|
Have you played this game?You can rate this game, record that you've played it, or put it on your wish list after you log in. |
Playlists and Wishlists |
RSS Feeds![]() ![]() ![]() |
About the StoryA Petite Mort entry for ECTOCOMP 2016.Game Details
Language: English (en)
First Publication Date: October 31, 2016 Current Version: Unknown Development System: Raconteur Forgiveness Rating: Merciful IFID: Unknown TUID: ljzbc8h1m9r9jt0a |
Awards
3rd Place, La Petite Mort - EctoComp 2016
Tags
Member Reviews
| Average Rating: ![]() Number of Reviews: 2 Write a review |

B-minus makes surreal poetic games where you have to puzzle out the meaning, if there is any fixed meaning.
Some of those games work really well for me and others not as well.
This one from a few years ago has a navigable 'map'. It's made in raconteur, and gives an effect similar to Twine.
The map is a house with three wings, each with two rooms, each with an object inside.
If there's any way to combine the objects, I haven't found it. The hint of a coherent structure paired with incoherent elements confused me more than if there weren't any structure at all, kind of like the famous 'Cow Tools' Far Side cartoon.
+Polish: Worked great, looks good.
+Descriptive: Very well-written.
-Interactivity: Not sure what's going on.
+Emotional impact: Some good parts in here, I liked the grave dirt and the opening.
-Would I play again? I'm not sure what to look for here.

Howled House itself is also the house it describes, and the player is the explorer. Its words invite you inside and yet they push you back. What do you hope to achieve by playing? What right do you even have to poke around inside this house whose very walls have risen from anguished howls? It’s a question that extends to any art, but especially to art that’s born from pain. That description makes it sound deadly serious, which isn’t right. It’s lively and alive — but it is potentially deadly. “The blade-box, what fun!” says the clowning third hall.
As I write these words, I feel I must tread with caution. At this very moment, I’m walking into the house’s trap, and it wants me or it doesn’t want me or it wants both things. Maybe I’m a guest or maybe I’m a plaything. Maybe I have no business being here. No, I think I’m welcome. After all, the game’s been written for people to experience. But it’s difficult to know where I stand, just as it’s difficult for the house and the author to know what readers want, what their agendas are. And not just this house, not just this author, not just this reader: it’s difficult for anyone to feel their way forward through communication with another person.
Of course this reading might be wrong. Maybe I’m lost in the house. Maybe I took something from it that it never had or never wanted me to have. That’s a danger. All I can do is acknowledge the danger. It’s a dangerous game, but also a game I consider worth risking the danger to play. I wouldn't be surprised if, a few months from now, I understand it in a different way.
The language is phenomenal. I may be unsure about a few things here, but there’s no question in my mind that Howled House ought to be nominated at the XYZZY Awards for Best Writing.
If you enjoyed Howled House...
Related Games
People who like Howled House also gave high ratings to these games:500 Apocalypses, by Phantom Williams Average member rating: ![]() 500 Apocalypses is a web installation memorializing collapsed civilizations from across our universe. This interactive space is designed to allow contemplative engagement with five hundred curated entries from the Encyclopedia... |
The Wizard Sniffer, by Buster Hudson Average member rating: ![]() You were recently acquired by the brave Ser Leonhart and his squire to sniff out the evil shapeshifting wizard. Unfortunately, you are not a wizard sniffer (if such a thing even exists). As far as you can tell, you are an ordinary pig. A... |
Dig My Grave, by Ryan Veeder Average member rating: ![]() For reasons which remain obscure, it is your job to dig a grave. Written for the Apollo 18+20 tribute album project. |
Recommended Lists
Howled House appears in the following Recommended Lists:Ectocomp Games (All English Winners/Entries) by thecanvasrose
A list I created for myself so I can play all of these games. Sorted by rank and year. English entries. I'll add descriptions and my own ratings (out of 5 stars) to the entries in this list as I go through them.
Polls
The following polls include votes for Howled House:Very Short Games by tggdan3
Games that can be completed in less than 30 mintues. Need not be one room (though that obviously helps). Hopefully, the games are fun as well.
For your consideration: XYZZY-eligible Writing of 2016 by MathBrush
This is for suggesting games released in 2016 which you think might be worth considering for Best Writing in the XYZZY awards. This is not a zeroth-round nomination. The category will still be text-entry, and games not mentioned here...
For your consideration: XYZZY-eligible Settings of 2016 by MathBrush
This is for suggesting games released in 2016 which you think might be worth considering for Best setting in the XYZZY awards. This is not a zeroth-round nomination. The category will still be text-entry, and games not mentioned here...
This is version 2 of this page, edited by B Minus Seven on 31 October 2016 at 8:42pm. - View Update History - Edit This Page - Add a News Item