[IF Competition] Snack Time!

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I have already played 13 games in the IF Comp, but I've only written about 6 of them--so it's definitely time to crank out some more not-quite-reviews.

Lest the opportunity for small talk given to me by the necessity of filling this space with more or less meaningless sentences go to waste, I will now tell you that this competition will always be linked in my mind to the music of Meatloaf. I watched the Rocky Horror Picture Show a week or so ago, and now I'm putting on Meatloaf songs whenever I start playing IF. My reviews will probably suffer.

Here we go, talking about Snack Time! by Hardy the Bulldog & Renee Choba.

What is good?
  • This is a very polished effort. Not only is the interaction smooth and painless, the author has also anticipated all kinds of funny actions.
  • The game has its own voice, being told from the perspective of a puppy. This makes what would otherwise be a very standard puzzler much more distinctive.
  • The puzzle - for it really is just a single puzzle - is well-clued, not too hard but not ridiculously easy either. I'm not sure I would have found the ideal ending by myself, but the sub-ideal ending is within even my meager puzzle-solving reach.
What could be better?
  • Nothing, really. The game is more or less perfect.
  • Of course, that doesn't mean that is it great, greatness and perfection being two distinctly different (and perhaps mutually exclusive) attributes. What Snack Time! lacks is ambition; and it lacks it in copious amounts.
Post-competition release?

Perhaps, if any bugs are found. And by the way, can I say that this game would lend itself well to being made free software? Implementing some additional funny things that the protagonist can do seems like something that many people might like to do.

My main hope is that the author(s) will tackle a bigger project next time. That could be something to watch out for.

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