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Great for newcomers, nothing special for experienced players, July 24, 2009by Juhana So here we have Textfyre's first finished product, the first serious attempt at commercial interactive fiction in a long while. The story is of a street urchin who is destined for greater things in life in a generic non-magical medieval world. This is part 1 of 3 and the story ends in a cliffhanger, so expect to pay for the whole trilogy if you want to see a full story. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
Comments on this reviewPrevious | << 1 >> | Next David Cornelson, March 31, 2015 - Reply Somehow the part of this review about "cross-dressing" missed my radar. I get that there's certainly an audience and positive aspects of writing stories with that kind of openness, and we absolutely could have done that...but honestly we never really even thought about it. We were just thinking about 12 year old kids and a good story. In hindsight, it would have been extraordinary to write the kind of story Juhana is thinking about and probably ground-breaking. Even so, I think it's too much to criticize the game for _not_ opening that path. I know there was another review that complained about similar gender stereotype issues. I think it's problematic to expect something to be what it is not. (Spoiler - click to show)Jack was hiding in plain site with her clothing choices for safety reasons. This was encouraged by the women at the maiden house because young orphan girls can face terrible dangers (something even true today, in the real world). It was not a gender issue in the story and shouldn't have been commented on in any other way. This isn't to suggest girls should be expected to hide their femininity. Circumstances can vary and wisdom should be used at all times. We believe we made Jack very wise (street-smart). Juhana, March 31, 2015 - Reply (Spoiler - click to show)I don't have a problem with Jack's portrayal, or her eventually accepting her female identity. It's the scene where she takes a bath and her male identity is washed away with the all the other crap, literally: "The water is scalding hot and exquisite. You rub the soap into your reddening skin, feeling everything wash clean away. Not just the dirt and the sweat, but everything [..] With all the dirt and grime scrubbed away, you hardly look anything like the urchin you once were. You're not Jack anymore; you are Jacqueline Toresal, daughter of the Duke." The symbolism of washing away the bad things is so strong that it alone makes it look as if the game wholeheartedly disapproves of the protagonists genderbending ways (even if it's unintended). It would have been fine if she had accepted her gender identity either gradually or during some other scene where the symbolism isn't that strong. David Cornelson, April 2, 2015 - Reply (Spoiler - click to show)When Mike wrote that scene, and finding the secret letter and reading it, I had tears. Revelations at that age _are_ big. Thinking you have to hide is a powerful force...and then realizing you don't, for whatever reason, is also powerful. It's clear to me that Secret Letter really was for 8 to 10 year-olds. Not adults. Even 12+ is probably too old given today's huge Teen Drama draw. Ghalev, July 25, 2009 - Reply The line "this is part 1 of 3 and the story ends in a cliffhanger" made this review worthwhile for me, since that's a question Textfyre has been refusing to answer with any clarity on Usenet :( AmberShards, July 25, 2009 - Reply Previous | << 1 >> | NextLooking for a "heteronormality off" command in a game aimed at children, huh? What else needs to be said? |