Sugarlawn

This has probably the best blurb in IFComp 2019; I read it and I just had to find out what that was all about. What it’s about is a reality show in which you run through a historic Louisiana mansion in a chicken suit trying to grab historical antiques for big cash prizes. You’ve got thirty minutes to find as many as you can, and you’ll get a bonus if you can not just collect them, but leave them in the appropriate locations. The unique setting and focus on history puts this several cuts about the traditional IF treasure hunt it resembles. The game doesn’t just want to give you a bunch of valuable stuff to snatch – you actually have to engage with the purpose and background of the items to figure out where they go, and sometimes using one properly can give you hints towards another.

I made $10104 on my first runthrough – not that hard, as many of the treasures are in plain sight. I didn’t figure out how to get any of the locked-away ones, though, and I only figured out the right location for three. This is a game that demands multiple playthroughs to figure out everything and optimize your path – the fact that knowledge from previous playthrough is required is cleverly justified in-game as you being offered the chance to do multiple takes. I'm not mathematically inclined enough to tackle the problem of complete optimization, but I've seen a lot of other people playing and enjoying the game on this level.

I didn’t find any bugs at all, although I did mostly just run around and grab things, so I’m not sure how it holds up to playing around more with the items. Overall, a lot of fun.

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