- Control by Nicholas Wright (TADS3)
- Seduce Code by Octarine Flash (ADRIFT)
- Sex on the Beach by Hanon Ondricek (HTML)
- Entrancing Fling by Lost Trout (HTML)
- Evil on Queen Street by ArdRi Games (ADRIFT)
- The Swap by Broken Knight (TADS3)
Update 9/12 (new SugarCube version of Entrancing Fling added):
https://mega.nz/#!Yn5kWKpQ!Ae9sqFesjZ-FGH98py-1z7hqq6_nOFIyCv_7SbLABd4
They are also available for download from here. More information on how to play the games can be found on the AIF FAQ.
Please rate the games at this voting site:
https://goo.gl/forms/REK2ohIxpa3ntEK32
Voting will run until the end of September 24.
Feel free to discuss the games openly during the voting period.
If any of the authors want to release an update to their games, please just send them to me, though not everyone will necessarily get the updated versions.
Thank you to the authors for making these games for everyone to enjoy!
I never thought I'd read "You cum on the corpse's face" in an AIF game. My fault for trying it, I suppose.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all your hard work Lost Trout!
ReplyDeleteOkay, I got the TADS game sorted, now I need to figure out how to run ADRIFT...potentially on a Mac, but I know that might be asking too much!
ReplyDeleteI can't open Evil on Queen Street in Glulxe on Windows...it says it's a .blorb file, but the interpreter says it's corrupt. Should I be running it a different way?
DeleteWhen I run it, it opens in Adrift.
DeleteAnd...I can't even make ADRIFT run. On Windows 10.
DeleteI have QTads installed, and in those games some of the text overlaps weirdly. There's no preference for text wrapping, so not sure what's up there.
DeleteI tried to open EoQS in Adrift and it says it's not a .taf file. I only have the Adrift runner installed, not the whole suite. Is that the problem?
DeleteI don't know but with the complete suite in windows 7 work for me.
Deletewhat version of adrift are you using ? The runner 5.0.35 works for me (but I haven't windows 10) For tads I'm using html tads.
DeleteI haven't used QTADS, but I can say that mine (at least) should display as expected in HTML Tads
DeleteFor Adrift on Windows 10, I was able to simply grab the "ADRIFT 5.0-Files Only" package and it worked for me.
DeleteThanks, I'll give those a try!
DeleteFirst and foremost, a shout-out to all authors. Well done! While I wouldn't claim that any game is perfect, I think it's safe to say that every game from the 2017 minicomp has at least something to recommend it, none of them are out-and-out bad, and two of them ('Sex on the Beach' and 'The Swap,' for my two cent's worth) are both solid and very good games in their own right.
ReplyDeleteSome thoughts on reviewing these games:
The review system is ultimately what bothered me the most about this mini-comp. Specifically, the fact that the lowest score I could give something was 'OK.' Whatever happened to 'bad?' Or 'needs improvement,' or 'poor?' Perhaps it's to keep the jerks of the world (or those perceived as jerks, which depending on who you are may simply be whoever might deign to say that something you made is actually 'bad' in any respect) from ruining somebody's day, but it makes me feel very uncomfortable to be unable to tell an author that something they made is in any way unacceptable.
In the absence of such a system, I want to submit my one 'poor' mark here: Evil on Queen Street is almost unplayably buggy, and thereby I give it a 'poor' on technical implementation. I was able to complete the game, but it was mostly a matter of realizing that the commands listed on the readme file are in certain cases literally the only commands that moved the story forward, with no synonyms available. Oddly enough, the writing (while reminiscent of the more sexually violent games from AIF's early history) was in my opinion pretty decent, and while playing it was a chore I think it would have actually made for one of the better minicomp entrants this year if the author had been able to clean up the code.
I'm also a little hesitant on the 'great' button. Some of my favorite AIF games of all time have come out of minicomps, and unless the minicomp game is truly exceptional I will, by habit if nothing else, gage 'great' by the best all minicomps from the past have had to offer in each category and judge all entrants accordingly.
