Dead Like Ants

Dead Like Ants is the only game I know of that uses cylindrical coordinates rather than compass directions, which is logical when the protagonist is an ant living in a tree. More interesting than the physical environment, however, is the social environment of an (anthropomorphic) ant colony, with its lack of individualism. If ant colonies produced literature, it might look like Dead Like Ants.

The game is short and polished, and combines atmosphere and message into an enjoyable package. The gameplay, however, is definitely on the slight side: it consists mostly of exploration, but the exploration becomes predictable rather quickly. Nevertheless, it is recommended.

And here is a new good game by E.C.J. Pacian.
For those who finished "Gun Mute" and have been very surprised but the main characters motives, don't worry lads ! Even if some characters might quickly surprise you, you won't be brought on the same trend which might not be yours.

There definitally are a few things that E.C.J. is good at : First, twisting the conventions of IF.
The geography is quite unusual, but simple and very effective in that story.
The main mecanism of the game is also quite unexpected. Hopefully, the author added some warnings in the "About" sections, to encourage the player when things look terribly wrong : It is likely that it actually is the way to go.

Secondly, E.C.J. also shows a great ability at describing ambivalent characters. When I started playing, I was afraid of seeing very cliché antropomorphism. Oh yes, for sure there is antropomorphism. But it is perfectly well assumed and brought in a fresh and crispy way. Some simple details, but described with great consistency throughout the game, make perfectly clear the dual nature of the characters.

So, in the end, it is a nice and simple game, to be played in one hour. The story might have you to think a bit once finished. But it failed to create much emotion to me.

However, before my last turn, and feeling the end coming, I thought to myself "Geee, this would make a nice introduction for a bigger story !"