by Andrew Howe. 63rd place, IFComp 2022.

Likeable, funny, puzzly.

What’s working for me:

• The character of Gaffor seems well-sketched to me, and lent a lot of personality to the game.
• There’s an understated sense of humor throughout - the scenario itself is funny, the aliens trying to interpret earth artifacts.
• Very structurally sound. There’s a Ron Gilbertish puzzle sense here, in that task A is derailed by task B, is derailed by task C. Also the game starts with a simple puzzle before opening up to a more complex one. Likewise the explorable space is constrained at first and then opens up more as you go, as a player kindness.

What’s not working for me:

• It’s kind of missing a stinger - we powered up a phone, but we don’t find out what amazing thing we discover on it. Maybe it’s the Rosetta stone of our civilization, or they discover hypno-sloth which destroys their civilization, or there’s just a joke about still being locked out of the phone once it’s powered up. Instead the game quietly ends as the phone powers up which is maybe a dramatic ending but not a comedic one. It felt like if a Mario 1 level ended with you just running past the flagpole and off the screen without special music or animations.
• Constraints on exploration can seem arbitrary and don’t have a narrative explanation - you read about all the exits in the main text, but then some are simply not available to you until you need them. One common fix for this would be allowing the player to try those “blocked” exits and have Gaffor remind the player what they’re focused on for now, and that there’s nothing useful in that direction yet (which is practically the core mechanic of Violet :joy:).

I like it! It’s got personality and is well-executed.