EDIT: The Windows, Mac OS X, and Python IDLE files have all been updated and the game-crashing bug should be fixed. If you notice any other problems, please tell me.
First: This game is NOT intended for children. It contains mature themes. Sex and nudity are nil and there's only a little violence, but cruelty also exists.
This game was most definitely born from the voted theme, but HOW is not apparent until the end. The game really is short, but it is a text based game (story-heavy, with robot output simulation; you can choose some branches in the story).
Please do me a favor and don't TL;DR out on me! Have some mercy for a first-time entrant? :D Maybe? :D
... :D
The Python source code should work on any OS with Python installed; just run DECOMMISSIONER.PY and it will start automagically. Since I didn't manage to include any graphics or sound, the only imports I didn't write are built-in Python modules -- random, time, and string.
Amazing! I love it! I can't say much more without spoiling it for other players... let's just say you did a great job of making the player into a villain.
FYI I'm running MacOSX and I didn't see any "start.py" - I had to double-click a file called "decommissioner" to play.
Quite nice. A shame it's so short (or hell, maybe I did something wrong?), but overall, leaves a good impression. The theme doesn't become apparent until the very ending, but it strikes hard and gives this dystopian feel that I so much enjoy.
:D Thanks for the positive comments, guys. It warms my <3!
@metadept: I knoooooow, programming the robot sim was fun. I want to improve it -- right now the constants and formulas can lead to some wonky results. xD
Oh man... I've tried to play this four times, but it keeps crashing during various different points of the robot simulation. I'm not sure what's wrong... I'll have to bookmark it and try again later. :(
@apophenia Can you tell me how it's crashing and which version you are using? I didn't get to test the Windows exe at all, and my brother told me that he had a problem with the update function after making a typo.
@hints :D Yeah, I didn't want it to be just a text adventure.
@Crowbeak I might make a video of myself playing it tomorrow if that would help. It seems to crash consistently during the simulations whenever I make a typo, or the next command after I make a typo(?).
This game was amazing. Gave up the first time when I thought it was going to turn into a robot simulator, and was pleasantly surprised the second time, when I actually made it through.
Wow, this escalated quickly. Knowing there'll be a twist made it a bit less surprising and I kinda suspected what the reality is like when I heard what I'm doing for a job, but your writing delivered it superbly so I could still enjoy it! (If "enjoying" is the right word. So cruel.)
(Bonus points for the wordplays and little jokes sprinkled throughout the game.)
Well written text adventure. I can't really write much about it without spoiling it, other than it's definitely worth checking out and playing till the end.
Fantastic. Realized what the twist was early on, but you delivered it so well that whether or not I predicted it was irrelevant. Great game.
I did tick you down a bit on "Fun", though--the robot simulation commands felt a little clunky, and made those parts seem a little tedious. There was a relatively long delay between times when I could type in commands--not sure if that's the fault of the windows python packager you used, or intentional. That combined with the "deadly typos" you warn about contributed to that feeling.
Some people seem to predict the twist, others don't. I definitely understand dings on the fun stat. Glad you guys like the writing -- I feel like the ending could use some work. xD I finished writing it in the wee hours of the morning, though I had it planned early on. Thanks for playing! <3
Not a rating comment (I'm going to retry) but I had a "deadly typo" issue on OSX too -- mistyped a command and appeared to get a new simulation with the same number, then a few commands later it crashed.
I rarely play text adventures but this is a great, short and rather horrific one perfect to try out. As to the ending, I guess he could still take a stick and write stuff in the sand...
I think I found the bug, guys. So far, however, only the Mac version has been recompiled because I am nowhere near my windows PC and won't be for another couple of hours.
The story was quite interesting. However I'm not sure that the player counts as a villain in my eyes, the people that you meet in the second part of the story are much more the villains.
And I'm not sure that they would really put you to work - rather they might as well just kill you.
Starspell: I can see that. Definitely a point worth arguing. But if the game makes you think about such things, I still consider the game successful. :D
You're also right that they might just kill you. I was finishing the story at like 1 AM and was thinking more about driving the point home. xD One of my plans for continuing development is to smooth out and add to the story, including multiple endings.
Fun but I correctly predicted the ending when I started my first simulation. Sadly I fear that the reading nature of this game will prevent it from getting played by a lot of people. I would suggest that you could have one or two character shortcuts for the commands. Also, instead of having to type the decommissioned numbers, I would print out the list of unassigned robots and have the player verify that they are to be decommissioned.
Really nice text adventure. Great use of the theme, and insanely funny. Kind of guessed the ending thanks to all the comments saying what a great ending it was, but it was awesome all the same. Nice job!
Comments52
FYI I'm running MacOSX and I didn't see any "start.py" - I had to double-click a file called "decommissioner" to play.
@metadept: I knoooooow, programming the robot sim was fun. I want to improve it -- right now the constants and formulas can lead to some wonky results. xD
@hints :D Yeah, I didn't want it to be just a text adventure.
@SimianLogic Yeah, me, too. :( I was running out of time. Had two big branches planned but had to merge them into one ending.
"But your ferret still loves you!"
This game contains some classy lines. Thanks :)
(Bonus points for the wordplays and little jokes sprinkled throughout the game.)
I did tick you down a bit on "Fun", though--the robot simulation commands felt a little clunky, and made those parts seem a little tedious. There was a relatively long delay between times when I could type in commands--not sure if that's the fault of the windows python packager you used, or intentional. That combined with the "deadly typos" you warn about contributed to that feeling.
Everyone, play this game to its conclusion!
WE MUST HAVE MORE PRODUCTION
I meant to make multiple endings, but ran out of time. Future improved versions will have multiple endings.
And I'm not sure that they would really put you to work - rather they might as well just kill you.
Interesting concept, well executed.
You're also right that they might just kill you. I was finishing the story at like 1 AM and was thinking more about driving the point home. xD One of my plans for continuing development is to smooth out and add to the story, including multiple endings.
Thanks for your input!