More comments on the entries (SPOILERS)


11 Oct 1995 14:27:34 GMT

Hi.

I guess I'll give my comments on the enteries. :)

Library: This, like museum and The One, suffer from an ameturish feel
to them (this is not meant to be an attack, merely an observation).
The charachters were all one dimensional, and the plot and prolems are
reletivly simplistic. On the plus sides (even though I didn't finish
the game) The game worked well (no bugs) and on the whole was
believable. My suggestion, if you're going to keep it at this level of
difficulty (which IS the level I would have expected of the enteries)
is to try and improve the plot and story a little more. Puzzles, for
me, don't make the game. The story does. (mind you, interesting
puzzles will make me more interested in the game, but on the other hand
can make me never want to see the game again (well, with out a walkthru
;-))) Try and flesh out the charachters and make the story more
interesting. The writing seem standard to me. Nothing horrible and
nothing out of the ordinary.

Next up, Museum. I don't really know why I voted for this one, just a
feeling I had. This game was, I felt, the right level of dificulty. I
enjoy Time Travel and the story was completely coherent. The writing
was standard, but occasionally peeked my interest. I found a few bugs,
I think, particularily with the time machine (like ending up in the
wrong time zone... You'd think the Doctor were steering :)) And I did
notice the affects The Doctor Who story The Space Museum had on this.
Looking back, I maybe shoulda given this vote to someone else, but I'm
a sticker for an ending (that I can reach :))

TheOne: This one suffers like the other two, but to a lesser extent.
It has a better feel to it, and though I couldn't get very far (note, I
expected hints, and use them to count for a game, not against, unless I
constantly needed to use them). The Charachter with the pictures was
lovable, but the game itself was small and standard. When voting time
came, though, the fact that I remembered that it originally didn't work
may have put a bag image in my mind (sorry bout that)

Toonesia: I loved this one. Simple, yet innovative. Full of
atosphere and a few new ideas without being way-out experimental, as
well as being funny. I had one or two problems (what to do once you
get your gun, and more especially, the hole problem, which seemes to me
a bit unreasonable), but on the hole, that is the type of level of
problems I liked (I do wish in were a little less linear, but oh well).

Magic Toyshop: Well, it starts off good, and then you enter the
toyshop ;-). I really couldn't get anywhere past the first puzzle, and
the clues were quite horrible. Christine was well done, but from what
I saw, and what I peaked in spoilers, this game was more a bunch of
puzzles than IF. If I want puzzles, I'll get a copy of the current
GAMES magazine. Now don't get me wrong, as a mathemetitian and an
occasional GAMES reader, I love puzzles, but when it's IF, I expect
fiction (and it to be a little easier).

Mindelectric: Hard. Even with the hints I couldn't get very far into
it. The puzzles were ok, (the ones I saw) put they should have been
simplified and clues to them made less subtle. In a way, this reminded
me of Enhanced, which may be a good thing or a bad thing. (It seems
just as sterile.)

Detective: This was funny. This showed the author could program. It
was funny. Thing is, it wasn't very interactive (yes, somewhat, but
not really. Does it matter if we try to pick up the knife?) and it's
really not fiction. I voted for it because it was well done for what
it was, and because I didn't really like anything else in the Inform
Cat.

Tube: Seemed to me a little pointless. I couldn't get very far and
the puzzles really weren't believable. And of course, the frustration
I got each time trying to catch the train didn't help. nor the british
monetary units.

Weather: Well, thisone had nice prose, but I couldn't really do much
in it. It seemed fairly dificult to me, and I don't think there were
hints.

Zebulon: Seemed ok, although I didn't get very far in it. Just didn't
suck me in.

Undo: hmm my comments are getting shorter and shorter :) Well, I
couln't do anything, until I saw someone tell the walkthru and I found
it amusing. But not worthy of a point.

Now we come to Undertow. I love mysteries and I think this one comes
off rather well (despite the numerous bugs). The charachters were what
I would consider 2D, but then, as this is a competition and there were
3 of them, that seems fine to me (though I do wish they were more
active). Mysteries need good charachters, and this one did it.
Another thing mysteries need is a timeine, otherwise you'll just end up
with something like deadline, only with no actions. just a dead body
and nobody acting realistically. (If you were the murderer, wouldn't
YOU want to frame someone else?). I think this one is actually better
than deadline and suspect on the quality of writing, and better than
suspect and witness in terms of plot. If you want to see a good
mystery (or rather thriller) take a look at corruption, by the magnetic
scrolls (BTW, what is the game Wonderlands that they advertise?) which
does what suspect failed to do. You have to find evidence while
remaining alive and then show it to the police.

Next, UI haven't actually finished undertow (and was rather annoyed to
find that I couldn't stop Bill getting the gun, which was probably a
smart thing to do (since then I'd merely learn that he got it from
later in the game) but one unforgivable thing (ok, I DID forgive it and
voted for this) was that you can find out whodunnit just by following
the different people (actually, I wasn't even following the person, but
their guilt just sort of jumped outpast me ;-))

Another interesting things is the number of bugs this game has. Try
giving bill the whiskey just before he asks you for it. Or try showing
the shirt to bill just before he jumps (time stands still, and he both
jumps and takes out a gun at you). Or try stoping the boat before the
murder. Or how about finding the body, and then hearing about it as
you're going away.

Ahh well, I hope no one takes the criticisms seriously, and everyone
deserves congratulations.