And We're Back!... again

When I was a little kid, my parents didn't believe in corporal punishment. They believed in psychological torture instead. Whenever I was bad or did something naughty, they would give me this look like I had become the greatest embodiment of human disappointment and then with a heavy sigh they would say, "Brooks, Let me see your hand"... and so I would fearfully put out my hand and they would tap it firmly with their finger and say "Bad Brooks! Bad Bad Bad Brooks!" and then I would weep uncontrollably.

Ah... Childhood memories. Just remember parents, mental scars are the kind that don't heal.

Anyway, I'm returning (we'll see for how long (no promises!)) to blogging. I know I pretty much screwed the pooch for the IF competition, not even getting to half of the entries. (though may I say that I was pretty down with the results) I think I'll put up a post later on talking about how my general reactions, etc.

Why was I away for over a month??? Well let me tell you, my charming and well-endowed readers: It's none of your damned business. But let me just say that I couldn't bring myself to review the next game on my list, "The Bible Retold: The Lost Sheep" because I was an asshole and had signed up to beta-test that particular game and had flaked out on the author. This would be bad enough on its own, if that very same author hadn't beta-tested my own (and only) game and was one of my two best testers! So I'm sorry Ben Pennington! You are awesome!

So I didn't want to write the review, so I just kept putting it off and, well blah, blah, blah. Anyway, we'll see how this current batch of posts does me. I'm actually much busier now than I was in the past month. Work has been crazy, I'm just gearing up for a play I'm in, I'm applying to Grad-school and the holidays will soon be upon us, which, and I think I speak for all of is, means that we'll be getting an extra dose of crazy in the way of dysfunctional friends and relatives. 

But I'm back, and thanks for staying with me, or coming back.

P.S. - For those people who are simultaneously puzzle solvers, Interactive Fiction hobbiests, and Top Chef fanatics, you are going to LOVE this blog. For the rest... you can find pictures of grammatically challenged cats saying adorably stupid things here.

Mite – A review

Believe it or not this is a stuffed dust mite.

Next on the docket, we have “mite”, and “might” I say I am a “mite” intrigued by the title. Are we playing a tiny spider? Is this in reference to size (a nice contrast to the other size related title “gigantomania” (which I haven’t played yet)? I don’t know. What I do know is that it takes a certain amount of confidence to give your story such a simple and homophonic name.

Note: Please remember I spoil things in my reviews. Mostly everything. That’s just the kind of guy I am: a big stinkin’ spoiler. Consider yourself warned.

Final Verdict: Beautifully told though trifling game that becomes somewhat marred by an off putting conclusion.

Ninja’s Fate – A Review

I’m going to go out on a limb here, and guess we’re going to be a ninja in this one. Call it a premonition, call E.S.P. Maybe I picked up powers of “concentration” from the previous game (god, I hope not. I could live a nice long happy life without those kind of visions, thank-you-very-much). I just hope there’s not much combat. I’m not much of a combat-game kinda guy. I like to consider myself a pacifist. Most other people like to consider me a namby-pants sissy boy.

Anyway, on to “Ninja’s Fate”!

Note: There will always be spoilers in my always too wordy reviews. Please don’t read until you’ve finished the game. Thank you.

Final Verdict: A tribute game that is incomprehensible unless you’re very familiar with the games of the late Paul Panks(which I am not, by the way).

One Eye Open – A Review

Here's another thing with only one eye.

Another glulx game, eh? Well, the last one was pretty awesome so here’s hoping this one is too! It’s called “One Eye Open”. Hmmm… What are some things that have only one eye? Let’s see, there’s telescopes, victims of botched Lasik surgery, and pirates… Oh wait, no. Not another pirate game!! For the love of Graham Nelson, not another pirate game!

Don’t worry folks. It’s a Glulx game. It’s gotta be good, right?

Note: If you like having your game ruined for you via copious spoilers, I’d recommend reading the entire review. Or you could play the game first, like a sensible person.

Final verdict: Wow. Okay, so… I’m sorry about the pirate crack before. This is a really good game. Twisted, disturbing, and deeply uncomfortable but also really really good.

How to Write a Musical

So I've been talking with a good friend of mine and we've been discussing about possibly adapting a play I wrote a while ago into a musical. But I'm having a difficult time getting my thoughts together. If only there was an instructional video somewhere online to help me out... Hmm...




Oh! Thank god! I would never have thought of coming up with a "story", and it was very helpful to realize that a character who feels depressed can sometimes turn out hopeful in the end. What is the technical term for that? I also didn't realize that I would "need to create music" in order to write a musical. Thank you, lady-musician-and-performance-instructor-who-taped-this-mere-blocks-away-from-Broadway. You certainly seem qualified to give helpful advice on the craft of writing and musical composition. Thank you.

Oxygen – A review

At long last, I’m reviewing the first of many (nice!) Glulx games! Glulx games and Z-code games are actually pretty similar beasts, considering they both compile the same programming code. But Glulx has multi-media capacity and also allows for much larger (memory-wise) games than Z-code interpreters do. The larger the code, the more work one can (sometimes falsely) assume the writer put into the game. That or they have pictures and sounds! Either way, I’m looking forward to some good Glulxy action!

So get those lungs ready and join me for a big heaping breathful of “Oxygen”.

Note: My reviews give away everything that can be given away. Endings, solutions to puzzles, etc. If you have any plans on possibly playing this game at some point in the future, do that first before reading further.

Final Verdict: …And we’re back. A game that balances puzzles, story, and cool mechanics in a sinfully playable package brings us back to quality games I can whole-heartedly recommend.

Full review after the jump:

Pen and Paint – A review

On to the next entry in the IF Comp! This one’s called “Pen and Paint”. Hmm… Are we an artist? Are we a writer? Perhaps we’re locked in a room with a set of water colors and big tub of Indian Ink. Obviously the correct solution is to embrace the sweet kiss of death by downing the entire contents of the tub. Why more escape the room games don’t take the easy way out is beyond me.

Note: A reminder. The review will contain spoilers. Please play the game before you read further.

Final Verdict: Game starts off wonderfully but then gets mired in unpleasantly tough puzzles.

Full review after the jump: