|
Have you played this game?You can rate this game, record that you've played it, or put it on your wish list after you log in. |
Playlists and Wishlists |
RSS Feeds![]() ![]() ![]() |
About the StoryThe smallest choices have drastic consequences in this short story. Follow the girl as she tries to assert independence in a society that tries to cut her down.Game Details |
Awards
14th Place - 19th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition (2013)
Tags
Member Reviews
| Average Rating: ![]() Number of Reviews: 4 Write a review |
Most Helpful Member Reviews
1 of
1 people found the following review helpful:

by JonathanS223 (Pennsylvania)
I found the story well written and the writers know how to use their words to paint a picture. This is not my usual style of game, but I wanted to give it a shot. The pros of the game was it's quality, it's possible choices, and the way it flowed. The only issue I really had with it was that I felt lead along and forced to choose a path. I am fully aware it is the style of game, but it's just not my type. Good job and keep up the good work. Maybe try something that doesn't require preset answers?
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No | Add a comment

(This is an edited version of a review I originally wrote for my 2013 IFComp blog.)
The lyrically titled Autumn's Daughter is an Undum hyperlink story taking the form of a series of social encounters in the life of a young Pakistani woman named Areesha, played by yourself. Though you apparently hail from an okay-to-do family, various threats to your future independence and happiness are looming quickly, and their sources are not always obvious.
This game seeks to educate about the difficulties faced by women in Pakistan by engaging the player in a story with outward touches of romance and intrigue. This is a good strategy, given that some of the obvious alternative ones – like involving the player in a story which is grim and didactic – might just turn players off or bore them. Thus Autumn's opening scene seeks to get folks onboard immediately and build up the heroine's happiness. When you greet your visiting friend Samina, the tone heads towards conspicuously exuberant soap opera with lots of squeals and exclamation marks. The writing is broad in its exposition and a bit ripe, but the situation is inviting. The challenge for the game, then, is to be able to convincingly take the drama to the bleaker places it wants to go in a short span of time, and I don't think the challenge is fully met.
The overall design of mostly binary choices, all tied to single pieces of dialogue or action, is pretty good, especially in retrospect; the dynamic between that first happy scene and any of the endings tends to be a smooth but swift slope. But I think the game as a whole is lacking the kind of subtlety which could better convey its message. The characters have the specificity of types (earnest heroine, complicit girlfriend, potential shining knight boyfriend) but don't have the specificity which would illuminate them as individuals. And specificity is really needed to imbue obvious binary choice pairs, like whether to gush at the handsome lad or forget how to speak in his presence, with much meaning. This becomes a bigger problem in the sticky ends of the game when some extreme choices are presented. So while I don't doubt that most of the situations here can and have happened to people, I found the portrayal of them too broad to feel them deeply.
Autumn's Daughter exhibits some good design for its aims over its relatively short playtime, but it is shooting for a lot and would have benefited from stronger characterisation, from which would grow some less generic feeling choices, or at least less generic iterations of them.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No | Add a comment

by MathBrush
This game uses a setting not commonly explored: Pakistan, with a young girl protagonist. This game uses a branch and bottleneck structure, and is fairly short., with a dozen or so choices on average.
I found the explora5ion of unfamiliar culture and issues fascinating. The game played smoothly, and the writing was descriptive.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No | Add a comment
See All 4 Member Reviews
If you enjoyed Autumn's Daughter...
Related Games
People who like Autumn's Daughter also gave high ratings to these games:The Relief of Impact, by Ghoulnoise Average member rating: ![]() A game about sleep paralysis. Things to Note -this game contains descriptions of violence, use caution. -this game contains flashing images and patterns, please be careful if you are sensitive to this. -much of the game is based on the... |
Everything We Do Is Games, by Doug Orleans Average member rating: ![]() A null game, inspired by John Cage's 4′33″. |
The Beetmonger's Journal, by Scott Starkey Average member rating: ![]() "Victor Lapot and I were miles from base camp on the south continent, once again hacking through previously unsurveyed lands and searching for forgotten cultures. The expedition reminded me of our grand adventures of old, that is, if I... |
This is version 3 of this page, edited by <blank> on 31 May 2015 at 5:34pm. - View Update History - Edit This Page - Add a News Item