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An amusing adventure with a custom engine about a lodge, August 10, 2022I've been playing Parsercomp games in the reverse order of their placement. This one is pretty low on the list, but I actually had fun with it.
It's a custom parser engine, and it could use a lot of work when compared with engines that have decades behind them, but I liked the look, the browser-readiness, and the quick response time, so I definitely think it has promise, better than many custom parsers I've seen.
The game is silly fun and somewhat reminiscent of Zork. You are asked to visit an old professor friend (I think?) and end up at a lodge with several mysterious objects and items around.
A lot of text is non-interactive in this story, with lots of items described followed by 'PRESS ENTER TO CONTINUE', which could lead to some disambiguation problems, but if you LOOK at the prompt it lists items in a big list, making it easier to know what you can interact with.
The structure branches a lot, which is a bit of a bummer as there is no save feature and replaying the beginning quickly gets repetitive. Replaying is more enjoyable if you can shake things up a little every time right from the get go.
I saw one typo, which is not that bad. I had some struggles at the end (this was my attempt at a happy ending after my bad ending revealed a surprising truth):
(Spoiler - click to show)
What will you do?
> hug beast
Undefined response.
> drop gun
Undefined response.
> say hello
What would you like to say?
> hi
What would you like to hi?
> x beast
A terrifying beast standing 12 feet tall. Its teeth and claws look razor sharp.
> give gun to beast
Undefined response.
> drop gun
Undefined response.
> l
I didn't understand that.
> look
There's a terrifying beast, and a bat swarmed exit.
> wait
I didn't understand that.
> stay
I didn't understand that.
> scream
I didn't understand that.
> x gun
It looks like an old service revolver. The wooden handle has been polished with sweat from decades of use.
> give gun
Undefined response.
> talk to yeti
What would you like to talk?
> x yeti
What would you like to examine?
> x beast
A terrifying beast standing 12 feet tall. Its teeth and claws look razor sharp.
> beast hello
The beast pauses.
PRESS ENTER TO CONTINUE
Despite some typos, I'm impressed with the polish for a game made by hand. I found it amusing, and played a couple of times.