Katharine Neil, a long-time game developer who worked as a programmer (not, I suspect, with great enthusiasm) on the 2008 Alone in the Dark, but whom Play This Thing! readers may know better as the voice behind Invoke, the satire of Jane McGonigal's Evoke ARG, brings us Alone in the Park, a sort of text/graphic adventure hybrid.
The unnamed protagonist finds a letter in her -- basement, apparently, from the image -- that invites her to enter a nearby national park on a scavenger hunt for treasure map fragments. Being a gamer, she of course immediately sets off to find the nine thingummies of whatsis, and naturally, everyone she encounters has or knows where to get one, but insists that she embark on some sort absurd quest (ranging from "bring me the six gizmos I scattered around the park" to "get me a date") before they'll release it.
So far, so cliche'd, but of course Neil is wholly aware of, and working off, the absurdity of this sort of game story; and actually, the story itself is the primary source of amusement. About every character the protagonist meets, Neil has deliciously spiteful things to say, and you continue playing not to complete the idiot quests you're assigned but to get to read Neil's next bit of bile.
In a nice touch, the map displays dotted lines as you move about it, indicating in an annoying way how much backtracking and retracing this kind of game schema requires.
Not stuck anymore.
still I have to ask:
Also why is it "Other Web-playable"? isn't it all done in Flash?
Well I can give you the
Well I can give you the goat:
-Spoiler-
he goes from the praery, to the hill with the orange fruit,then I -think- he goes to the hill that you use the binoculars from, then to the tall tree by the river, then back to the praery, then goes to sleep. each time go there, click on his picture, and he goes to the next one. in the end you get the fruit back and can get the map piece out of it.
I am currently stuck on the bird myself...
And I can only assume you need the bird bit to find the date.
that was fun
Though I found the ending text for Taylor a bit too nasty. It was annoying that you couldn't look at your whole map without the binoculars, though.
What game/kind of game is this parodying? It reminded me most of Looming, which I never really finished, and whose story/backstory I still don't understand much. Though I guess Looming doesn't have quest-givers; still, collections, winding paths, and "Walk this way from this point to find the hidden whosis" puzzles.
About the bird: I think you have to unlock enough clues to figure out that it is between two points before you can find it by walking between those two points (Janice's ring is the same way, I think). Specifically (rot13ed for spoilage):
Gnyx gb Wnavpr nobhg gur oveq (lbh znl unir gb unir bofreirq vg sylvat bire gur zbhagnvaf be uvyy svefg, naq creuncf gb unir gnyxrq gb Jnlar nobhg vg nf jryy). Wnavpr jvyy gryy lbh gung fur unf frra vg sylvat bire gur uvyyf ohg unf arire frra vg sylvat bire gur erfgebbzf, juvpu ner obgu qhr fbhgu sebz gur zbhagnvaf. Gura lbh pna haybpx n arj ybpngvba ol geniryvat fbhgu sebz Obttneg Uvyy.
And you are correct that you need to solve this to unlock Matt's date. The ensuing puzzle is the funniest one, I think.
Hm, thought it was Air, but
Hm, thought it was Air, but you're right, it's actually Flash.
I'm not sure a game can
I'm not sure a game can parody another game if it actually replicates the gameplay from it - because then your not parodying it, your simply repeating it. Since when is doing the same thing a parody? More like a love letter (like 'the producers' is a love letter, not a parody)
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Philosopher Gamer Blog
Driftwurld : My WIP browser game
Parodies
Parodies can be different things to different people, but they usually imitate their target to some degree (otherwise they'd just be a witty analysis of the work in question). Stuff like Last Action Hero, Scream, or, well, any of the early Discworld novels are obvious parodies and yet work perfectly well as their members of their target's genres. On the other hand, thing that differentiates a good parody from just plain making fun of something, is that it will often require a good knowledge of the source material to get the in-jokes (Meaning that unless you were forced to read/play/watch it for school, you must have liked it enough to get to the ending.)
In the end, no matter how much they roast it, parodies are made by people who more or less like what's being parodied, for an audience who shares the sentiment.
P.S. Unless were talking about different things (I was thinking of the 1968 Mel Brooks movie, or possibly, it's 2005 remake),I'm pretty sure The Producers is not a parody of anything. It's funny, it's set in the entertainment business, but that's about all the likens it to a parody.
Jeez, a1s, what is it when
Jeez, a1s, what is it when you actually point out flaws with an eye for change, rather than present a loving recreation? Or has the repurposing of the word parody ensured there will be no pointing out of flaws, let alone change - only sycophancy towards the subject matter?
I mean, I bet it sounds like a non sequitur for me to draw a connection between pointing out flaws and the word 'parody' right now? That's a bit scary, to be honest.
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Philosopher Gamer Blog
Driftwurld : My WIP browser game
"constructive criticism"
When you want them to make stuff better, and you make something to say what's wrong and how to fix it, it's called constructive criticism.
When you exaggerate the flaws of something in order to show what's wrong with it, it's called satire . When on the other hand the intent is to remind people of the work, ribbing it's flaws, and alluding to the good parts, that's parody. The two are not mutually exclusive (indeed there's quite a bit of overlap), but neither are they anywhere close to synonyms.
This game in particular is not a satire. Nor were we promised that it would be. We were promised that the protagonist would be a jerkass and she is. Also, depending on who you are her reactions might be comically close to your own in a similar situation. Except spending a month in a national park. No treasure is worth that.
So I can't help but ask
So I can't help but ask again -- what's it a parody of, exactly? If I wanted to play one of the games that it's parodying, what games would I be playing?
no idea
You could try playing MMO RPGs, or any 'quest driven' RPG. They seem to be the closest.
For some reason, though, the game reminded me more of the 'classic' era adventure games (which on the surface seem to have different game-play), with their bottomless-pocket inventory, talking to everyone n^2 times and insurmountable-waist-high-fences that are staples of the genre.