On that note, my one 'great' score, and I wanted to say this here because I think it deserves recognition for it, is the technical implementation of 'Sex on the Beach.' I wouldn't call it a particularly sexy game, but it does a fabulous job at what it does, and I'm very impressed by how many options in the game actually work and give interesting results.
Definitely a solid mini-comp this year. For my money, the best game is the calendrically latest entrant, 'The Swap.' One major technical issue with that game though: the 'divorce wife' function does not seem to work.
If someone decides to spend their free time to create something for my personal amusement, that's "okay" with me.
DeleteThe voting involves three choices. It doesn't matter what those labels are because everyone knows what those choices mean. In the end, it all works because...statistics.
That might have been unclear. All the authors certainly understand what those three choices mean regardless of what the labels say.
DeleteFor voters, the labels provide a hint that the choices can be used to convey a greater resolution of opinion in the traditional 5-10 range. In the end, it doesn't matter though because we only need the relative ranking of games.
Yea, rating system is definitely a little wonky. Numbers might have just been a better call. Also having to redo the survey for every game is a bit weird.
ReplyDeleteNumbers are also wonky. On a 1-10 scale, what does a 5 mean? Is that a failing grade? Is that the middle? The number 5 means nothing. There's a reason Netflix abandoned star ratings.
DeleteThe math only requires two choices, and I have offered three.
As far as I'm concerned, survey-givers solved the 'numbers' problem a long time ago. Start with a scale of 1 to something (5 or 9 usually, depending on how granular you want things to be), set the middle number as 'average,' set the low number as 'poor' or 'unsatisfactory,' set the highest number as 'very satisfactory' or 'excellent.'
DeleteGive me a system like the one I indicated above, and I know exactly what at least the most extreme and the middle numbers mean, and I'll determine the shades of meaning between them myself. But if you tell me that the lowest score is 'OK' or 'meh,' then my impulse is to follow your directions. If the game basically worked but didn't particularly interest me in terms of a certain category, I rated it an 'OK' in that category.
If you don't like how I use your rating system, then you may want to look over your instructions again before blaming the reviewers for not doing it right.
2/10
DeleteInitial thoughts...
ReplyDeleteControl -- I like how multiple paths through the game are implemented. Descriptions could be a bit more verbose, but the writing is okay otherwise. Haven't figured out how to "win" yet.
Seduce Code -- Haven't made it past the intro yet. The quality of the writing, grammar and coding really put me off on the first page.
Sex on the Beach -- A huge revelation to me. I usually hate CYOA games, but this one was excellent. I always hate music in AIF games too, but in this game it really set the tone well. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished version.
Evil on Queen Street -- good writing, but I do not like the scenario one bit. Not great implementation. Seems to suffer from the usual Adrift problem of having to do things in the order the author wants.
The Swap -- very well written and implemented. Sexy too. My blue balls look forward to the finished version.
Overall -- some decent efforts here. I'd recommend The Swap and Sex On The Beach, which look like they could be pretty great when finished. Dismaying that at least two of the games focus on rapey stuff.
A point of order - there's no inherent Adrift problem of having to do things in the order the author wants. Linearity in the game design has nothing to do with the engine choice.
DeleteI haven't actually be able to play Evil on Queen Street - I find myself actually recoiling on behalf of the characters during the intro!
DeleteBUT - that's not a complaint. I suspect it speaks to the quality of the writing and my own areas of interest. So kudos to that, but I may not be able to rate all of the game, ultimately.
And it's certainly not a moral judgement. Lord knows I've had plenty of questionable actions in my games (which are numbered at... 6, now, I think. Woot!)
Fair point BBBen. There have been plenty of non-linear, excellent Adrift games. But in my experience the lower quality, linear games are much more likely to be written in Adrift than in other languages. It's maybe just a coincidence. I don't know Adrift.
DeleteIn my limited experience with Adrift (I worked with it about a week) it is a "no code necessary" experience a bit similar to Quest. While you can do some arcane scripting, everything is usually done via switches and dropdown boxes and alternate texts.
DeleteWhile non-linear narrative would be *possible* to do in Adrift, it's possibly not *conducive* to do the great deal of work it would require.
(I'm not slamming Adrift, I just didn't jibe with it and this is my impression.)
