Completed šŸ‘» Jams Reviews Round Up! ~ Bare-Bones, EctoComp and inkJam done!

Ah Limā€™s Chicken Rice, #01-08A by Kastel

Summary: Everyone loves your chicken rice.

Thoughts: Short but effective in relaying feels (sadness and grief, but also joy and hope). The descriptions are powerful even with so little words. Thereā€™s a lot of unsaid between the lines, that makes it all the more tragic.


Last one for today, cause I played a bunch so far. Will continue tomorrow. In the meantime, I'm going to hunt some bugs :sob:
3 Likes

YOUNGBLOOD; YELLOWBELLY by swanchime

Summary: a hannibal inspired cookbookā€¦of sorts

Thoughts: You know how cooking blogs have those insane recipe posts, where they talk about their whole life, and maybe parse the recipe throughout so it becomes impossible to get clear instructions? This feels like that but the story is eerie and uneasy and there is something wrong there (and the music!), but youā€™re not sure what (tho the game hints at it with wink wink nudge nudge jokes here and there). Stillā€¦ I wouldnā€™t mind getting some Vietnamese nowā€¦
Small bƩmols: the animated background is pretty distracting (turned it of with the console), the text block is quite small (a bit annoying for the last passage), and the typing text speed is very slow (yay for pressing the SpaceBar*!)
*you might want to add this somewhere on the page

ConfigurationUploader by Autumn Chen

Note: this was also submitted to the Bare-Bones Jam

Summary: ConfigurationUploader is a program for uploading configurations.

Thoughts: Honestly thought at first Autumn had coded a new program and this was a legit bare documentation, but no, this is pure sci-fi fiction (I hopeā€¦). The whole gameplay feels like going down a Wikipedia rabbit hole (where you open the links on the page in a new tab to read later, because who knows if youā€™ll find them again) mixed with trying to understand an incomplete and obtuse documentation. The implication of the whole thing is quite frightening and bleakā€¦
Kuddos for doing all this in 4h!
also wondering if this is part of the Archivist and the Revolution mythos?

3 Likes

The Dying of the Light by Amanda Walker

Summary: Alone. Terrified. Locked in. Consumed by rage.

Forenote: Iā€™ve dealt family members with dementia in the past. Among them, two have had the most impact: a grandparent who was caring for us kids when I was still quite young, whose physical health deteriorated with their mental one (I remember thinking we abandoned them in the care home during their last weeks, which was unfair because they were so kind to us kids), and my partnerā€™s grandparent who passed fairly recently, but whose state was almost child-like at the end, and had turned extremely violent. So I went into this with some baggage alreadyā€¦

Thoughts: This was not a 5-15min game for me, mainly because I suck at parser and finding the correct command to advance. But while it is frustrating when playing most parsers, I think it helped me understand this game better. Like the PC, I felt like I didnā€™t have control over what I was doing (getting so many error messages), like I didnā€™t understand what I was supposed to do next, or couldnā€™t remember which word to use (also ooof the response of typing hint). You know you have a fork on the table but you canā€™t use the word fork in there, itā€™s a pointy thing that you stab other with. This confusion and frustration worked so well both in term of narratives but also gameplay.
I think it was pretty smart to use this point of view with this theme.

Amanda, you were impressed at how much there was in other LPM entries, but yours is as on par as the others!
Also, hugs :people_hugging:

Small thing I found

hit door in the room is neither accepted nor is given an error message. Seems like it was implemented but thereā€™s no response when using it.

5 Likes

Vampire Gold by Olaf Nowacki

Summary: I wanted to make a small dungeon crawler. It became very simple and at the same time probably very unfair, difficult and hard to beat. But it is possible (with luck and cunning

Thoughts: Dungeon crawlers, my nemesis. The difficulty of this one is not understated, itā€™s hella hard and you need to be pretty lucky (maybe undo-scum?). Iā€™ve just kept dying with not more then 40 gold pieces in my bag. Itā€™s pretty humorous tho, and the cover image is pretty cool. But I think Iā€™ll wait for someone to post a map with the enemies/items to pick up or the order do go at it before I go back to it.
Dying is funā€¦ but with moderation :stuck_out_tongue:

2 Likes

Please Leave a Message by Passerine

Note: This was also submitted to the Bare-Bones Jam

Summary: I hope he calls me back.

