The Short Game

Continuing our coverage of the 2021 Interactive Fiction Competition, we’re back with impressions of six more games, including some really incredible ones! 00:03:23: Closure by Sarah Wilson 00:12:26: Funicular Simulator 2021 by Mary Goodden and Tom Leather 00:19:30: we, the remainder by Charm Cochran 00:29:19: Taste of Fingers by V Dobranov 00:35:14: Dr Horror’s House of Terror by Ade 00:41:23: And Then You Come to a House Not Unlike the Previous One by B.J. Best  More IFComp coverage coming soon, so keep the recommendations coming! The Short Game is supported directly by our listeners on Patreon! Supporters at any level get access to our Discord, where we discuss games, plan episodes, and talk about what we are playing in real time. You can also support us by writing a review on Apple Podcasts! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Your hosts this week were: Shane Kelly – @8bitShaneNate Heininger – @natestlLaura Nash – @laurajnashwith special guest Raygan Kelly – @raygank (00:00) - Intro (03:23) - Closure by Sarah Wilson (12:26) - Funicular Simulator 2021 by Mary Goodden and Tom Leather (19:30) - we, the remainder by Charm Cochran (29:19) - Taste of Fingers by V Dobranov (35:14) - Dr Horror's House of Terror by Ade (41:23) - And Then You Come to a House Not Unlike the Previous One by B.J. Best (51:37) - Wrap Up

Our spooky game for spooky season this year is Devotion, an atmospheric first person horror game from Taiwanese developer Red Candle Games. Devotion was well received at its 2019 release but was very quickly pulled from stores due to a very strange situation involving the Chinese Communist Party and Winnie the Pooh. The game remained as hauntingly unavailable as PT for years, until Red Candle began selling it direct to consumers via their website this March. Devotion tells the tragic story of a family in 1980s Taiwan torn apart by mental illness and religious fanaticism. It combines storytelling devices from the ”walking simulator” genre with horrifying visuals and cinematic editing to create a uniquely haunting domestic tragedy. You can buy Devotion direct from Red Candle Games via their website for $16.99. It is available DRM free for PC and Mac. Expect it to take 3-4 hours to complete. We’ll be back next week with more IFComp 2021! The Short Game is supported directly by our listeners on Patreon! Supporters at any level get access to our Discord, where we discuss games, plan episodes, and talk about what we are playing in real time. You can also support us by writing a review on Apple Podcasts! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygankNate Heininger – @natestl (00:00) - Intro (03:24) - Devotion (07:03) - Development (13:57) - Release And Controversy (25:40) - Gameplay and Storytelling (46:36) - Wrap Up (51:53) - Spoiler Break

This is the start of our IFComp 2021 coverage, and it’s looking like a good year! We discussed 9 games, and will be covering many more over the coming weeks. 00:13:09: Grandma Bethlinda’s Remarkable Egg by Arthur DiBianca00:25:48: The Golden Heist by George Lockett and Rob Thorman00:33:31: The daughter by Giovanni Rubino00:41:40: A Papal Summons, or The Church Cat by Bitter Karella00:48:57: Cyborg Arena by John Ayliff00:55:42: Enveloping Darkness by John Muhlhauser, Helen Pluta, Co-written by Othniel Aryee01:00:25: Smart Theory by AKheon01:05:39: Sting by Mike Russo01:14:02: My Gender Is a Fish by Carter Gwertzman The Short Game is supported directly by our listeners on Patreon! Supporters at any level get access to our Discord, where we discuss games, plan episodes, and talk about what we are playing in real time. You can also support us by writing a review on Apple Podcasts! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygankShane Kelly – @8bitShaneNate Heininger – @natestl (00:00) - Introduction (13:09) - Grandma Bethlinda's Remarkable Egg by Arthur DiBianca (25:48) - The Golden Heist by George Lockett and Rob Thorman (33:31) - The daughter by Giovanni Rubino (41:40) - A Papal Summons, or The Church Cat by Bitter Karella (48:57) - Cyborg Arena by John Ayliff (55:42) - Enveloping Darkness by John Muhlhauser, Helen Pluta, Co-written by Othniel Aryee (01:00:25) - Smart Theory by AKheon (01:05:39) - Sting by Mike Russo (01:14:02) - My Gender Is a Fish by Carter Gwertzman (01:18:26) - Wrap Up

