Washed Ashore... by janoniman

Review Wolfyofthewild

I like it its really cool and fun

Review DavyB

As expected, a very enjoyable game! I particularly liked the use of images and the compactness of the locations, making it unnecessary to draw out a map and easy to move around. I also appreciated the low level of ‘cruelty’ in the game, with no apparent dead-ends, few red herrings and death only possible through failing to top up health, with plenty of warnings beforehand.

Some parts did take me a while to puzzle out but there was only one aspect of the game that felt a bit unreasonable. Talking about it openly, however, would be a spoiler so I’ll send a private message.

Overall, a great job, especially for a first game in Quest.

Comment DavyB

Just to be clear @janoniman, I have no problem with the smaller width of screen. In fact I think it looks great when playing online! I was just pointing out that when playing offline the interaction window is narrower and the background different, in case you hadn't noticed.

I'm happy to discuss how I've implemented sound control. Just send me a private message or bring it up on the community forum.

For the pants, I'll leave it up to you to sort out the English plural problem! At the moment, the following occurs:
> x pants
A short blue pants.
It has large pockets.

> remove them
I can't see that.

> remove it
You take it off.

Comment janoniman

@DavyB

Thanks for your comment!

This is my first game, so there are bound to be some issues. Let’s address yours :)

1. The small width is my personal preference. I’ve seen other games that use the full screen width (often with a lot of text), and I find that long lines can get a bit overwhelming. I deliberately use very short descriptions to leave more to the imagination, and I also prefer the smaller framed pictures. This way, it looks very similar on a smartphone. I hope it’s still playable for you!

2. That is certainly an issue! The soundtrack is supposed to stick in people’s heads after playing the game :) Previously, I searched for an on/off option in the forums but couldn’t find anything I fully understood at the time. I’ll look into it again.

3. Perhaps I could rename the pants to "a pair of blue pants"? You’ll probably find more language issues because I’m Dutch. The typical language style is deliberate (a bit dry, old-fashioned, etc.), although I may have overdone it. Still, I’d like to correct any serious mistakes!

By the way, this game can be played with just a mouse or using only the keyboard. I kept both options because the combination works well for me, and the command bar offers more flexibility. The mouse menus make it clear how objects are supposed to be used. However, on my smartphone, the mobile keyboard takes up half the screen, and a mouse-only version would work better. I wonder how often people play these games on mobile phones and if this is generally an issue. If users could choose to disable the command bar at the start of the game, this would be solved. I haven’t found a working solution so far...

Let me know if you find more issues or if you get stuck (you’re supposed to get frustrated at some point—just like in the old days).

Thanks!

Comment DavyB

This looks like a game I'm going to enjoy! I've just pottered about so far to get a feel for it but impressed by what I've seen so far. There are a few points to note, however, some of which are Quest issues or perhaps related to my setup:
1. The wide of the interaction screen is smaller when playing the game offline that online. The offline width looks too small. Also the positioning of the background image is different (no parrots online).
2. After a game is saved, the resumed game doesn't continue the background music. My preference is to have a SOUND command to switch it on and off, as I did reduce the volume after playing a while!
3. Pants needs to be plural ("You are carrying a blue pants (worn)."), though there is a general issue here in the way that worn items are described. Perhaps it would be better to list worn items separately, as in "You are wearing blue pants. You are not carrying anything."