intfiction.org

Thanks for setting this board up. While I enjoyed reading reviews of the games during the comp last year when I was a competitor, the two places I didn't much care for seeing them was at rec.arts and rec.games int-fiction. They were just too hard to avoid, there. This board, though, I felt was better, with reviews segregated from the rest of the boards and out of the way.

So, I thought I'd post some thoughts here as I play. Comments are welcome of course.

GAMES MENTIONED SO FAR IN THIS THREAD

Berrost's Challenge
Dracula's Underground Crypt
The Absolute Worst IF Game in History
Escape from the Underworld
April in Paris
Riverside (page 2)
A Martian Odyssey
Red Moon
Violet
The Lucubrator
Buried in Shoes
Lighthouse (page 3)
Grief



First thoughts: Only one TADS 2 game? Oh, its breaking my heart. Not just because I love TADS 2, but because it suggests I may never see the day when someone writes a proper HTML-TADS interpreter for Mac OS X.

So, Mark Hatfield, here's to you. Thanks for representing.

And as it happens, I found Mark's TADS 2 work Berrost's Challenge an enjoyable diversion. I liked the strong and consistent authorial voice, and from a technical perspective the game deals with a wide variety of difficult substances like grease, sludge, grains, and water, without trouble -- certainly they behaved in the expected manner, and did what I wanted them to, without much stress on the parser. Implementing body parts usually always ends in tears, too, but in my casual play session never stumbled onto any errors or weird responses about my thumb, which plays such an integral part in the game.

The story is light, breezy fantasy. In many respects the game reminded me of YAGWAD, from a previous comp, which I also enjoyed for many of the same reasons.

I played right up to the two hour mark, but if anything I think the game is too short. Your job is to collect scrolls, and "graduate" from your wizard studies. When the mission is accomplished at the end, Berrost This struck me as just right, but then we don't get to play that part, instead, "that is another story."

One of the concepts I really like in Berrost's Challenge is that there are always two ways to solve a puzzle: one with magic, and one without. The downside of this though is that the way this difference is framed makes it not very fun: if you solve the puzzle using magic, you don't earn as many points. So what we are left with is a magic-based game that doesn't want you to use any magic. I would have enjoyed it more if I was encouraged to use magic the first time around then perhaps given an "expert mode", in which you could try to play again without the use of magic. In the event, I collected scrolls, but never used them, which is a crime when there could have been some spellcasting going on (and the Enchanter series was always my favorite).

Best Puzzle: .

So, only one TADS 2 game, but it is well implemented, nicely written, and entertaining, and hints at larger ambitions.

-- Peter
http://www.illuminatedlantern.com/if/

Dracula's Underground Crypt by Alex Whitington and The Absolute Worst IF Game in History by Dean Menezes

I thought the title of Dracula's Underground Crypt was redundant -- but after a moment I started to like it because it made me think of other places Dracula's Crypt might be, places odd enough that you might really need to specify: "Dracula's Suburban Crypt", or "Dracula's Rib Shack Crypt". Maybe a comedy. And sure enough, it is, though the author's disclaimer at the beginning of the game was sufficient to discourage me from playing it. Essentially Alex lets the prospective player know that, though his life was previously dull enough to allow time to dabble in IF, he is too busy now to finish it or beta test it, and he leaves it to others like myself who presumably have nothing better to do in our lives than play untested, practically-disowned games. In this, Alex is mistaken.

Likewise, Dean Menezes gives us fair warning for his game, by the title alone, The Absolute Worst IF Game in History.

As authors, we sometimes are the worst judges of our own work. Sometimes we think it is better than Jesus, when really we've not yet even caused Shem to break a sweat. Other times, we think it is probably rubbish, but we might just be depressed because of factors outside of the game itself, parts that might have had to come out, parts that as it turns out players won't notice or even care existed.

I guess what I'm saying is, your game may or may not be awful, but why not let your players decide? If you don't have confidence in your work, why should anyone else? Your games might be good, they might not be, but because of your approach, I doubt many people will bother to find out.

-- Peter

I actually played through Dracula's Underground Crypt; on the whole I enjoyed it, but it did give me undue heartache (you know, had things like overcomplicated room descriptions, important items missing from the room description, bugs involving an npc, serious guess-the-verb issues). The author gave out his email address in the game and said people should tell him about bugs there; perhaps I'll take him up on his offer.

Although it seems to me that this entry was created with the direct intention of being awful, rather than being named for the author's lack of confidence.

I wonder how TAWIFGIH compares to some of the Clueless Bob Newbie stuff.