A complete, mainline Mario game you can complete in 3-6 hours? Yes, Bowser’s Fury is more than a “new mode” for the Switch re-release of Super Mario 3D World. It also has more cats per minute than any game in recent memory. Hope you’re feeling better, Nate! The Short Game is supported directly by our listeners on Patreon! Supporters at any level get access to our Discord, where we discuss games, plan episodes, and talk about what we are playing in real time. You can also support us by writing a review on Apple Podcasts! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygankShane Kelly – @8bitShaneNate Heininger – @natestl (00:00) - Intro (03:25) - Super Mario 3D World (12:05) - Bowser’s Fury (56:00) - What's Making Us Happy This Week? (56:13) - Nate - Spider Man Miles Morales on PS5 (58:19) - Raygan - World Flipper (01:05:20) - Shane - Hive (01:10:03) - Outro

This week we are getting romantic with a few interactive fiction romance novels from Choice of Games and their new imprint Heart’s Choice.  Crème de la Crème from Choice of GamesDawnfall and A Player’s Heart from Heart’s ChoiceCreatures Such as We from Choice of GamesLaura’s recent guest appearance: 471. Romance Games and Interactive Fiction with Laura Nash of The Short Game Podcast | Smart Bitches, Trashy Books The Short Game is supported directly by our listeners on Patreon! Supporters at any level get access to our Discord, where we discuss games, plan episodes, and talk about what we are playing in real time. You can also support us by writing a review on Apple Podcasts! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygankShane Kelly – @8bitShaneLaura Nash – @laurajnash (00:00) - Introduction (26:18) - Creme de la Creme (47:44) - Dawnfall (01:00:54) - A Player’s Heart (01:08:01) - Creatures Such As We (01:11:56) - Outro

This week The Short Game played an online escape room experience called Project Avatar, in which we commanded an “avatar”, a real live human person in a warehouse in Ukraine, through a series of puzzle challenges. It was a supremely weird and wildly entertaining experience. We also discuss escape rooms generally, including online and at-home escape room experiences. Here are Laura’s links and resources for this episode: Main review — Project Avatar: Stalker https://projectavatar.fun/ Games Mentioned Trapped Takeout: https://www.trappedpuzzlerooms.com/trapped-takeout/ The Emerald Flame (PostCurious): https://postcurious.myshopify.com/ Colby’s Curious Cookoff https://curiouscookoff.com/ SCRAP’s Escape From the Science Lab of Scifting Rules (the Baba Is You-y one) https://roomescapeartist.com/2021/04/02/scrap-escape-science-lab-shifting-rules-hivemind-review/ Bluefish Games: https://www.teambluefish.com/ Box One: https://store.theory11.com/products/boxone Guides to finding good at home games My favorite reviewers, cause they do hiveminds where multiple people review the same room (and they ran the conference I liked) https://roomescapeartist.com/ 2020 Online Escape Room Awards https://terpeca.com/2020/#onlinerooms An index for at home game reviews: https://escapethereview.co.uk/location/play-at-home/ A flowchart https://www.escapethereview.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/PlayAtHomeFlowchart.pdf Which Room in a Box should I buy? https://escapethereview.co.uk/which-room-in-a-box-should-i-buy/ Meta list of lists of at-home games https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1anO0NQhwwOFZLmydCuoY4cd4R6x52KnxOAfAxZCGt1c/edit Puzzle Hunt Calendar http://puzzlehuntcalendar.com/ Want to know more about Escape Rooms? RECON Videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvtiar8OygeaCKLog9ff_TBmJKuW-b8ZZ Escape Room Design Links: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lwSTxIews8azOqzHEy0vyoSrX7orx55pRImXWuBVkjU/edit The Short Game is supported directly by our listeners on Patreon! Supporters at any level get access to our Discord, where we discuss games, plan episodes, and talk about what we are playing in real time. You can also support us by writing a review on Apple Podcasts! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygankShane Kelly – @8bitShaneNate Heininger – @natestlLaura Nash – @laurajnash (00:00) - Introduction (04:45) - Escape Rooms Online And Off (20:26) - Project Avatar (58:09) - Other Games And Resources (01:18:15) - Outro