It is a "no code necessary" engine but there's nothing about that that makes it inherently linear. The game design systems have all sorts of means to bring in interactivity and branching. Non-linearity in Adrift is as easy as linearity, except in as much as it will automatically make any game in any engine more complex. I think it's a misapprehension that many people have that making a complex game is actually more complex in Adrift - it isn't, it's pretty much always a simple system to use.
DeleteBy the way - I haven't written off The Swap as 'done with it' yet, so if you see errors and want to let me know, please do! Probably in a month or so I'll re-release it with fixes in place. Email me at brokenknigtx AT gmail
ReplyDelete- or don't, this is just a post, not a cop.
got my own email wrong...
Deletebrokenknightx AT gmail
Big thanks to Lost Trout for organizing the minicomp, and thanks to all of you for playing, or trying to play, my game. I promise if I get around to finishing my next one it'll be a lot less less unpleasant with its subject matter!
ReplyDeleteI want to apologize for those who find the game buggy or limited. I implemented basic functionality for anything I would have thought to do, but obviously everyone does and thinks things through differently. My contact information is in the readme, so if you have the time or interest, I'll do my best to incorporate synonyms, phrasings, and options you send my way.
I'm unfamiliar with the vagaries of Adrift programming, but after playing EoQS, I wonder if it wouldn't be better served through a more simplified, CYOA format? If the focus of the game is not multiple variations/detail acquisition, I feel like something as simple as Twine might make for just as satisfying an experience. That said, there's the riddle-puzzle aspect that you don't get in CYOA, so if that's important to a story's progression, then world-models are a better choice (or formats like Let Me In). Personally, if I'm playing parser IF, I expect a lot in terms of action and object implementation because that's part of the fun.
DeleteRe: the content...people like what they like. Taboo plays an important role in a lot of erotica. As long as there's some sort of warning that a story contains XYZ content, it should be fair game, and power/control fantasies are legitimate kinks. The name of the game is "Evil"... Detail implementation might help qualify/enhance the nightmare qualities to keep things from seeming too tawdry: I found myself trying to examine the cord or parts of the room in order to find a way out, and those could be good opportunities to emphasize either the powerlessness of the PC, or provide chances to upset/change the inevitable.
I think the story begins with a nice atmosphere of dread; the backstory details help. The ultimate payoff felt a little rushed, but I might just be missing some pieces.
Yeah, I wouldn't worry about making the content tamer just to avoid putting people off, that's the way it works with erotica. Your work won't necessarily appeal to everyone, but that often means it appeals more strongly to a particular niche.
DeleteWell, I've gone through and played them all, so here are my thoughts on the games. No comment on EoQS, since I'm obviously biased.
ReplyDeleteControl - I dug it. It was a fun little smutty adventure with a nice variety of options to see your way through the story. it was well implemented, and I got to proceed exactly how I wanted through to the end with no hiccups. The writing could have been better, but it served the purpose well enough.
Entrancing Fling - This one was a swing and a miss for me. I wasn't really interested in the affair with the neighbor guy since he seemed like a douche, so I spent my time focusing on writing and fucking the boyfriend, but nothing ever happened with either plot thread after the first couple of points. After thirty in game days I gave up. The writing was good, there just wasn't enough of it. I might have done something wrong and be missing a bunch of content, though. I can't really blame the game for that, since I intentionally chose not to pursue the obvious plot.
Seduce Code - It seemed like a game that was done well enough, but I just wasn't hooked by the story. I've never really been a fan of genre games or movie rip offs in AIF, so this was a big miss for me personally. It seemed perfectly fine, though. I'm sure the right person would really enjoy it.
Sex on the Beach - Mechanically excellent. Everything worked exactly like it should, and it was consistently well written. That said, the characters felt paper thin and purely there to function as props for the sex scenes. I get it, since it was a Penthouse letter type thing, but it just didn't work for me. It probably deserves to win the contest, imo, but I'm kinda luke warm on it.
The Swap - I really disliked the scenario, it's just not for me, but I really liked both the mechanics of the game and the writing. Broken Knight nailed it, and if I had liked the concept at all it would have been game of the contest for me. Regardless, he's got a big fan now. I'm definitely going to go back and play all his previous games.