Good to hear it was enjoyable. I'm always up for a Dracula story myself, so although he's lost me in terms of the comp version, I'd be more than happy to try out a post-comp bug fix version.

Escape from the Underworld by Karl Beecher

Hell is a bureaucracy. Sure its an overdone idea, but that doesn't mean that wandering around in it and playing in it isn't fun. I kept thinking Terry Pratchett, but not sure if that's right. I also kept thinking of the British TV show The Mighty Boosh, particularly the classic episode in which Howard dies and is sent to Monkey Hell by accident. It's hilarious, but maybe the Boosh is an acquired taste.

In any case, Escape is strong in terms of story and writing. All the inspirational posters in Hell were a joy to read, and I loved the call center (Because of course, there is a call center in Hell). Other times, though, I felt a certain dissonance between the levity of the game and the subject, probably due to the fact that you play a low-level torturer, and current US government policy to approve and sanction torture. On the whole, though, it is clearly not meant to be taken seriously, and enjoyable in that spirit.

Where the game struggles is in the implementation. The problem is the solutions to various puzzles were implemented, but nothing around the solutions was, so unless you know exactly what to type or do, it is impossible to solve.

Here's an example of what I mean:


The above is just an example; the trouble is, it is the rule, not the exception, and every single puzzle is problematic in the same way. There are a lot of standard responses that should have been modified, too, such as the standard "Violence isn't the answer to this one" type message whenever you attack someone.

I enjoyed the writing, the story, the environment, as far as I got. The game just isn't finished yet. The entire game needs another pass or two by the author to fill in all the implementation gaps, then it needs to go out to an enthusiastic beta tester or two to tighten it further. Right now, it feels like the outline for a really fun game, rather than the game itself.

Best Puzzle:

It seemed like there might be a bug that prevents you from finishing, at least, I couldn't

-- Peter

I had the same problem and couldn't finish even following the walkthru. I got the vague impression in a few places that tasks had to be accomplished in a particular order to trigger certain things necessary to advance the action. Having said that, I enjoyed the game. Quite funny and original in parts. I liked the "hot" receptionist. And I wasn't too peeved at not being able to finish, looking at the final puzzle I am pretty sure I wouldn't have figured it out even if I were confined to Hades for eternity.

Hello, just popping in to say I'm posting my thoughts/notes/rants while playing this years' games on my blog, at http://minimumsafedistance.org, and my girlfriend Jenni is doing the same at http://mybloglovesme.tumblr.com. Cheers!

Warning: SPOILERS

April in Paris by Jim Aikin

Looking for a game that I could assume to be solidly implemented, I went for Jim's latest game April in Paris next. I betatested one of his previous games, LAST RESORT, until I thought it was perfect, perhaps not coincidentally, Jim decided not long after to scrap the game entirely and re-write it as LYDIA'S HEART. Well, I quite liked it the way it was, but what the heck.

In any case: April in Paris. Clearly thoroughly tested. Lots of difficult exchanges handled effectively with natural vocabulary. So for example,


April in Paris takes place in a Parisian cafe, in which you are trying to get the attention of the waiter, which must be accomplished through a series of conversations and fetch tasks. The cafe is implemented in a neat way, its sort of one big room, and all the people in it are visible and can be talked to, but it is also divided up into multiple areas that must be traveled to. It all looks like it is taking advantage of one of those new features of TADS 3 I read about. It is an interesting effect, though still I don't know if it is really an improvement over implementing the cafe as multiple discreet rooms. Certainly it was disorienting at first, and took some time to get used to. Interacting with a person who is not in your sub-area causes you to move to the person's sub area, which is confusing until you notice it happening. And early in the game I tried to kiss the girl you meet and found myself standing outside the restaurant on the sidewalk with no way back in (until I understood the mechanic and tried the same with the waiter, thus moving me back into the restaurant). Bugs like this are the type of thing that survive a beta test and in no way detract from the game.

April in Paris is well crafted. Once again, it is clear that Jim has put care and attentiveness into both the writing and the implementation. There is only one thing I don't like about the game, and that is the subject matter. Really, waiting at a cafe while a waiter ignores you happens in real life, and is no fun in real life, so why would I want to play the situation? This game is most successful when it distracts me from the central premise, and least when I am reminded once again of what I'm supposed to be doing. Me, I would have left the cafe ages ago. There are plenty of wonderful restaurants in Paris, and its not worth wasting time in one that isn't. Unless it was a front for a secret, ancient American death cult. Hmmm....yes, LYDIA IN PARIS, I see it now...

Best puzzle: