Manon's Reviews Rewind: Ectocomp [31/Back!], Partim500 [DONE*],

Playing IF Reviews and Essays
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21

yet another planning doc by Naarel

Download the entry - Google Docs/Gmail/.txt files
Note: the link to the GDocs is available in the downloadable zip.

yet another planning doc is a multi-medium epistolary/chat interactive story, centred around three students, from Passerine Hills Academy, an elite university in an unspecified region (but most likely non-American English-speaking), trying to organise the weekly student party. Through a series of Google Docs and external emails, the trials and tribulations of Ana Vitória, Emmeline and Izzy, after their usual processes unravel, are entangled with the peculiar life at the Academy.

The Academy offers an interesting setting for the story, with its three-tiered organisation of its student body (the poor scholarship students, the extremely privileged students, and the majority middle-ground), which is both discussed in the conversation and displayed through the group dynamic (Emmeline belonging to the first, Izzy to the second, and Ana Vitória the third). The difference in class is reflected in how they behave and communicated with one another (familiarity vs. deferential - what they share or keep secret), present themselves (visible name and pfp, language and tone), and how they handle their changing plans. It inevitably adds layers to the depiction of a fairly mundane task (organising a weekly meet-up) and to the personality of each student.

Though you’d expect these kinds of exchange to happen more in a chat software (your Slack/Discord/other), using online Google Docs/Gmail allows each character to privately communicate without the other knowing, go on tangents without disrupting too much the main discussion, and adds to the school group project vibes happening.
But, as an external reader, it gives too an intimate look into private conversations that no others should have access too. Gossips feel extra juicy to learn, even if you have no real knowledge of those other students. And, secrets hinted in the personal emails most impactful. It’s a fun take on the epistolary format.

This piece is part of a larger universe called Passerine Hills.

3 Likes
22

The campfire is the beggining, by JustUseMind

Play the game - Google Slides

The campfire is the beggining is a short branching story, where you find yourself before a campfire, with no recollection of where you are or even who you are. Will you just wait and see what happens to you? or will you adventure out? There are 6 endings to find - some humorous, some meta, and some a bit nonsensical.

While I didn’t really connect to the story or the humour, I do need to give props to how smooth it ran in Google Slides. It created a nice ambiance through its visuals and background SFX.

2 Likes
23

Whoops, it’s two weeks later. Better late than never.

Bakery management challenge by JustUseMind

Play the game - Google Sheets

Bakery management challenge is a cooking/management sim made in GoogleSheets, where the goal is to make and sell as many good in a limited amount of time. Each good has a specific recipe, with timed steps (kneading, rising, baking). You need to organise the 10-min-incremented planning with the good you’ll work on in that time. The sim has three levels, with the last two introducing a new step and cash reward.

This entry felt more like a gameplay prototype than a fully fledged IF game: there isn’t much story or text outside of the actual place action in the block or recipe book, nor does it tally the actual result of your actions (XP/money earned).
There was also an issue with filling the blocks, as you can only put one recipe per action (i.e. one kneading, one rising, one baking, one selling), even though the instructions allows for multiple recipe happening at once (i.e. rising/selling/freezing) - this makes the planning a bit more convoluted than necessary.

While the execution could use some polishing (and a tiny bit of a story, maybe even some endings depending on how much you sell), the core idea is pretty neat. I’d definitely play a resource management IF game.

2 Likes
24

Mad, Sad, Glad, by echo river

Play the game - Miro (account required to check the file - free)

Mad, Sad, Glad is a snapshot of a corporate workshop following the end of a project. Inside the Miro page, participants could express what made they made, sad, and glad about the project, so to wrap up. You can also interact with it yourself, leaving a note on the Glad board too.

While there is no information about the project, you do learn a bit more about the company, with the departure of colleagues, hiring/bonus freezes, and restructuring. With this, you’d expect the feedback to be of a certain way, as team members were welcomed to share their feelings and opinions (as the player, you can also edit the file and add your own comment!). Surprisingly, it ended up being overwhelmingly positive.

But is it surprising, really? The Miro board actually doesn’t allow you to add any comments anywhere but the Glad section - the Mad and Sad post-its simply being screenshot images, not interactive elements you can edit. As if management had decided on a conclusion ahead of the workshop, regardless of opinions. As well, I honestly wouldn’t expect the team players to share otherwise, considering the state of the company - during uncertain periods, sharing criticism could land you the boot. I know I wouldn’t either…

It’s a pretty effective criticism on project management, from the way the board is formatted (with the cheerful stickers and bright colours), the way information and tasks are communicated, in contrast with the interactivity (or rather restricted…).

