Tuesday, October 13, 2020

Seasonal Apocalypse Disorder: IFcomp 2020

Seasonal Apocalypse Disorder, written by Zan and Xavid, is a parser-based mission to save the world from fiery destruction. (Xavid is also credited on Vain Empires.)

The narrative of your adventure, which may involve cow tipping and casual murder, describes impossible developments in a consistently matter-of-fact tone. I was entertained by its understated absurdity.

You play one of the good guys, dispatched by the Federal Bureau of Druids to travel through time and undo a global catastrophe. This is not an elaborately crafted drama exploring the deepest recesses of the human psyche, but it doesn't need to be. 

The nature themes and seasonal locations were a good fit for the time travel puzzles. The clues are fair, and you don’t need to understand druidic rituals or know which magic powers are associated with specific plants; this entry does a good job of providing necessary information. 

I appreciated how the challenges were designed in Seasonal Apocalypse Disorder. Your magical abilities are limited at the start, which keeps early puzzles confined to specific areas. As you develop your powers, you are given more opportunities to explore how objects and locations interact with each other. There's also a map at the top of the screen, which helped me keep track of time periods and spot rooms that I would have missed on my own.  

There was a lot to like about this entry. I got stuck in a few places, but it was my own damn fault for failing to pay closer attention.

Artwork from Donald Conrad:
 



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