Play game (or online-play)
Grandpa's Ranch (2021)'s itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Help, Hints and/or Instructions | #7 | 3.522 | 3.938 |
| Implementation | #10 | 3.075 | 3.438 |
| Puzzles | #10 | 3.019 | 3.375 |
| Story (Plot, Setting & Objective) | #11 | 2.907 | 3.250 |
| Presentation (Text, Graphics & Sound) | #12 | 3.075 | 3.438 |
| Overall Rating | #12 | 3.019 | 3.375 |
| Writing (General Quality) | #14 | 2.907 | 3.250 |
Ranked from 16 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Overview of Game
Grandpa's Ranch is a two-word parser game for beginners and kids. By default, a tutorial mode is enabled but can be disabled by typing TUTORIAL OFF. If you are an experienced parser player, I recommend turning it off immediately, as you may find some of the puzzles slightly challenging without the tutorial.
Requirements to Play
EDIT: In addition to downloads, the game can now be played online here:
https://www.adrift.co/game/1635
This game can be played on Windows and Android (tested on both systems). On Mac and Linux you can play the game with Frankendrift, which is still in development, so it has some limitations. The Windows version of Frankendrift worked well, despite missing sound and text formatting but I am not able to test on Mac and Linux.
First, download the game file. Then:
WINDOWS: On Windows, you need the ADRIFT 5.0 Runner: https://www.adrift.co/files/ADRIFT5r.zip (ADRIFT 5.0 Runner - File only (5.03MB) - There is no reason to download the full install unless you want to create games)
Please note, that some anti-virus programs think that many harmless programs contain viruses. This is a well-known phenomenon called a "false positive". This occurs because there are millions of malware and therefore anti-virus programs often "detect" "threats" that aren't there. Depending on your anti-virus program, you may have to tell it specifically to ignore the ADRIFT Runner. To play, open the Runner and click "file"->"open adventure" and locate the game file where you downloaded it. Click "open" and the game will start.
ANDROID: On Android, you must first install the Interactive Fiction app "Fabularium". Then download the game file on your phone. The game file is now in the folder "Download". Now open the Fabularium app and click on "Explore". You now have to locate the game file, tick the box to select the game file and then click the three dots in the upper right corner. Here you must select the option "Add to Game List (auto)". If you now go to the "PLAY"-pane, the game "Grandpa's Ranch" can be chosen to play.
MAC and LINUX: You can install Frankendrift (still in development) to play ADRIFT games on Mac and Linux but it has the following limitations:
- No text formatting (fonts, font size, bold, italic, font color etc)
- No music
The Windows version of Frankendrift works well, but I am not able to test on Mac and Linux.
The Mac release should include everything, whereas the Linux version requires that you install NET 5 Runtime from Microsoft. On Linux, you will also need to install libgdiplus through your distributions's package manager (otherwise the program will throw an error whenever an image attempts to display itself).
Frankendrift can be downloaded here: https://github.com/awlck/frankendrift/releases
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Comments
I have just uploaded a new version (v3) that takes care of the problems mentioned by players in the comments. I cannot change the font size if you are using Frankendrift, but I have requested the creator of Frankendrift to provide a larger default font if possible.
A cute, shortish game aimed at new players. I was pleased to find no holes in the implementation: there are few objects and very little scenery, but everything described is present and has sensible responses.
I really liked the bull puzzle. It was much more complex than I expected but still very accessible.
On my first playthrough, I disabled the tutorial, so I didn’t realise that
talkandsaywere separate verbs. (sayis a standard ADRIFT verb,talkisn’t.) This prevented me from solving Molly’s puzzle — instead I went looking for sugar all over the map. Consider adding a clue to that effect early on.Interface
The font is extremely small (FrankenDrift on OSX) and I had to use the system-wide zoom to play. I’m not sure if this is a problem with the game or with FrankenDrift.
I missed being able to retype a command by pressing up, or having an “again” command.
A minor bug when using a pronoun:
Hi hawkbyte, thank you for the detailed feedback. I am glad it was playable on Mac OS with Frankendrift, as I am only able to test on Windows. Frankendrift is still very early in development, so a lot of features are missing, such as the correct font size and the possibility to change it, but it is good to hear that there is a solution (system-wide zoom).
Unlike the recent Frankendrift Alpha 4, the brand new alpha 5 has "again" (or simply "g") implemented, so you can repeat commands.
You have a good point about SAY/TALK. In some cases the response is the same, if you "say" something or if you just "talk". This can give the player the impression that they are equivalent, which they are not. And as I encourage people to play without the tutorial, I must find another way to tell the player that SAY and TALK are not the same. I regard that as a quite important issue I will address in the postcomp release.
About the bug you found: If the player types "take it", the word "it" will be replaced with e.g. "the poster" before the game author is able to "access" the input, so there is unfortunately no way the author can know that the player typed "take it", as the interpreter has changed it into "take the poster". So unfortunately, I cannot fix that one. EDIT: I found a way to avoid the problem by not counting the word "the".
Thanks again for all the feedback :)
I have now uploaded a new version (v2) where the two-word limit has been relaxed, so e.g. prepositions are allowed (but not required). So e.g. TALK TO GRANDPA will work just as TALK GRANDPA works (or simply TALK).
I've completed this. What a delightful and pleasingly simple game. It's a shame that you didn't finish it in time for the Text Adventure Literacy jam that is was intended for originally as it definitely ticks all the boxes there. In this setting, it's a refreshingly straightforward and uncomplicated playing experience compared with some of the other entries (including my own) and a pleasant way to spend half an hour or so.
The two word parser is a slightly difficult thing: prohibiting prepositions results in some awkward and unnaturally phrased commands such as TV ON and STAND CHAIR that feel more like raising than lowering the barrier for new players, but the efforts made elsewhere to help people along (like the tutorial) make up for that to a large degree. It's pretty solidly implemented as well, although I did spot a couple of missing descriptions (for example, you can't examine the steering wheel in the car or the tree that Molly is occupying). A few such tweaks here and there would help to flesh out the game world a little.
A very nice game overall. Oh, and I liked the tunes as well!
Thanks for the feedback - I am glad you liked it and your feedback is very useful for my upcoming post-comp release!
I agree, that prohibiting phrases like TURN TV ON and STAND ON CHAIR makes the game harder. The two-word limit was a requirement for the Text Adventure Literacy Jam. Perhaps it should be modified so that two-word commands are always sufficient, rather than required. I will think about that... :D