A Collection Aside

Should games have stories, should stories be games? These questions somehow persist. This month, MEGHANN O’NEILL played games including stories, games where stories detracted from the game and games where the story was the game, sort of. The answer to whe

DOMINIQUE PAMPLEMOUSSE 1 AND 2

DEVELOPER SQUINKY PRICE $5

squinky.itch.io/dompam2

I knew Dominique Pamplemousse in “It’s all over once the fat lady sings!” was an adventure game, delivered as a Broadway musical, so I really should have found the time to play it before now. What a convergence of things! My impetus came in the form of its recently released sequel, and I’ve now played both. Dominique Pamplemousse and Dominique Pamplemousse in “Combinatorial Explosion!” is about two versions of the main character questing together to discover which of them is canon, after the original game diverged at its ending.

Although I love this concept for many reasons, I especially appreciate how it provides the perfect opportunity for the Pamplemousses to sing in harmony. In the first game, characters largely vocalise their thoughts and feelings, as well as items found in the game, as soloists. Musicals often establish melodic themes for characters and events, then tie them all together into one coherent showstopper. Certainly, it’s nice to hear content expanded vertically. There is even a barbershop moment, cleverly stemming from an early game choice.

If you’re familiar with the first game, the second is less of an adventure, more of a reprise. You’ll progress through scenes by choosing dialogue, and see both new and familiar faces, but there’s nothing to solve, as such. Like in any great musical, you’ll find you can sing the choruses to songs

the first time you hear them. I still have Everyone Poops stuck in my head, right now. When I selected the dialogue suggesting a “fart solo” I didn’t think I’d actually get one.

Both of the games made my ears feel like they’d been given a warm bath and a hug. Assuming the developer recorded most of the music, I’m amazed by how in tune and in time the busy brass ensemble always sounds, as well as how perfectly the singing parts work, above this looping base. Structurally, the music unfolds as if the ensemble is waiting for you to choose the next line that needs to be sung. I, myself, have had to whirl my conducting fingers to indicate a continued vamp when the lead character in the high school show trips over a curtain.

The games are short but, given how long the music must have taken to craft, appropriately so. Think of these experiences as quality over quantity, like one Vandoren reed over a thousand Ricos. (I would have made a brass/euphonium analogy, but I’m a saxophonist. It’d probably be clef related.) Luckily, you can select scenes from the main menu because the bathroom scene needed several encores. It’s sung by a sliver of soap who is dying and trying to decide who to stick themselves to, in order to pass on their legacy.

So, if you haven’t played either of the Pamplemousse games, now is a great time to get both. If you’ve played the first, don’t expect more of the same in a gameplay sense, but expect even more, musically. It’s also more of a way to remember characters and settings rather than a discrete story. I wasn’t disappointed by the ending. If you finish the game, you’ll understand why I say that. I’m just sorry I didn’t play the first game years ago. For the gamer-musician, these need to be in your library.

Like in any great musical, you can sing the choruses the first time you hear them

FORTS

DEVELOPER EARTHWORK GAMES PRICE $ 15

www.earthworkgames.com

Oh, Forts, how I loved this game when I previewed it for PAX 2015. It’s now at full release and I still love it, with a few caveats. The core mechanics are the same, with the chaotic building of structures, the incremental tech/weapon development and those perfect moments where you fluke a one-shot takedown of an enemy behemoth, by finding its tiniest, weakest spot. An enjoyable campaign has been added, even if the writing doesn’t support it very well, and there are lots of single/multiplayer options, even if it crashes a lot.

My favourite mode is when two players control the same fort, delegating building and offensive/defensive tasks. Like, who should place the incendiary mortar? The designer of the structure or the one who is using it? When is bombardment sufficient enough for the builder to take control of weapons, too? Who is allowed decide what to build next, knowing that resources are precious? Whose fault is it when there isn’t enough energy to go around? It’s hard to make these interlocking decisions with one brain. Two brains complicates matters even further.

Forts really shines when different

approaches, within a range of maps, starts and scenarios, can make the difference between success and disaster. The quicker you build, the more likely you’ll create a wobbly structure, but it needs to be tall to optimise harvesting energy. If you’re going to add heavy armour to the front, will enemy fire ricochet somewhere useful, and will you have the resources to mend it when hit? Most build decisions are relatively clear cut, even when hastily made and risky, until you start adding unwieldy bridges, to access something special.

Similarly, is it worth rushing to launch mortars if the enemy can already intercept shells with machine guns? Is it worth upgrading a sniper, to puncture armour, if they can no longer paint targets for your missiles? Although it might be tempting to rush straight for the expensive heavy weaponry every time, like lasers which consume massive amounts of energy and can obliterate most strong forts in a few hits, there’s often a clever solution to be had, with the right weapon, carefully placed, or a weight bearing rope to be burned, if you can see it. (Forts is unpausable.)

There was no story the last time I played, though. There is now and, in my opinion, it detracts from the game. I’d skip it if it weren’t interwoven with necessary instruction. It’s basically real world powers, under thinly veiled aliases, competing for the world’s last oil resources in ever cynical scenarios. Also, the crashes are not insignificant, especially in multiplayer. In singleplayer, I certainly experienced the joy of cleverly winning a map on the second try, then the despair of having to play it a third time, due to the game hanging at the victory screen.

If it sounds like I’m at all disappointed with Forts, this is only because my expectations were extremely high. I think you’ll appreciate the way every match feels as if it’s incredibly precarious, with either fort likely to explode at any moment, while also understanding the chains of incredibly detailed choices that led both players to this point. Just find someone to play against who will give you a 30 second grace period when your poorly cobbled together bridge falls on top of your machine gunners and wipes them out.

