11 comments
  1. Story read smoothly for me. English was easy to understand. Do the emotional responses (cycle things) determine different responses? I couldn’t tell whether or not they affected choice later on in the story.

    There are only 2 endings right..?

  2. I’m always happy for a good murder story (even though it’s an almost-murder)! Murderous mermaids/sirens are awesome. I really liked the repetition of the “folding” in one part of the game, where you have to keep clicking “fold” “fold” “fold” etc. That part reminded me a lot of Cart Life. Your writing was concise yet descriptive. However, I think some of the passages were too long, and that made me lose focus when reading it.

  3. Easy to read and interesting story. I was also really a fan of the “fold” mechanic. I like how you could cycle through to pick responses. Interesting characters.

  4. I really like the prose and the setting. I don’t mind long stretches of non-interactive passages but wish I had a choice in the crucial parts, like saving or sacrificing the second victim, going back home and staying on the cruise, having a chance to defend myself when caught. You set up a rich ethical frame that you don’t take advantage of (allegiance to your non-human race or empathy with the innocent victims etc.)

    “You stare ahead blankly at him. You’re not even a girl”
    The gendered hunter/hunted role reversal, and the weaponization of courtship could be an interesting theme to explore. Have you seen the Scottish movie Under the Skin?

  5. I enjoyed the story. I think I found 3 endings. The tickers were interesting, though I wasn’t sure if they represented a choice which effected the outcome or the uncertainty of the character. The story conveyed well that the character was unsure about whether to hunt human’s or abandon the family and race.

  6. There are two types of interactions in the game. The first one, you click on it, then it changes the story. The second one, you see all the options, then choose one. They give me different feelings when handling with them.

  7. Very intricate world you have setup here, with a pull towards selfish action/survival. The strongest aspect of this game is the time it takes to play it. You can’t just find the next button, the coloring and location of multiple choice areas entices the viewer to think in the world you’ve placed them in, and thus gives a thorough sense of agency. Well written and thoughtful. I was curious about our character’s gender, because that was the only thing that broke through the emergence bubble.

  8. I liked the clear narrative. I also was not sure if the cyclic choices made any differences. I think I got to a good ending.

  9. Really like the use of links here and the narrative voice was great! The section where the character is constantly folding things and their thoughts emerge beneath them really shows how monotonous their job is and I think overall, this story as a really eerie and interesting mood. Really enjoyed it!

  10. The cyclic choices are a nice touch, but I wish they were a mechanic that affected the story (do they? I’m not sure if they did). Regardless, it was an enjoyable story. While I did like the “folding” scene, mass-clicking through made me skip a few of the thoughts until I slowed down. Maybe an indication that there will be text soon (an ellipsis?) would make it harder for someone to accidentally miss some text.

  11. The pacing was done really well, flipping between resolve and doubt at the right moments. A lot of games with ethical choice as a mechanic don’t really work since the “right” choice or the mechanically advantageous one is painfully obvious. It’s not so obvious here, since your character’s motivation and desires are in constant flux, and there’s no mechanical “end game” that are going to inform our decision. Our decisions are driven entirely by the degree to which we are invested in the characters. Good stuff (y)

Comments are closed.