An Informal Time

An Informal Time
by Anonymous

Surreal
2010

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4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

Stuck in Inform, August 17, 2010

by Joel Webster (Madison, WI)
Related reviews: stuck in inform, fighting parser, satire

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.

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Dominic Delabruere, July 9, 2011 - Reply
So I'm stuck at this bit: (Spoiler - click to show)

You get out of the compass.

Darkness
It is pitch dark, and you can't see a thing.

It is now pitch dark in here!

>i
You are carrying:
a brass lantern (providing light)

Could you clue me in?

AmberShards, August 17, 2010 (updated January 15, 2011) - Reply
Four stars for a game that couldn't bother to describe the 'rooms' the player is in? By that metric, nearly every game on here except Vigilante and Speed-IF disasters should get five stars. As an IF author, I can't let such slipshod, slapdash work pass -- especially when it's the guy's FOURTH GAME. The very nature of writing a game means that you encourage interaction. Oh wait. You were just about to tell me that being stuck inside the compass (how -- erm -- original) with default responses to everything you try is very satirical, right? Sorry for interrupting.

No, this game doesn't do a good job of satire, surrealism, or providing something for the player to "fight" -- again, unless you mean that default responses are part of fighting the parser, which is a definition of the phrase that I've never seen until this review.

How much were you paid to paint this turd gold?

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