by Star. 62nd place, IFComp 2022.

Buggy, lots of getting injured, game-like in that we have stats, outcomes feel hard to predict.

What’s working for me:

• My goal is clear right away - get through the forest to the ancient town where I will be safe. :+1:
• This has a lot of the flavor of an old “Choose Your Own Adventure” book, in a good way. Interaction is very coarse, it’s all very adventure-y and intense, and there’s no guessing what will be around the next corner.
• The starship thing seems like it might be a more coherent part of the setting than I thought when I first encountered it.

Mixed feelings:

• So, I think I stumbled into the bridge of a Star Trek starship, and got beamed across the finish line through virtually no action of my own; as an ending it was kind of abrupt and not that satisfying, but this could be intentional in keeping with the CYOA book influence. A lot of pages in this story have no choices, although the few choices I made did seem to have some logic and consequence.

What’s not working for me:

• While the stylized background is neat, the white text against it was occasionally tough to read. (I’ve seen the opposite feedback elsewhere, maybe I just need to update my glasses prescription.)
• I’m surprised the six foot ravine is so unjumpable. Also “It will take all your stamina to avoid certain death” sounds like certain death, given the warning to not run out of stamina from the beginning of the game.
• I went from “overstuffed” to “starving” in one turn? More generally, I didn’t feel like the displayed stats added much, which isn’t helped by them maybe being buggy. I sat down at a table and somehow that killed me? The death screen is confusing because I still seem to have stamina and health.
• No credited playtesters.

Bugs

• Spelling: “If you become to injured”
• Grammar: “You take several steps back before sprint full force at the ravine” and several more spelling issues in this passage.
• I somehow ended up back at the cottage and the narration is not sure who’s in the cabin, even though I’ve already encountered them on this playthrough.
• “You are battered, bloody, and barely clinging to life” says the narration, but my stamina box still shows eight stamina points - I think maybe I’ve lost one? Oh, on the next click my health drops dramatically, even though the action was “look around,” so I think this is a bug.

Potentially cool, seems unfortunately buggy.