Iām going to share @AmandaBās sentiment about this yearās batch of mini-games, in how impressive the entries were in terms of length or gameplay mechanics. 4h is a very short amount of time to make something happen, so for every one who tried and submitted.
Not everything was scary (Iām not mad about it, I can only handle so much horror), quite a few entries were very sad*. But all of them were pretty interesting in either their take on horror, or gameplay.
Summary: The rules are simple. Someone hides the Peepā¢. Itās your turn to find it. Then you Put-Peepā¢ the next person on the list. But also you have bugs to fixā¦
Thoughts: This is a fun short parser, with a bit of a surreal aspect to it while playing on horror tropes. You get back to work late at night because thereās a darn bug to fix, and also to mess with your colleagues. Of course, you hear strange noise, because itās an empty building in the middle of the night, and the closer you investigate the weirder it becomes.
The writing is pretty fun, and you even get extra commentary while playing. I needed to use the walkthrough once for the middle puzzle (yay for in-game walkthroughs!), but the rest was pretty simple. It was a fun time!
Summary: When you signed up for the haunted house tour, you were expecting chills and thrills and jump scares. What you got was something far, far more terrifying.
Can you survive being continually thrust into awkward social situations?
Thoughts: This game made clear that this was about having social anxiety and how it affects you. You are told of or experience situations where you are forced to interact with other people, some of them being awkward to down right embarrassing. Still, even with the disorder plaguing your life, you go to a haunted house activity to be able to win some cash. And while you can go about, exploring some rooms, meeting some long-forgotten acquaintances, maybe helping someone and getting a treat, ā¦ the game suddenly threw me off, changing the scenery and ending abruptly.
My theory on this: You were always going to get some help at the doctorās office, but your brain just made up a whole weird spoopy scenario to get you there, and get you the help you need. But it really felt like whiplashā¦
Summary: Two teenage girls. One abandoned church. ??? survivors.
Thoughts: Moody abandoned church? check! Two kids with not enough fear to know better? check! Spooky shenanigans? check, check, check!
The game plays like a horror movie, where dumb kids do something they shouldnāt, stumble on a weird thing that means them hard, and try their best to escape - hopefully intact.
The writing is very moody and creepy and the pace is pretty quick, giving you little space to breathe (you have to act now or elseā¦). But if you make the wrong choice (which will happen often), and reach a bad end, you can undo the last one and try something else. There are many ways of failing the game, but since the game is short, getting back on track doesnāt take too long. Makes for fun replays!
Anyway, going back to hunt the last of the achievements~
Note: this was also submitted to the Bare-Bones Jam
Summary: Inspired by a dream.
Thoughts: The horror aspect is pretty strong there, especially at the end. The pace starts slow, but picks up pretty fast (I was holding my breath at the end). Thereās enough hints during the first half of the game to see where the twist is going, but itās subtle enough to leave you confused until the reveal. I could have seen the ending being you donāt make it out alive and it āeatsā you too to push the horror even further.
Summary: In this haunted house youāll run the gamut of danger from A to Zā¦
Thoughts: What a riot of a game and so so well done. The writing is hilarious and had me wheezing with at every passage. The premise is honestly insane and so absurd (also fixers-uppers are not always the way to goā¦), and it is just so fun essentially running around the house, trying to survive the insane amount of danger in this house (realtors are always susā¦ of course, theyād downplay everything), dying, respawning, trying something else, and repeat.
Even if it looks simple, this was such a polished entry! I really enjoyed playing this game! Laughed so hard it hurts.
Some extra fun gameplay things:
the game includes check points to āundoā your action, and indicate the option that lead you to your death
the endings. Trying to collect them all was a hoot and half, and each ending title was just a joke by itself. There are 25 to find (unless there are more hidden endings).
The witch and the vampires were the most funny thing I encountered
Summary: You note an after-dark dafter ark. You are promised loads of riches ā¦ and you walk through. There are roads ā empty at first, but then liches run you off them, to a parkā¦
Thoughts while playing: Oh boyā¦ another word play game. Oh yay, I think I get the mechanic! Oh noā¦ Oh, right that makes this word out loud! Ha-AH! I found that one in the first tryā¦ Ok, letās just check the walkthrough real quick cause I have no ideaā¦ And now Iām lost (downloading the map)ā¦ Ok, done that, and that, and thatā¦ How to I move those sheep now? Oh-huhā¦ I think I got myself suckā¦
In her review of Andrewās other entry, Amanda thought he was a disciple of Dr. Seuss. And, from my little knowledge/exposure of Seussās work, I think this entry makes it more obvious than Taller Tech Mauler Mech. Itās very whimsical in terms of the gameplay, and absurd when you look at the prose. When you donāt, itās pretty frustrating (and you feel a bit dumb). But when you get it, itās really fun (and you feel so darn smart). Anyway, I gave up after getting 23/50-53 as a score, but not before I scooped my brain out of all my guessing cells!
