| Home | About Me | |
|
|
DELRON
|
Whitterscap's Key
Author: Duncan Bowsman
Date: 2011
ADRIFT 4.0
Reviewed by Richard Otter
I was looking for a game to play/review when I
came across a competition I didn't remember and have never played any of the
games from - The Challenge Comp in 2011. After tracking down the rules it become
clear that a game was to be written in the Adrift Version 4.0 unregistered
version or at least to its restrictions.
This game attracted my interest as I found the documentation and comments about
it, well, off-putting.
Reading the preamble to the game I got the immediate impression the game was
going to consist of random silliness. As I've said, something about the tone
almost put me off playing the game with the talk of being "openly sarcastic" and
a parody. But I agree that the Challenge Comp did seem to have very arbitrary
rules. So, maybe an arbitrary game was the answer? Although thinking about it
maybe I should write an arbitrary review? Hmmm.
So what did I find? Sparse location descriptions (in some cases none existent).
Warnings of instant death that did not kill then a warning that actually did. An
object I could take but was then still mentioned in the location description
(could have been a bug but I didn't think so). Ability to score more than the
maximum score. Little exploration needed and very little implemented. So, either
it was badly written IF or a parody of badly written IF.
I played through a few times, finding the winning solution on my first go
through (probably just luck). I was interested enough to play a few more times.
But I think the thing I didn't like about the game was that everything about
Whitterscap's Key seemed to draw my attention to the constraints it was created
under. A fault of the game? or the fault of the rules under which it was
written?
So, I've decided - I don't think I like this game but think the competition was
alright. No, I've changed my mind (arbitrarily) I like this game but not the
competition.
This game fits the rules of the original competition and I think it achieves
what it set out to do. It has a humour and style which I liked and I ended the
game thinking "That was okay I guess."
My recommendation? Give it a try.
Reviews should be considered copyrighted by their respective authors.
| Any donation would be much appreciated to help keep the site online and growing. | To help make your donation quicker and
easier just click the "Donate" button and you will be taken to the secure Paypal donation page. |
|
| Home | About Me |
