Comments on: No One Has To Die (Stuart Madafiglio)

By: Mahdi

Mahdi — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 19:24:36 +0000

I agree, even the music sounds 999-y! Great game by the way.

By: Moni

Moni — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:27:10 +0000

I should add that I really enjoyed the music. When the game started, threw me in the situation and the tense music started playing, I was hooked.

By: Moni

Moni — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:25:17 +0000

This was really great. Not the first game I play with such a story concept but I *love* this “genre” and this is a great example of it. Adding the puzzle game on top was a clever twist.
I’m not sure making it harder in the final stages is even possible, but it would push the gaming aspect even further.

By: Phack

Phack — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 04:17:44 +0000

This just won the clay.io Got Game? HTML5 competition. Congratulations!

By: Matt

Matt — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 21:32:26 +0000

This is amazing

By: bomblol

bomblol — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 17:41:24 +0000

My attention usually fails to last me till the end of a game, but this was a cool diversion. Got me excited about making my own games, too.

By: Stephen

Stephen — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 13:14:48 +0000

liked the idea of this quite a bit – the pacing from scene to scene was a bit slow – spent a bit more time than I’d like waiting for things to fade out. the ending, I’m also not totally sure I loved it. also the music didn’t do much for me. the dramatic elements didn’t do it for me too much either (the endless choruses of “save them, don’t save me” got a little monotonous)

after getting to the first ending, with no hint of the real idea behind the game (I saved the arsonist), and find myself being told to get to the other endings, I was miffed (the pacing between levels was a bit slow for me, didn’t fancy the prospect of sitting through all those cutscenes again (not anticipating the “skip” button) ), but I’m happy I stuck with it.

I enjoyed working out the basic mechanics, and even though the puzzles weren’t difficult, they were still meaningful.

HOWEVER, I basically like the game, and found it super cool, and look forward to what else they’ll get up to in future

By: JDM

JDM — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 07:24:46 +0000

Having puzzles with the characters as movable avatars kept the game from being simply a rhythmic instant messaging novella. It gave a texture and tactile quality to something that would otherwise be a short story with branching paths and allows the player to better sense their part in the narrative and the weight of the choice in letting someone die.

And truthfully, without the (admittedly fairly simple) puzzles, I’m sure I wouldn’t have bothered with the game much past the first sequence. It was because of how the text and puzzle portions of the game’s narrative interfaced that I found it captivating.

By: JDM

JDM — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 07:17:26 +0000

This is really cool. I kind of wish there had been some sort of final stage that required a very skillful execution of the puzzle mechanics, as some sort of final test. The narrative as written may not really support that, and it may go against the author’s intended pacing, but I kind of wanted a chance to really explore the greatest possibilities of the system.

By: Louis F.

Louis F. — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 05:54:09 +0000

The tinny music drove me and immediately text-heavy opening drove me away on my first try, but I’m glad I returned to it. Regarding 23′s doubt about the utility of the puzzles, I would say that they succeed in providing something tangible for the player to hold on to; they are straightforward but evoke the reality of the characters’ situation very effectively. Returning us to the branch selection screen upon reaching a conclusion is also a very good idea. Now there’s no way I’m not clearing all these endings : )

A bit more polish on the presentation side would make it a real winner I think!