I’ll use this topic to post some thoughts on the entries as I play them.
You Cannot Speak: an Ink entry in the “workers in space” genre, which I usually enjoy. I found the main character’s voice and the worldbuilding elements engaging and well developed, but the story ends abruptly after leaving the starting location. I played twice and there were some inconsistencies in the passages (I think a“shower” link appeared after having done it?). As a teaser it worked well, I’d certainly play the finished story.
A typo:
inedxible
Temptation in the Village: adaptation of a Kafka story fragment which works very well in classic parser IF format, with the isolated setting, lack of backstory and claustrophobic atmosphere. The PC’s voice is suitably old-fashioned and somewhat unsympathetic (doesn’t seem to like dogs). The game world feels alive, with scripted character actions and new exits unsettlingly popping up.
I stumbled a bit in some rooms that use diagonal directions but do not list them in description (old barn). Actions and puzzles are well hinted, each one unblocking the next. There is a good build up of the tension and the ending seemed to me as a reflection on the nature of IF characters, very nice. I wished I had been allowed to show the revolver to the funny guy in the end.
Imperial Throne: strategy game like King of Dragon Pass implemented in TADS. I had trouble discovering the commands and had to look at the walkthrough at first, but trying something that works is really satisfying. Moving troops is fiddly, as you have to remember where you last deployed them (or scroll up to find out). I couldn’t find a troop status command, but it would be handy.
I’m not very good at this type of game, so things spiraled out of control and my empire ended, but it was fun. Can you actually win the game?
Amusing quote
There is a new game that is popular among the poor,
a fun diversion involving dice and beads.
>tax gambling
The word “gambling” is not necessary in this story.
>tax dice
The word “dice” is not necessary in this story.
>tax game
Which game do you mean, board games, or video games?
Fascism - Off Topic: the mechanics of this slice-of-life scenario are stated upfront: there is a fixed length scripted sequence (with some randomized events) that we can interrupt. There are three possible outcomes based on the turn we do it (too soon, at an exact turn, or too late). Based (no pun intended) on the PC’s voice and the context, my interpretation of the game is that it’s about a type of reply guy who do not see themselves as fash, but will excuse and enable it if they have the chance to. So dropping the lines successfully and winning the game means that… everybody loses?
you are an ancient chinese poet at the neo-orchid pavilion: I enjoyed the style and the philosophical musings as I moved through the pavilion. For the final challenge I tried to compose a chilled poem and got a really violent ending (#8), so I’m curious about what choices took me there.
Moon Logic is a Zork parody wrapped by an options UI (pressing buttons will have text commands entered automatically) with real-time commentary between two characters whose names reference Space Quest. It’s very impressive technically and perfectly playable on mobile in portrait mode. Game mechanics are sometimes intentionally annoying, though. Highly recommended.
The Witch Girls: supernatural teenage story set in Scotland in the mid oughties, with a great sense of place and lots of fun pop culture references. Each passage typically has only one exit link, with secondary cycling that influence the outcome. I enjoyed the “be careful what you wish for” plot and the availability of the Harlowe back button to explore the story without restarting. There are lots of options for the presentation (font, colors, music). I can’t comment on the music as I had to play without sound, but I will check it out sometime, as music is an important theme in the game. I really liked it.
PURE: the first impression is great, a splash page with a high-res version of the game artwork. The game is laid out as a linear series of puzzles, and all the elements in the game world are heavily symbolic: the ‘about’ text states that the game is an allegory of the trans experience. The author does a good job balancing puzzles and literature: the difficulty level of the former is low enough to not be distracting of the background story, but they still feel elaborate and satisfying to solve. There is a build-up of horror elements, with the solution requiring causing harm to other living entities in the game (I really tried several ideas to liberate the shadow creature from the machine, but they didn’t work).
Overall this is a strong comp entry, but it also suffers a bit from some roughness in the implementation. Parts of room descriptions are actions that should be dynamic but aren’t (objects on a table mentioned after we’ve taken them). Some objects do not have a description and there are actions that should be checked for repetition (looking at the pedestal will make the Heir to give us the cage every time). None of these really spoil the game but they are typical of authors’ early works. If part 2 is in the pipeline I’d recommend giving this one a revamp so the production values reflect the gained experience.
Fired: the cover art and the provenance reminded me of the short film Forklift Driver Klaus that got some cult following in Spain. However the PC’s voice as an aggrieved (former) employee is more like that of Little Blue Men.
The game features a main quest and multiple optional achievements (I scored 11 on my first attempt, and 19 on my second), and the puzzles are all logical and well clued save for one (the blob), for which I had to use the built-in help. The writing is sharp and funny and everything is solidly implemented (only glitch I found was that the punch cards were still mentioned in the clock description after having burned them). I had a lot of fun with this game, it made me want to try the ifGP25-winning German version too.