All in all it was a really fun bunch of games.
I fully expected to hate The Swap too. I cannot stand cuckolding scenarios (they were always the worst parts of Goblinboy's games in my opinion) but in this case I thought the characterization of the protagonist and the main NPC and the quality of the writing made me forget my dislike of the kink and get into it anyway.
DeleteThere isn't too much to do in Entrancing Fling overall, but for scenes with your boyfriend, you would want to increase your voyeurism to 3 and then bring up your exhibitionism to 3 as well.
DeleteHow do you increase exhibitionism?
DeleteYou push Brynn to make her excited when someone is staring at her or when someone remarks on her looks or when she sees something involving exhibitionism.
DeleteThanks
DeleteAbove all, thanks to all the authors for their game. I have tried to play all more completely that I could (and this means that I have appreciated more or less all the games), before beginning to speak to each game I would like to ask if anal is possible in The Swap (The only thing that I find strange it's that the drawer cannot be examined) and if you can fuck the dragon in control ? Now to the game
ReplyDeleteControl - Probably the more minicomp game of all, clean technically, with some interesting variations in completing the game and sex, fun and not bad for a short game, the only thing missing was to add something to attract more emotionally the player.
Seduce code: I like much the idea, but more right for a game a bit more complicated, in this case it's understand what to do in the little turns you have and after complete the game swiftly, you haven't time to know the characters or feel the tension. Writing cheats I found that you wanted to write scene also for sue, so probably the game isn't exactly how you wanted.
Sex on the beach: Technically very interesting, fun to play one or two times, but the customization was too exaggerated and the characters seemed with little personality to me, maybe playing many time with different customization would find many pearls, if this is the case sorry to not have done it for now.
Entrancing Fling: a great exercise of style, but in a open sand games I cannot appreciate the story, good writing but it's repetitive find something new, you cannot save and you don't know if you can find other things modifying the values or you have maxed one (some hints on when a value modify something would have been very useful).
I would really want to see this in a true game, but probably would be very difficult.
Evil on Queen Street: The worst defect of this game is the technical part, adrift is better that chyoa because where there are tension the need to find what to do (write) add to the tension, but in this case you have to find what the author wanted you to do and "searching the action" is always boring, but the author was very ill, so I can understand that this isn't exactly how he wanted the game.
A mention to the story, maybe not original but well done and right for a minicomp, with right characters and trying to invest emotionally the player even if it was a short game.
I have also to say that when minicomp was announced I thought if someone would have put incest in a game, I'm bored from how much after Patreon created so much bad games on this kink, but at the same time found sad that many authors wouldn't try this kink, even if they had good ideas, because the "market" was too full, because you can make good games, I think not only to Palmer that makes only taboo games, but also Goblinboy that when put incest in his games was to elevate the story (but it's not right to compare with an author that became waht he was with years of work).
For this kudo for having chosen to try to make this story, I'm neutral to incest and don't like too much dark stories, but I appreciate the effort and a story well done is always good (and like Bbben has said you need to write what you want, there will be always someone that will appreciate it).
The Swap: With control the second game with story right for a minicomp and clean technically.
Fun to play and also to do the spying, but maybe I haven't done the right things, but the emotional part was very low.
Rose was also passive and also if you found something wrong with your wife and best friend there wasn't way to act with this informations and the end seemed strange with the character too naive.
If It's I that I haven't found how do, sorry, but once that you can spy your wife and friend would have been good the possibility to spy more than some parts of scene without hearing their discussion or follow the evolution and would also been interesting to act with what you found.
Thanks to all for your games another time and I hope to see other works from you.
Evil on Queen Street (sugarcube): this version is more polished technically (for obvious reason), but at the same time lose a bit of tension, naturally the game wasn't born this way and a simple "porting" is not as creating the game from the beginning.
DeleteFirstly, a big thanks to all the authors, as well as a congratulations for actually getting anything released, which is a big feat itself. Going game to game:
ReplyDeleteControl: A nice little game, with options as to how you play it and a few different endings. The idea behind it was solid, but the execution was a little shaky, and the sex scene with the princess felt a little threadbare and rushed. Not a bad game though, and definitely a good foundation to build upon.
