Lost Pig

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.