2 Likes
25

a conversation with a concerned cow, by graymeditations

Play the game - GoogleDocs/GoogleForms

a conversation with a concerned cow is a short conversation with, like the title says, a concerned cow. They’ve been feeling down for a while, thinking about life and death, wondering what happens when everything ends (you get to fill in a form). Worried about how you’d feel about the conversation, the cow sets some jazzy relaxing music and even sends you a cute slideshow (as some sort of palate cleanser), as well as an email address to each out for more conversations. It is a bit absurd, and also quite sweet.

I’d love to see the result of the form, ngl

2 Likes
26

:- O (..)_ INTERRED (..)_ :-Q, by solipsistgames

Play the game - Emoticons

:- O (..)_ INTERRED (..)_ :-Q is a short parser-like escape puzzle, coded in emoticons. Waking up in a bedroom, you feel the urge to leave this seemingly unknown place. Getting out isn’t too complicated, there is only one thing you need and all actionable commands per room are provided. It shouldn’t even be possible to fail.
What is most intriguing, is more how the game was made and is running. You actually get to peek at the source code, since you need to copy-paste it in the interpreter - though it doesn’t make much sense as is. I didn’t even know emoticons could be used to store data or be used to code whole games. So that was neat.

2 Likes
27

CurseOfTheManor.xls, by Adam Biltcliffe

Play the game - Microsoft Excel

CurseOfTheManor.xls is a sparse parser escape puzzle created in Microsoft Excel. The manor you are currently in is cursed, stopping you from leaving until you’ve collected certain items and placed them in a specific spot. Each of these items and the final location are blocked behind a puzzle. While it uses a limited parser (VERB + NOUN), there are no hints or walkthroughs. The difficulty is noted as cruel.

And it is pretty cruel - I got stuck a couple of times trying to solve some puzzles, before realising I should have unlocked something else first. Two sections include a dark room, some objects use the same item, and some interactions are essentially a one-way deal. In the same vein, the map is surprisingly large, often requiring you to go from one end to the other to solve a specific puzzle. Drawing up a map to keep track is advised (I got lost).
On the other hand, correcting mistakes is much easier. Rather than spamming UNDO or RESTART, you just need to scroll up and edit the line with the mistaken action. The answers will then update as if it was your first time entering it. It made test and trials and errors much easier to go through.

It took me quite a while to get through the game, since getting stuck with a couple of puzzles. With the limited descriptions/responses, you sometimes need to think a bit out of the box (and about some unusual verbs) to get through blocks on the path. But it was pretty satisfying to 1- solve the puzzles individually and 2- find the correct order to do all the actions the right way.

Overall, it was a creative way of making a really well-built parser.

Corrected Transcript/Almost a correct walkthrough: curseofthemanor.txt (868 Bytes)

3 Likes
28

Love and Java, by Biggus

Play the game - HTML/CSS

Love and Java is a short branching choice-based piece made in pure HTML and CSS. With its 9 different endings, it paints a picture of dealing with poor mental health and its felt consequences (e.g. insomnia, isolation, hallucinations, negligence…). The descriptions of the setting and of yourself is Kafka-esque, with the run-down unfamiliar-yet-familiar rooms, or the animalistic/alien-like view of yourself (which you even compare to a moth). It’s both very surreal and strangely grounded. Definitely a vibe.
I do wish there was a bit more contrast between the links and the body of text. I thought at first the game was broken, but turns out the link is simply hidden.

2 Likes
29

notes on the disappearance of a sister, by LITHOBREAKERS, ellisdex

Play the game - domino2

notes on the disappearance of a sister is an investigative interactive piece, where a young woman created a board to keep track of information found about her sister’s disappearance, which happened a year prior. While her sister’s case is unresolved, Eleanor is set on finding her - no matter the costs. Retracing the events leading to the disappearance, she questions a few individuals close to her sister at the time, and unearth some shocking revelations about her family.

The format of the story, through the investigation board of factual notes, thoughts/hypotheses and communication, really enhances the mystery. Organised by sections, you get to go through Eleanor’s thoughts processes, as she finds new information and processes it. We see her idea of her sister and where she stands in regards to her family changing as the investigation progresses, and how little she knew about her own blood.

