====== Campus Invaders ======
Marco Vallarino. 45th place, IFComp 2022.

Hahahaha! This happened to me so fast:

> There was only one way to end up in game over in this adventure and you found it: congratulations!

Also not sure if this is a real person on the author’s campus, or if Val Kilmer is making an appearance that echoes Michael Keaton’s cameo on 30 Rock.

> Try asking Val Kelmer, the campus janitor.

I had a good first impression of this game. It clearly feels like an early/student project, but there’s a likable quirkiness to it, epitomized by the game design professor somehow sluuuurping out of the vending machine.

Unfortunately in the course of play I ran across a bunch of places where synonyms I was hoping for weren’t implemented:

> You can see a laptop computer here.
>
> open computer
> That’s not something you can open.
>
> put password in computer
> You can’t see any such thing.
>
> x computer
> Thanks to the password obtained by the general manager you can get into the computer.

Also some slightly weird modeling of player knowledge to unlock important options:

> You can see a stuffed dog here.
>
> take dog
> You wouldn’t know what to do with it now.
>
> x dog
> The stuffed dog is a golden labrador with biscuit-colored ears, black nose, soft eyes and a tag with the words “Emy”.
>
> take dog
> That’s what the “Emy” Mica Hela was looking for. A stuffed dog. I’m sure she’ll be happy to have it back.

And some unfortunate cases where the game’s own synonyms from its prose aren’t implemented.

> take projector
    Phew! The projector is really heavy, I doubt you’ll be able to go far with it. Why don’t you get a cart and put it in there?
>
> put projector on cart
> You can’t see any such thing.
>
> drop cart
> You can’t see any such thing.
>
> i
> You are carrying:
> a projector
> the closet key
> a trolley
> a pass
> a flashlight (providing light)
>
> put projector on trolley
> You put the projector into the trolley.

Anyway, in the end I found this a bit fun and light. It did make me laugh.

{{tag>"interactive fiction" played "played in 2022"}}