This jolly, festive task-based game is providing a good excuse to escape from the kitchen for a couple of hours on Christmas afternoon. With the usual Francis polish and somewhat didactic style (I now feel better educated about the origins of Reindeer names), it is a characteristically smooth and pleasant playing experience. It's interesting that this was originally written in Inform 6 and then ported to Adventuron - perhaps it was an unfinished project from some time before or perhaps done de novo for this Jam with the porting between languages done purely as an exercise (in programming and, no doubt, in frustration). Whatever the case, there are some recognisably Inform-y bits in it (for instance the GIVE '(to [subject])' response, and the build information at the beginning), that give it an interesting flavour for those familiar with Inform games.
The writing is effectively straightforward and I'm glad that you've managed to reference current events in your premise while managing to keep it light hearted, when it would have been easier to ignore them altogether. The cute cartoonish characters are endearing, and the graphics (which I know you say aren't your forte) are, as usual, very good and entirely fitting, with the eye-popping wallpaper colour combination in the upstairs hallway worthy of a special mention (it wouldn't look out of place in my own house, in fact). The structure of separate tasks (each a little fetch quest with a final assembly step) along with the scoring, make progress feel very satisfying (although I haven't finished them all - see hint request below). Being a pretty competent handy-man in real life, I was at first expecting to have to carry out each individual construction step once the components were gathered together and was anticipating some verb-wrestling to plane the wooden block into a gun stock, etc. The simple 'make' command is much easier and there is something magical about the assembly occurring and the item appearing before your very eyes. If only woodwork was as easy in real life.
Difficulty-wise, the puzzles are quite merciful although, inevitably (being only a third-class sort of puzzle-solver) I am stuck (at 70/100) and there are no hints available (HINT produces 'TBD', so I guess you were intending to add them but ran out of time). So here is where I ask for hints:
- where do I find a light source to get into the coal mine?
- I'm guessing that I need to deflate the balloon to make a skin for a drum, but how? DEFLATE doesn't work, neither does BURST, POP, or PRICK (with needle)? Or am I on the wrong track?
- How do I reach / look at / access the top shelf in the panty to get the gingerbread? Nothing I've tried seems to work, including an attempt to CLIMB SHELVES.
Any help here would be appreciated as I would like to finish the game.
There are a few bugs I spotted. Below is the usual report:
Unimplemented GET response for items mentioned in description in workshop (nails, screws, screwdriver etc) = 'You look around but you can't see any [X] anywhere', same for mail / letters in the mailroom;
In dining room: ‘on the dining tables is a wine bottle’ (table should be singular, unless it is straddling more than one table);
Mrs Claus asks you if you'll get the gingerbread for her, but she doesn't respond if you immediately ‘say yes’ ;
GIVE [object] to someone who doesn't want it == ‘nobody wants it'. Could that be specific to the character, eg 'Mrs Claus doesn't want it'?;
Bathroom: I can use the toilet but I can’t wash my hands…;
Puppet description = “you can put your hand in the sock…” but PUT HAND IN SOCK produces “you look around but you can’t see any hand anywhere”;
You can read the book even if you’re not carrying it (switch ‘is_present’ to 'is_carried');
DIG in inside location (when you are holding the shovel) = “you would need a shovel”;
GIVE (unknown or not carried) to a character = no response;
FILL BOTTLE = you can endlessly repeat the action;
And some other comments:
It would be better if the created object message (eg 'you can see a piggybank') appeared after rather than before the description of its creation;
I'm amused imagining what some of my colleagues would say to only the female elves helping out in the kitchen...
There are some locations with conspicuously brief descriptions (the fabric supplies, the metalwork supplies) and some with no graphic - I expect that is just a result of running out of time;
There are a few locations depicted with doors - but you can't open or close them (doesn't bother me but we've had some debate about implicitly / explicitly opening doors in the past);
…and that is all.
Overall, this is a thoroughly enjoyable and absorbing game that I'm certainly looking forward to completing. Another strong jam entry from yourself!