We Stole a Ship to Run a Scam by Peter M.J. Gross and Donald Conrad
Playtime: 24 minutes
me, mid-way through: I wonder where we got this boat
also me: remembers title of game
This made me want to talk about:
- The sprite art was charming, especially the costume changes (although sadly our more-legitimate counterpart only gets one outfit)
- The biggest joy of this piece for me was replaying and seeing all of the clues scattered in the village (since you can only visit one location per play)
- Very low friction, contains maybe half of a light puzzle but that was fun and casual in context.
- One thing I was thinking about was (spoilers about the ending) the treatment of colonialism, particularly in the ending. The framing is that the island has been colonized so outsiders can exploit its natural resources (sea eggs). At the end, the PC can choose whether to aid, ignore, or prevent an islander revolt. On my first play I was a bit surprised at how light of a touch the game takes with the ending—as it turns out, they’re all fairly symmetrical and each has a short “well that’s what you did” wrap-up. But on further contemplation, I like that the game lets players reach their own conclusions.
Notable line:
My one fervent wish:
I like having hints available, and have no issue with using Patrick to fill that function, but I think the his insistence could have been toned down. Sure, compel the player to talk to Patrick on the first page so they understand his deal, and later he can give advice if asked. But it detracted from the fun to be forced to listen to him in spots where I already knew what I wanted to do.
Overall, a quick, very light adventure about some in-over-their-head scammers