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I really appreciate the level of support you give your games. Many authors simply publish once and that's it.

I didn't want to publicly rate this while the TALJ was ongoing as I'm an organizer of the Comp, but now that it's been over for a hot minute, I feel comfortable circling back. 

This is my single favorite parser from this author. They started as primarily a Twine author and have rather rapidly expanded into other authoring systems over the last two years. I don't know if it's from trial and error or simply from playing and reviewing so many different types of games, but this game shows an implicit understanding of the typical tropes and design shorthand that has risen up around the hobbyist parser scene over the last three decades.  

As for the game itself, I really enjoyed the tone and especially the relationship with the Minotaur. It made me think of Emily Short's *Bronze*, but nowhere near as dark. The game is also a bit longer than you might assume; my playthrough was over 90 minutes. The built-in tutorial is robust and shows alot of consideration, and I would really be interested to know how people new to parsers interact with this game in particular. Something else to note is the design of the game is more open than one might assume. There are a number of optional side-quests than can be pursued at any time, as opposed to a system of rigid gating. My only friction with the game was some disambiguation issues, but that isn't anything that wouldn't improve with either more testing and/or more experience writing parsers. 

I really hope this author continues writing in a variety of gaming engines. 

(I wrote this as a review when rating the game, but I'm still not used to itch.io's review culture, only realizing after that only the total average rating is viewable and not the actual review, which ends up being effectively a private DM to the author, which seems... unintuitive? The review was written public facing for others contemplating whether or not to play the game. I wasn't trying to email the author, after all. So, I'm posting it here in the comments so it can still serve that purpose. )

Of course!

I like that!

I reviewed your seed and others here: https://intfiction.org/t/pinkunzs-seed-catalog/66029/5?u=pinkunz

Reviewed your seed and others here: https://intfiction.org/t/pinkunzs-seed-catalog/66029/5?u=pinkunz

I like the idea of a chill low stakes game like Stardew Valley! Thanks for submitting this!

I love your artwork! There's a simple whimsy to it that fits high fantasy but would also be welcome in a children's story. I also love how opened ended you left that!

Nice! The hallway one is *super* ominous!

This is a seed entry for the 2024 SeedComp. https://itch.io/jam/seedcomp24-planting-roun

Noted, thank you. Also, I submitted all the seeds as "assets" because I wasn't really sure what else to submit them under, to be honest.

That is an enormous list of assumptions and rhetorical questions.

Have a great day.

For not knowing what you're doing, you did an excellent job.

We now have a dedicated Discord Server for the Jam! Please feel free to join it here: https://discord.gg/57uuPGrCsR

(Thanks for asking questions, keep them coming!)

Q: Is the start of the jam simply when projects can first be submitted, or must the game be made only during the timespan of the jam (12 April - 31 May)?

A: There is no restriction on the start date. You can start now. The opening date is the earliest date for submissions, but no one is likely to be submitting anything that early.

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Q: How do I get notified about new topics in the Community forum?

A: Select the Community tab. Click Subscribe to new topics adjacent to the Community title. You will then receive an email when someone creates a new topic. However, this only sends you a notification when there's a new topic, not when there's an update to a topic. If you want to additionally be notified about updates to topics, view the topic and click Subscribe near the top of the topic.

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Q: Is this a solo event?

A: No, it is not. The vast majority of developers prefer to work solo on a project like this, but you can work as a team if you prefer. For example, you may have a designer and a programmer. If you are using graphics or sound, then these may be developed by another team member. Just make sure that you give credit appropriately and everything in the game abides by rules 14 and 15.

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Q: The rules state that the game "must have at least five puzzles". This might be a bit philosophical, but what actually is a puzzle?

A: If you asked this question to 100 different people, you'd probably get 100 different answers. For the sake of this competition, let's say that a puzzle is an obstacle that you must overcome or something that makes you think. If you were faced by a closed door and you merely had to open it, then the door is not really a puzzle as you didn't have to think about it. If it was a locked door and the key was found hanging on a hook next to the door, then that is not really a puzzle either, as everything you need is presented to you and you don't have to think about it. However, if the key to the door is hanging around the neck of an ogre and you have to do something to get the key from the ogre, by fair means or foul, then that would be a puzzle. Don't get too hung up by the number of puzzles. If your game only has four puzzles, but you have made an obvious effort to satisfy all the other rules, then we're certainly not going to disqualify you.

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Q: Can I change my game after it has been submitted?

A: You can change anything you like until submissions close. After that, you are free to fix any game-breaking bugs, but we'd prefer that you don't make any major changes that would change the story or the solution. Once the competition is over, you can do whatever you like. It is common to do a post-comp release based on all the feedback and reviews that you receive. Keep in mind that if you do make a bug-fix release, then some people may play and rate your earlier buggy game and some may play and rate your later bug-fixed version. When you upload a bug-fixed version, also do a brief blog entry to notify people about the changes. Also, make sure that the bug-fixed version has a different version number or release number so that you don't cause confusion where two people have different versions of the same game, but it has the same version number.

A smart suggestion was made: If your game is based on more than 2 or 3 seeds, you might want something like 'for a full list of seed contributors, type 'seed' or 'about'.

The license type should probably be included. That's all that comes to mind, but I'll check in with the others to make sure I'm not missing something obvious.

This is an awesome first seed! Love the premise! Thanks for being the first to put your toe in the pool!

Good concept and lots of endings. I just wish there was more to each individual ending.

Good additions on the tv and fish food. My only other thought might be to recognize fishtank and fish tank, as that seems to be a common spelling variation.

Sorry I took so long to come back and see your improvements! :-)

Tightly written simple escape room puzzle. Liked the fact that you could turn on the fireplace. My only suggestion is that (spoiler ahead; no spoiler tags in comment editor)...

...the TV would be able to be turned on before removing the fuse.

Hello TheMeanGene, If you would prefer to play the game in your browser instead of downloading anything, you can do so at https://hgvz6f94.play.borogove.io/

This game did not make the submission deadline, but I wanted to share it anyway:

https://pinkunz.itch.io/adrift

For anyone not used to a text adventure, try typing in various actions, like "look" "scream" "look at spacesuit" "remember home" etc.

Thank you.

Description mentions 72 hours, but the time frame given is only 48 hours. Which is it?

@kenpad - By a strict reading of the rule: "13.) Games must not be shown publicly (on social media or or otherwise) until the end date of the jam. Providing to beta testers is ok, as long as it is in private." that appears to be the case, but I would definitely get @Adventuron to chime in to be sure.

As long as you keep to the rules of the comp, including the content rules (kid-friendly),  my understanding was it was up to the authors.

Very kind of you to offer your services. I will keep you in mind, thank you.

Also taking a hybrid approach. Want to offer multi-word phrases for more options and color, but I want all of the commands necessary for game progression to be allowed as a verb noun pair for simplicity.

I've been lurking about the IF community for over three years at this point, but this will be nearly my first published game. I have another I'm finishing up for Spring Thing, but actually putting myself out there by entering competitions is definitely new to me. I find the tutorial aspect of this jam fascinating and the outreach potential heartening. Hopefully, it becomes an annual thing.

I'll be using Inform 7 with Vorple to supply the graphics, audio, and other functions I may include.