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Review
Ancient China.
You are a poet whose family fell from grace, making you somewhat of an outcast. But time has passed, and you’ve now carved a simple existence out of reading and staying out of the public eye.
Then, one night, a court official visits your home. You are informed that your poetry has caught the attention of society’s elite. Coincidentally, the Emperor is hosting a banquet to select a new court poet, and you are invited at his request.
Gameplay
you are an ancient chinese poet at the neo-orchid pavilion (aka YAAACPATNOP. Naw, too long) revolves around a sole task: creating a poem to present at the banquet.
The Emperor has a special request for you. He wants your poem to reflect the current climate of his court and the motivations of the people within it, citing your reclusive lifestyle as making you a neutral judge of the factions present at the banquet.
Gameplay is structured into sections where the player interacts with characters or scenery to develop each line of the poem. To provide inspiration for the guests, multiple activities take place at the banquet.
North, in the direction of a fruit orchard in the distance.
East, to a field where the polo court lies.
South, to where a stage for outdoor opera sits.
West, towards a set of low set buildings.
Each activity is run by a group that shares an ideology. For example, visiting the polo courts introduces you to the School of Numerical Perfection, a group that is attempting to create the perfect poem using math because they believe that human experience can be quantified to create order.
You visit two groups, sampling the different ideologies at play. You then decide whether to agree or disagree with the group’s beliefs, forging a new line of your poem. The climax of the story occurs when you choose to meet with either Princess Anying or General Zhang to further investigate the court’s alliances. Once the poem is completed, the endgame reveals the impact of your words.
The game allows you to start from the beginning of the story or to start at the banquet, encouraging replays.
Story
The story is interwoven with political undertones of factions vying for power. The Emperor’s sister, Princess Anying, and his cousin, General Zhang are major figureheads in the court’s politics. They make an appearance at the banquet, and while the three appear to tease and cajole each other as family members, unseen plans lurk under the surface.
When you reach the lake, you decide to walk…
Clockwise, towards the blooming lotus.
Counter-clockwise, where the wild reeds ramble.
Visit the lotus for the Princess, the reeds for the General.
Your interactions with the banquet guests and either the Princess or the General are conveyed through your poem and thus determine the story’s outcome. For instance, (Spoiler - click to show)you can align yourself with the Princess, resulting in an ending where you become her court poet. Assuming the rest of her plans fall into place, of course.
Endings
There are 23 possible endings. So far, I’ve only found: 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 14, 15, 16, and 23. That’s not even half. I tried to create a spreadsheet to keep track of how to reach them, but it became too complicated.
I will say, some endings feel cut and paste with their writing. Consider endings 2 and 10:
(Spoiler - click to show)Although your poem is not overly adulatory towards the Princess Anying and the factions she has been secretly supporting, it manages to convince the emperor that she is not the looming threat he should be wary of.
Although your poem is not overly supportive towards General Zhang and the factions he directs, it is enough to convince the emperor that he is not the threat that the emperor considers him to be.
Same outcome, just with the characters swapped out. That said, this only became apparent to me after I replayed the game countless times to try to find every ending.
Theory on endings
Just some ideas.
It seems that disagreeing with The Conscientious Anarchists always leads to a negative ending steeped with civil strife, regardless of whether the player makes approving choices in every other interaction.
Beyond the Anarchists, it’s difficult to pinpoint the specific effect each group has on the end. It does appear that disagreeing with both groups (remember, you choose two) has an effect. For example, if you disagree with both and do not support the Princess or General, the Princess/General won’t have enough power to overthrow the Emperor.
On the flipside, if you agree with both groups but decline to support the Princess/General, the Princess/General will take power and leave you in the dust.
As long as you don’t upset the Anarchists, you can displease both groups and get a (more or less) good ending by supporting the Princess or General.
At least, that’s my best guess. Probably not 100% accurate. I still haven’t been able to find every ending.
Characters
The protagonist’s own story is more of a backdrop to explain your presence at the banquet rather than forming the main narrative. We don’t know a lot, but the amount we do know suits the game’s purposes just fine.
I will say, it’s kind of shocking to see Princess Anying act so affectionately towards the Emperor at the banquet (Spoiler - click to show) only to have him (and her cousin) executed in ending 8.
Or when General Zhang reminisces about chasing fireflies with the Emperor and Princess as children (Spoiler - click to show)before taking the firefly off your shoulder and crushing it. He, too, is more than willing to eliminate his relatives.
Also, I kept getting Attendant Zhang and General Zhang mixed up.
Visuals
The visuals are simple yet elegant.
Text is placed in a cream-coloured panel set against a backdrop that changes colours as we explore the banquet. On the right side of the screen is a small photograph, such as a lake, for every location.
Overall, its appearance is bright but not distracting. The author seemed to put a lot of care into conveying simple elegance.
Conclusion
As an entrant to this year’s IFComp, this is a game that you play with for a few minutes before rushing off to play one of the more fast-paced entries. But later, you find yourself drifting back and giving it more attention, taking your time to glean how your choices influence each ending. And I enjoyed it.
Now, the game can get repetitive if you try to strategize to find every ending since picking apart the variables makes the story feel more superficial. However, most players will be content to play it a few times for the overall experience. Carefully crafting a poem can serve as a meditative exercise for anyone.
And on that note… an obligatory poem:
The lonely bird's call battles laughter and music,
Swimming fishes surge to meet the sporting waves,
One with the earth, soil underfoot,
Pouring pearls forth, set loose into the world.
