Reviews by MathBrush
IF Comp 2015
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A mid-to-long 90's parser game with great muder story but some bugs, February 3, 2016This game is a murder mystery with a twist. The game is written in third person, with the protagonist being Madame L'Estrange, spiritualist detective.
The focus here is the story, and it's what got the game nominated for a '97 XYZZY Best Story award. You travel to various locations and get big text dumps spinning a marvelous tale of murder, Australian animals, and the occult.
The rest of the game is a bit spotty. There are numerous typos and spotty implementation. Sometimes you talk to people automatically when you see them; you almost always have to 'ask about' something even if you want to tell, except for one spot in the game where you have to 'tell' several things. A lot of guess-the-verb, but you can do most of the game on your own before using the walkthrough (you don't get any points at all until you're about 3/4 of the way through the game). Even the inventory has a typo with a misplaced colon.
Overall, a great game if you're into a good story, which I am.
An allegorical journey exploring the role of 'Nice Guys' in relationships, February 3, 2016In the Friend Zone is an allegory like Gulliver's Travels or Alice in Wonderland, but centered around the plight of the Nice Guys who get stuck in the Friend Zone by women.
Although the love interest and PC can have their gender chosen, it seems to be centered around men; after all, the entire world seems to be (Spoiler - click to show)a woman, where you explore her arm, eye, mouth, anus, and vagina, getting progressively more disturbing.
Gameplay is linear at first, turning into exploration later on. The game directs towards different 'questions', which you hunt through to find. I enjoyed this part of the game, as well as parts of the openings.
The overall theme is something I don't quite identify with, and as a prudish person, there are more sexual references than I would like. The general feel seems to be that women are torturing men by placing them in the Friend Zone, but the subtext is that the men are torturing themselves. Nowhere, though, does it suggest open dialogue or communication as ways of developing relationships.
So I had mixed feelings about it. I loved the execution and writing, and I'd be very happy to see more from this author.
A short homebrew cyoa game with fullscreen illustrations, February 3, 2016This IFComp 2015 entry was made from scratch by the author. It is a rebelling of the story Godfather Death by the Brothers Grimm. In the original story, a father chose one of three godfathers for their child: God, Satan, or Death. He chose Death.
This game lets you choose God or Satan as well. While it is interesting to see how it plays out, each branch is fairly short, and the graphics are somewhat lacking compared to other graphics in the comp.
Fans of fairy tales may like it, though.
A short combinatorial Twine game with tons of options , February 3, 2016This was one of the most-played IFComp 2015 games, most likely due to its intriguing premise (a machine that can do anything!) and its shortness.
What happens is that you pick one of a few different openings that affects the flavor text of the game, and get a semi-random ending. In between is the real meat of the game: a visually beautiful form of sorts where you place different attributes (like quantity or sound) into 2-3 slots and combine them to something new.
Many combinations don't work, but there's a manual that helps. After tinkering around a bit, you should look at the walkthrough and see just how much WAS implemented.
Overall, short but fun for a moment.
A 3-verb minimalist parser game about a fun-filled puzzle cube, February 3, 2016This minimalist parser game feels like it learned a lot from the success of Twine games, and responded by making a stripped-down straightforward puzzle box. I really liked it.
The box has different moving parts you have to interact with (using the single command U for USE or UNDERTAKE TO INTERACT WITH, according to the author). As you do, more and more pieces show up. You are taught how to use some pieces that you have to remember later; other puzzles require leaps of intuition or timing. I finished without hints, which is very unusual for me.
A richly detailed mid-length game set in a seedy part of Tokyo, February 3, 2016Gotomomi was one of the better long games of the 2015 IFComp. The author spent four years making this game.
You play a young woman who is need of cash in a Tokyo train station. A fairly compact map with a few hidden exits allows you to explore carefully and get to no the culture and economy.
The game is all about money. You buy and sell a lot, negotiating everything. Some jobs or ways of making money require several prerequisites. It's important to examine background objects on a regular basis.
The atmosphere is grungy, sad and dangerous. I really enjoyed this game, but it takes more time than a typical IFComp game.
Fun, short Magic:The Gathering-like Twine combat game , February 3, 2016In this game, you and an opponent are tied to opposite poles and required to battle each other. You have around seven abilities or powers, and your opponent has some preset attacks.
You have to figure what order to combine your attacks, as well as when to wait for an advantage. It becomes an optimization puzzle, where you frequently restart. Some have said that they thought it through logically and reduced the number of repeats.
The writing is beautiful and evocative, and reminds me of Magic:The Gathering. Giant collosi, swarms of bugs, whispered madness.
For fans of strategy-based combat.
The middle game of a sci-fi trilogy; a Twine game with images/animations, February 3, 2016Capsule II is an IFComp 2015 game that was well-received by many people. It involves a group of people called the Sandmen who are custodians over a giant ship. Each one spends years alone, and the game deals with their isolation.
The game has some great animations and illustrations in a sort of vintage washed-out/watercolor look (look at the cover art). I think it is just fantastic as in-game art.
The game has some profanity, references to porn, etc., which is a turn-off for me. But all of it fits with the character's personality. Many people have expressed the opinion that they expected the game to not be that great but that it somehow has that essential 'it'-ness that makes a game good. I see people talking about this game for a long time to come.
A game about fate and modern culture, February 3, 2016This is a short Twine IFComp game about fate. A vagabond is passing through a wood, making a variety of moral choices and inconsequential choices. They meet a strange figure with an air of mystery.
The game has more to it than it looks at first. I enjoyed trying various options to see how the game turned out in the end.
A nice part of the game is the visuals. The game has a beautiful set of images later in the game that are worth checking out.
I recommend this game to those who are interested in discussions of fate and morality.
A grungy look at superhero origins in Undum, February 3, 2016Cape is, in my opinion, one of the best web-based interactive fiction games of all time. It is an engrossing story about a young petty criminal who has 'greatness thrust upon them' as a result of their crimes.
The most influential choice you make in this long Undum game is the choice of your super powers. I've heard some people say that the powers end up seeming the same, but I felt that all three big options were very different from each other. I think what people are talking about is a fact that the actual story is the same; just the details of it change from choice to choice.
Your superhero comes to grips with their powers and their crime-fighting. They are simultaneously uncomfortable and thrilled by their powers. There is an interesting mystery leading to a thrilling climactic confrontation.
The feel is grungy, dark; I lived in Manhattan for a while, and this really reminds me of the feel of the Lower East Side at night. I just loved this game. Loved it loved it loved it. (Note: whenever someone hypes up a game to me, I am always disappointed in it, so you might not like it as much as I did. I just happen to really like grungy superhero stories).
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