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Also included in the collection Eczema Angel Orifice.
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Spring Thing 2015 version, at the IF Archive.
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Ruiness

by Porpentine Charity Heartscape profile

2015

(based on 15 ratings)
3 reviews

Game Details


Awards

Entrant, Main Festival - Spring Thing 2015

Editorial Reviews

Emily Short's Interactive Storytelling

Through both mechanics (the replacement of one protagonist with another and another) and content (the endgame), the story suggests that the experience of individuals is relatively unimportant, that their culture and history is being shaped by supervising forces far beyond their comprehension. I found this simultaneously bleak and comforting: bleak because it was hard to enter into any one character’s life in any depth, comforting because the supervisory force seemed to at least desire positive outcomes such as a reduction in war.
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Member Reviews

5 star:
(2)
4 star:
(4)
3 star:
(8)
2 star:
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(1)
Average Rating:
Number of Reviews: 3
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Travels in a dystopian wilderness, April 30, 2016
by verityvirtue (London)
Related reviews: Spring Thing 2015, melancholic

Time to completion: 30-40 minutes

You are a traveller - whether you be scavenger or dustrunner - and, on your steed, you traverse the hostile lands.

Ruiness is set in what I term 'dystopian wilderness': not quite post-apocalyptic, but barren, harsh, downright caustic environments. The prose is purple and abstract; the story typically abstruse. The florid prose thrums with purpose, though: each place has a distinct climate and role, and the different races or roles you can assume remain thematically consistent.

This game has all the hallmarks of a Porpentine game, but what I found the most interesting was the map/travel system. You travel by typing in your destination in a text field. Whilst in new locations, you discover new names, and the cities you have discovered are mapped out on a chart you carry. This allows for Easter eggs, for openness, for a sense of discovery.

Ruiness is a mid-length confection of a game which affords slightly different perspectives with different characters. The travel system is definitely worth having a look at.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
A post-apocalyptic world of bizarre fantasy and many PCs, May 16, 2016
by MathBrush
Related reviews: about 1 hour

In this game by Porpentine, an author known for creating bio-mechanical worlds that are almost hallucinatory. This game is a great example of her world building power.

You play in a dust-covered world of raiders and scavengers. You can create yourself, but also destroy yourself, and both are necessary.

This game is unusual for Twine in that you have to enter city names in text when traveling. This gives more of a riddle aspect to the game. However, you have a map storing names you've met. There are less than 10 total cities.

The game ends in a sort of transformation that is best experience rather than described. Overall, it has a feeling of exploration and of 'just living'. One of the least disgusting porpentine games, and one of my favorites of hers.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
., September 14, 2016

Ruiness is a cosmic fantastical journey. You get to choose your character and explore different routes of a world that I sort of interpreted as desert like but also with really shiny temples and cities. The game kind of reminded me of all of my fave JRPGs, I can think of Phantasy Star and even the latest Xenoblade game.

There's also sort of an existential theme to it, at least this is how I interpret it from the ending I've gotten. Despite all the suffering you go through, in the end, hopefully, you will reach serenity.

She also makes this ingenious text map for you to travel to other places. The game overall has a very ambient feel to it despite some bleak existential feels.

It's freaking Porpentine just play it.

Pros: A RPG journey with nice graphics and innovative use of Twine.
Cons: I think one time I played this game and ran into a bug but that was a long time ago so I don't know if it's there anymore.

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Ruiness on IFDB

Polls

The following polls include votes for Ruiness:

The game(s) that changed your mind about Twine by MathBrush
I've seen many people discuss their feelings for Twine. Many of them say that they didn't think it was a 'real' platform at first, but then certain games changed them (see, for instance, the commentary in "IF is Dead. Long Live IF") For...

Less-linear Twine Games by Nathaniel
Twine (or other hypertext) games where your decisions make a significant difference, and the story changes significantly based on them (not just resulting in your death).

Your Favorite/Best Twine Games by thecanvasrose
1. Please leave a description with your vote and tell me what the game is/why you like it/etc. 2. Free to play games preferred. 3. I'm interested to see what's new or less well known.

See all polls with votes for this game




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