Imprimatura

Note: This review was written during IFComp 2024, and originally posted in the authors' section of the intfiction forum on 21 Sep 2024.

This is a curious mix of text and visuals, where a close family member has recently died. They were an artist, and you are choosing the 7 paintings of theirs that you want to keep. Each choice of a painting unlocks memories for you. And in the end you use elements from the chosen paintings to complete a visual art work by your relative, a process depicted using on screen changing visual representations of the final artwork.

It’s quite moving, and I replayed several times to make different choices. Because you only recall detailed memories after selecting a painting I initially found it a little difficult to know what to choose. Should I choose paintings that I like the sound of myself, or ones that appear to reflect specific feelings, or are painted in a particular style or theme? At this point paintings are only described in words, though you get a summary of the core features and emotions represented before you decide whether to keep a painting or leave it.

One thing I did regret is that after you’ve chosen a particular painting you can’t then change your mind and put it back. Sometimes I wished I could do that, but choices were final.

Each time you dig out another painting it can be new, or one you’ve already looked at. I sometimes pulled out the same painting again and again, even up to 4 times in one game, and on 3 successive occasions in another. I’m not sure that was intended. Maybe the randomisation is too unrestricted.

At the end of the game you get to see some visuals and can interact with them. But I also wished I could see the earlier paintings. I even adjusted my screen to see if I was missing them in my too small-scale/zoomed in default display settings. Nope, only get the nice visuals towards the end of the game.

Thinking about how the paintings and their elements are combined later in the game I wonder if the earlier portion might have done something like this too. Perhaps adjusting the memory recalls, depending on what combination of paintings you’ve chosen. I don’t think it was doing anything like that. But it might have been nice. Preferably with the option to backtrack and decide not to keep a painting after all.

Many different emotions and feelings are depicted by the individual paintings and the memories they evoke. The impression built up is of a multi-faceted individual, depicted with honesty, rather than overly eulogised.

At the end there’s a moving credit, which suggests that this may have been a piece very close to the author’s heart. If so, thank you for sharing it with us.