With a little help from our listeners, we’re bringing back our music episode format. We have a few picks from the hosts, and a lot of listener suggestions! Nate’s pick:  A Colorful Tale – Chicory: A Colorful Tale by Lena Raine Raygan’s Picks: Boku No Chikyu Bokura no Chikyu – Mr. Driller DrillLand by Go C-NaBurn My Dread – Persona 3Mind of a Hero – Wonder Boy III The Dragon’s Trap Shane’s Picks: Blueprint for a Slow Machine – No Man’s SkyConnected (Yours Forever) – The Tetris Erffect – HydelicMouth of Styx – Hades – Darren Korb Listener Picks: Now that this world is ending – Far Cry 5Battle with the four fiends – FFIV PIXEL RemasterThe King and the Bull – Hades – Darren KorbOne more road song – death road to canada – Joey GradyGarbage Day – Donut County – Daniel KoestnerClock Town – Majora’s Mask – Theophany. RemixStrike The Earth!-  Danimal Cannon – Just shapes and beatsMain Theme – Black Knight 2000Lucent – Cloud Gardens – Amos RoddyFeisty Flowers – EverhoodDartmouth – Hollow Knight The Short Game is supported directly by our listeners on Patreon! Supporters at any level get access to our Discord, where we discuss games, plan episodes, and talk about what we are playing in real time. You can also support us by writing a review on Apple Podcasts! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygankShane Kelly – @8bitShaneNate Heininger – @natestl (00:00) - Intro (02:55) - Nate's Picks (05:26) - Raygan Picks (15:40) - Shane’s Picks (28:01) - Listener Picks

The Twelve Minutes Defender (Shane) and the Twelve Minutes Hater (Raygan) are locked in an endless cycle of discourse. This time loop thriller adventure game has garnered some really mixed reviews, and we can’t give it a full throated recommendation, but it ended up generating a really interesting conversation. The Groundhog Day “fan fiction” podcast Shane refers to in this episode are episodes 72 and 73 of the Imaginary Advice podcast. The Short Game is supported directly by our listeners on Patreon! Supporters at any level get access to our Discord, where we discuss games, plan episodes, and talk about what we are playing in real time. You can also support us by writing a review on Apple Podcasts! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygankShane Kelly – @8bitShane (00:00) - Twelve Minutes (53:20) - Spoiler Break

We’re taking a romantic dip into the “dunj” this week and playing Boyfriend Dungeon from Kitfox Games!  We talk about the smooching, the slashing and talk about our favorite Baeblades.  Boyfriend Dungeon is available on Steam, Gamepass (Windows and Xbox) and Nintendo Switch. Expect it to take between 5 and 10 hours to complete depending mostly on how many swords you want to smooch. The Short Game is supported directly by our listeners on Patreon! Supporters at any level get access to our Discord, where we discuss games, plan episodes, and talk about what we are playing in real time. You can also support us by writing a review on Apple Podcasts! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygankNate Heininger – @natestlLaura Nash – @laurajnash (00:00) - Introduction (01:16) - Summary (09:49) - Eric & Content Warnings (20:01) - Some Cute Touches (25:25) - Dungeon Crawling Mechanics (34:52) - Dating In The Dungeon (40:25) - Smoochable Blades (42:16) - A brief aside on texts from Mom (49:32) - Hot Knives (01:10:36) - Raygan’s Game Breaking Bug 😭 (01:13:32) - Wrap Up (01:16:55) - Outro (01:21:05) - Spoiler Break

The Forgotten City is a mystery adventure game of exploration and deduction, and a re-imagining of an award winning Skyrim mod. Travel 2,000 years into the past and relive the final days of a cursed Roman city, where if one person sins, everyone dies. We absolutely loved this game. It’s a masterpiece of narrative design, and one of the most fun examples of a Groundhog Day style time loop in video games (and that’s saying something in a category that include the previously covered Outer Wilds and The Sexy Brutale!) Shane brought a friend for this episode! We’re joined by Rahul Rao, Houston area performance artist.  The Short Game is supported directly by our listeners on Patreon! Supporters at any level get access to our Discord, where we discuss games, plan episodes, and talk about what we are playing in real time. You can also support us by writing a review on Apple Podcasts! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygankShane Kelly – @8bitShaneRahul Rao (00:00) - The Forgotten City (45:06) - Wrap Up (49:51) - Spoiler Break