A SMALL TALK AT THE BACK OF BEYOND

http://www.kongregate.com/games/scriptwelder/a-small-talk-at-the-back-of-beyond

Reviews:

That was nice little game. It took me some time to stop clicking around and start to write stuff on the computer :D But when i got hang of it it was a very nice small game. There was not much art or music to enjoy, and it was short and based on just writing, however, the well written story and the multiple endings made the game worth playing.

This is a pretty interesting alternative; doesn’t really qualify much as point-and-click, but is close to that genre. It is a bit simple and has a good story, a fitting atmosphere and an unorthodox yet really interesting primary game mechanic… can’t say anymore without spoiling. If you enjoy slightly short and simple interesting games, this can be recommended.

Thoughts:

Firstly, I liked the fact you could explore a bit and play around with the computer to get various responses, which also created the opportunity to reach the “final choice” through multiple routes, making the game less linear and more interesting. Secondly, the fact you have the power to make a decision on the ultimate outcome is pretty critical to the whole story and message of the game. Except if you start to play chess or talk about art, then you just die :D Oh, yes. That was a hilarious implement in the game that caused a lot of confusion at first. If you tried angering the AI, it would also result in your death.

It was pretty clear about the whole message of whether you want to die with someone else (whom had just tried to trick you into doing that) or trying to survive risking dying alone. It all comes down to how you empathized with the AI during your whole conversation. Yeah or how much of a jerk the computer seem to you :D It all comes to how do you feel about the computer. Is it just a computer without any feelings or is it your friend trying to have fun with you at your last moments and not wanting to die alone? A common thought would be “Why can’t I take the AI with me and save both of us?”, but if that was the case, it would make the game and its message redundant.