I was asked to review this game by CashmereCat on RMN that was made in two days for the MVLympics event held on www.rpgmaker.net. I’ll put it out here now that this “game” is not for everyone. Ion RMN but you’ll come to know him as Benny after playing “Project 1”. I’ll put it out here now that this “game” is not for everyone. I use quotation marks here because I’m sad to say that I don’t consider this game. At best it is a visual novel with very little player interaction, but only just barely. This isn’t to say that I didn’t have a good experience with “Project 1”, on the contrary I actually found to be a very deep psychological piece in which the developer poured his heart and soul into. Regardless of whether or not I enjoyed playing is irrelevant to the point that I still do not consider this a game. For the record I played for a total time of 30 minutes in which I played through both endings.

-INITIAL THOUGHTS-

This game gets deep and near preachy at one point but the main goal of the game is successful nevertheless. The developer will tell you that he made this game in order to get a reaction from the player, and that’s exactly what will happen. Whether the player has a good or bad reaction to the game doesn’t matter in this case as it was designed to pull people on a self-guided emotional journey. Now one could argue that all games a designed to get a reaction from the player. The difference between other games and “Project 1” is that the reaction is not supposed to be the same for all players. Though the events will lead each player through the same story, their emotional journey will differ from other players and that is what makes “Project 1” special.

-PRESENTATION-

As this was designed for the MVLympics competition which only lasted a week, the game uses primarily all RPG Maker MV RTP in is presentation. The story is very original and I also rather thought that “Project 1” used some brilliant storytelling techniques that really amplified the presentation. I also liked how the use of “choice” in this game is used effectively and definitely connects to the player directly. The player has to make a hard decision and either choice will result in an emotional release and help the player see more of who they are as a person. “Project 1” is different in this way as well as it forces the player to come from behind the safety of the keyboard and face their actions as their own self. This is a nice mechanic that is used very well and helps me to appreciate this “game” for what it is.”

-ENGAGEMENT/GAMEPLAY-

The engagement to continue to the end will vary for every person who plays this game. Some may not even finish the game and will stop playing at one point for one reason or another. For me the engagement though was to keep playing just so that I could see the end. The although it was made in only two days the developer poured everything he could into this game and succeeded in making something great. As for the “gameplay” there really isn’t any. The player is forced to sit on an emotional roller coaster and only gets to interact will very little. As a visual novel the idea of choice is important but it is implemented very little. That’s why I don’t consider this a game. The sole lack of gameplay and interaction.

-OVERALL-

I say if you’re intrigued try it out. I would recommend this to gamers who like visual novels, choose your own adventure games, or even just psychological thrillers in general. It is a great piece of work made in a short amount of time I just don’t consider it to be a game and that’s why I won’t give it a rating. Still, great job to the developer for completing this for the contest, you did a great job!

http://rpgmaker.net/games/8325/