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A unique experiment in style that could have afforded a wider scope.
Gibmaker- 08/29/2014 04:43 PM
- 515 views
Fancy is a very short game made in a month for the 2014 Indie Game Maker Contest (although it doesn't appear that an entire month of manpower went into it). Although built in RPG Maker VX, there is no combat and no danger. All you really have to do to get the best ending is go everywhere and click everything.
This game exists for really only two reasons. First, it's charmingly dressed up as a classic silent film, with projector artifacts, title cards, and a plucky piano soundtrack. The style is executed so well that I was disappointed to open the menu and see that the facesets are still in colour! And second, it has a fox. Yes, I'm quite sure that "let's make a fox game" was one of the driving forces behind this project. That's a good thing. Fox games are an underrepresented subgenre.
... And that's really all Fancy has to offer. Although this project is trussed up to its laurels in charm, there isn't much substance to it. The story is too lopsided to invest in; those stolen orbs are as arbitrary a MacGuffin as you'll ever come across. There were hints that there might be combat, but ultimately there isn't; the player's only onus is to find all the hidden items before the ending.
When I decided to download this game I actually didn't realize it was a short finish-in-one-sitting affair. I recall wondering how long the game could keep up the silent film style before it ran up against its limitations. I was interested in seeing how the style would extend to combat scenes, but no such thing happens.
While an amusing jaunt, this project is ultimately forgettable. It's likely that only a fraction of the month-long development time went into it, and it probably won't contend for any of the contest prizes.
However, as an experiment in style, I'd say it's a huge success because it's made me want to see a "real" game made out of this! No really. The main disappointment about Fancy is not that it's broken or badly made, just that the scope is extremely small. And so, I've awarded this project a prickly middling score to hopefully encourage Des in this direction.
Score: 2.5 / 5
This game exists for really only two reasons. First, it's charmingly dressed up as a classic silent film, with projector artifacts, title cards, and a plucky piano soundtrack. The style is executed so well that I was disappointed to open the menu and see that the facesets are still in colour! And second, it has a fox. Yes, I'm quite sure that "let's make a fox game" was one of the driving forces behind this project. That's a good thing. Fox games are an underrepresented subgenre.
... And that's really all Fancy has to offer. Although this project is trussed up to its laurels in charm, there isn't much substance to it. The story is too lopsided to invest in; those stolen orbs are as arbitrary a MacGuffin as you'll ever come across. There were hints that there might be combat, but ultimately there isn't; the player's only onus is to find all the hidden items before the ending.
When I decided to download this game I actually didn't realize it was a short finish-in-one-sitting affair. I recall wondering how long the game could keep up the silent film style before it ran up against its limitations. I was interested in seeing how the style would extend to combat scenes, but no such thing happens.
While an amusing jaunt, this project is ultimately forgettable. It's likely that only a fraction of the month-long development time went into it, and it probably won't contend for any of the contest prizes.
However, as an experiment in style, I'd say it's a huge success because it's made me want to see a "real" game made out of this! No really. The main disappointment about Fancy is not that it's broken or badly made, just that the scope is extremely small. And so, I've awarded this project a prickly middling score to hopefully encourage Des in this direction.
Score: 2.5 / 5
