How To Make Eggplant Lasagna (With Cats!)

I breathed a deep sigh of relief as I opened this game. I had been playing a lot of short games as part of a competition and there is, of course, a lot of variety, some amazing, some that feel like work to get through.

I opened this and saw nice styling, compelling writing, some interactivity I really had to think and strategize with, and well-written characters. It was great to see!

Here's an example of the kind of stuff that I liked in this game:

"You start slicing the eggplant, but you hear ominous noises from the living room. Clanking noises, like something metal is being batted around on a hardwood floor. It sounds like one of the cats (probably Natasha; it's usually Natasha) might be playing with something that is not a cat toy.

Maybe you should go intervene? Whatever she's doing is probably not good for your security deposit. But losing focus when cooking isn't always a good idea either."

A lot of short games introduce characters but don't really 'introduce' them. We just get snippets, like a page from the middle of a larger story. This shows Natasha's character through both a single incident (being noisy) and a general statement ("it's usually Natasha"). It uses concrete details ('clanking noises') as well as emotions connected to it ('ominous').

The second paragraph sets up the choices that follow (going to check on her or not) and lets us know both that it's possible to strategize and that our choices matter.

And, while short, the game still manages to have a real start, build up, climax, and denouement.

While I enjoyed the game and found only one ending, I felt satisfied with that and didn't have an urge to play again. But I appreciate the thought that went into this and think that I can learn from it when it comes to writing choice-based games.