Luster

In terms of story, I thought this one seemed exceedingly uninspired. The Scott Adams games had more compelling stories going for them starting out, I thought. Also, I'm seeing typos and related errors right off the bat. Someone did put a bit of effort into learning the language -- the game does a few "extra" things like asking you for your name, changing the status line and so on -- but did not put much effort into making a compelling story. I guess it's basically a coding exercise, or an excuse to implement a bunch of puzzles?

The puzzles I saw seemed okay, at least. I liked the one involving the gladiator in the arena. And, from what I hear, the story seeps in slowly over the course of gameplay. Mind you, this is not something I witnessed for myself: the game failed to engage me with its early sparseness and such laughable lines as "these treasures give you fame and glory." Why yes, and I know of a bridge that takes you to Prince Edward Island, isn't that special. The thing is, every story needs a way of grabbing the player right at the beginning. The player is not going to be curious about a hidden story if he doesn't know that there is a story to discover; every failure, minor or major, in writing and implementation detracts from the player's interest. The player who distrusts the implemented world is unlikely to explore.

Jam sandwiches (white bread) and soy milk.