Small Tale (Hitch1k3r, Naali, Solifuge)

Posted by on May 8, 2013

smalltale
a minimalist RPG, which aims to tell a story without telling the story – [Author’s description]

[Play online (Java)]
[Download for Windows, Mac, Linux]

Games

3 Comments.

  1. dr.doom May 8, 2013 at 5:50 pm

    i feel cheated, there was only a slightly different “the end” screen after killing the dragon

  2. dr.doom May 8, 2013 at 5:52 pm

    and a challenge mode i wont try to win

  3. 400cats May 11, 2013 at 5:53 am

    The protagonist seems to be a pretty unapologetic misanthrope (based on the fact that you can only disgrace, steal, or kill those you encounter). His violence isn’t random; his anger is all based on the perceived failures of those around him to properly serve the community. This is really fascinating to me for some reason, possibly because in a lot of games I’ve played where you can choose between good and evil actions, there are end rewards for both actions that are usually of almost equal value to each other. So, essentially the choice comes down to, “would it be fun for me to randomly be a jerk to this character right now?” Here, the protagonist is separate from the player in that he already has his own personality; all the player can do is choose how that personality manifests itself.

    The fight with the dragon is a bit of a letdown; when I began it for the first time, I thought “oh cool, your previous actions directly determine how the battle goes. I have my stolen shield and sword and everything.” The battle wound up feeling really clunky (which is to be expected with such a short time window for development), but also a bit out of place. After the sobering, violent attacks on various town leaders, you suddenly find yourself bouncing around lightly in an arcade-style boss battle. It didn’t seem to fit the tone for me. Still, perhaps its a good thing that the final encounter shakes up the formula.

    I would love to see an extended version of this, with more encounters (and more excellent artwork). The protagonist is intriguing, and I feel the game conveys a vivid story (for some reason it reminded me of Eaters of the Dead) by presenting the player with various choices, all of which lack a “good” option.