Mr Creosote

#PsychicDetective - a #FMV game I truly like! Not in a "so bad it's good" way. The plot is a strong dime novel. The acting is fine. The core gameplay is much more interactive than it appears at first. There are subtle, but significant ways to influence the plot, not just watch different scenes. Proof that this medium could work if done right.

#3DO
#DOSGaming
#RetroGaming

Aug 14, 2023 at 9:04amWeb
Show threadMr CreosoteAug 14, 2023

Contemporary reception was lukewarm at best. To quote one professional reviewer: "Imagine you're watching Jurassic Park und you control the camera so that you can follow the plot from any character's point of view. [...] I just don't like sitting in front of my game console to watch a movie."

Yeah, you didn't actually play the game, did you?

Show threadMartijn FrazerAug 14, 2023
@mr_creosote Paging @MichaelKlamerus
Show threadMichaelAug 14, 2023
@Tijn @mr_creosote I keep meaning to play it someday!
Show threadMartijn FrazerAug 14, 2023
@MichaelKlamerus @mr_creosote We can do it with one of the clubs one day!
Show threadCarl MuckenhouptAug 14, 2023
@mr_creosote I remember finding it kind of at odds with its affordances. You have all these buttons in front of you for switching perspectives, and that's the only way to interact, so it all basically encourages you to keep on switching perspectives a lot. But in fact that's just about the worst way to get any understanding of what's going on.
Show threadMr CreosoteAug 14, 2023
@CarlMuckenhoupt I agree, it has more than a few rough edges. For me, it only clicked when I understood that this is essentially just like the classic real-time mystery text adventures. Just on a continuous timeline instead of turn-based. The mind-jumping being a primary mean of movement. Seeing how short it is end-to-end, I found the "just experiment" approach quite a good match.