Aisle

by Sam Barlow profile

Slice of life
1999

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Number of Reviews: 24
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Curiously Enchanting, May 24, 2013
by octofuzz (Trondheim, Norway)

I am in the middle of a 'home exam' and fancied half an hour of IF.

I found this title on a 'One Room' poll on the site and thought "why not?"

The game is not winnable, unless you really decide to 'call it a day' on the ending that you feel your character deserves. I probably tried out ten or so endings before I felt I had seen enough, but I am sure that curiosity alone will bring me back to it later today.

It really makes you feel the significance of how one action can change the moment, the day, or even your life.

Less a game. more a social experiment in IF.

It is shame in some respects that there is no end goal, but I suppose that take away its charm.

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2 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
Ricemans view, October 23, 2011
by Riceman
Related reviews: Aisle

When I saw this game many of the reviews made it out to be amazing though you only give one command.So I played it and I absolutely hated it.

The game consist of doing one thing in an aisle (Spoiler - click to show) mainly to impress the woman next to you but The game last about 3 min. beacause there are only a handful of actions and there is no way of winning. (Spoiler - click to show) unless you consider getting a hug winning.

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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
A Neat Little Game, September 3, 2011

This is a fun game that'll definitely be worth your time. You make one action. The story ends. And then you start again. Although I was a bit apprehensive when I heard about the premise, this was actually quite an entertaining game. Through different actions you slowly get a view of your past and your present. The author seems to have accommodated for almost anything you'd want to do. Like Plotkin's The Space Under the Window, you begin with very little information but learn more and build off of that knowledge.

Although a relatively simple game, it's employed beautifully.

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1 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
A Novel Approach, June 5, 2011

The only one-turn game i've seen so far and the approach is very novel! I love how every single action unravels part of the story and lets you learn just a bit more about the main character and the woman.

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4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
We'll always have Rome..., November 10, 2010
by The Year Is Yesterday (California)

Gnocchi. A brunette (Clare?). Violence, remorse, longing. Or maybe plain old penne. The beauty of this game isn't in the story it tells. The beauty is in the story that exists between the lines. What happened in Rome, and why does it stir up such emotions? You have only an aisle, some pasta, a woman and a trolley, and one turn in which to do something. But, as the impressive breadth of unique responses indicates, there's an awful lot you can do in a single moment. Play with it for at least ten minutes before writing it off as a novelty.

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4 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
Wonderful Interactive. , November 2, 2010
by tggdan3 (Michigan)

So now I understand what the big deal was with phone booth and aisle.

This is a one-turn game. You are inserted in one moment in a man in the supermarket. You decide his next move.

The writing has a more serious tone, and it explores how small choices can have a big consequence. Each action leads to a new ending. What's cute here also is that each choice then takes you back to the beginning to try another choice, instead of that RESTORE, RESTART, UNDO option.

Most actions are accepted. I wouldn't call it a joke game, it seriously lets you choose your ONE action and gives you legitimate responses. This really inspires me to try to create a similar game, as I'm sure it has for others.

The beginning really draws you in- you are playing only part of this man's story, and with each action, you are invited to try ANOTHER story (the same story, with a new option). Definately worth a try. It's very short, but if only all IF could be this interactive, but on a bigger scale, what a wonderful genre it could be.

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2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
The definition of replayability, July 26, 2009
by Dark-Star (Nebraska)

An island of quality in a desert of its genre's mediocrity, this intriguing little game arouses one's curiosity in a unique manner - by giving the player but a single turn in which to act. While such a thing might seem shallow at first glance, the author has managed to weave enough detail into the myriad endings that you will soon find yourself trying all manner of actions just to see what the outcome might be.

Extensive replayability value aside, the very limited game length makes it quite simply impossible to provide much of an 'adventure' in and of itself. Regardless, Aisle is a very pleasant diversion and a successful experiment.

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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Great / not so great / moving, August 22, 2008
by Maze (Rome, Italy)
Related reviews: one move

Gotta give it a try, absolutely. It will take you just a few seconds. And then maybe some more seconds. And then more...
The simple idea of this game is quite intriguing and fascinating. And very creative. The outcome instead...
...well, initially i thought: "Wow, this is great. I didn't think it might be this interesting. Some ending - if ending is the right word - has great writing."
...after some time: "Mhmmm, the writing is not that good after all. It's somehow too rhetoric and over-sentimental and simplistic. And i don't like the protagonist."
...then i "did" something and: i was touched. Touched like in "moved". Moved like in "i got shivers". And suddenly I loved the writing again.

You have only one turn in Aisle. And you have no goal. For once, YOU are the goal. And whatever this game might be, it fully reaches it's ambitious goal.

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4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Good for newcomers, July 31, 2008
by Tetsuo (Taipei, Taiwan)

Having only just returned to IF after a brief and fruitless attempt at Zork a couple of years ago, Aisle is an excellent welcome. It's not as involved as many other games, but the writing and concept are great, and for a beginner like me it's an excellent counterpoint to the misperception that IF is all about "take sword" and "kill orc". The range of possible actions is also quite a surprise, and kudos to the author for that.

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28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
Romantic Isolation, July 30, 2008
by Jimmy Maher (Oslo, Norway)

Most discussion of this work begins and ends with its central gimmick: that it plays out over a single turn, in which you are allowed to choose just one action that will determine how this little vignette concludes. For me, though, that's not the most important thing.

If Aisle was just an exercise in trying random actions to see what results, it might be fun and intriguing, but hardly heartbreaking. And make no mistake: for me, Aisle is heartbreaking, oozing the same sort of neon-drenched romantic loneliness as a Wong Kar Wai film. You'll find some of the finest writing in IF here:

>x trolley
(your trolley)
The trolley is a small cage of steel with bent rubber wheels. Full of your shopping: meals for one, drinks for one (well, drinks for several, but hey, who's counting?).

Gnocchi for one wouldn't really work. You settle for spaghetti and continue on to the next aisle.


As you play again and again, the backstory -- or rather, several possible backstories, but each drenched in the same melancholic longing -- gradually reveal themselves. One or two endings even hold out the promise of an end to the PC's isolation...

Truly, a great piece of work.

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