Reviews by MathBrush
IF Comp 2015
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A short, simple heartwarming choice game about a cat, February 3, 2016Forever Meow is an IFComp 2015 game. It has an interesting mechanism where you advance the game by clicking a key on the computer or clicking a link, and go back by clicking a permanent button.
The story has plot twists, but the way it starts out is that you're just a cat doing cat things. Throughout the game, you can bat stuff around, meow, hiss, jump on furniture.
This game was a bit simpler than a lot of the other IFComp games, but it made me feel good. I've seen a few people rate it as one of their favorites in the comp, and I can see why.
Recommended for people who like cats (so, quite a few people).
A short, simple puzzle game about pirates and treasure with two main goals, February 3, 2016This is an IFComp 2015 game, and was written to be a clear and simple example for middle school students to learn about writing games. In this game, you wash up on an island after a pirate attack, and need to find treasure on your own, without the guide of your professor.
You have frequent humorous memories about your time with the professor, providing much of the humor of the game.
You have two main goals in the game:(Spoiler - click to show)find the treasure, and get off the island. Both goals are fairly simple; if you get stuck, what to do next is fairly well-clued, although I did forget to examine the scenery at one point, getting stuck for a while.
Hopefully, the author will release the source code at some point, as it was specifically meant to help people learn to write in Inform.
Mid-length Twine game about identity and fate, February 3, 2016Unbeknown is one of those games that is hard to discuss without spoiling it. It is mostly a sci-fi game, mid-length, with two significant endings. It was created for IFComp 2015.
Alan De Niro has produced some incredible writing before, with Solarium and Deadline Enchanter being my favorites. So I entered into this game with high hopes.
However, it draws most of its imagery and setting from a place that I don't really identify with:(Spoiler - click to show)an MMORPG, a genre I tried one summer, but didn't really get into. This impacts my experience, but will probably enhance the game for those with more familiarity with that area.
The game offered a couple of choices that were especially interesting, and which were the highlights of the game to me: (Spoiler - click to show)the choice of name was especially significant to me; I chose the love interest's name once, and I let Able name me once, too. The other big choice is whether the past keeps up with you or not.
Overall, something didn't click for me, keeping this game from being perfect. But it is a good game, and I still recommend it to everyone.
A Twine game with many endings and hidden content/meaning, February 3, 2016This is an IFComp 2015 game. Many people seem to have played this for a couple of minutes, grinded a few enemies or beaten the boss, and quit, giving it a bad review. The game is so much more than that.
It is a retro-style RPG game, in the vein of old DnD adventures. It's stated purpose is to be a game about killing monsters. But as you go about the dungeon, things change. The rest is in spoilers:
(Spoiler - click to show)You begin to learn more about the monsters in the dungeon and their pasts. You can befriend many of them; you can heal them; the game in the ultimate ending proclaims that it is about love.
I recommend this game to everyone; but if you play it, play it for a while to see what lies beneath.
A visually and verbally dense/rich CYOA game about a lost city and melancholy, February 3, 2016To Burn in Memory is an IFComp 2015 game. It has a visual style very different from other CYOA games such as Twine. It is all black with intricate white tracings underneath the text, and a series of icons on either side of the screen indicates what objects you pick up.
The writing style matches the visual richness. The opening line is a good example:‘Breathtaking isn't it?’ says Salandré, gesturing out over the vista, ‘Here is the city as I saw it — empty, painted in rust and gold, below tormented skies writhing in cruel fire.’ she continues, in a tone somewhere between opera and pantomime. ...
The gameplay consists of exploring an abandoned city, activating stored memories, and gathering keys to open different doors.
The game has a strong sense of melancholy. Because of its stylistic innovations, everyone should try out the first part of the game, until you've gathered a few items. Those who want to can then continue.
A mid-length dream/surreal game set in a lab and a city, February 3, 2016This IFComp 2015 Inform game has many parallels with Losing Your Grip; it includes someone taking an experimental medication that causes hallucinations/dreams; it includes a recurring grim authority figure; it includes boxes with hard-to-open packing tape; and it has several moments when you wake up.
Beyond that, they're pretty different. This game is open and non-linear, with many different avenues you can pursue at once. I played it first with a walkthrough, and then tried it again without a walkthrough two weeks later. I got stuck again at the very end, and had to check the walkthrough. There are two points in the game that are fairly underclued, including the main interesting mechanic.
The map consits of a small house and a rectangular grid-like city, with a path connecting them. The city is small, with one building or less per grid spot and each building having one or two rooms each with one or two items.
Overall, this is a game that is good but could use some tune-up on cluing and on some guess-the-verbs (for instance, you can CONSULT BOOKS ABOUT but you can't LOOK UP). A postcomp release would be great.
A short Twine game about working for an alien author; many endings, February 3, 2016This is an IFComp 2015 game. You get hired to type for a disabled alien in a future where aliens are common.
The game has a short series of moral choices, some of which you can backtrack on, and few of which are clearcut. Although this was not clear to me at first, I later realized that the different endings are, in fact, very different, sometimes in ways not clearly connected to the choices you make.
Overall, it's not a very long game, and it has some interesting replay content. Recommended to those who find the blurb interesting, as I did.
A two-puzzle game with plenty of Easter eggs and hidden things, February 3, 2016This short IFcomp 2015 game is, I think, the author's first game, though they are planning on future games. You play a king who has to face the day and his people, and needs to find his King and crown.
This game is notable in that the hidden content massively outnumbers the actual puzzles. The game can be beaten in less than 10 turns. However, the ending is very different, depending on your actions. There are magic words, background stories to find in the scenery, and a hidden part of a novel, as well as a ton of customized error messages and such.
Overall, I would like to see the author make a longer game with similar attention to detail. It would be difficult, but having that much hidden stuff, coupled with more puzzles and a longer plot arc, would make for a great and memorable game.
A game about puns, society, oppression, and charismatic leaders, February 3, 2016This IfComp 2015 game is mid-length, and is full of reversed compound nouns (so, for instance, you are Alec Smart, seeking out the Complex Messiah).
The big inspiration here is the Phantom Tollbooth. As in that book, the clever jokes are the focus, with story being out to the sidelines. Also like the book, you wander about the world, undertaking different quests and talking to interesting characters.
Much of the game is social commentary, specifically on 'smart people'; those who are socially awkward, those who are pretentious, those who are idolized, etc.
I beta tested this game, and it was interesting to see how much work the author put into revisions; many things in the game are vastly different from before, fortunately, the author allows you to tour sections of the game that were removed, which is a very nice bonus.
Recommended for fans of the Phantom Tollbooth, or those interested in games that comment on real-life issues.
A rapidly branching Twine game with very very different endings, February 3, 2016Crossroads is an IFComp 2015 Twine game about choices and a witch. Unlike most IF games which have paths that temporarily branch then converge, Crossroads branches and stays branched. Some paths visit your past, some involve only mild fantasy, some involve sci fi, some let you type material in, etc.
All of the branches have the common theme of desperation. Well, I think they all do; I doubt anyone besides the author has found all of the branches.
Each branch is fairly short. This game becomes better and better the more you play it.
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