Comp 07 Notes
These are very short notes I made while playing. Not really suitable as reviews for those who haven't played the games (some spoilers), but possibly useful for the authors. The scores are the scores I gave as a judge, with +'s added to indicate some gradation. I've spread my scores out (they are not intended to meet some abstract standard), but have given no 1's or 10's since nothing was completely a waste or perfect. The notes below are in the order I played the games.
Scores
My Mind's Mishmash, by Robert Street - 9
Deadline Enchanter, by Anonymous - 9
Lost Pig, by Grunk - 9
Ferrous Ring, by Carma Ferris - 8+
Varkana, by Farahnaaz - 8+
A Fine Day for Reaping, by revgiblet - 8
The Chinese Room, by Joey Jones and Harry Giles - 7+
Orevore Courier, by Brian Rapp - 7+
An Act of Murder, by Hugh Dunnett - 7
Lord Bellwater's Secret, by Sam Gordon - 7
A Matter of Importance, by Nestor I. McNaugh - 6+
Fox, Fowl and Feed, by Chris Conroy - 6
In The Mind Of The Master, by David Whyld - 6
Slap that Fish, by Peter Nepstad - 5
Wish, by Edward Floren - 5
My Name is Jack Mills, by Juhana Leinonen - 5
Packrat, by Bill Powell - 4
Beneath: a Transformation, by Graham Lowther - 4
Eduard the Seminarist, by Heiko Theißen - 3+
Reconciling Mother, by Plone Glenn - 3
The Immortal, by Just Rob - 2
Press [Escape] to Save, by Mark Jones - 2
Notes
0. Across The Stars, by Dark Star & Peter Mattsson
I beta-tested this, and didn't have time to play the comp version. From the version I played, it's an enjoyable puzzle-centric game, well polished, after the Infocom fashion.
1. Fox, Fowl and Feed, by Chris Conroy
A short bit of a twist on a classic puzzle (don't worry if you've seen this one before -- it's a hip new version). I needed the hints a couple of times; one item use was not clear to me (rot 13: Vg qvqa'g bpphe gb zr gung V pbhyq chg gur sbk va gur whzcfhvg), but otherwise the puzzle was pretty well thought out. A few implementation details could have been cleaner (some unimplemented scenery, tying wasn't always graceful). For a relatively small game, I would have liked to see tighter implementation. Overall a good game, not overwhelming.
2. Press [Escape] to Save, by Mark Jones
Poor writing, typos, unimplemented scenery, inappropriate default responses, lots of places with nothing to do but wait for the story to go on. A walkthrough where the vast majority of the commands are either z or directions is not a good sign. Not much to see here. Read the longer walkthrough for some amusement, though.
3. Reconciling Mother, by Plone Glenn
Lots of missing implementation. Not at all clear on what is going on; too many text dumps, runes, etc. Mimesis-breaking list of books with author's comments on them. Not a good sense of what to do. Needs more focus; there seem like some possibly interesting ideas here (music or something) but I can't get anywhere after playing for about an hour and a half.
4. Wish, by Edward Floren
A sweetish story. Fairly short (took me about an hour), but felt right. I think a little bit more foreboding (I was only starting to really feel a sense of dread when I reached the ending). Fairly well-implemented (I noticed two typos: "no" in place of "not" and "too" in place of "to"), but I didn't see how the fantasy puzzles related to the real-world story. Didn't leave a strong impression.
5. Lord Bellwater's Secret, by Sam Gordon
A good story (if a bit standard), well implemented. The pacing change at the end was fine, once I realized I could lock the door (and the warning to save was a good one). Not sure I got the optimal ending, although I thought I had everything. Ok, think I did. Movement within room done well; would have liked to see movement notices incorporated into action descriptions.
6. Ferrous Ring, by Carma Ferris
I initially liked use of "thoughts drown" to elide unrecognized commands, but this started to wear thin after a while. Would not fit in different narrative. Good vs. bad in inventory, room description. Minimalist/menu. Some trouble at points figuring out directions; ok, plastic geography, but that wasn't clear. Makes backtracking a bit difficult (although directions eventually get named). One bug here: the hedge I came from is "to the nothing". I also wasn't initially aware of the bathroom in the house. In some ways the game felt a little distant, but I think this was intentional (like looking through a video camera). Felt that it was sometimes expecting me to use the walkthrough or other modes and not providing me with enough information. THe hint feature was interesting (being able to enter walkthrough at any point); curious how it was done (seems to need a story on rails). Some definite flaws, but one of my favorites. and one I'm still thinking about after the comp.
7. Deadline Enchanter, by Anonymous
Also on rails, like previous leaves out much implementation. Liked the story a bit more than that though (has a better sense of what was going on). Slightly surreal, fairly cohesive. Couple implementation problems (some missing scenery, one command with a blank response: I think it was "fznfu fdhveery" (rot13)). I appear to have liked this more than most people did. Definitely a meta-game. Ending maybe doesn't quite make sense with my interpretation, since the PC is being told what will happen after freeing the knight. Expect a high standard deviation; I am one of the ones who really liked the story, although there were some flaws. Still, it's hard to decide whether the lack of implementation is
8. Packrat, by Bill Powell
Promising opening. I just know I'm going to need to use the random things in my pack for something! Then... what? Not sure what to do. Turn to walkthrough Needed walkthrough to know I needed to take stein four times. Bug with not being able to return w from dragon lounge? A number of other implementation problems, things I would never have guessed without walkthrough. But somewhat enjoyable, albeit imperfect. Some annoying interactions. The kleptomaniac stuff became unreadably ugly prose. Weirdness with chest (returns to bedroom, later "bobbing" in bedroom).
