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Nautilisia

by Ryan Veeder profile

2012
Humor
Inform 7

(based on 39 ratings)
7 reviews49 members have played this game. It's on 30 wishlists.

About the Story

Your friend claims to be in a coma.

Ratings and Reviews

5 star:
(2)
4 star:
(19)
3 star:
(14)
2 star:
(4)
1 star:
(0)
Average Rating: based on 39 ratings
Number of Reviews Written by IFDB Members: 7
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3 Most Helpful Member Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
Parody of the surreal psychological genre, January 12, 2013

Nautilisia is a short, surreal piece riffing on the many many games that take place within the psychological landscape of a comatose (or sleeping, or deceased) protagonist. In contrast with most of those, however, Nautilisia makes no secret of its subject, telling the player up front of this premise, and explaining each symbolic object as one encounters it.

In this vein, there are three very basic puzzles, and a helpfully explanatory NPC who will answer questions and deliver rewards. The gameplay is straightforward, and is likely to take only ten or fifteen minutes to complete. Some of the imagery is charming or evocative, but the narrative voice is so quick to explain what it all means that one doesn't really have time to contemplate it before having it explained away.

This is an experience that is only likely to appeal to one who enjoys Veeder's flavor of humor: if the first room or two don't strike your fancy, the rest of the game isn't likely to either. Personally, I find it engaging enough to enjoy. Veeder has (in my opinion, anyway) an excellent sense of pacing -- of exactly how many times he can push the player's patience and still be funny rather than purely exasperating; of how much he can get away with nudging the player in the ribs without being tiresome.

Overall, a fine execution of a small concept, rightfully brief so as not to overstay its welcome.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Funny, finny, and fun!, January 11, 2016
by Deboriole (San Diego, CA)

If you are looking for a quick, silly game, this is it! There is great humor throughout, and the game doesn't take itself seriously. The one downfall is that it's a "hand-holder" game and thus very easy to complete. If things were a little less conspicuous it might have led to a greater challenge. For example: (Spoiler - click to show)the jungle scene with the blatant dangling vine could have been more puzzly if you had to examine the jungle in order to spot the vine. Still, I enjoyed the narrative so much that the game was still very fulfilling despite its lack of puzzliness. I am still chuckling over some of the dialogue. I am going to check out some other Ryan V games now!

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
A fun, short parody of surreal dream games, June 7, 2016

This game was a fun take on the surfeit of surreal dream/coma games. The game map is shaped like a nautilus, hence the name.

In this game, you explore symbolic areas, with the symbolism spelled out, you take symbolic keys and put them in symbolic locks, and face your fears, hopes, and your truths.

I liked it, but it didn't draw me in; the game was intended as a quick, fun romp, but it eventually turned into a monotonic hunt, which, while true to the genre, could have been avoided.

Recommended for fans of short, funny games and surreal games.

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Game Details

Language: English (en)
First Publication Date: April 2, 2012
Current Version: 2
License: Free
Development System: Inform 7
IFID: 0D317B6A-A1DE-4D42-A766-FE995576239A
TUID: so1gjj9uy7vzien

Nautilisia on IFDB

Polls

The following polls include votes for Nautilisia:

Comfort Food IF by Molly
Lately I've been chasing away the blues by playing through my IF backlog. This made me wonder, what IF do you play as a pick-me-up? Maybe it's something that calms and soothes you, maybe it's really funny, or maybe it just distracts you...

For Your Consideration: Games from 2012 that should be nominated for the XYZZY Awards by Molly
There were a lot of great games released in the past year, and now that the XYZZYs are coming up, it seems like a very good idea to take a poll of all the games from last year people would like to see nominated. The management has asked...

IF adaptations of existing poems by pieartsy
I'm looking for IF that adapts existing static poems, either using the text directly or taking the story/plot/themes of the text and turning them into something interactive. Does not have to be a "game" with a win/lose or branching paths...

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