Thoughts: Subtle horror behind the rambling of an older woman through a voice message, complaining about everything and nothing around her, verging by end to paranoia (or just being full on paranoia). With some bits, I wondered if the woman was out of touch, and if her neighbours were that hateful, or about the reason why Mark leftā€¦ I would honestly delete her message :joy:

3 Likes

Zombie Eye: Campfire Tales by Dee Cooke

Summary: Itā€™s Halloweā€™en night and youā€™ve joined your three friends in the forest to tell scary stories around the campfire. But storytelling turns out to be more complicated than you expected!

Thoughts: Cute and short, with the Dee Cooketm graphics and vibes. as well as simple commands. Listen to some spoopy tales around the campfire. I think Iā€™ve tried all possible actionsā€¦ unless I missed something? It felt like thereā€™s no real winning state. Iā€™ll wait for the walkthrough to popup to know for sure :stuck_out_tongue:

EDIT: Turns out there is, I just didnā€™t go back and change certain talking bits properly.

2 Likes

A Study of Human Behavior by Earth Traveler

Summary: Three years ago, you were abducted by aliens and since, youā€™ve been subjected to a slew of experiments, always alone, the only human on the ship. But now, youā€™re going to be joined by a few othersā€¦ with potentially deadly consequences.

Thoughts: Game Theory/Prisonnerā€™s dilemma, ethics and morals. I managed to ā€œsaveā€ everyone on my first play (maybe Iā€™m too much of a goody-two-shoes). Felt a bit too verbose in the descriptions sometimes (especially since you canā€™t do much than follow the directives, nor does the background of the other prisoners come to play). Out of the 11 rounds, I was asked 2 questions (the two first rounds) and that was itā€¦ just wait and pass the plate.

Bonfire Night: The Black Dog by Carter X Gwertzman

Summary: Itā€™s bonfire night, and they need a sacrifice.

Thoughts: Very cult vibes/survival. Bit of an obtuse parser (def not beginner friendly), managed to exit the first building (by chance!) and exit the field maze (by change again, only to find myself stuck againā€¦). Would benefit from a mini-walkthrough, or hints for some puzzles, because I chose each action at random at the endā€¦

EDIT: I ended up replaying the game and getting to the end! I do think that the it would help to have a bit more hints (like to get the bullet).

2 Likes

The Labyrinthine Library of Xleksixnrewix by Darcomai

Summary: A Reverse Dungeon Crawlā€¦

Thoughts: Now thatā€™s different! Instead of going through a dungeon and fight your way through monsters and solve puzzles, you shape the maze and fix up the traps. This is the kind of small game where you could spend hours trying out different combinations to stop the adventurers from getting to the treasure (and breaking apart the library :scream: ). A great brain-picker and time-wasterā€¦
How this was done in 4hā€¦ :woman_shrugging: There is so freakin much in this entry, from the books content to the puzzle itselfā€¦ Thatā€™s honestly insane. Do you have access to some time-wrap or something? Can you share?
Also, thank you for the dark mode :green_heart: and essentially having part of the solution on the game page :joy:
I have yet to beat those good-for-nothing adventurers, but I am reeeeaaaaallly close! Iā€™ll get them next time!~

2 Likes

There is one way to win! I can pm you if youā€™d like :smile:

1 Like

Yes please!~

1 Like

The real secret is less impressive, Iā€™m afraidā€”most of the puzzle planning was done on paper, so not counting against the time limit (moving coins around on a grid in different ways), and most of the mechanics actually come straight from published extensions! All the room-layout stuff is Dynamic Rooms by Aaron Reed, the adventurersā€™ logic is Dijkstra Pathing by Daniel Stelzer, and the automap is Dynamic Automap by Daniel Stelzer.

So the vast majority of the four hours was spent on writing up all the room and book descriptions. Iā€™m glad you had fun with them!

