[Comp 01] Doe's Reviews/Critiques (3/4)
Marnie Parker
In this post are: Fine Tuned through Journey from Islet.
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Fine Tuned - 5 *
This was so promising it was a shame it was also so buggy. It had wry humor
combined with a unusually winning concept -- driving a brand new model T car
in the 1900's -- but, unfortunately, there was simply no way I could win.
Quibbles: I feel the author just needs more programming experience to write
a bang-up game. Most of the problems seemed to stem from not tracking
changing object states (i.e. flags). For instance, I stalled and could not
move forward when a NPC keep insisting that I had to deal with the mail
first. Only the mail cart had already come and gone. This means the author
expected the game to be played in a particular order. But authors can
*never* count on players playing in *any* set sequence. Betatesting
would/should have revealed the problem.
Praise: The delight of this game is the game characters' world view. What
to us is old technology, is to them brand spanking new and exciting
technology. So although I didn't get far, this gets points for a pleasingly
original concept.
Not Finished: Due to bugs.
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Fusillade - 7 *
This was well-written with interesting characters and short scenes, that
however, were just long enough. But... the connecting theme was very
confusing. I felt I came across quite a few games this year where the
overall concept was never fully realized, because the author had not
clarified it -- had not clarified it first in THEIR OWN THOUGHTS, before
presenting it. So if it wasn't clear to them, how could it be clear to me?
(see All Roads) Nevertheless, this had lots of interesting history, sci-fi,
etc., so it kept me intrigued beginning-to-end.
Quibbles: If the author would just concentrate more on one idea next time, I
think he/she could create a great game. Because the indecision about where
to focus, while sort of intellectually cute, also ended up muddling the
existing parts. And that waffling also transferred itself to me -- first I
thought the theme was one thing (re time), then another (re notes). I was
never sure.
Praise: The prose was good, with a lot of feeling, successfully connecting
the player to each fleeting PC. And as big fan of Philip Jose Farmer's
Riverworld series, which begins with "To Your Scattered Bodies Go," I got a
kick out of playing Burton in Mecca. (Another Quibble: Probably I also
would have been more satisfied if the author had focused on just on one
character as well -- like him. Hey, there's great game potential there. :-))
Finished.
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Gostak - 5 *
This may be very clever, but I simply didn't have the patience to finish it.
I played for about fifteen minutes, figuring out a few verbs and seeing that
they were consistent. But I doubt the author expected that many to play it
to the end, so I don't feel guilty for quitting early.
Farbles: None, really, other than that at first glance, I wondered if I
needed stronger reading glasses. Or 3-d ones, or something.
Hiasre: I missed the whole raif discussion that sparked this concept,
so I couldn't put its realization into context.
Ott Monstituted: Due to my sincere desire not to hurt my brane.
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Grayscale - 6 *
I enjoyed the game play of this quite a bit -- until the end. With few
words, using minimalist Infocom-style writing, the author created a
satisfactorily hushed and spooky mansion. But, although the bits of poetry
artful dribbled around, added sweetener, and the female NPC, a connecting
gelatin, it didn't jell.
Quibbles: After I finished, the preceding poetry seemed to have had no
purpose. There was also a hidden art gallery which, while interesting, was
not tied to anything. So the poetry and art, which had seemed to promise
layers of deeply profound meaning, in the end, became just unimportant add-
ons to a game quite winnable without them. They needed to have more use to
be more meaningful.
Praise: Some of takeable objects/puzzles were imaginative and unusual.
Finished.
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Heroes - 8 *
I kept debating with myself as I played this, 7?, 8?, 7?, 8?. Not that it
really mattered since I couldn't vote, but I ended up with an eight as much
based on hearsay as gameplay. I was initially very put off by it, since I
found the opening paragraphs quite confusing. They were so clipped they did
not adequately lay the scene for me. Once I finally got past that and past
being hung up on a few puzzles I thought I found a solid game (thought because
I still encountered a few overly difficult puzzles -- see Beetmonger for
solid = high praise). But I only played one role, and once I knew what the
objective of the game was, I felt subsequent roles would be easier. When I
did look at the walkthru, I kicked myself, "I could have/should have figured
that out," because the puzzles did appear to be well-clued. Frankly, this is
not a game that should be played quickly. It is one of those games that
should be played over the course of day or more, like the old Infocom games,
like Beetmonger. So this goes on my iffy back burner, for games I like that
I want to finish when I have more time.
Quibbles: Although some of the puzzles seemed well-cued, some did not. But
I think that was partly due to the fact that this game needs more play time
than most -- for the player to wander around and be adequately clued.
Praise: I like it when I look in a window and the people inside see me
peering in. I like it when the NPCs can see what I am carrying. Realism. So
rare in IF. In a lot of games, the PC could be carting along a wheelbarrow
of inventory objects and the oblivious NPCs will never notice. That alone
can break mimesis.
Finished: Most of one role.
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Isolato Incident - 6 *
Although this is somewhat short and not very well-written game-play-wise, it
has the most unusual and haunting, ergo memorable, imagery in the comp.
That is also what makes it fairly difficult to play, because to figure out
how to solve the puzzles, one has to first figure out what the strange
objects even are. However, this gets above average marks for the imagery,
alone.
Quibbles: This also did not track object states very well. i.e. Many of the
"rooms" had descriptions written for the player's first arrival which
weren't appropriate for subsequent arrivals. Isolato was plagued with such
misdetails, which seriously detracted from game play. But all this author
really needs is more programming experience before he/she can write a truly
memorable game.
Praise: I loved the clacking adders, and the sticky honey history.
Finished.
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Journey From Islet - 5 **
I felt this had a gentle sort of charm, but not much more. The map and
puzzles were adequate, though a few were not well-cued, and game play was
fine. But it was fairly short with little plot or tension -- too little to
twang my interest.
Finished.
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