Entrancing Fling: I actually really liked this one. I thought the format of it was really interesting, and I liked how you were giving Brynn nudges towards the attitudes and actions you wanted her to do. I also thought that having the game go day by day put a really interesting iterative spin on things, so you could see the progress Brynn was making day after day. I do have a few complaints - it seems a little low on content once you've played for a while, and you end up seeing the same scenes repeat a little too often. It would also be nice to be told when you've maxed out a stat as far as the game's concerned, so I as a player don't end up trying to push exhibitionism when I've already seen all the events for that branch. But yeah, I think this is the game from the minicomp that I would be most interested in seeing expanded upon.
Evil on Queen St: I wasn't really to keen on this one. The setting wasn't entirely to my personal tastes, and the game itself seemed to have alot of technical issues that made it awkward to play. I also got the feeling of the game both being opaque, not letting me know what I was supposed to do, and railroading me. I kind of feel bad critising this one, since the author fell ill while making it and this is more like a beta of the game, but I'd be more than willing to have another go at the game if the author ever has another go at it and puts out a new version.
Seduce Code: I liked the theme of this game, but in practice the game itself felt a bit too rushed by the bomb, so I didn't really feel like I could settle back and relax into the sex scene when it did turn up. A decent effort, but not my favourite game.
Sex on the Beach: I actually really liked this one, it felt like it had alot of choice and content in it, and the scenes were detailed and well written. The setting was solid, and I felt the tone of the game was consitently fun. I actually don't have that much to say about it, I just thought it was really good. I'd probably call it my favourite game of the minicomp, if I had to pick one.
The Swap: This was another okay game. The sex scene itself was fine, although your partner was a bit passive, and it was nice to be able to spy on your wife as well, but it didn't feel like there was that much to the game apart from that.
In conclusion, I enjoyed most of the games to some degree or other, with Entrancing Fling and Sex on the Beach being the standouts, so thanks to the authors of those games and to the other authors for givng us fun stuff to play!
Alright, people seem to be leaving their hot takes here so I guess I'll throw mine in as well.
ReplyDeleteControl: Pursuing the sandboxy angle of aif was a mistake. It meant that even a simple scenario made to learn how to code in tads balloned out of control when you could interact with almost everything. It meant I spent more time writing repetitive descriptions than focusing on actually making a fun game. Which it isn't, it's just a short easy little puzzle with some sex. Not really fun at any point.
Entracing Fling: Monotonous. With most of the days being incredibly similar you end up reading a lot of the same text over and over. The mechanical premise is theoretically interesting as it gives you auxillary control over a character as opposed to direct control, which is cool, but the repetition of a bunch scenes, which are all just ok, really sinks this one.
Evil On Queen Street: Dug the premise and even enjoyed some of the writing but jeez the technical aspects of this game really cut it off at the legs. It's frustrating to do anything in this game and with such a limited programmed vocabulary, you often aren't even given clues to what you should be doing. Add in linear scenes and verbs that work sometime and not others and you have a mess, a real mess.
Seduce Code: Frustrating. I know a time limit adds a sense urgency, and I am really down with the premise, but man was the execution off. Timer was too short to really ever feel like you could do anything meaningful. The game also had so little content thst the timer really fell like it was just padding out the game as opposed to adding anything of value. It was also just frustrating to try and do simple stuff, once again due to a limited vocab in the game.
Sex on the Beach: Well the interface certainly gets an A for effort as this is easily the best looking game by defualt. The game suffers however from too many choices adding up to too little. I'm a big fan of choices and customization, so I'm happy to see it, it's just that so few of the choices actually mattered in a meaningful way and the one super vanilla scene it always leads to, always reamins super vanilla. Overall, this is a recurrinf theme this minicomp, it just wasn't fun at any point. Tangent- The dialogue in this one was super natural, that's really hard to do and I was impressed. The sheer word count in this game was also cool, effort is appreciated.
