Droll Toll Troll

by N.C. Hunter Hayden profile

Surreal
2013

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Cute, quick, fluffy game in the form of a poem, October 31, 2013
by streever (America)

The poetry and writing is fun--this is a short, light-hearted game.

I thought this must have an obvious inspiration, but was unable to find one. The opening says it is in the the style of "Ambiguous Adventures", by which I think the author is referring to a children's classic or game series that I never heard of, and not the classic literary work by Cheikh Hamidou Kane.

This is a short, possibly unloseable game, with cute poems, descriptions, and an excess of adjectives. While it isn't going to win the Man Booker, I enjoyed the poems, which seemed heavily influenced by Seuss and other classic kids books.

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E.K., October 31, 2013 - Reply
I don't have enough to say to write my own review, really, so I hope you don't mind me commenting on yours?

The main thing that struck me about this game was that it seemed possibly poorly-researched. The poetry, as you say, is light-hearted, but the fact that the main item you are carrying is called a 'quim' makes this instantly unsuitable for children. I'm not sure if this is intentional on the author's part? It certainly seems ill-fitting with the tone.
streever, November 5, 2013 - Reply
I have to admit I quite missed that--I wonder if it was just a good rhyming word or intentional?
N.C. Hunter Hayden, November 6, 2013 - Reply
Author here -

First of all, I really appreciate your review! I would like to go on record, though, and say that 'quim' is just a nonsense word that popped into my head. After I finished this IF, I thought, 'I wonder if quim really means anything?' Then I looked it up. Then I learned that it did used to mean something, even if no one uses that word anymore. That specific definition to which you refer, though, is completely unintentional.

In fact, if in the IF you type "WHAT IS A QUIM", you get a message saying that a quim is simply a MacGuffin.

Glad you enjoyed it, even if just a little. That was the point.
E.K., November 12, 2013 - Reply
Quim is still in regular use as a slang term in Britain. Its meaning has become slightly less specific, but it is still a coarse word for genitalia.

Anyway, that aside, I thought the game had a lot of potential, the poetry aspect was novel and fun, and I hope you make more in the future.
streever, November 6, 2013 - Reply
Thanks for the definitive answer!

To clarify a little bit: I really liked your game and I enjoyed it quite a bit--I'm a little harsh in my star system, though, and I hope that it doesn't cause any offense.

To me, a 2 point game is quite a good game. It is short, enjoyable, and doesn't say anything deep about the human existence--essentially a fun and well-written short story. It has no obvious flaws or bugs.

3 stars is a game with more mechanical depth. Something that is a little more thought-provoking, at least in game play, and poses more challenges.

4 stars is deep in theme and mechanics. Something incredibly complex, like most of the Emily Short games or a Jon Ingold game.

5 stars is "one of my favorites"--a really timeless and enduring classic.

A 1 point game is hard to play--perhaps it is really painful mechanically with over-wrought and terrible writing--or it isn't even finished.

Hope that helps--I enjoyed and appreciate this game and recommend it!
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