Yet, Eleanor’s investigation is cut short, leaving us to piece out what happened to her and her sister. And it’s not hard to do by the time you get to the end - there are enough hints throughout the notes to point at the supposed culprit and their motives. Even with threads abandoned, and questions unanswered, the use of the medium is incredibly effective in communicating the story.

I was so wrong about my theories… I thought Matì had done it, even though there was no way. Also the professor is still so sus.

2 Likes
30

The Swormville Sweep, by alyshkalia

Play the game - Google My Maps

The Swormville Sweep is a treasure hunt puzzle made in GoogleMyMaps, set in the village of Swormville, USA. The map has 15~ pre-selected locations, each with a little blurb about its creation, sometimes how it fared over the years, and a picture of its last recorded state. Through those, you don’t just learn about the town, how it got to be and evolved, you also collect a character - needed to solve the treasure hunt and find the secret final spot.

Like any good treasure hunt, from the starting location, you are given clues about the next location to check out (and the next character to collect). The clues are pretty varied in terms of type (e.g. family relations vs. architecture) and details. Some clues are obvious enough, while others will require making a guess or doing a bit more sleuthing on the internet. There is also a cool side guide, on the game page, which provides further detail on each location.

Though it took me much longer than I care to admit struggling to solve the puzzle (I had to restart a few times because my notes made no sense after a while), it was a fun way of being an online tourist in the small town, and learning some fun tit-bit about it. While novel in the medium use, it reminded me a bit of the author’s other town-focused game, Blossom, NY, in the share-some-obscure-knowledge-about-a-small-town way. It was a fun (if not at times frustrating) digital promenade, with a good use of the medium chosen.

3 Likes
31

Productivity2000, by yonixw

Play the Game - GoogleSheets

Productivity2000 is a time management interactive games, where you must fill-in a time-sheet in Sheets with tasks completed during the week for your micro-managing boss. Along with logging the hours worked, emails sent, and even breaks for lunch, you must also abide by your boss’s crazy rules to prove you actually did some work.

It takes a bit of organisation to get things all checked out, having to balance the hours worked throughout the week (never the same), or amount of emails filled (you will learn how to say ‘hello’ in new languages!), and even rate your own performance, just so you can rise above your boss’s suspicions. While behaving annoyingly, this isn’t the worse boss in the world: you can work from home (even exclusively), have to take breaks during the day for sustenance, can’t work overtime during the day, and must have two days free… Sign me up, please! I’ll ill in all the time-sheets you want me to!

2 Likes
32

I need to let it out, by Naarel

Play the game - Notepad

I need to let it out is a collection of text files containing thoughts and feelings that Clare doesn’t dare say out loud, even though it is weighting on her. Between dealing with loss and struggling with their identity, Clare discusses her hopes and wishes for the future - especially with one special person. Retrospections of past relationships, especially their failings, brings forward this yearning in Clare to be seen - not just a glance, but actually be seen - and to have their feelings reciprocated.

In the way those thoughts are communicated, it becomes clear Clare struggles with her seemingly innocent out-personna, of the helpful girl that asks nothing in return, kind and collected, insightful but plain, with her more passionate desires (especially in regards to her crush). The never-reached balance between virtuous actions and unexecuted vice. The felt extremes.
I think it’s best displayed with how Clare talks about Tiffany in two different sections, first her silent personal devotion from afar, almost voyeuristic-like, to her domineering, almost disturbing, view on the future of the relationship when they finally interact.

These feelings and thoughts should probably get out, at some point, probably sooner rather than later… but maybe not today.

This piece is part of a larger universe called Passerine Hills .

3 Likes
33

Missinger, by Cindy Sasaki, AYN-X, ayami-chi, PandaPixel

Play the Game - HTML

Missinger is an investigative interactive piece, where you play as Paula, a university student, looking into the disappearance of Alex, a popular student in her class, following the win of a contest. Through your “phone”, you can check out digital magazines about the contest and classmates, as well as talk to the different suspects (who participated in the same contest as Alex). After talking to everyone, you’ll be able to report the person you think was behind the disappearance.

The game is comprised of multiple static stylized HTML/CSS pages and pictures of the digital magazines, which you can find and get to by messing around with the URL of the page (explained in-game)… if you find the right keywords. There are 4 endings to get to (and a secret one, which I haven’t found - unless it’s the troll ending in the diary?). Honestly, it’s pretty obvious who the culprit is, but it’s the getting there that is most satisfying. Checking out the different URLs, sleuthing for more information, it’s pretty fun!