The Swap: While the most technically competent out of the bunch, I feel it's kind of wasted on a bland scenario. Sure the writing was more than acceptable and the scenario was thought out, but it still suffers from the usual AIF frustrations of limited vocab and super limited interaction. All of these trade offs just to have something that could just as easily been accomplished in a choose your own adventure or just been a short story for that matter as the actual choices are small to begin with. I really want more than just competency, I would like to see the medium be used in an interesting way.
Summary: I feel like this minicomp was no fun. I'm not pining for the days of convoluted adventure or puzzle IF games were sex was just a reward or afterthought. Nor do I suspect people to produce GoblinBoy style games, as he was mad man who made his style work by brute forcing ridiculous hours of work and making unimaginable amounts of content. I think we should be pushing in new ways to add fun back into AIF, without loosing sight of what we came here for. Which is sex, we came here to read about some sex.
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ReplyDeletehow can i cast lust on fakia. i dont have enough mana.
ReplyDeleteI believe that's the puzzle: you can't cast every spell.
DeleteWell I had lots of fun with these.
ReplyDeleteControl: Well made and a pleasing set up, with the key puzzle (the choice of spells) also leading you to several very different sex scenes. All playable although a bit lacking in detail and depth, perhaps. Fun.
Entrancing Fling: This one gave me warning flags from the off; I get off on narrative, and this advertises itself as a game without an ending... I have almost no interest or patience with "grinding" games or stat-building. So I persevered with this to day forty-something at which point I'd had the same half-dozen or so bits of text in roughly the same order maybe ten times? With no hint of how to get out of the loop. So although I find the premise interesting and can feel there's something strong underpinning it, this one just isn't for me.
Evil on Queen Street: I closed my eyes during the nastier bits, and quite enjoyed this. I agree with the suggestion above that it would have worked better as a cyoa type game: you feel forced to take the one route through the game to an extent that makes the parser feel more trouble than it's worth, and I did get a little bit stuck at a couple of points. But some good writing and atmospheric scenes.
Seduce Code: Hmm. So the system where you need to repeatedly die while you work out the first puzzle doesn't really work for me - it makes the whole exeperience a bit too meta, about game-playing, rather than immersing with the character. And even after that the mechanics feel fragile and frustrating (some key objects that you can't just pick up...) and the interactions a bit thinly written. A pity as it's a very promising scenario.
Sex on the Beach: Well, well, this is a classy product. Flawless implementation as far as I could see, and some great writing. Great, entertaining conversation structures. Enjoyed the letter format which dovetailed perfectly with the game system. Sexy sex and even some witticisms that managed to be simultaneously genuinely funny and genuinely sexy, and that's not easy to pull off. I could live without the large number of choices about the characters (and it begs the question about whether these - mostly appearance-based - choices should/could/would affect how the characters behave in ways more profound than they do) but they all seem to work and seem to have mostly minor influence on the game itself. Hats off.
The Swap: Also a fine small game, I think. A fun and tricky set up mostly very well managed. Enjoyed the "overheard from next door" pop-ups. The npc could possibly be stronger-written but you can find out a fair bit about her, and more is certainly implied. My main criticism would be that it ends weakly: there's a neat "what happened next" summing up but the actual ending of the game is a bit limp, you just stop when you've had enough... there are surely *much* better possible ways of ending the story.
Many thanks to everyone who contributed the games for us to play!
Evil on queen street has now also chyoa version if you download another tines the games.
DeleteFirst off, in the last year I’ve started four games and finished zero, so congrats and thanks to everyone who successfully finished and submitted games to the minicomp, and big thanks to Lost Trout for organizing the comp.
ReplyDeleteControl: Maybe it was the setting or the simplicity, but this one put me in mind of old school IF (in a nice way). Using the mana system to determine branch options was clever, and the sequence puzzle was simple but satisfying. Content-wise, the princess scene was less exciting, but I liked that the variations for the elf (both magic-attraction and the restrained non-con version). My biggest gripe was that I wanted a little more content, but everything that was there was well-executed.
