Request for Beta Testers for IFComp 2021 Game: AardVarK Versus The Hype

Playing Beta Testing Requests and Discussion
1

So.
In 2013 I entered IFComp (Tex Bonaventure and the Temple of the Water of Life -5th overall, just behind Ryan Veeder. And a different game that was also (partly) by Ryan Veeder. And two other games!).
“That was fun!” I said. “I should do that again!” I said.
I wrote down some ideas.
I wrote a proposed transcript for one of the ideas.
I started actually coding out that transcript…
And here we are, eight years later.

AardVarK Versus the Hype is an Inform 7 written game, which is intended to be a fun, fast moving adventure, with witty dialogue choices, and some light puzzle elements that make you go “Oh, neat!” rather than “REALLY?”

Probably best described as “The Thing” meets “American Pie”. Except without any real gore, or raunchy bits. “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” meets “Clueless”, except there’s no Jeff Goldblum and nobody’s rich or fancy. “The Faculty”, though nobody remembers that movie. If you remember that movie, you are the audience for this game.

I’ve been living with this game for eight years. I am WAY too close to it to know if it is at all comprehensible to anyone but me.

One thing that should help potential beta testers: I’ve fully implemented an adaptive hint system.

Please help me get this thing out of my head and into the real world.

PM me here, or reply to this, if you want to help.

3 Likes
2

I’m willing to give it a try. How thorough a testing do you want? (Should we be looking for basic disasters, like containers that can be put into themselves, or more on the level of typos and spelling mistakes?)

3

I’ve mailed you, TC.

-Wade

4

Thanks to you both. I’ve PMed or emailed you.

To anyone else thinking about testing, the more the merrier, certainly!

I’m looking for typos, rogue line breaks, missing synonyms, non-essential actions that SHOULD receive a unique response, and maybe one or two possible Easter egg locations. And of course any runtime errors or game breaking bugs.

The design/puzzles of the game is pretty locked down by this point, unfortunately. But the hint system should at least make it so any bad puzzles are solvable!