In Good Company

This is an interesting little puzzle-fest that may be narratively thin for readers who don't subscribe The Mysterious Package Company. The "MPC" is a real-life delivery service that mails intriguing packages with facsimile artifacts to their customers, and this game appears to be a tie-in to their service, with optional content for subscribers.

Being locked out of the optional content didn't detract from the overall experience, but I did feel like I was getting only part of the story, due to the many narrative references to stock mysteries and tropes, such as a jackalope skull in the starting room. Many of these references ended up feeling like window dressing instead of depth, and it'd be interesting to see what would happen if the piece was gently disconnected from the underlying MPC structure or if it better explored that structure: why am I really in this room? What's my relationship to a figure known as the Curator? Why does the MPC do this work?

I'm being tough on the lack of scene-setting and urgency not because this is a bad piece; in truth, it's a very good piece with fair, fun, consistent puzzle design, much better than most puzzle-centric pieces. If you really enjoy puzzle-centric work, you'll like this quite a bit; if you really want more narrative depth in a work,you might feel a little nonplussed.

There is a huge level of delight in solving the many puzzles scattered about, and the design isn't difficult due to the fairness and consistency of the puzzles, leading to a number of 'happy' moments when just the right thing works in just the right way.

This is a cute puzzle game, but there are a number of bugs in its implementation that detracted from my enjoyment of the game so much that, by the end, I resorted to just following the hints.

1) Almost every room has important objects in it that are not visible in the initial room description, forcing the player to examine everything in every room. That's fine in so far as it goes, but in that case the game needs to Bracket Every Notable Thing to ensure that objects in the description are actually examinable. http://lacunagame.blogspot.com/2010/08/best-practices-in-if.html

When examination of scenery objects failed at first, I gave up on examining scenery objects, which then got me solidly stuck.

2) There are parser bugs, e.g. right in the first room, there's no way to examine the right fireplace.

>x right fireplace
I only understood you as far as wanting to examine the right overmantel.

You also can't examine important objects like: (Spoiler - click to show)"puzzle" in the office ("crossword" works), "resin" in the studio (you can only directly refer to the cans, so you can't "pour resin in mould"), "controls" in the lab. You also can't examine the "statue" on the bookcase in the Sitting Room until you examine "oddments" (most of which cannot be examined), even if you examine the bookcase.

3) Flipping switches is totally buggy.

>flip switch a1
You flip on Switch A1 on. It makes a satisfying "ca-CLING"!

>flip switch a1
You flip on Switch A1 on. It makes a satisfying "ca-CLING"!

>flip switch a1
You flip on Switch A1 on. It makes a satisfying "ca-CLING"!

>flip switch a1 on
You can't see any such thing.

>flip switch a1 off
You flip off Switch A1. It makes a satisfying "ka-CHUNK"!

>flip switch a1 on
You flip on Switch A1 on. It makes a satisfying "ca-CLING"!

If the user doesn't explicitly say "off," the game assumes that "flip" means to flip ON, and then shows a "ca-CLING" message even if the switch is already on. I incorrectly thought I was flipping the switches correctly and that the switches did nothing until I realized the problem.

4) (Spoiler - click to show)The controls in the lab are not correctly described in the text.

>x cage
At first glance, the cage appears to be quite ordinary, if old-fashioned, but on closer inspection, you realize that it does not appear to have any sort of door or access hatch.

>x dish
The small kibble dish is attached to the outside of the cage by way of a motorized hinge, which you presume is operated with the tiny controls inside the cage.

>x controls
You can't see any such thing.

IMO, this ruins the hamster puzzle. The player has to realize that the controls correspond to controls in the utility room, but since the game never describes the hamster's controls directly, the only way to solve this puzzle is to hit the hints.


Those are my most serious complaints. Other minor bugs follow:

5) (Spoiler - click to show)
>get a tile
(tile Z)
Taken.

You have to "get tile a" instead.


6) (Spoiler - click to show)I don't know why the game lets me stand on a stepstool to reach the skull but won't let me stand on the bar to reach the skull. Maybe use a stepladder instead?

7) (Spoiler - click to show)The game won't let me handle the resin while wearing the respirator unless I'm also wearing the latex gloves. But it gives the same message as if I wasn't even wearing the respirator, "Safety first!" It made me think I had to turn on the respirator in some way. Instead it should tell me that my hands aren't protected or something.

8) (Spoiler - click to show)
>close ledger
You close the tall ledger book, which makes a "THUD" the way only proper big books can. Beneath it, you discover a small, empty-looking jar.

>open ledger
It isn't something you can open.


9) Finally, I feel like the hints aren't structured very naturally.

(Spoiler - click to show)
Why can I not leave? Considering that you start in a locked room, this should be explaining how to find the west exit.
Should I be interested in the walls here? "Yes!" A misleading answer for anyone who's not a subscriber.

This is a little old-school game where you have to search and poke and prod a sort of club house. There are little secret passageways and hidden messages and so on.

It's not very polished, and it didn't really draw me in; as just another game released in a year, it doesn't stand out. But for patrons of the company, I imagine it would be a real treat to have something tailor-made for your group.

This is a brilliant way to really give an interactive wonder to the MPC readers and respond to their numerous requests from the changes in Spring 2016. I was so overcome when I stepped into that room again that I had to step back from the computer for a moment and take a trip down memory lane. The inside jokes are perfect as well. Everything was well done and I suspect even the newest of readers will still enjoy this adventure. It feels good to be home.

Can't believe the amount of thought that is put into these puzzles. Having a blast! Thank you MPC for the unending road of mystery and delight.