piece, centred on a couple of linked memories, snapshot seemingly mundane at the time but with hindsight and reminiscing may look important. It seems like a reflection of things seen and said, or more what was experienced differently and what was never said. This disconnect is made all the more obvious on the last screen, where the narrator admit they could actually say something… but still end up avoiding the subject through a more light-hearted question, further the miscommunication.

Sanguine: The Stygian Shore is a tiny Twine adventure, where you incarnate Ash’Garekh, a mercenary stranded on Lunaris after a storm at sea. Still, you need to get to your original destination, so you travel north and do your best to avoid the traps and the dangers, and maybe thwart a plot in the process.
The writing reminded me a bit of those darker fantasy pulp stories, with danger to overcome, some damsels to rescue, and cliché shouts, but all the good ways of those. The only negative thing I have to say about it, is that it ended way too quick. I would love to play a longer version of the game with trials and tribulations and puzzles… until I finally reach my destination!

Lunar Fall is a mini make-out-sim where two women, L and E, embrace each other for a while. With a short tangent about relationships and love (do we min-max one’s feelings by our actions?) and the definition of sex (is there a line to what or what isn’t sexual), the main focus of the game is the actual make-out part. Depending on the starting position (spooning or facing each other), you have two to four actions, one being one-off while the other options being repeatable, before you end it altogether.

I’ve tried multiple combination of actions, and always seemed to end with the same words and the same thanks, but I wonder if there are multiple endings to it.
Am I min-maxing enough this make-out session?!?! No matter, I’ll go make out with E again anyway.

Find a parser beta tester! is a short reflection piece on beta-testing, particularly when having your parser work beta-tested by others. Whatever the program used when making a game, beta-testing is the most painful part of the process: you not only need to have people play a game that isn’t complete and probably has too many bugs it’s embarrassing, but you also have to FIND THOSE PEOPLE IN THE FIRST PLACE. The pain…

The game give multiple options, between parser and non-parser players, players who know and don’t know you, so you would get a wide array of feedback, allowing you to fix it all before the deadline (though it is never truly fixed…). It is a pretty sound advice, having a wide-range of different testers, to ensure you’ve covered as much as possible the potential players base.

Testing is one of the most important part of game making*, as it can be the difference between receiving glowing reviews and… a torrent of negative comments because everything is broken. Not just that, but depending on the amount of issues with your game, you may feel guilty for having put them through such gruelling efforts (especially if they are not familiar with parsers).
*I say that but, lol, but I barely do that myself

Congrats! Your writing doesn’t stink! is a short reflection on sharing one’s work with others. Formatted as an exchange between an author (you) and a player/reviewer, you listen/read the latter’s opinion about your hypothetical piece. Through a thinly veil of “hey, I’m just trying to help”, the praise ends up being less then genuine, and the criticism borderline insulting. But maybe, it should have been expected with the title…

It’s weirdly relatable, having had my work judged, not always kindly (thought often with kernels of truth), to the point that it can turn you off from a community altogether. Putting your work out there is very courageous, and being met with malicious comments can be demoralizing. Words can be powerful things, lifting people spirits as well as burying them six-feet down. It’s a good reminder to think about how we phrase our comments, especially when we don’t like something.

in the digital age is a short fan-fic piece based on Great Ace Attorney, in a communication-sim type of way. You play as Su, getting a phone call from Haori in the middle of the night, having avoided talking to her for a while and informing her of your return (among other things). Except you are a pretty awkward person, and behave a bit erratically (though, if they were teenagers, it would make tons of sense). While I did find the actual text exchange to be a bit confusing (on who was who especially), the consequence of the first choice was very funny to me.

come thru at 330am is a short kinetic piece, a jumbled reflection at a barbershop, which dealing with a traumatic past due to abuse in the workplace, making getting a simple haircut a herculean trial. With a minimal use of punctuation, the prose weaves together an often confusing imagery, mixing past and present, real and felt, emotional and rational… blurring all the lines.

Garden Party is an interactive unfolding poem, where you attend a garden party. Clicking on the different elements on the screen, the party unfolds before you, with cheers and drinks, dancing and playing games… but you can also escape the commotions and enjoy a little bit of a break, in the calming surroundings of Nature.

This piece reminded me a bit of NESTED by Orteil in the way it unfolds and displays new elements on the screen - though Garden Party does is finite, with its 100 or so elements to click on. It’s a pretty comforting experience.

sappho fragment generator is exactly what the title says: randomly printing on the screen fragments of writings of the poet Sappho. Each verse on the screen will vary in length and content, though it will often not make much sense (or at least it was my experience generating them), as it displays them from a small bank of words. Because little has survived, the generator sometimes even includes unexpected characters - though the general nonsensical of the generated elements is already confusing enough as is.
Maybe… we could still try to analyse the unanalysable.