What is most impressive, however, is the interface, and how smooth it runs, especially without any JavaScript/jQuery to run the animations/timer/choices, using instead pure CSS to do the trick. Well done.

1 Like
34

Delusion Deluge, by kei

Play the Game - GoogleSheets

Delusion Deluge is a short fantasy visual novel prelude made in GoogleSheets. In this autumn equinox, you are invited to the annual Delusion Deluge, an event where one may receive a dearly wanted wish. The invitation asks you to both bring yourself (costumed), a tribute, and your wish. This prelude gets you ready for the party, and branches out in three paths where you can interact with multiple individuals and your environment, which may or may not let you get a trinket.

While there isn’t much to the story currently, as it is a prelude, it is a beautifully crafted piece. The interface, backgrounds and sprites, create an atmospheric relaxing setting (that makes you wish you were there) -the artwork is really lovely. There are some awkwardness when clicking through the different slides, but that is to be expected with the medium chosen.

All in all, I’m really intrigued with the rest of the story, and will be looking for updates on this project!

1 Like
35

Some final notes:
Anti-Productivity was pretty successful mini-jam, with 15 entries finding new ways to turn non-IF-medium into interactive games. While office programs were the most used (Sheets/Excel, Slides/PPT, Word/Notepad, Mail, Miro), there were also some out of the box medium (GoogleMaps, Forum) as well as intriguing software/format (domino2, Emoticon).
It was cool to see all the different ways authors bent those medium to their will - some being incredibly successful imo.

While the jam was themed around Anti-Productivity, there were multiple entries focusing on productivity/management/group projects, which was pretty funny. Another shared gameplay/theme was investigating an disappearance, as well as getting deep into feelings.

3 Likes
36

Might as well be topical for once, while there is still time

ECTOCOMP 2024

The annual month-long spooky competition, with two categories: La Petite Mort (created under 4h) and Le Grand Guignol (the rest).

There were a bunch of entries, but bc of language skills, I’ll only be reviewing the English entries. I don’t think I’ll manage to review everything before the rating period runs out, but I’ll try to knock out as many as I can in the meantime.
sad that there were no French entries this year :sob:

No order yet, just picking with vibes
Also I beta-tested a couple of the entries :stuck_out_tongue:

La Petite Mort

Le Grand Guignol

Back to top :arrow_up:

7 Likes
37

wow I’m really slow with this…Also how was this created in only 4 HOURS???

SPILL YOUR GUT, by Coral Nulla

Play the game - HTML/Decker
La Petite Mort Category - Also a Barebones Jam entry.

SPILL YOUR GUT is the third instalment of the GUT series, after GUT THE MOVIE, and the spoof GUT THE MOVIE 2: GUT ves. TER THE TWOVIES, where we check in on the original cast of GUT, Gemma, Uma, Tilla, and their manager Stace, after the movie was completed (or was it ever made?). There are four paths to follow, one for each individual, with the request to follow the above order.

Now, I don’t like being told what to do and started with Stace, essentially spoiling myself with the outcome of the previous paths… or did I?
Confused by the tone of that path (reminding me of the vibes of GUT2), I reloaded and followed the instructions in the game. Granted, there was a good reason for that.

Gemma’s, Uma’s and Tilla’s paths are completely different from Stace. While the later is in the third person, with the same interface as the starting page, the formers focuses on inner thoughts and bright, duo-tones, stylised and distinctive and restrictive interfaces. But more so, the gameplay of each path builds on the previous one: Gemma’s deep taunting red in a limited N/S direction, Uma’s cool emotional blue opening to all four main cardinal directions, and Tilla’s envious and tortuous greens adding the up/down option. All to finish with the linear definitive and decided Stace section, looping us back to the start.

