IFComp 2023

We're in the bathroom, on a spaceship. Neat! Let's find out who we are and what's going on.

The only escape from this sterile, functional purgatory appears to be an exit to the aft.

> X ME
As good-looking as ever.

Okay, wrong first command. That’s on me.

> AFT
You might have an easier time if you stand up first.

Awww, c’mon game. That’s on you! Or is this a joke?

Expectations set: This might not be the most polished experience.

What Worked For Me

There's some great writing in this piece! The room descriptions are terse and clear, and manage to evoke a distinctive, sterile-yet-sloppy USS Icarus. And the standout is the alarm voice, which grows more urgent, and then more personal, over the course of the game, saying things like:

The overhead voice continues. “I'm beginning to think you don't want to find your muster station. Have I said something to upset you?”

…and later:

“All crew should proceed immediately to… You know what? Fine. Go down with the ship. See if I care. You always were a stubborn so-and-so.”

It evokes Eddie the Shipboard Computer in a great way, which kept me entertained as I struggled with the central puzzle.

What Worked Less Well

This really should not have confused me, but the voice kept telling me to follow the chevrons to my muster station - *not* to actually get in the escape pod. And then I spent some time at the start poking around at what was implemented, hoovering up dozens of objects. As a result, enough in-game time passed that I'd hit the lose condition before I went looking for a way into engineering. Oops! There are quite a few red herrings - it turns out the critical path is pretty short! But honestly I'm glad I was distracted because otherwise I might have missed the best dialogue as the timer runs down. There are also quite a few descriptions not implemented that seemed like they should have been, like the smelly gym socks you can't smell, or the holographic doctor that is “nothing special” upon examination.

Overall Some good writing, and a smart way of getting it into the game. I'd love to see more of the details implemented, and a few more puzzles. Thanks for sharing David!