2 Likes

Still, just that crammed in under 4 hours :clap:
also :joy:, the listed authors for the extensions, itā€™s almost just you

1 Like

Thanks for playing and reviewing! And glad you found the winning path in the end :slight_smile:

1 Like

Only three left in La Petite Mort category. Then 15 more in Le Grand Guignol. And then about 20 Bare-Bones to do~
Also, Iā€™ve been queuing the reviews on my Tumblr and the IFDB, with a tad more substance and better sentence structure.


Your Body a Temple, or the Postmodern Prometheus by Charm Cochran

Summary: Oh, my dear, theyā€™ve destroyed you, havenā€™t they? They could never understand a being such as yourself.
Not to worry. Weā€™ll build you a new body, with which you will take your revenge.

Thoughts: Build-a-bear but make it monster and also yourself. And also pretty creepy.
It was fun to try to be one specific kind of ā€œmonsterā€ or mix-and-match between the different parts given (min-maxing the stats was fun!). The responses from each options are quite playful and with lots of charm. While part of me wishes it was longer (control yourself with this new body and interact with other people), it is also quite perfect the way it is now.

2 Likes

~ ~ ~Into Darkness~ ~ ~ bu Jacic

Summary: Straying into darkness is easy, returning is far harder. What lurks in the ancient forests where mortals should fear to tread?

Thoughts: Light-horror poem about walking in the woods, with a bit of a Romantic vibes. I liked how the different lengths of the lines made the cadence a bit wrong (which adds to the horror bit). While there are difference choices, it seems like the end is always the same (how do you get the other ends?). Having a fear meter in the on the main page felt a bit distracting, as the poem holds on its own just fine.
Pretty impressive for just 4h.

EDIT: Keep track of what choices you picked and which order. It is indeed possible to reach the other 3 endings and get all achievement, but you need to be bit smart about it :stuck_out_tongue:

1 Like

Last La Petite Mort entry on my list is a parser.

Taller Tech Mauler Mech by Andrew Schultz

Summary: An ad for an all-night retro-fest at Chuck E. Cheese on Halloween. All those video games to play! For a flat fee! You havenā€™t been, forever. There are a few that just arenā€™t the same on MAME. Like Robotron, which freezes up if you try too-fancy moves too often.

Thoughts: First time playing an Andrew Schultz rhyme game*, so had no idea what to do at first. Went to download and check the walkthrough to get the gist of the puzzle (a.k.a. make rhymes matching the name of the room instead of using regular commands). The alliteration is pretty fun, but very difficult, imo*. Because it was done in such short time, there are no hints/help (but there is a downloadable walkthrough) to get to the next phase. Itā€™s a lot of the guessing game there.
So I ended up following the walkthroughā€¦ and got stuck. The Ho Hum command doesnā€™t seem work, so the next ā€œeventā€ isnā€™t triggered. Final score: 14+1/23

But the premise is very silly, and the writing is funny!

*ESL tearsā€¦ :sob:

1 Like

THAT WHICH IS EXEMPT FROM RESURRECTION by swanchime

Note: this game seems to only be playable on Android devices, or requiring an emulator. I luckily have an Android phone, so I did the risky thing of downloading and installing from an unknown source FOR SCIENCE!!
Youā€™re welcome

Summary: nothing is exempt from resurrection: THE SWAMP RAMBLINGS OF A MAD SCIENTIST

Thoughts: This is a short VN where you seem to be reviving someone, and ramble on like a crazy person about your past, and why you revive them? The prose is quite cryptic and nonsensical at time (which is very much that authorā€™s style). It also seems like a sequel to wretched star, I think? (which I also found super confusing). I didnā€™t get itā€¦

In the Blink ofā€¦

Yeahā€¦ the joke is running stale now :joy:


La Petite Mort - final thoughts

Iā€™m going to share @AmandaBā€™s sentiment about this yearā€™s batch of mini-games, in how impressive the entries were in terms of length or gameplay mechanics. 4h is a very short amount of time to make something happen, so :clap: for every one who tried and submitted.
Not everything was scary (Iā€™m not mad about it, I can only handle so much horror), quite a few entries were very sad*. But all of them were pretty interesting in either their take on horror, or gameplay.

Onto the Grand Guinols!

*so was the IFComp as well!

3 Likes