THE INNER DARKNESS

DEVELOPER NAURIS AMATNIEKS PRICE $5

store.steampowered.com/app/562160/The_Inner_Darkness

No, I’m not bored by platformers with one unique element, as yet, despite there being so many. Sometimes your play experience surprises you in ways that are difficult to anticipate. The Inner Darkness advertises itself as a platformer with a “dimension switching mechanic.” It is exactly that, but I found that what I enjoyed even more was the sick feeling given to me by the storytelling, mostly ambient. You’re confused and you have a terrible wound. The contrast between, what seem to be, vivid memories and your present reality is stark and distressing.

Mostly, you’re navigating through locations and sometimes there are knives,

bridges or obstacles in one dimension that aren’t in the other. You can switch between them but are only allowed to stay in the brighter place for a measured time. The best puzzles involve manipulating crates and “cubes made of guts” between places, to achieve a cumulative path to the next level. Occasionally, expectations for the genre are subverted, like with a boss battle conducted while sliding down a long, 45 degree angled platform.

You also navigate past playgrounds, homes, gigantic pills and disturbing posters of sexy ladies with their heads mashed in. The sound design is enough to give you a headache and the screen shakes, fades and floats nauseatingly. Interestingly, I wouldn’t describe the story as detailed or even particularly satisfying, but it really kept me playing. I feel as if this is a game which really understands that the journey is more important than the destination. I’d recommend it to people who need another platformer and some inspiration for ambient storytelling.

KIMMY

DEVELOPER NINA FREEMAN PRICE $ 10

ninasays.so/kimmy

Kimmy is a visual novel in which you spend a summer babysitting and teaching local kids to play games. There’s a warm and timeless feel to the setting, although certain details firmly root the action in 1968, like discussing who has a TV and what’s on at the cinema. Narrative themes including love, honesty and racism are touched on, but really this is the story of an unlikely, but very important, friendship. Although the characters are children, you might want to play through yourself, before deciding whether your children should play.

Pre-teen Dana, having been told that babies are given by God, mistakes a young

girl on the street as a baby for her. She organises to look after Kimmy over several days and the player navigates four locations, choosing which of the neighbourhood groups to spend time with. You don’t actually play the games you’re sharing, like hopscotch and apple bobbing, you just buy the items required and describe them accurately to proceed. Each simple, but compelling, kid will tell you about their life, from the girl who loves animals to the harsh bully.

Sometimes, you’ll get a cutscene between days to advance the main plot. At one point a character mentioned a detail about someone that I hadn’t noticed. I immediately went to look at screenshots I’d taken of the game and realised they were correct. This story is framed as a mystery, but it’s also quite transparently obvious as to what is happening. Player agency and lack of control are nicely balanced. As told by young characters, don’t expect complicated or inspiring dialogue, but it is a story worth hearing.

MOON HUNTERS

DEVELOPER KITFOX GAMES PRICE $ 15

www.moonhuntersgame.com

I like to think I am able to describe games in accurate and evocative ways myself, but sometimes the official elevator pitch is worth repeating. “Co-op personality test,” is certainly one aspect to Moon Hunters. More, it’s an exploration of how roguelike narrative can evolve into a complex and beautiful mess, through the eating of every combination of foods, good luck and repetition. Like in Out There, by Mi Clos, a story is revealed, and understood, based on how many times you’ve played the game, rather than any given sequence of events.

This relies on the idea that legends are different in how people remember them. Each playthrough is a retelling of what happened in the five days between when the moon didn’t rise and the Sun God wrested control of the land. You can have a meaningful impact on how the narrative plays out, but not immediately. At the outset, you’re simply one of many heroes in one of several unlockable starting locations, exploring procedurally generated locations and finding secrets. Or, you’re one of two to four heroes, this time around. Playing co-op is incredibly fun.

The choice of hero/es determines playstyle and statistics. Each of several has an attack, a supportive ability and a movement buff. So, if you’re a Spellblade, you’ll have a quick attack that gets quicker as it chains, Shockwave to push enemies back when they’re overwhelming and Dash to engage ranged opponents. The Ritualist combines a ranged attack with a Void Pull and Teleport, and so on. Creatures vary in speed, size and attack style, so complexity comes with the way your party imagines strategic approaches and progression through different locations.

If you’re all killed or clear an area, you retreat to camp. Here, each person gets to decide how they will spend their evening, with the aim of boosting statistics and tweaking personality. If you’re stargazing, you’ll likely boost intellect, for example. Making combinations of culinary ingredients into delicious sounding foods allows for boosting everything, but only after you’ve happened across whoever will teach their speciality in a given game. I particularly like how sleeping restores hitpoints but also charm. Well rested people are nicer, it’s true. Is this stat boosting more than aesthetic, and actually meaningful? Not for a while, but yes. Again, it’s about using the roguelike structure to compound story until you understand your eventual aim, overlooked so many times before. Funny moments of falling asleep at your post or binary, and sometimes unusual, choices for resolving puzzles along the way can change your personality. This will influence both how you are remembered on a given playthrough, as well as allow for extending certain options for the narrative.

Exploring Moon Hunters made me feel like I was playing Baldur’s Gate for the first time, even though it is nowhere near the size or scope. I’d argue it doesn’t need to be, with depth being realised in an entirely different manner. As with Out There, sometimes the thing you desperately need just doesn’t appear this time around and you have to be content with exploring what you do have available, or eating cheese combined with every other thing. I can imagine this structure annoying some, but I think it’s experimental, deep, exciting and I love it.

an exploration of how roguelike narrative can evolve into a complex, beautiful mess