Doctor Who and the Dalek Super-Brain by jkj yuio
I’ve only tangentially intersected with Doctor Who throughout my life. My Dad liked it, it was always on Australian ABC TV after school, and I think I even read a Tom Baker-themed Cybermen novelization once as a teenager. I even remember seeing the very first episode in black-and-white replayed as a special feature on our national broadcaster. I never gelled with it, especially the modern reincarnations (ha! I made a Doctor Who joke). I appreciate sci-fi which doesn’t take itself too seriously, but Doctor Who always seemed a step too far.
In reviewing this game I was already a little reluctant. I knew I wouldn’t get any deep references, but I’m across the basics enough to get into it. So I did.
Doctor Who and the Dalek Super-Brain is a bit of fan fiction using what I believe is a custom visual novel engine. It has a commercialisation vibe to it - the very first thing you see is a synopsis that reads like ad copy - but it’s definitely a labour of fandom. There’s an introduction to IF for newbies who might happen to stumble across the IF Comp, and there’s a lot of customization options. Every scene is accompanied with a 3D render and maybe an assortment of static renders of NPCs. The game opens with the thumping classic Doctor Who theme. This is all to say, they’ve put a bunch of work in.
As a bit of Doctor Who fun, that’s fine. As a piece of interactive fiction amongst nearly seventy others, it falls short.
The plot is something I might expect from a Doctor Who TV episode. You, the Doctor, are randomly dumped into a problem with your assistant, something bad happens to them, you hit your Act 2 low point, solve a small puzzle, then jostle on through to a climax where the Doctor defeats the villain with a bit of tricksy logic. In the game, these all happen in quick succession, without much in the way of character development, deep exploration of the environment or any particular idea. It has all the story beats a fan would recognize, but not much more.
Interaction is primarily through selecting options from a list, or occasionally getting extra info via hyperlinks. Unfortunately for a few scenes you need to lawn-mower your way through options to progress. In parts they are at least kind and tell you you’re cruising towards a deadly end if you don’t change course. Nevertheless, the successful path through the game felt a little too much like mind-reading the author. I certainly did not appreciate being scolded by the game in the wrap-up for choosing the wrong sonic screwdriver attachments, even though they all seemed ostensibly the same. And dire consequences that my assistant endured seemed to be forgotten by the next scene.
All the assets assembled for the game appear to be from elsewhere. They fit together, which is no mean feat. The main NPCs are from Daz 3D, which has a particular uncanny-valley look and - it has to be said - have a horniness to them. The assistant has an audaciously plunging neckline. I know Doctor Who has found some sexuality over the decades, but I suspect this might be a step beyond that. To the author’s defence, the characters are not used sexily, so stays on brand as far as I know. You can zoom-scroll into cleavage though. I think it’s all okay, but just a little odd.
Scene composition was a little weird. With a big focus on visuals, the creator needed to nail this. On my machine (and I believe others), characters are positioned far too high and have their heads truncated. Or their boobs focussed on, depending on how you feel. Occasionally they go in for a close-up of an NPC’s face with a detailed render, but which feels like I’ve got a dermatoscope out, examining their pores. From this startling closeness you can even zoom in, although the picture resolution does not support it.
NPCs tend to hover in their environment, which might be okay if they are in space, or at least to give the scene some dynamic appeal. But they can hover behind text and when you want to zoom, you just scroll. So while there appears to be a lot of care as evidenced by the settings panel that allow you to customize how text appears, there are a bunch of simple mistakes that probably should have been caught.
Lately I’ve been making my own 3D art and I can appreciate the tonne of work they must have put in to make this game. But as a whole piece of work, it fell a little flat for me. The presentation initially felt fresh, but revealed a plain core. It’s focussed on fun, but a little more time working on their craft could have paid off immensely. It’ll be interesting to see what they do next.