A Time of Tungsten

by Devin Raposo

Science Fiction
2016

Web Site

Return to the game's main page

Reviews and Ratings

5 star:
(0)
4 star:
(2)
3 star:
(5)
2 star:
(1)
1 star:
(1)
Average Rating:
Number of Ratings: 9
Write a review


1-9 of 9


1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
A very long sci-fi/psychological Twine with music and some text effects, May 10, 2017

I was a beta-tester for this game. This is one of the longest Twine games available. It's about a character who is trapped, and is having flashbacks to how they got there.

It's a sci fi Gane, with much of it aboard a Star Trek-Esqye vessel (although a small one). It deals with the characters relationship with the crew members.

There is an overall framing story as well involving recorded memory. As part of the framing story, the early text is purposely stilted and formal.

Note: this review is based on older version of the game.
Was this review helpful to you?   Yes   No   Remove vote  
More Options

 | Add a comment 

- E.K., December 4, 2016

- Ramona G, November 30, 2016

- Doug Orleans (Somerville, MA, USA), November 24, 2016

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
A long Twine game about looking through another's eyes, November 22, 2016
by verityvirtue (London)
Related reviews: melancholic

You are looking through the memories of an Agent aboard some kind of space outpost or spaceship. Your job is to figure out what was behind some unnamed disaster.

Characterisation is one of the stronger points of this game. As the PC switches between their own memories and those of the Agent's, the viewpoint characters' affection for their colleagues becomes clear.

I liked the switches between narration styles as well, to distinguish between the two timelines. The banter between the PC and the operator is casual, riddled with jibes at each other; the crew member's narration, in contrast, is stilted, almost, but contributes to a sense of distance - and, if I may say so, alienation. Dimensions are given to the nearest 0.1m; descriptions of dialogue and people are conveyed through lists of adjectives; body parts and bodily functions described as if the narrator wasn't used to them.

It's a slow burn, and I can see where readers might be put off early. The story slips between different timelines. Tenses change, not always consistently. Sometimes there's a wall of text, carrying information that the reader doesn't necessarily need to know. This, at least, is not necessarily bad. It suggests the author has thought about the game universe in depth. But what made me finish playing A Time of Tungsten wasn't the meticulous world building or the thought given to the technology in the world - it was seeing the characters gradually grow and warm to each other.

Was this review helpful to you?   Yes   No   Remove vote  
More Options

 | Add a comment 

- Joey Jones (UK), November 17, 2016

- Mr. Patient (Saint Paul, Minn.), November 17, 2016

- LayzaSkully (Italy), October 17, 2016

- Matt Bates, October 4, 2016


1-9 of 9 | Return to game's main page