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[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

Yes -- the way I think of it is, these things are games. They aren't work, they aren't taxes, they aren't some disgusting duty, we're voluntarily doing something to entertain ourselves, it's leisure time. If you can't get at least a little enjoyment out of every game you play (barring completely broken ones that don't even start up or are too buggy to play) then you are taking them too seriously.

Not enjoying a game to me is like not enjoying (thinks of an analogy then realizes most of the thread is probably under 18 and decides on another one) candy: "this candy is weirdly shaped! it's not sweet enough!" etc. -- it's candy! It's not rotten eggplant, not bitter medicine. Enjoy that you have time enough / get to eat it at all.

As for your question moi, I was using the term 'art' in the broad sense: I think art is anything people create for the senses and imagination of other people. This includes a wide variety of stuff, including all movies, all games, all television, all stories, all music, and so on. I realize some have a more specific understanding of art, but I think art is basically just anything people create that stimulate the senses or imagination of other people.

[William Broom]

I thought the story in this was great but the way the story was presented was not so good. Not bad, but it could have been better. It was painfully obvious that I was just going through a series of scripted events. Early in the game I investigated the bedchamber first, and then went into the library, prompting my character to say 'Maybe Emily is in the other room'. But I already looked in the other room. The locking and unlocking of doors was another thing that felt really artificial and constrictive. Later on, it was weird that you turned certain events into cutscenes for no discernable reason.

Overall though I certainly enjoyed playing it (and not just in the "enjoy everything" way that Paul was talking about  ).

[Benjamin Rivers]

This is really stellar work, Terry and Stephen. A really great use of narrative-as-gameplay. I was surprised to find myself so emotionally engaged in this. The sound of the prisoner made me tense and genuinely frightened — Silent-Hill-scared, of giant textures! — and when I ran into the husband, I actually let out a little shocked gasp.

I only wish that all of the sequences would have been player-controlled (such as digging the grave and stabbing the prisoner); there were some illusion-of-choice scenarios (as when Judith can only say "Yes" to asking her husband about his final room), and I think this worked well. I know it's linear, but the act of making the choice, even if it is the only option, means something. I wish I could have stabbed the prisoner, because I genuinely would have felt terrible about it.

I'm really impressed with this. Toronto's Hand Eye Society is meeting tomorrow, and I definitely want to see who else has played this.

For the record, I played this with Xpadder and a wireless controller, which I think really added to the experience.

[Fuzz]

Still haven't found time to play this, and this thread has already half-spoiled it for me. (someone said something about Bluebeard)

[battlerager]

Still haven't found time to play this, and this thread has already half-spoiled it for me. (someone said something about Bluebeard)

Someone made a typo somewhere and I was like "Holy shit, bluebear? I love captain bluebear!"  :D

[Zaphos]

Still haven't found time to play this, and this thread has already half-spoiled it for me. (someone said something about Bluebeard)

If that bothers you please play games before reading their feedback thread ... it would defeat the purpose of the feedback thread not to discuss the game in it.  Your feedback will typically be more valuable if you play it without the influence of 9 pages of comments, anyway.

[Greg Game Man]

cool experimental game you guys! I look forward to what you do next, i really dig the graphics and the game brought about some interesting discussion in this thread!

The gameplay was just a means of walking through the linear story, with no decisions to make, and so the game is about experiencing a story, so i guess what you get from it is the emotions/experience of moving through the story. Because of this, i think every bit of gameplay should be carefully planned to give the player those emotions/experiences, that the story wants them to have, else you may as well make a movie or a book. Or in other words, every bit of gameplay should match the story perfectly and takes a lot of thought (like rod humble, jason rohrer, jonathon blow or Team ICO's games)

You did well in some areas, like looking around for judith trying to find her, and the creepy atmosphere, but not so well in others..for example, everytime you took control from the player you removed those feelings you wanted them to have, i feel like i shouldve stabbed the prisoner to feel guilt(is that what you wanted me to feel?), and i shouldve ran away from bluebeard to feel the fear. If you wanted the player to feel alone without judith, it wouldve been better to have a giant castle(like ico) with less light, and more to explore in order to give them the feeling of fear, loneliness and hopelessly looking for judith..

Overall i think it was a really cool experiment, but i felt bored most of the playthrough so i guess the gameplay didnt give me the emotions that the story intended.