EF: My favorite part of this one was the interface which suited the structure and the material. Of all the games, this one I felt could most benefit from further iteration as it felt like the mechanism has way more potential. When I first read the premise, I was expecting a little more of an MC, and some acknowledgement that the protagonist was changing would have been nice (this is also probably a taste thing). EDIT: the sugarcube version is useful for understanding more of the mechanics; yay back button! But I missed the earlier aesthetic! The continuation of the text was a nice touch and seemingly was a bit of nod to the PC’s novel writing.
SotB: I agree with a lot of what people have said about the character depth, but for me the technical execution was so on point, I didn’t mind the lighter tone, and actually, maybe appreciated even more. The early customization was okay, but the sex scene was the stand-out as it was inventive, varied and well-written. Amazing how rare it is to have a sex scene in aif that is both hot and fun. In the sea of guess-the-body-part and spamming ‘fuck/lick/rub’ parser IF, this was a nice change of pace.
EoQS: I liked the premise and the writing for this one. But the experience of playing it was a real barrier to enjoying it. I played both the adrift and twine versions, and while the Adrift was clearly a rougher implementation, the player agency felt more subjectively-relevant (even though I don’t think it actually was; after playing the twine version, I realized how much of the story I had missed just by not putting the actions in the right order). For me, it was a case of the content fighting with form.
Seduce Code: Okay, there’s definitely an interesting game idea in here. A set number of repeated turns with goals, variants, etc. could make for a fun little puzzle experience, or even something like an aif Spider and Web. But in addition to the code problems, the story was where this fell apart for me. The characters and motivations were so sketchy. I didn’t really enjoy the sex, and although this is a genre that often features unrealistic justifications for why someone wants to bone you, the Get Lamp simplicity of turning the girl on took me out of the whole thing.
The Swap: This was another game where I liked the overall concept, but other than spying on your wife or convincing yourself that you wanted to go through with the premise, I felt like I was missing story elements. Maybe there are other routes one can take that could get fleshed out? That said, the sex was good, though the position-gates could get frustrating. The scope felt very appropriate for a mini-comp, but for a story that revolved around what a mind trip this was for the PC, it felt like there was untapped potential in the narrative.
Again, thanks to the contributors! Mini-comps are great ways to build interest in aif, and it's awesome to see so much activity for it this year.
Brief tangent: I’m glad there is this blog discuss the comp, but I wish it could have taken place on the proposed AIF website that was created in the spring. I’m also completely ignorant when it comes to what goes into developing and maintaining that sort of thing as well, so there might be excellent reasons why it wasn’t, but it would really nice to see the site used more.
I COULD be mistaken, but I think there were some technical issues, coupled with the fact that the site creator/owner had fell off the radar... but don't take my word for it.
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ReplyDeleteControl - Fun and interesting mana management for effect. Not sure what to do after using the lance to break the amulet. No mana, and standing in front of a dragon. I liked the fact there were lots of sexual options with the characters (and disturbed, yet impressed that you can even rape the dead elf!)
ReplyDeleteSeduce Code - Nice idea, moved WAY too fast, and honestly just kept using undo after every command. Couldn't figure out the sex scene, even with the letter opener in hand and the girl in the bathroom. Too fiddly and needed more CYOA style to work. The decisions had to MEAN something in the short time so you could get several different branching endings.
Sex on the Beach - Technically good, just took forever to get to the end and much of the clicking didn't mean anything. Was fun and good writing for the rest, just felt like a lot of it was wasted.
Entrancing Fling - I liked this one a good bit, but didn't understand for a LONG time that the Push/dampen had to be held until the time was right to get more done than writing. I used it right off, and was getting confused. After that, lots of great sex, cheating, and voyeurism. Just needed a little more story and variety to finish it up for me. Maybe a set calendar for several key events and having it dead finish at 30 days with various endings based upon your writing and relationship status with the boys.
Evil on Queen Street - Love the idea, hated the guessing of words to continue the sadly linear story. More work and it would have been much better. Also, lots of pictures or none would be my suggestion. There were a few, but they were more distracting and disappointing hoping for more at most points.
The Swap - The winner. Super well written. Super sexy. Love the long talking and foreplay. Sadly the worst part was the cut of ending and the lack of variety of the actual sex. I'd have had her up against the wall so my wife could hear. And anal was approved as a story point, yet impossible without the lube, which was non-existent. The wife pop-ups happened much too quickly. I was just getting to the kissing and he's been creampied three times next door. Still, the winner of this year's competition in my mind.
