Blue

An entry in the horror-themed EctoComp, which requires games to be written within a three-hour limit. The usual SpeedIF qualities apply: synonyms are largely absent, the writing could do with a little editing, and the one puzzle suffers from guess-the-phrasing. Keep the walkthrough handy.

Blue avoids SpeedIF wackiness, aiming for a sweeping SF plot -- a hazily-defined plague of worm-like parasites collapses human civilisation, but the protagonist has managed to lay hands on a rare, stupendously expensive android. He could upload himself into it, or use it to save his infected girlfriend. (Spoiler - click to show)If he saves himself, it turns out that the rest of humaity chose a different way to save themselves. There are some minor obstacles to this, but it's essentially a grim-choice kind of game.

The game tries to avoid Usual SpeedIF Wackiness in favour of grim survival-horror and dark irony. (There are strong overtones of Vonnegut.) It's not wholly successful at this: the writing veers into the vague and overwrought a little too much to be really convincing, and there's so much crammed into a rather limited space that some crucial elements lack the time to breathe. Still, a good attempt at a difficult proposition.

This is a speed-IF game from Ectocomp. Written in 3 hours, it has a nicely built up world with its own ecology.

The game is short, and learning about it is the main attraction, so I won't say more about the plot. I had some trouble with some of the interactions, though, but I enjoyed the writing.

I was recommended this game because it has parasites in it. I love parasites. Now, the implementation is a bit finicky because it's a SpeedIF, and I got stuck early on and had to use David Welbourn's walkthrough. (Where would we be without him?) Similarly, there's a few grammatical/spelling errors floating around. But the main draw of !parasites! is still there.

She has become thin this past weeks, as the parasites ate her brain. Her skin is shimmering light blue, and sometimes you can see hints of their movements under her skin. You barely see the woman whose touch once made you shudder, whom you held and whose breathing you learnt to listen to when you couldn't sleep. Monsters are eating her, and she has become one herself.