63 | DOCTOR WHO AND THE DALEK SUPER-BRAIN
63 | DOCTOR WHO AND THE DALEK SUPER-BRAIN
by: jkj yuio
Progress:
- I reached the end of the game in about 20 minutes. In the ending I received, Todd ended up dying of radiation poisoning (RIP) but I at least got a shoutout for selecting the correct sonic screwdriver attachment on the first try. You win some, you lose some, I guess.
Things I Appreciated:
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The main thing I liked about this game is that it’s campy. The explosion effect that was on screen when the Dalek exterminated me made me laugh. While it looks like a ton of work went into the visuals, the somewhat uncanny way they fit together adds to the retro appeal. Add that to the ridiculousness of the Daleks’ behavior, it just was an absurd time. I’m not personally a huge Doctor Who fan (no ill will, I just haven’t seen that many seasons and don’t necessarily find myself seeking it out) but I do feel like this successfully captured the campy sci fi tone.
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Even though I detailed my struggles with the UI below, I like the multimedia aspect of it. I appreciated the care to put a black tinted backdrop to the text to make it a little more readable on the background, as I had issues with readability in other games that involved text on complicated backgrounds. I especially liked the weird sound effects, which caught me off guard (like the Bex scream paired with the extreme close-up zoom on her face) in a funny way.
Feedback/Recommendations/Questions:
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The main issue I have is that the user interface is cumbersome. I kept adjusting my browser window trying to find a way to make the game look right, but no matter how I positioned it there was always something at least a little off. The most significant instance of this was when I tried talking to NPCs and it caused an extreme zoom such that I could only see the top two-thirds or so of their head, which was disconcerting the first time it happened, but then I just found it funny because it added to the camp factor of the experience after that. There seem to be a lot of moving parts here, and the interface just never felt that comfortable or natural to me.
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I found that a major moment in the game was unsatisfying. In my exploration, I approached the super brain and talked to them. The doctor proceeded to explain a paradox to the brain to confuse it, without me really having a chance to choose to do anything. It makes sense that the doctor would know to do this, but it created a lack of immersion for the game to dog-walk the scene for me like this. If “confuse the daleks with a paradox” had been one of a few different options I could have selected, it would’ve felt a little more satisfying to realize that that was the right approach. As it stood, the game didn’t give me an opportunity to solve what felt like it should be a key puzzle, it was more like a cutscene.
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I had a similar issue with the interactivity of the area prior to the radioactive mine section. There were a few different rooms to explore, but not much that I could find to do there. It felt like the only way to proceed the game was to just keep talking to the Dalek commander, as opposed to finding some way to sabotage the situation. If there was something I should have clicked on to progress things differently, I didn’t find it.
What I learned about IF writing/game design:
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Mainly, the challenges of creating a balanced visual panel where you are trying to include a lot of information. In this game, each scene has to communicate: the background; clickable/interactable characters and objects; the text of the game; the choices available; and that turned out to be a lot to cram into the space. While this game wouldn’t have been as charming without the wacky graphics, it really shows the strengths of approaches where a card or other inset is used to allow the author to gain control of the proportions. I think if this game had some kind of standardized window size rather than the chaotic “anything goes” experience that I had, it could all for more polish in terms oof layout and utility.
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This is another example of how it feels to be playing a puzzle/navigation game where the character does something really exciting or pivotal without player input. I think this is a good reminder for myself that if I’m going to do some kind of parser-ish or puzzle-forward game, to make sure the player is given at least the illusion of involvement when the character does a key action to advance the narrative.
Quote:
- “They do, however, get to wear little red hemispheres, which are quite fashionable in Dalek society.”
Lasting Memorable Moment:
- Definitely when I returned to unplug the super-brain and it was ON FIRE.