Very much enjoyed the turns this story took. The writing is excellent, and the graphics were just enough to add to the game without taking anything away from the descriptions. It was fairly concise (linear has never been a pejorative to me), which I appreciated.
With regards to the puzzles: for the most part, they were a good balance between easy and hard. There were a few that did not seem to follow naturally (the end of your first visit to Beverly's house, waiting in the hospital) so I had to consult the walkthrough. But generally speaking I did not feel "stuck" often, and I was very pleased to have a thorough walkthrough for when I did. I know that this comes down to personal taste more than anything - some people really like that part of parser games!
There were also nice details throughout (typing "drown" at the whirlpool, for instance) that showed a level of care and attention. The world was well fleshed out, and I felt like I had a good mental map of things.
I ended up collecting endings 2 and 5.
I quite enjoyed the story and writing. Well done. Very happy this was my first game to play for ParserComp!
There's a lot to like here. The story is fascinating (completely understandable? not necessary, but confusing in the right ways). My only objection would be that it felt very linear: not a lot of room to explore freely, but rather "go here; then go there; then go back to here...", and sometimes it wasn't clear where to go because a timed event had to trigger. But this is a quibble with a game that's otherwise really interesting and fun.
Comments
Very much enjoyed the turns this story took. The writing is excellent, and the graphics were just enough to add to the game without taking anything away from the descriptions. It was fairly concise (linear has never been a pejorative to me), which I appreciated.
With regards to the puzzles: for the most part, they were a good balance between easy and hard. There were a few that did not seem to follow naturally (the end of your first visit to Beverly's house, waiting in the hospital) so I had to consult the walkthrough. But generally speaking I did not feel "stuck" often, and I was very pleased to have a thorough walkthrough for when I did. I know that this comes down to personal taste more than anything - some people really like that part of parser games!
There were also nice details throughout (typing "drown" at the whirlpool, for instance) that showed a level of care and attention. The world was well fleshed out, and I felt like I had a good mental map of things.
I ended up collecting endings 2 and 5.
I quite enjoyed the story and writing. Well done. Very happy this was my first game to play for ParserComp!
Thanks so much for playing and for your comments! :)
There's a lot to like here. The story is fascinating (completely understandable? not necessary, but confusing in the right ways). My only objection would be that it felt very linear: not a lot of room to explore freely, but rather "go here; then go there; then go back to here...", and sometimes it wasn't clear where to go because a timed event had to trigger. But this is a quibble with a game that's otherwise really interesting and fun.
Thanks so much for playing - I'm glad you enjoyed it!