Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Quest for the Sword of Justice: IFcomp 2020

Quest for the Sword of Justice is a choice-based comedy by Damon L. Wakes. 

This entry first looks like an abnormally well-implemented fantasy adventure created with RPG Maker. The player starts in a small village, and obstacles are presented with obvious clues for overcoming them. Then the game delivers its punchline — the big twist might be familiar to fans of Chrono Trigger. 

Quest for the Sword of Justice differs from Chrono Trigger in that the proceedings have (at least) two possible outcomes. When I acted like I was in a normal RPG, I ended up in an increasingly silly situation that seemed like a permanent end state. Starting over and changing my behavior led to a different outcome with a clear "game over" screen. 

Wakes has a past record of well-implemented Twine games that blend the solemn and the silly, and the use of RPG Maker software skillfully delivers Interactive Fiction conventions through a new medium. 

This entry is a polished, smoothly executed joke, but it ends quickly.

Artwork from Donald Conrad:



No comments:

Post a Comment