{"id":589,"date":"2010-10-06T22:55:15","date_gmt":"2010-10-07T05:55:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/islemaster.wordpress.com\/?p=589"},"modified":"2014-03-17T00:23:51","modified_gmt":"2014-03-17T07:23:51","slug":"ifcomp-2010-a-quiet-evening-at-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bradleycbuchanan.com\/b\/ifcomp-2010-a-quiet-evening-at-home\/","title":{"rendered":"IFComp 2010: A Quiet Evening at Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"hampster<\/a><\/p>\n

“A Quiet Evening at Home” by anonymous<\/p>\n

They say you should write what you know. Sorry.<\/em><\/p>\n

This is first in my random list of comp games. I’ve got to say, the apology in the blurb doesn’t bode well.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I gave this game 40 minutes, which was enough time to play it start-to-finish. First thing, I’m looking for an about<\/em> text, or some menu<\/em> or help<\/em> to find an author’s note, beta tester list, anything. No such feature is implemented here. Bummer.<\/p>\n

This is less of a game than an exercise. It does function, but it’s not fun. If I had to review it in one word, I’d say “unambitious.” It doesn’t attempt to provide the player with any motivation; the game’s walkthrough can be boiled down to “pee, eat, empty trash, waste time, sleep.” Of course, there are a series of obstacles to completing these tasks, nearly all of which involve finding the right room\/object by exploring the house. Not a lot of thinking involved.<\/p>\n

The hardest part of the game involves letting the hamster find the can opener for you. I hit the walkthrough for this point. This was unhinted (do hamsters have a thing for can openers? I’ve never owned one) and apparently dependent on the hamster randomly wandering into a certain room. Does that mean this game is potentially unwinnable? Besides that, the game is easy and straightforward. The writing isn’t especially entertaining, and unfortunately just a little crude; the bathroom humor in the opening and the “dream about sex” when the game ended were unnecessary.<\/p>\n

From a technical standpoint it’s okay, but there are a few implementation rough spots. Putting water in my soup bowl didn’t seem to produce any response, but I was able to move past it and complete the game. Several other objects were underimplemented, and there were some unfortunate naming clashes with the “soup can” “garbage\/trash can” and “garbage\/trash bag.” I also think I was given an incorrect hint toward the end of the game. Oh well.<\/p>\n

Verdict: C<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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