But the contrast is not just in the visual and gameplay between the paths, but also in its content. The RBG section is enmeshed with anxious vibes, in the way the characters talk about themselves, their fears and insecurities, and the repetition of screens (indicating the end of content in that direction). Gemma, in kill the internet, feels hopeless and lonely, and struggles to find a purpose moving forward (funnily, you can only move back and forth between sections). Uma, in call your girlfriend, ruminates over her past and current relationships, the good, the bad and the ugly, and their inability to stay emotionally connected while with someone (her thoughts littered in a maze without much sense). Tilla, in sell your dreams, hides her true feelings (about the movie and herself) behind a criticism of society, which she has left being by moving to the Moon (layers discoverable by taking the elevator). Each are tortured in their own ways, either barred from opening a specific door, or unable to ever find that wanted exit.
On the other hand, Stance’s section has a more absurd take. She isn’t riddled with insecurities or worries, only caring really with eating chips. She flips the script on its head, going against the expectations, taunting the monster instead of being taunted (who breaks itself and sorta the game), unbothered with the change of/breaks in the environment or herself - as long as there are chips, she is content.
This contrast is made extra obvious with the repeated “I am lonely/scared/tried” screens in RBG, which Stance’s action can be reduced to “Eat chips”.

Strangely, though most of the game is very different from the previous iterations of GUT, it is surprisingly still much in line with the series as a whole. Through RBG, you are forced through these anxious-riddled paths, tortured along the characters, unable - like them - to escape (unless you reload the page), stuck in their head… Only to return to the absurdity of Stace’s section, greatly enhanced as it calls for the opposite almost of feeling. Stace is never stuck, whether she acts or not, circling through a death/rebirth unending cycle, always moving, and changing - while still staying the same. Stace is both the anchor of RBG, and the much needed comedic relief.

A third opus I didn’t know I wanted or needed. Neither better nor worse than the previous GUT. Only leaving me with the want of more sequels!

I am mortified to now realise that GUT comes from the initial of the three main characters… And I played the other two before!

5 Likes
38

Frenchiiiies :green_heart:

Boo., by Lilie Bagage

Play the game - Moiki
Le Grand Guignol

Boo. is a short spooky story, made in Moiki, in which you investigate the strange whispering voices you start hearing in the middle of the night (even though they keep asking you to leave).

While the search is fairly simple and to the point (the main block in the path can be resolved within a couple of turns), it excels in creating a genuinely atmospheric creepy environment, through both the simple dark interface, sparse and uneasy background sound/SFX, but most importantly the voiced dithered whispers. The voice creeps and disappears, climbs up your spine and runs back down double speed, jumps and leaves you just as fast - making you expect it at any turn to scream until kingdom come.

This game knows what is it doing, and doing it it extremely well. It keeps you on your toes, both bare and rich in content, on point with timing, and doesn’t stay its welcome.

3 Likes
39

Ghost Hunt, by Dee Cooke

Play the Game - Adventuron
La Petite Mort

Ghost Hunt is a tiny Adventuron game, where you must find and catch the ghosts of long passed family members (all because you wanted to use a casket as a decoration for Halloween). Since catching a ghost is not an easy affair, the ghost of your great-grandfather gives you a box that will do the job for you, if you manage to find the ghost in the first place.

It is a pretty simple parser, with a very limited map and verb list, and generous directions on how to proceed with the descriptions/responses. It’s a polished parser starter-friendly game.

Transcript: transcription_Ghost_Hunt.txt (11.7 KB)

3 Likes
40

Mathphobia, by Leon Lin

Play the Game - Twine (Harlowe)
Le Grand Guignol - I play-tested this game

Mathphobia is a decadent puzzle fest of a text-adventure.
While your classmate rejoice in the Halloween break counting their candies, you are stuck at home solving a metric-ton amount of maths problems. As the night progress, and you are no closer to be done on time (it’s due in the morning!), you are visited by a strange character, who takes on an adventure in a faraway fantasy land, terrorised by Archfiend of Arithmetic, and… where maths is the only way to defeat them.

So you go on this adventure, where maths solves everything under the sun, travelling the land, helping folks with their measurement problems, and defeating in each region a villain specialised in one type of arithmetic (subtractions, divisions, multiplications…). The calculations starts off pretty easy, amping up in difficulty when moving to a new section of the game. While some of the latter problems may be difficult (or annoying/impossible to solve if you are mathphobic), you get as many tries as you need (or check the cheat-sheet - which I’ve done for the last-ish problems)!

The premise is really silly (but down-right tortuous for this poor child!), but the writing hooks you so easily (even if, like me, solving maths puzzles isn’t a fun time). The humour is full of charm and levity, and of puns (especially the villains, that cracked me up). It’s was downright impossible for me not to cheer for the kid, and do my best to help them save the land. And by the end, weirdly satisfying to actually solve that many maths problems without help.

Anyway, it was silly fun (that made me do maths against my will, gasp)! I’d even recommend it to tweens.

4 Likes