Thank you for playing and sharing your thoughts! And I agree with your suggestion for pushing the horror further, I might go back and add in some more stuff once the jamās over
Note: This was also submitted to the Spanish EctoComp, in the La Petite Mort category (but Iām bad at Spanishā¦)
Summary: An interdimensional visitation narrative.
Thoughts: Short but a neat puzzle about numerology. Once you figure out what part goes where, itās pretty simple to reach the end. The lesson here: donāt mess with time.
A super ironic thing that happened: I got the French Revolution as the event to fix up
Unrelated, but my bachelor thesis was about The End of History by Fukuyama, so the title made me giggle a bit.
Not totally unrelated! The title was a bit of an afterthought; noticing the magazine issue that anchors the story in time was published the month before the Berlin Wall fell, the Fukuyama reference seemed to wrap the whole thing up nicely.
Summary: What will you do on the day of Halloween? Decorate your house? Play some pranks on poor trick-o-treaters with help from the ghosts within your walls? Attend to your children to make sure they do not tell anyone that your house is haunted? The choice is yours!
Thoughts: This entry tried to mash up a cosy slice-of-life with horror elements, which, while it seems intriguing, did not manage to deliver much with either. There are indeed horror elements, especially at the start and towards the end, but it ends up being muddled and drowned by lengthy passages with passive interaction (really stops the tension and high pace). The whole feels more like a cramming of horror(-ish) references* into a slice-of-life quirky concept (single mom moving into a haunted house and makes the most of it). Granted, mixing up genres, especially when they are so different, is pretty difficulty.
I think more interactivity would have helped greatly the game. The blurb set some expectations with decorating the house, going trick-or-treating, maybe pulling a prank on kidsā¦ but most of it happens in passing, with little injection from the player. For example: you can choose to wear your costume, but the placement of decoration happens during a few passages where you can only click-to-continue. The reader is more along for the ride than an active participant**. Not only youād have more agency as a player, it would help with the pace of the story (which could have enhanced the horror aspect).
Though, for a collaboration between two writers, with quite different styles***, the prose and style was pretty consistent throughout.
I just have one more gripe with accessibility: the text needs a dark overlay behind it to be readable, especially when the passage has an image for a background. Even for the passage where it was included, it is not dark enough. Or make the images less bright.
*Adamās Family, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Pennywise from IT, etcā¦
**the PC is supposed to have a set personality, which ends up showing choices being already made for youā¦
***Iāve reviewed their entries to other game jams.
Note: this was also submitted to the Bare-Bones Jam
Summary: Explore the mind of a man dedicated to shaping the world as he sees fit. Guide the family to safety, strengthen the hideous past to exact revenge or doom them all. One thing is certain: no one escapes the influence of the patriarch.
Thoughts: This is one twisted story. What starts as strange becomes bleaker by the passage, as you get deeper within the manās value/moral/views. Though well written, this was not an easy read, due to the implicit and explicit violence depicted in the text. The reality of the situation, though, is subtlety told through the list of choices - just a few words to show how insane all of it is.
I didnāt have the stomach to hunt for the other endingsā¦
Summary: A private eye investigates a haunted house.
Thoughts:ā¦ which is what I had hoped to get toā¦ but either something went wrong, or Iām just stupid. Unfinished review againā¦
A case falls on your lap and you are tasked to investigate a haunted house. But before you get to the property, you must do some research (because you are a very serious PI, even if the case is silly in your eyes, and you need the money?). So off you go, to the library, the courthouse, and the newspaper, to hunt for clues and background. Talk to some people search about, and learn some stuff (no wonder the house is haunted)ā¦
But thatās where I got stuck. I talked to anyone one wanted to lend an ear about the case, showed my clues to people, ran around time again and again trying to look at everything and stillā¦ I was not allowed to get to the house.
From what Iāve played however, it seems like the game is supposed to follow a specific order of actions, which if you miss by one, might throw off conversation flow (or maybe not and the conversation are just awkward).
If anyone manages to get further, please let me know what I missed:
a raid report, excerpt 1-3, unpublished story
EDIT: There was another element that was required to unlock another destination before you can go to the house (I still donāt get why you canāt be a maverick detective but ), but then I got stuck again inside the house unable to unlock a door (and you canāt just hit the door with a hammerā¦). Soā¦ giving up again.
Are we spoiled with the inclusion of walkthroughs with entries now?
