Archived from groups: rec.games.int-fiction (More info?)
I apologize if this has been reviewed before. I have the pleasure of
taking a class in Interactive Fiction this fall, and this review is
part of that class.
********
I found this game in the section for games that were submitted for the
2003 Interactive Fiction competition.
The game grips you with a storyline that it is hard not to relate to:
a day in the office doing mundane work, and you need enough caffeine
to make it to lunch (maybe it's just me, after all, that's a 100%
accurate description of my summer job). The main character is a
data-entry specialist and a caffeine addict in a largely caffeine-less
office. The goal of the game is to procure coffee; however, not just
any coffee will do. He wants the king of coffees: "The Molto Maximus
Bean Blaster," which predictably costs a great deal more than you may
find in pocket change lying around the office.
Starting the game was easy. I walked around the office in search of
the obvious solution. I found a great deal of apparent solutions in
the office that were false solutions. It is likely that you will
encounter many solutions that seem obvious and simple; however, turn
out to be dead end roads. The puzzle that leads to accomplishment is a
tricky one indeed, and you need to be very specific in order to make
it through.
There was also some difficulty in guessing a verb or two. For example,
in one scene I knew I had to sneak by my boss's window; however, I did
not realize I had to use the word "sneak" to do it. The help file
did not have a master list of verbs, and that left me a bit in the
dark. Difficulty was the exception and not the rule though. The
parser was generally good, and all of the commands I used provided me
with logical responses to the commands I entered.
As the game progresses, the spatial layout becomes progressively more
complex and confusing. One place was such a random layout of
inter-cardinal directions that I had to create a map to find my way
back out. I think the game could have done without them, and would
have lost nothing by sticking to the four basic directions that are
much easier to keep track of.
The plot and the writing I found enjoyable. The writing was
interesting, and will keep you involved in the story. It had a wry
sense of humor that at the very least gives you the impression that
this whole situation was supposed to be at the very least amusing. The
plot was difficult to move along with a few difficult and not so
obvious puzzles. While there were only a few puzzles, I was stuck on
each one for quite a while, and ended up not finishing the game.
Most of the game is solid, with a singular exception. There is a bug
in the game that allows you to obtain an item, after another character
in the story tells you that you may not have it, and shoos you away.
If you follow the plot, you will be led to believe that you did not
take it, but a careful examination of your inventory will reveal
otherwise. Unfortunately, this item is so crucial to the game that
obtaining it accidentally and prematurely could ruin the flow of the
plot. The player though can choose not to use the item as it was
obtained through a bug. I continued and struggled through the puzzles
to obtain the item through sanctioned means.
After I had been frustrated for quite some time by difficult puzzles
and dead ends I read the walkthrough. I was happy to see that each
task could have been completed in one of several ways, and that was
good because I had tried each of those routes at least a little bit;
however, I was dismayed at the lengthy process necessary to accomplish
each task. None of these processes were intuitive, and even the ones
that I had accomplished up to this point I found to be less than
apparent.
Overall CaffeiNation is a great puzzle game. It is made to be a series
or puzzles more so than it is meant to be an immersive plot game. The
story in some respects played a secondary role to solving the puzzles.
While I enjoyed playing the game, I found it frustrating at times, and
think it could have been more enjoyable in some respects.
-Aaron Knoll
*******
I apologize if this has been reviewed before. I have the pleasure of
taking a class in Interactive Fiction this fall, and this review is
part of that class.
********
I found this game in the section for games that were submitted for the
2003 Interactive Fiction competition.
The game grips you with a storyline that it is hard not to relate to:
a day in the office doing mundane work, and you need enough caffeine
to make it to lunch (maybe it's just me, after all, that's a 100%
accurate description of my summer job). The main character is a
data-entry specialist and a caffeine addict in a largely caffeine-less
office. The goal of the game is to procure coffee; however, not just
any coffee will do. He wants the king of coffees: "The Molto Maximus
Bean Blaster," which predictably costs a great deal more than you may
find in pocket change lying around the office.
Starting the game was easy. I walked around the office in search of
the obvious solution. I found a great deal of apparent solutions in
the office that were false solutions. It is likely that you will
encounter many solutions that seem obvious and simple; however, turn
out to be dead end roads. The puzzle that leads to accomplishment is a
tricky one indeed, and you need to be very specific in order to make
it through.
There was also some difficulty in guessing a verb or two. For example,
in one scene I knew I had to sneak by my boss's window; however, I did
not realize I had to use the word "sneak" to do it. The help file
did not have a master list of verbs, and that left me a bit in the
dark. Difficulty was the exception and not the rule though. The
parser was generally good, and all of the commands I used provided me
with logical responses to the commands I entered.
As the game progresses, the spatial layout becomes progressively more
complex and confusing. One place was such a random layout of
inter-cardinal directions that I had to create a map to find my way
back out. I think the game could have done without them, and would
have lost nothing by sticking to the four basic directions that are
much easier to keep track of.
The plot and the writing I found enjoyable. The writing was
interesting, and will keep you involved in the story. It had a wry
sense of humor that at the very least gives you the impression that
this whole situation was supposed to be at the very least amusing. The
plot was difficult to move along with a few difficult and not so
obvious puzzles. While there were only a few puzzles, I was stuck on
each one for quite a while, and ended up not finishing the game.
Most of the game is solid, with a singular exception. There is a bug
in the game that allows you to obtain an item, after another character
in the story tells you that you may not have it, and shoos you away.
If you follow the plot, you will be led to believe that you did not
take it, but a careful examination of your inventory will reveal
otherwise. Unfortunately, this item is so crucial to the game that
obtaining it accidentally and prematurely could ruin the flow of the
plot. The player though can choose not to use the item as it was
obtained through a bug. I continued and struggled through the puzzles
to obtain the item through sanctioned means.
After I had been frustrated for quite some time by difficult puzzles
and dead ends I read the walkthrough. I was happy to see that each
task could have been completed in one of several ways, and that was
good because I had tried each of those routes at least a little bit;
however, I was dismayed at the lengthy process necessary to accomplish
each task. None of these processes were intuitive, and even the ones
that I had accomplished up to this point I found to be less than
apparent.
Overall CaffeiNation is a great puzzle game. It is made to be a series
or puzzles more so than it is meant to be an immersive plot game. The
story in some respects played a secondary role to solving the puzzles.
While I enjoyed playing the game, I found it frustrating at times, and
think it could have been more enjoyable in some respects.
-Aaron Knoll
*******
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