Nutshell: Straightforward
and swift, this is a good game for beginners; an excellent
introduction into the realm of interactive fiction.
Game Info: (where to download, etc)
Vignette
(noun): a short descriptive piece of literary writing, a brief
scene or play. Well, they hit the nail on that head! This is a
simple IF game with a few puzzles—the plot evolves around you
finding a biography of Graham Nelson so you can finish your final
paper.
Heck, I could play it in one sitting (a rare occurrence for
me), and even the author declares this game easy. For
those more experienced players, keep an eye out for in-jokes and
toss-backs to better-known aspects of IF. My
favorite is the painting of the grue on the library’s second floor.
The
hint system in this game is preferable, giving one-line suggestions as
to where to look next. The
puzzles flow easily from one to the next, and as long as you look at
everything and interrogate the NPCs on everything this game should
hold no problem for you.
| Story |
5/10 |
Even for a
short story, it is put together better than some of the other
competition entries. Of course, such brevity can't score
too high. |
| Writing |
7/10 |
Well
written, and only a few typos that detail-oriented a$$holes
like me can find--although the NPCs are one-dimensional and
plain. |
| Puzzles |
3/10 |
The
puzzles are your basic find XXX then give XXX to XXX.
You get points for just searching things! |
| Coding |
9/10 |
No
apparent bugs or flaws. |
| Parser |
5/10 |
I would
hope that more nouns and synonyms are identifiable and
describable, but seeing how it is a short game, it has a short
list of objects. |
| Humor |
5/10 |
Yes it's
silly, but not "roflmao" funny. Quirky is a
good word. |
| Involvement |
4/10 |
Some games
can make you feel like you have been transported to a
different place, this one just describes that place without
drawing the player in. |
| Lack
of Annoyance |
9/10 |
It has
always bothered me when you are carrying one key, and when
attempting to unlock a door the game interrupts with
"What do you want to unlock the door with?" |
| Game
Idea |
4/10 |
A very
undemanding idea. The hardest part is trying to get all
the points before the library closes. |
| Wildcard |
8/10 |
I
thoroughly enjoyed playing this when I first came across it,
when I was a newbie. It feels good when you get stuck on
four separate games to move onto a game that almost solves
itself. |
| Total |
59/100 |
Well, with
only seven rooms, what did you expect? |
|