Summary: These Latter-Day Pamphlets narrate the many trials of the British Empire in the 19th century, as she slowly began her inexorable descent. You cannot save everything; indeed, you may not be able to salvage much of anything. Every choice has a cost.
Thoughts: You lose or you loseā¦ the question remains, how bad do you lose?
Well, pretty badly depending on your choices. You are given a pile of scenarios, randomly ordered, for which you must choose a course of action. Each action has different level of success (well, lowest amount of loss) for different element of your society (Culture, Military, Religion, Social Classes, Coloniesā¦). The further you go down history, the worse your success will be, the worse your fall.
The writing is humorous, taking jabs at different historical events and groups (hurr durr, the Frenchā¦ and the poor, and the communists, and women getting votesā¦). Itās very much a British kind of humour, dry and prickly. But thatās also what makes it funny.
Some little confusing things (which I figured out after replaying):
it was unclear what the percentage were at first. Were they success rolls? or difficulty rolls? Since every link is the same colour, it wasnāt really clear how to differentiate things.
though the choices give an indication on who would be affected by what, not having an idea of the starting states makes it a bit hard to balance things. Some stats bar would have been welcomed here.
the popping state change at the bottom of the screen disappears waaaay too quickly. If your eyes are not fixing the bottom of the page as soon as you click, youāll miss it. A few more seconds (maybe 5 with a slow fade) would be great!
Also, while we have a set score at the end (14 on my first try ), itād be fun to know how bad we messed up which section. Just for the lolz.
Thanks so much for taking the time to review my game @manonamora. Youāre actually the second person to mention the fear meter is distracting which is good to know. I thought it might help as some of the game changes a bit in response to how high it is, but sounds like it may have been better not being there or with a toggle to allow it to be turned off.
I think the most straightforward way to get to the three main endings probably is:
(spoilers below )
Ending 1 (Captured): Keep picking options that sound like youāll get more creeped out and/or observe and move closer to the pool. At some point you should look at the waterās edge.
Ending 2 (Indecision): Pick all the options that sound like they should help keep fear at bay and donāt concentrate on the pool as much as possible. (For example look to the sky rather than the pool, clear your mind etc. Do not look at the waterās edge. When given the option to flee, hesitate instead.
Ending 3 (Flee): Pick all the options that sound like they should help keep fear at bay and donāt concentrate on the pool as much as possible. (For example look to the sky rather than the pool, clear your mind etc. Do not look at the waterās edge at any point. When given the option to flee, make sure you choose to run without hesitating.
Hope this helps :). If itās still not working let me know and I can write out a choice by choice version.
Summary: You do not believe in mothmen. Your brother is not dead.
Thoughts: A short but effective horror tale with a lot of unsaid. The implementation of a questionnaire is strange but works well here (knowing the protagonistās age), very interesting use of interactivity. The writings were on the wall and still I was distracted by what was not, and the end shocked me more than I thought it would. DANG!
As with any test, I scored poorly: only a crescent.
Note: this was also submitted to the Spanish EctoComp (but only played the English one) and the Bare-Bones Jam
Summary: An interactive nightmare
Thoughts: Even though the game is fairly short, I only managed to get to two endings (it is quite gruesome, with violent imagery, which considering what is happening with current events is really not easy to read). The interactivity and choices available are pretty confusing, but since this is supposed to be a nightmare, makes total sense. The branching seems quite complex, with paths seemingly looping back. Pretty impressive for something made (originally in Spanish) in 4h!
Thoughts: Not just cryptid but also cryptic. A short tale of heartbreak, betrayals, and a trip to Hell? I was a bit confused of who I was supposed to be at first, as multiple strands (POVs, but also past/future) are weaved together. I think I managed to piece some things together at the end. I understood that you are hunted by religious zealots while you try to save someone, and you meet the/a Devil?
For a less confused take: I liked the coloured portraits quite a bit!
Summary: they call this tale of woe, the unfortunate ballad of John Cassidy King.
Thoughts: An interesting take on a Devilās Deal, through the format of a told tale about a cowboy and his/her choices and the consequences. The imagery is quite vivid, through extensive prose, especially the description surrounding nature. The endings were pretty neat, as it reveals who you were talking to in the first place - my favourite being Temperanceās and the Devilās. The use of interactivity or lack thereof is pretty interesting as well, especially in the first part of the game.
for every one who tried and submitted.
either something went wrong, or Iām just stupid. Unfinished review againā¦
. Youāre actually the second person to mention the fear meter is distracting which is good to know. I thought it might help as some of the game changes a bit in response to how high it is, but sounds like it may have been better not being there or with a toggle to allow it to be turned off.
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