In Chlorophyll, are there too many locations?

Question

The game Chlorophyll is an adventure on a new planet. But are there too many locations in the game?

Is there a maximum number of locations it is fun to explore? And a number (less) it is fun to solve puzzles in (because you will need to try every location if you don't know the next step)? I'm interested to poll players' and designers' opinions.

Chlorophyll on ifdb

http://ifdb.tads.org/viewgame?id=fylzkxxyxjvoya6

Comments

The question is very subjective, and vague. What are you asking specifically?

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I suppose there is a maximum number of locations it is fun to explore and a number (less) it is fun to solve puzzles in (because you will need to try every location if you don't know the next step). I'm interested to poll players' and designers' opinions.

(Meta: I'm exploring what questions should be posed or can be answered.)
Sure if this is a bad question, flag it. But why not leave it to the floor: let voters decide.

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I will update the question.

Answer 1

While I agree this question is subjective, it opens up a new question: how do we help a game not feel too big?

 

Because I was thrown off a bit. (This was the only thing that threw me off about the game.)

 

I thought, once I started playing, that there would be far fewer locations than there turned out to be. This made it exhausting, because I thought I'd be done, and a new area would open up. And this question poked me to finish a fun game, so I'm glad it's there.

 

Perhaps a post-comp release could subvert this problem by giving a map of the ship, in-game or feelie (maybe I missed it?) or making it more prominent if it was there. I made a Trizbort map.

 

I also think having a map can make a ship or area seem smaller or less confusing. Whether that's in-game or with feelies, that doesn't matter. I know the author mentioned she missed having Quest's automap, but there didn't seem to be a good alternate solution.

Comments

Good answer! I wanted to get opinions I admit the question is kind of arbitrary. re: map isn't the area novel to the main character? So a map would need to be found in-game before the character would know it.

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Thanks. Well, a map might not be necessary. Perhaps the character remembers a kiddie-tour she got, or a model spaceship she had before.

Or perhaps there could be a place where you could scroll through various warning messages (e.g. not just "Lights on") to say, ok, the ship has these elements. Or if there were a window to look out, to say, the tip of the ship is here.

This is nontrivial to do without seeming forced but I think the author did some really good stuff with multiple messages (Did you see the messages if you keep pushing the Sorry Pad? I really like them.)

Oh! One other off-topic thing I'd do in this game: let the character track how many demerits they have, and remind them how much gets thrown in the tank.

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You can check your level of demerits on the big computer in your apartment.
(I didn't do a map for this, but I'm planning one, and more feelies and art assets in general, for the next game.)

Answer 2

I love maps, so I always enjoy a big sprawling area to explore; it could have been pared down, but I like having some unnecessary rooms to poke around in and have connections between places be a little fleshed out. Of course, there's something to be said for a really complicated and well-implemented single room, like the one in Oppositely Opal, too!