Violet

by Jeremy Freese profile

Romance, Slice of life, Collegiate
2008

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Number of Reviews: 36
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12 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
Annoying, December 12, 2008
by lobespear
Related reviews: IF Comp 2008

Hey look, I've got a super-hot, rich, clever, jet-setting Australian girlfriend! She's so cool I even think in her voice! And she loves to play charming tricks on me, like (Spoiler - click to show)writing me a letter to tell me I'm dumped... but it's just a "joke"! Hahaha! Sure you do, Mr Freese, sure you do. You don't live in your mother's basement, alone, programming videogames in your spare time, not at all! ;)

To be fair, this isn't the only game in this comp that suffers from the "imaginary super-girlfriend" problem: RIVERSIDE did too, but it managed to redeem itself by turning out to be a giant rib on exactly *that* type of game. VIOLET is just *that* type of game. Meaning a constant smug, condescending, "aren't-I-amusing" tone, lamebrained "whimsical" humour (it's zombie day! ZOMG how hilarious), and a ridiculous over-extended Babelfish-style puzzle (trying to block distractions while writing an essay) where you are constantly one step away from the solution. Freese's very solid implementation is let down by the awful writing and characterization. Less whimsy next time round please!

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AmberShards, July 25, 2009 - Reply
A game does not necessarily reflect the author's real-life experiences or desires -- only what he or she can imagine. If I write novels about murderers, am I then murderering in my spare time? Of course not. Also, the writing is not awful, as in poorly done. It is actually excellent, free of typos and mechanics problems.

I do agree that the tone is grating and barely salvaged by the NPC's Australian cuteness, but Violet is nowhere near as obnoxious or preachy as Galetea. Emily Short has the market cornered on harpies.
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