9. Orevore Courier, by Brian Rapp
It will probably not surprise anyone to learn that I liked this one. Very tightly timed, nice puzzle. Had a little trouble getting it started at first. Had pretty much figured out what to do with everything, but running low on time so looked at walkthrough to put it all together. Kept thinking I needed to show more things to the engineer, and had trouble with timing showing things to the pirates (missed the whispering part for a long time). Not too much else to say; recommended to those who like tightly timed puzzles. Liked the WINNABLE command.
10. A Fine Day for Reaping, by revgiblet
Nice puzzles, multiple solutions. Few problems with synonyms, etc. (ADRIFT parser?). Diary, encyclopedia might be implemented better (non-random) to see info in them. Should cross names off list when reaped. Never found the pizza guy, which seemed crucial to a couple of puzzle solutions. What's up with the lisp? A more gradual transition to ending would be helpful (jumped there immediately after reaping last soul).
11. My Name is Jack Mills, by Juhana Leinonen
Noire-ish opening. Who am I? I mean, besides Jack Mils. What do I do for a living? (On the desk is a cigar box with cigars inside... The cigar box is empty.) Not obvious how to get geigner to restaurant (tried waiting for a while then looked at walkthrough). Ending in restaurant seemed much too sudden. Several unimplemented things in mansion (stairs, east door). Told assistant I was geigner, after telling him I was geigner's assistant. Sort of tailed off at the end. Random (apparently) driving.
Interpreter crash when going north when sitting in restaurant ("variable stack exhausted").
12. Beneath: a Transformation, by Graham Lowther
Not a lot of direction. Suddenly I'm in a cell and then I'm dead. Couldn't get anywhere, so looked at walkthrough. Apparently I need to buy a dog. Some messages not well integrated (You see a black lab down the street...the black lab arrives). I would not have figured this out without the walkthrough/
13. Varkana, by Farahnaaz
Beautiful opening artwork. (told me I find and picku p my backpack, but it doesn't appear in my inventory or anywhere). Got stuck because I didn't know I needed to keep asking the librarian about ardavaan. Illustrations a nice addition. Needs more hinting with axe for lock, ending. Perspective switch: not entirely clear that my goal was to helpp him escape. Good story.
14. The Immortal, by Just Rob
Sort of a Highlander thing? Not really. Why is sand blowing by my face if I have a helmet on? Many default responses. actions tied to objects screws things up when not used as expected. If I am an Immortal, why can I die? Lots of implementation problems. Turned to walkthrough quickly. Ending doesn't tell me what was going on, very unsatisfying.
15. Eduard the Seminarist, by Heiko Theißen
"It is a German book about a "Pfarrer und Poet". Reading it would give away too much of this game." What am I supposed to be doing at the beginning? Totally missed the note, or that I could take the candle (tried to take lantern). "Throw rope out window" doesn't work; need "throw rope out of window". Lots of guess the verb, etc. Perhaps if Wilhelm's bed had been mentioned, I'd have known to tie the rope to it. Beginning was intriguing, but totally anti-climactic. Maybe that was the point, but the implementation was poor enough that the joke wasn't worth it.
16. My Mind's Mishmash, by Robert Street
Needs synonyms for "rip node". Liked the opening, puzzles. Understand just enough to make progress. really liked the mine door puzzle. Great puzzles. enjoyed the symmetry between interaction with memoryblam and game story. Thought it a bit heavy-handed when he said so, though. Some of the default messages seem inappropriate after the game knows I'm there ("don't want to leave anything that may reveal your presence"). Some of the timing a bit too forced (things happen exactly when needed). Not quite done at 2 hours, so scoring before finishing. I really liked the story structure, sort of seeing things from behind the scenes, or from a new perspective. One of my favorites.
17. An Act of Murder, by Hugh Dunnett
Hugh Dunnett? Oh, I get it. ask about sheppard disambiguation giveaway. Well implemented. Clue-ish. Not quite my thing, but mainly a matter of personal taste. The different stories seem to be handled very well.
18. A Matter of Importance, by Nestor I. McNaugh
Snarky. Not sure about the whole conceit, although parts were amusing. Several things I would never have figured out withut walkthrough (pillow). Okay. Self-conscious, but fun. Ending dragged a bit because I got stuck on finding the tape.
19. The Chinese Room, by Joey Jones and Harry Giles
Bit of a guess-the-verb at beginning (follow rules). Hey, John Searle is still alive! Fun puzzles. Very long (19/100 after 2 hours). Want to return to this one later. Some lack of direction. I have a lot of ideas to try yet; not stuck, just out of time. This probably deserves a higher score than I gave, but hard to judge from how far I got.
20. In The Mind Of The Master, by David Whyld
Annoyance: at one point I am deposited on a street and die if i go either direction unless I read the paper. Stuck for a while at point where I needed to examine sign to be told there was a rock; "examine rock" says "Player sees no such thing" until you take the stone (problem with playing in Spatterlight?). Eventually figured out what to do after trying basically everything here. Would have liked more opportunity to assume different roles in the same play-through. Didn't get the final solution without hints.
21. Lost Pig, by Grunk
(Got "Programming error: tried to print (string) on something not a string" in response to "put pole on lever"). Notable delay for conversation suggestions. Fuuny. Nice puzzles, used hints a couple of times. Very consistent mood (viewpoint); I loved the pig's reactions to the character's actions and attention to detail. Very well implemented and very enjoyable.
22. Slap that Fish, by Peter Nepstad
Disappointed that I can't examine aspects of fish. Barbed hook in second fish not recognized by parser. Bug (TADS-1010: object value required) if you try to meditate before the last fish. Needs better implementation. Mildly amusing. THe beginning sort of turned me off before I got to the later parts where it gets more interesting and the backstory is developed.