Happy to help! I was going slightly round in circles just now, trying to figure out exactly which version I’d played, and if I’d missed a fix! But it was definitely the 4th Nov one. I was curious to see what the descriptions (non ASCII) version of the game looked like, which is why I’d gone back and tried to play with that on.
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A Paradox Between Worlds by Autumn Chen
Venturing into this next, which is a choice-based game about Internet fandoms. I know going in that it’s based around Tumblr, which I’ve little experience of, but I have been a part of other online fandoms since the very early 1990s. Including in LiveJournal and more recently DreamWidth, and in online forums.
First point on accessibility. There’s a lot of text to read in this game. So I really appreciated the options you can access from the start to adjust the game’s appearance, including font size. Of course many similar effects can be achieved through browser settings, but it was extremely thoughtful that the author provided their own mechanism.
The story is split into essentially a number of chapters, and flits to and fro between the real world, the story world, and the social media network of fandom. For the latter you read blogs and interact with them. I guess this is based on the Tumblr interface, but I was slightly disappointed that I couldn’t comment more directly on some of the posts. How much you interact with the blog posts affects some of your scoring, but I wasn’t paying too much attention to this. At the start of the game you are asked if you want notifications of how your story choices affect things. I turned that off, and only looked at in game stats (though interesting) very occasionally.
As the game plays out there becomes a crisis between the author of the world you are a fan of and the fandom. This is well handled, and it is fascinating to see how the story plays out, both through in story sections (which are very meta textual a lot of the time) and in the blogs, messages and other interactions between you and the other fans. It is also highly timely, given the real life situation of another well-known fandom that I guess may have inspired this.
There are a number of endings - as detailed in the quite fascinating walkthrough that is best read afterwards - and I was happy with the ending I got to. I also admired how this was a powerful piece in support of trans rights. The interface took a little getting used to, but I was wowed by the world building, and the creativity of the author. Superb work. Thank you. I think that’s my first 10 score of the competition! I played for about 70 minutes in total.
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What remains of me by Jovial Ron
Had a few issues getting this to run on my Mac, but all good now. It’s a home brewed retro styled parser game that runs in the browser. It’s based on the author’s old home, with a goal of getting on a train, but then that’s just for starters …
First comment is that the retro styled font is quite tricky to read, but it’s only a short game, and I adapted pretty ok. The user interface is a mix of text appearing on screen and a web based GUI where you can click on verbs at the bottom of the screens. I found this pretty intuitive to use, although there was one puzzle where I had to click on USE when other things might have been more obvious to me.
On the downside the implementation is extremely sparse. As you move between rooms the rooms are referred to by numbers, e.g. “You moved from room 5 to room 4”. Likewise in the bathroom when you try to use the soap you get "You don’t know how to use the soap here.” Mmmm. State changes are also not handled well, e.g. when you take something away it can still be referred to in the room description. Or even where you totally change something it’s still described in its original sense after.
However there was much I liked. The game is a simple puzzle game based around using the right objects in the right places in the right ways. And the effects are quite charming. I found it a very mellow experience playing through, and I was smiling throughout, and very happy with the ultimate ending I achieved. I also liked the end message a lot.
The under implementation is an issue still, but given its retro style approach I’m prepared to cut it quite a lot of slack. It is evoking a particular old style of adventure game. And I like much that it does other than this. Thanks to the author!
Sting by Mike Russo
Really intrigued by the blurb for this, especially "Six bees. Five bags of groceries. A four-pound dumbbell. Three sailboats. One twin.” It’s a puzzleless parser game. Looking forward to this, not least because I don’t feel up to puzzles right this moment!
The game is an episodic piece, moving through memories. It’s true that there aren’t strictly puzzles, but you can interact with the world. One chapter benefits from you taking a more active role. I found that chapter, the sailing section, tricky at first, being unfamiliar with all the sailing terms and techniques. The walkthrough gives clues, but I also greatly appreciated the very helpful response to me panickedly typing HELP then!
Generally though the piece is a mix of light puzzleless action and conversation, moving forward in time through memories (which are shifting, in an extremely evocative way), rich in nostalgia, towards an end point. I’m not going to reveal big spoilers here, but I found it to be a highly emotive and powerful piece. Thank you to the author.
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The Library by Leonardo Boselli
This is a really curious web-based piece set in a dreamlike world of linked works from classic fiction, where you can step into the book worlds, and interact with characters, and try to achieve goals.
On the downside I found it confusing navigating my way between the literary worlds. Eg I’m in book world X and really want to get to Y or Z next, but the left / right / back movement options weren’t taking me there. Though to be fair that type of exasperation and certain amount of lack of geographic control does mirror the world conjured up. However I found where I was engrossing, and did eventually get to where I wanted to.
The walkthrough is very detailed, which I appreciated, though the order in which you tackle things and need help may vary from play to play. It is necessary to make connections between the different fictional worlds e.g. an object you get in one may help in another.
I don’t think this piece would be accessible for blind people because it requires you at times to literally drag one word over onto another. Physically that can also be tricky with manual dexterity problems as I have from neurological illness.
However it’s an imaginative and well realised piece, and I enjoyed playing it. I also greatly appreciated being able to play in small portions of two of my most favourite literary works, The Count of Monte Cristo and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
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Thank you very much for the review! You pointed out a weakness of the point and click (and drag) interface that I completely missed. Accessibility is one of the strong points of interactive fiction. Removing completely the parser is not a great idea. Thank you again.
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I enjoyed the physicality of the ‘drag and drop’ method, so I hope you can make an accessible and non-accessible version.
–So, you know, I downloaded the non-accessible version of this really cool game, but when I wanted to play it, I couldn’t get it to open…
trrrdoem-dzziinngg
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I cannot in good conscience press ‘like’ on that comment.
I tried.
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Thanks folks!
I’ll be here all week…
Thanks so much for the review, and glad the game worked for you and the help got you through the rougher parts of the sailing section! I also really sweated over the blurb so I’m happy that was engaging for you. Cheers!
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In case I don’t manage to play any more games tomorrow I just want to say thanks very much to all the entrants this year, as well as thanks to fellow judges and the competition organisers.
I’m sad I couldn’t play more games in time, especially some of the longer ones. But being so ill neurologically, including losing over two weeks of time during October, I’m relieved I managed to play as many as I did.
I’ve enjoyed aspects of every entry I played, and all have given me ideas for my own interactive fiction writing. Reviewing has been great fun again, and I’d also like to thank my fellow reviewers, whose reviews I found very interesting to read throughout.
Thanks all! It’s been another great IFComp year 
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This is late but thank you so much for the review! Just fyi, the accessibility features are built in to choicescript and should be available in every choicescript game. Credit doesn’t go to me but rather to Dan Fabulich (I think).
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