Darkness

A game centered on the pursuit of light and finding your way out of the darkness.

The interface was very smooth, and I liked the idea of 'recycling' links. It felt very intuitive to me and even fun to go back and see how the content of each link changed over time in the game. This is my first time encountering links being used like this in interactive fiction. I wish more games could employ the same/a similar style — push the boundaries beyond the known, y'know?

If I'm honest, I almost did end up tearing up at the last couple pages. Some might find the content too sedate or cheesy, and the emotional experience for sure isn't going to be all that there for everyone, but I personally connected very well with both its gameplay and message overall.

(Spoiler - click to show)It was also very nice how the page darkened/lightened in tandem with where the player character was in-game. I found that particular touch very immersive, and it's the second work I've encountered that makes use of this effect — the subtle changing of the page visuals in relation to variations of time/place within a work — the first being Perihelion, by Tim White, which I also only just came upon earlier today — and I find that I like it very much. Opposed to, I don't know, say for example a new background image or the such in response to the player moving from place to place in other games — the changes in these games are so small, so subtle — even barely-there, I guess you could say — that I don't find them as disruptive (or jarring) as automated visual changes usually are (in my experience) — quite the opposite, in fact, I find they enhance the effects of the game quite a great deal for me.

This game is designed to showcase the Elm Narrative engine. Although it's not the first game written in the engine, it's the first I've seen.

This engine is based on the Elm programming language. From what I've seen of the engine, it features less emphasis on branching and more on context-sensitive choices (which would be useful for inventories and such).

In-game, the same link can have multiple effects depending on when you click them. Because the links can scroll out of view, there is a handy top bar listing all active links. This gives an experience somewhere between Twine and Robin Johnson's Versificator engine (which the author praises in an early dev blog).

There was one critical issue that cause me trouble. Due to the large font size, I usually had to rely on the bar, and the bar wasn't always there. I had to tap the up arrow to make it appear. This was the case in both Chrome and Firefox. I know this is just an option in the engine, as the other sample games use a constant menu bar.

Everything else about the engine was smooth and enjoyable. I could see this engine gaining wider adoption.

As for the game itself, it is a metaphorical game about the pursuit of light and darkness. It's short, contemplative, and even melodic at times. I had difficulty making an emotional connection, though, which may be related to my interface frustration.