Lost Pig

A small map with deceptively simple puzzles! Just right on the difficulty scale.

The writer makes excellent use of the game's relatively small world. Questioning the gnome is a joy, and the game accepts a wide variety of responses to encourage experimentation. The pig and Grunk are also well implemented. Furthermore, subtle narrative clues cleverly aid the player. Highly recommended.

I've played a lot of interactive fiction, and Lost Pig stands out, because it was really fun to play from start to finish. The interactions with the pig and other characters in the game are enjoyable. The descriptions, written from the perspective of your curious, observant, but not-so-literate character, are quite funny. I felt myself sink into the character I was playing very easily. The puzzles were interesting, and made sense. This is a really well designed game.

One puzzle near the end gave me a little trouble, and I was appreciative of a built-in hint system which, invisi-clues style, would only give you as much help as you needed.

This short game was deservedly lauded on its appearance. Lost Pig seems to start off as a concept piece: Grunk is an orc and communicates as such. But as it progresses, it becomes more than this. Grunk starts to function as a Candide-like observer of a small and seemingly static world: the distance induced by his vocabulary eventually vanishes and the player ends up identifying with Grunk. This is an impressive feat.

It can only work because the game as a whole has an internal structure that is unusually coherent and whose logic meshes with Grunk's ability. The NPC is a gem: quite different from Grunk, but complementary. By the end, the player is urging both NPC and Grunk on as they bring the game to a conclusion.

There have been discussions about the place of Lost Pig in the pantheon of contemporary IF. Without entering that debate, I would argue that Grunk is (written as) one of the most memorable IF characters, one who is transparent and who ends up being, in his own small way, a hero. The pig is a tremendous character, too.

The people who came before me gave this game its praise, but I just HAD to comment on the burning pants. That really had me laughing. The imagery.... Thanks for giving me a laugh! ^_^

I loved this game. It had me laughing all the way through and the puzzles were tricky but not impossible to solve. I enjoyed how much effort the maker put into the extra conversations and commands you can use that don't necessary further your progress but give the game color. The only thing I didn't like was how hard it was to get all the points, but maybe just because I'm too impatient to play a second time. Overall, amazing!

As a new player of Interactive Fiction me like exploring the world of Lost Pig with Grunk and his pig. Me get confused a few times, and needed hint. Me finish game and smile. Me recommend Grunk to others.

Lost Pig is perfect in its execution of a light puzzler through the eyes of a character who seems perfectly real despite being a fantastic beast in a world which seems intriguing despite the small glimpse we're provided.

Honestly, after I'd played, I wondered why it received such high praise - neither its gameplay nor narrative ambitions are particularly high - but after reflecting on the experience, I began to truly respect the perfection of its implementation. Funny without being corny, challenging without being obtuse, and finally, subtly moving without overburdened pretensions.

Good stuff, though I docked it a star because I did, in the end, want more...(and I wanted so badly to wear the thought-augmenting hat which sadly never appeared.)

I really enjoyed playing this- It's difficult not to love grunk. The humour is pleasant and the puzzles are quite quirky. It's a nice break from those longer, tougher IFs and a breath of fresh air.

There's really not much to say about this game that hasn't already been said before. It has been featured in countless best-of-lists and lists with games that are accessible for beginners, it's almost legendary, and rightly so. I finally managed to finish the game on my iPhone, this is what I can say:

Grunk is hilarious. There's hardly a command absurd enough not to be greeted with a funny response from this memorable PC. It's worth playing the game for this alone. The implementation is deep. The NPCs are believable, loveable and crafted with a nice bit of character. The puzzles are logical and clued well, and, despite the small map, exploring is fun, as we're playing a loveable dunce manipulating magical artifacts. And despite all zaniness, the exchange between Grunk and the gnome is memorable in several ways. A true classic noone should miss.