[Fuzz]

Still haven't found time to play this, and this thread has already half-spoiled it for me. (someone said something about Bluebeard)

If that bothers you please play games before reading their feedback thread ... it would defeat the purpose of the feedback thread not to discuss the game in it.  Your feedback will typically be more valuable if you play it without the influence of 9 pages of comments, anyway.

I'm not really reading the thread, just came across it. And no, it doesn't bother me, of course game discussion is fine.

[Noyb]

I really like this. Well done.

Rant about interactivity and character studies below:

The interesting thing about the non-interactive parts in Judith are what actions the player actually does. Instead of physically stabbing the prisoner, the player takes the action to decide to kill him. It deemphasizes the action which dominates most games in favor of thoughts, and here depicts a character whose path is determined from the moment she decides to pick up the knife. I find this much more compelling from a character standpoint than the general ghostly possession role the player normally takes.

To clarify a bit, when a game focuses on character, there are a few different approaches. You can let the player have complete control. This capitalizes on the interactivity of games, but opens up the characterization to all kinds of unintended consequences. To use the Half-Life games as a straw man: My Gordon Freeman is a silent saint, saving the lives of his friends while remaining humble. One of my friend's Gordon Freeman is a mute psychopath who loves to spins in circles and throws grenades when anyone dares talk to him. A young child's Gordon Freeman is an incompetent fool whose bullet-ridden corpse fell in a ditch before he could do any good.

The way Judith handles this is to distinguish between the actions of the player and the actions of the player character. The good part about this is that it creates a more uniform characterization among all players, which is essential for some stories to operate properly. It's similar here to what the Path does with its characters: letting the user place them in situations where they act according to their own nature. Judith might actually take this a bit further, placing this fatalism as an Aristotelian tragic flaw: she "must" know everything about her husband to love him, so her course is set from the moment she opens the bookcase to the final yes/yes "choice."

On a completely unrelated subject, I found it interesting to theorize that the prisoner might have been one of the husband's "wives." He threatens Judith that she might find herself in the same position as him, like the husband's previous wives. When the lover digs up the prisoner's body, he finds a key to the back of the house, similar to the one Judith's husband gives her at the end. Not sure if this was an intended meaning.

[sergiocornaga]

Nice writeup Noyb, I really enjoyed reading it. It was funny and thoughtful.

[aeiowu]

really captivating. I'm gonna try to return to this sometime over the weekend and come back with a more complete interpretation/post, but yea... awesome job guys.

[Loren Schmidt]

I'll give this a play and post as soon as I do so.

[godatplay]

Bravo, gentlemen.  I loved playing this game.  I guess I'm one of those people that can enjoy just about anything.  I do think there might be a few areas where you could improve the story, but for the most part, I thought it was really well done.  It was a thrilling experience; my heart is still kind of pounding from it 30 minutes later.

This game really reminds me of the kinds of themes Hitchcock used.  You create a structure that left some space for horror and suspense to fill by using my imagination.  I've always been kind of disappointed when I watch some of the classic films, including Hitchcock, because you simply can't have the same experience as people who saw the film when it first came out.  I think part of this is because you see newer movies that incorporate some of those themes before you see the old ones from which they are based.

In this game, however, I feel like I've had the same experience as someone who saw a Hitchcock film for the first time.  Since I haven't played a game that used these themes like this one does, it feels really new and fresh.

I also agree with Noyb regarding the distinction between performing the action and deciding to perform the action.  While it would have been interesting to experience the actual act of stabbing the prisoner, the fact that you chose to decide to do it seemed to suggest that the actual killing was then just part of your character.  In the end, I'm torn between which would have been better, but I like the direction chosen.  Furthermore, the fact that the game used longer and longer cutscenes made me think that Judith was steadily losing control.

[thomasmahler]

I just got to play it - man, this game was absolutely fantastic! I loved how the story played out, it was very interesting. Especially that husband of hers gave me the chills, great, great stuff.

One note: I stopped playing at first, cause searching through the library until you found the right bookshelf wasn't too obvious IMO - other than that, great job on a great little game!

[Kamos]

I've played this recently, too - I've liked the story and thought the retro graphics were awesome. My only complaint is that I had a really bad headache when I finished the game. Not sure if it was the colors, the way it behaved or if I just had it coming and it's not related to the game.

[Tymbark]

Any chance to update the source link? It doesn't work.

[Fuzz]

here's the working source link (increpare changed his website)- http://ded.increpare.com/~locus/judithsrc.zip