Crescent Sea Story: a Twine adventure with RPG elements (apart from the stats building, the pretty graphic style and certain symmetry in the world layout reminded me of classic console JRPGs). I found the setting disconcerting at first, as there are fantasy elements like spells and but also cities with motor vehicles and computers. It is a world where sounds “doppler out”, suggesting a sort of alternate Earth? The game sections are divided into smaller quests, presented as memories, that can be solved in any order. Puzzles are well clued and mapping is advised, although you can look up the maps on the walkthrough (I did neither, as the mazes are small enough that brute-forcing is doable). There are multiple endings, and the one I got (the “Revenge” one) implied it was not an optimal one (or that there’s one, even). I thought the text effects are really effective (is this Harlowe with the Sugarcube sidebar)?
Violent Delight: written in Decker with a very unique UI that seamlessly emulates multiple environments within the game world, including several computer systems and a virtual note pad. The plot revolves around a video game with hidden content that can be unlocked, progressively getting more unsettling and existential. The game makes a very clever use of timers to build the tension (including a brutal 1 hour delay that can be worked around by adjusting the system time). I found the creepypasta-like story and visuals very atmospheric (loved the signature widget).
Pharaoh’s Heir: an archaeological puzzler written in Ink. The game is structured in interlocked flashback scenes that can be accessed at any time. Progress is made by obtaining clues in one scene and using them to solve puzzles in another one. Puzzles involve complex object manipulation and some of them can be unforgiving (a wrong move will reset the puzzle). For a moment I thought about giving up, as I thought I was soft-locked and had to restart. I finally wasn’t and could proceed to the endgame, which was quite rewarding.
INPUT PROCESS: a cyberpunk romance story, told as a series of conversations between the main character and an artificial personality of their creation. The presentation is very distinctive, with anime-style graphics and subtle flicker effect that looks amazing. There is also timed text, although it can be sped up and it does not slow things down too much. A very atmospheric and cool story about the feelings of a virtual personality. The storyline does not seem to branch too much but there are multiple andings (I found two), so choices matter.
Cart: a dark period piece about how the main character comes to be the driver of a night soil cart. The story features inequality, racism and mass violence in a way that parallels can certainly be drawn to the present. I could not guess the exact setting: it seems to happen during some conflict in England before the 20th century. Althought the game is not very long, there’s quite a lot happening and I won’t spoil the plot with too many details here. I liked the writing, it has a literary quality to it. The Sugarcube back and forward UI is enabled, and very convenient to backtrack and explore different branches (I did not find alternate endings though).
The Kidnapping of a Tokyo Game Developer: very unique design that mixes puzzle solving, comedy and the biography of Kenji Eno (a real game dev who I admit I had to look up). Solving the puzzles will unlock each section of biographical details, which give the game a certain edutainment vibe (which I didn’t mind, as I find the subject matter interesting and the writing and presentation are very good). There are a lot of meta references and video game industry in-jokes that worked for me, but YMMV.
Slated For Demolition: this is a Twine game dealing with personal experiences of trauma, anxiety and depression. It uses symbolic imagery related to food in a powerful way. Passages are short and punchy, and the writing is excellent. Another thing I liked is that the game-mechanical elements (like quests and world model) help to anchor the emotional themes, and the game as a whole is very well-rounded.
A lot of care has been put into the presentation, too, with color-coded scenes and very clear indication of the links that will drive the story forward and the ones that will show extra info about the current scene. There’s an effect I found especially impressive: after completing the game I checked the game source to see how the spaghetti flood of the grocery store was made. Out of the entries I have played this is one of the strongest ones. Congrats!
eek oh my I certainly did not expect someone to look at my source code! I was being a bit lazy as a dev in that bit, I swear I’m much more organized and disciplined about generalizable code in my day job! But I’m glad it was compelling enough for you to check out and that you liked the game overall.
I do it a lot and I don’t expect source code to be perfect either … if it’s good enough, great! (I also love looking at source control if I have the time.)
I think a lot of times it’s cool to see how someone did something. To me it’s part of the experience. (Also, I like to see if I missed any game text.)
My Creation: Very short parser game about a crying baby. I’d summarize the game as raw, both in implementation detail and plot. The technical brusqueness somehow works in the game’s favor. It feels like the author needed to take the story out of their system and could not bother to polish it or make it user friendly in any way.
Escape the Pale: there was some tension in this game between the simple addictive trading mechanics (zone-out, make numbers go up), and the very serious backdrop and horrific events that drive the story. Like My Creation, the lack of UI frills give this work an urgent quality which feels appropriate to the subject matter. There is an author’s coda that is easy to miss, so be sure to quit the game using the explicit option, rather than just closing the browser tab. This game worked for me in multiple levels, there is depth to be found behind the austere aesthetics.
The Reliquary of Epiphanius: another archaeological adventure, this one implemented in Vorple, which allows for some exquisite styling (the accompanying PDF is also very professionally laid out). The story is beautifully detailed, providing a lot of background about the history of the featured location and artifacts. The game mechanics, in contrast, lean towards the old school of adventuring, with a maze (which thankfully has no scrambled directions) and a light source that runs out. These throwback elements and their logistics provide most of the difficulty, while the main puzzles have the right balance to feel rewarding without frustration. I also enjoyed the laid-back pace, the quest manages to be compelling without resorting to gun fights or chases.
A bug I noticed
When I got into the crypt and examined the artworks, I got Franco’s comments before the character was introduced, which was a bit confusing.
But I’m glad it was compelling enough for you to check out and that you liked the game overall.