There is lube in The Swap, but it's quite well hidden.
DeleteCould you give a hint as to where. I have no clue whatsoever and have tried everything I can think of.
DeleteYou can usually look under and behind things in TADS games.
DeleteHow can you put rose against the wall ?
DeleteI have the same issue in "Control". I've managed to destroy the necklace but with no mana to spare, I can't figure out how to fight Fakia and win.
DeleteI've looked under and behind both nightstand and bed, I've even opened the drawer. I still can't find that lube
DeleteThe Swap: leave the room and then look under and behind things.
DeleteControl: one way to defeat Fakia:
- cast knock on steel door
- cast lightning bolt on elf
- cast counterspell on me
(n)
(no)
- cast lightning bolt on necklace
- cast lightning bolt on fakia
There are some secret ways to skip ahead in Sex on the Beach.
ReplyDeleteWhat are these secrets?
DeleteIf everyone knew, they woudn't be secrets, would they?
DeleteSorry. I'll give out one.
(this is for SotB in case anyone's confused)
When you wake up the next morning and are in bed where you would normally look at the clock, don't click anything. If you wait about 25 seconds, a link to skip right to meeting back up with Layla again will appear. Make sure you don't choose anything or it won't work.
I guess I'll go ahead and give out the other one.
DeleteOn the first page at the end of the paragraph, the last period is a hidden link (after the word "month") that literally skips *everything* and puts you right at the start of the sex scene. You won't get to customize anything about the characters.
Realize this is actually a debug option, so there may be some weirdness that could occur. I did try to patch over everything so it would work properly, but there could always be a variable I missed that could make something odd happen.
Control - I thought this one had an interesting design and I liked the freeform on the gameplay. The plot was extremely basic however and the sex scenes were only adequate at best through the variety was not what I was expecting. Technically fine from what I played through. I was able to find one good ending but I'm not through the dragon and one ending that I wasn't able to complete because of a broken command. Fine Minicomp game.
ReplyDeleteSeduce Code - Clever design that takes into account failures through the time limit at the start was very tight. Everything else feels unfinished however, the sex scene was very basic and the characters were just avatars rather then characters.
Sex on the Beach - One of the standouts of the minicomp. Interesting setup, the best character in the minicomp in Layla, great dialogue that felt real, and a great execution of a sex scene in twine. True the choices at the start don't really affect anything really plotwise in the second half but I feel this is supposed to draw you in by giving the player control over how the characters act and look like to fit there own taste. My pick for the best of the minicomp. Bonus points for music that actually fit in context of the story and not becoming a distraction.
Entrancing Fling - More of a concept than an AIF, this game had an interesting system but no story to really speak of. The game definitely got extremely repetitive pretty fast.
Is this game connected in any way to Entrancing Sin from the Minicomp in 2010? That game was credited to anyone if I remember correctly and the design is almost the same.
Evil on Queen Street - The plot to this one is more intricate then most of the other entries on this list. Still forced incest rape is definitely not my cup of tea. However the game is borderline unbeatable in the ADRIFT version due to technical problems and guess the verb gameplay. The CHOYA version is better though. Bonus points for graphics.
The Swap - The other standout game of the Minicomp. This one is definitely the best technically and gameplay wise. Plus the sex scene in this one is by far the most complex out of all the others. However, the plot and characters are pretty basic and wife swapping is not something that really interests me. Still I wouldn't be disappointed if this entry won the Minicomp.
Is there anything in this voting system preventing people entering multiple votes for the same game?
ReplyDeleteThe last time I checked, the AIF community wasn't a community of assholes, so I did not think it necessary to design a system to prevent cheating.
DeleteThe mini-comp is supposed to be a fun event for authors and players. It's a small community of generally friendly people, and there is no prize for winning, so the only reason to rig the voting system would be pure malice.
In the end, anyone who has played the games knows what the general final rankings of the games will be. This being the Internet, I have reserved the right to use the magic of mathematics to make the final vote tallies conform to this expectation.