Hi Jade, thanks a lot for your very kind feedback!
Of course I’d like to see your transcript! Where can I find it?
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You can ask It to Jaqueline
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The results may not be out yet, but voting is over (I checked), which means I can talk about the entries now!
Your judgements were spot-on. One of us was coming at the project from a parser IF background (I wrote the parts where you go around and explore for evidence with choices for every little bit) and the other from a static fiction background (Elisabeth wrote the dialogue segments where each branch is mostly self-contained); neither of us had really written choice-based stuff before, and you can tell what media we’re more used to.
They don’t have an account here yet, but they wanted me to let you know they feel vindicated by your comments about the lack of pressure in the exploration segments. They wanted ways to shut down certain scenes entirely so you couldn’t go back, but I was adamant about not letting the player actually get locked out of any items or locations during the first chapter.
The result is that, for example, after you’ve pissed off the cop, you can’t talk to him again, but you’ll never fully lose access to the medical report (you can always distract him away from the car and grab it) or the alley (you can always stealth in over the rooftops). And a lot of last-minute changes were made to the bartender scene to handle different combinations of approaches.
(Speaking of approaches: right now, all social choices with a mortal are classified as either bribery, flattery, intimidation, or subterfuge. The general rule is that you can’t get results from the same one twice with the same person. So if you use subterfuge on the bartender to get into the security room, the subterfuge option to get the sketch disappears, and you have to choose something else in that branch. Presence is a secret fifth option that doesn’t lock out any of the others.)
In the full game, there will probably be a lot more permanently-missable stuff. Because you (and Elisabeth) are right about that; without the puzzles of a parser game, the lack of pressure can make it feel a bit lawnmower-y.
Thanks again for the review!
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Oh sweet, we can talk about IntroComp entries now (thank you to Daniel for confirming that it’s over).
First, to reply more in-depth to Brian’s comments:
Funny story: The aesthetic choices almost didn’t make it in. I was going to submit with just the .gblorb file because I was sick of working on this thing lol. But Eric asked if I could export for the web and I’m glad that he did.
Thankfully I do web design as part of my work so I did a rush job using Zarf’s One Column template (thank god this thing is responsive out-of-the-box) and Figma for the logo image. I went with the white text on black background colors because it’s easier on the eyes (at least for me).
The choice in language was intended to give the place a dreamy and mysterious vibe to it, if that makes sense. I hope it wasn’t too annoying to get through! (And if it was do let me know.)
I was a little surprised that the branching part of the demo was unusual to you, but after submitting I learned more about the usual styles (if there are any) that parser authors prefer and now I better understand why.
If you were curious, the transformation branch was inspired by a book I was reading. I thought it’d be fun to see the world as two very different entities. Aside from that, this is my first hardcore attempt at making something with Inform so an unfamiliarity with convention on my end probably contributed to this design choice.
I can’t thank you enough for providing your transcript. Analyzing it was crucial for me understanding how someone else might play through this game.
For other newer folks like me, please consider providing transcripts (the command is simply TRANSCRIPT for an Inform 7 game) if you’d like to provide feedback for an author but don’t have much time. I didn’t understand how helpful these things were until now.
I’m glad this part of the game made you think that! I wasn’t confident in my prose style but I’ll take this as a sign that I’m on the right track. It was also a stressful part of making the game, so the compliments are appreciated.
Yeah… I didn’t understand how much work I’d have to do in this regard until I started implementing. Long story short, I’ll have to think about scope and how to make the journaling mechanic more cohesive.
And lastly, to Jade:
The Arabian Nights comparison is flattering, it made my day thinking about it.
Thank you to Brian and Jade for the feedback! Now I’m inspired to start my own thread to give the other entrants feedback on their entries. (Unless it’s better to just stick to here.)
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That’s neat that you have two different perspectives to draw on! That probably explains why it’s turning out so well so far.
I think there’s a variety of approaches that could work overall. For me, I do think that choice-based games, including puzzly ones, work well when it feels like you can ‘strategize’ (as opposed to the lawnmowering you mention). Weighing pros and cons and stuff. It sounds like you’re already doing that with the multiple ways of interacting with people!
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Feel free to make your own thread! I’m sure people would be interested. You can post here to but they might not see it if it’s buried way down.
I’m glad the transcript helped, and it was neat you had the branching paths (you’re right, that’s not that common in parser games). I agree on the implementing being a big chore; I’m in a grind in my current game I’m working on where I designed around 15 rooms all of which I have to feel with stuff and I’m not really looking forward to it.
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So what were the vote results. Any breakdown?
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Awaiting an official post on that now!
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In case anyone didn’t see yet, the results are out:
Had to open the site in Incognito mode to see the update. Congrats to all!
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Congratulations to this year’s winners!
I enjoyed a lot playing some games. Even when played in IFMUD, there was a lot of diversion.
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