You awaken cold and damp on the forest floor. How did you get here? Your memory is fogged by the dull ache in your head. You remember crossing a bridge in a downpour. The river flooded... The bridge collapsed, and you fell...
This is my entry for the Bioware writing contest. I hope you enjoy it.
AWESOME! Incredible! Wow, just wow! I was actually spooked! Unlike my fellow-players, I can't see the difference between a script and a spotted dutch cow, so I won't hold any unfair kick-ass scripting against the mod-maker. Hmm well hmm, I lie: even I can see this module was full of scripts. But as I am not Bioware, it is not for me to judge whether this module sticks to their rules or not. I am just an ordinary player, and I liked what I just saw. Simple. I can't think of any points of criticism - the writing is awesome too - so a 10 it is. My highest mark sofar (this is the 45th mod I vote for), and I don't think it will be equaled. Well done, Sia! Best of luck in the contest! Oh, by the way, PLEASE let me know if you make anything else, okay? PS @Arik: no persuade/intimade check is needed. I played it through without resorting to either.
Posted by Juridian at on02/22/06
This module just had it all. The writing was really top notch, I found it immensely enjoyable.
Posted by Sia at 2006-02-1615:28:21
I just wanted to thank everyone for the feedback. I very much appreciate all the constructive criticism. --Sia
Posted by Arik at on02/16/06
The lack of reviews for this module is alarming. In terms of storytelling this module is absolutely top notch - the atmosphere is incredible, it's excitingly paced, the character(s?) are interesting and the feeling of being lost deepens as you play. I can see why it has been accused of depriving the player of control, but this module actually makes it into a virtue - the oppressive fog, the blackouts, the confusing terrain all conspire to to deliver the player an increasing sense of helplessness, so that once you reach the end you're the one who ends up feeling like a child, lost and alone. There's really little to fault in terms of dialogue and pacing. My one major suggestion for improvement is that I'd have liked to have seen a goal to work towards, beyond just finding out what was happening. The ending was good, but I do think just having a persuade/intimidate check was an anticlimax. Otherwise I think this is one of the strongest contendors.
Posted by emf2305 at on02/11/06
I'm afraid I disagree with the scores so far posted here - it had some great scripting, good strong dialogue, great story idea's and a superb atmosphere, but there was no real sense of interaction or choice involved in anything presented. It looked and felt fantastic, but doesn't really demonstrate if the author can do the branching dialogue that the contest calls for. I know it's stupid condemning something original against the same old 'talk to two people and solve their problems', but in this case I think the author missed the mark a little.
Posted by p_perry at on02/08/06
Very nice. Solid writing, solid story. It actually plays as a side quest, which I haven't been getting from many of the others. My one and only bit of advice is that when you get to the end, the mod should end.
Posted by Talmud at 2006-02-0514:52:33
I am not a disinterested party, but I happen to know that if Sia had chosen to drop all the scripting, other than journal entries (and maybe a screen fade now and then) this would have played very much the same. The rest was just polish, making use of the game engine to enhance the play experience.
Posted by Caprial at 2006-02-0311:05:19
I found it very difficult to judge this entry in the spirit of the contest. The writing is quite well done, but the story would not work without all the elaborate scripts, or at any rate, it would need to be presented in a much different manner. I find myself wishing the author had chosen to do that and gone without the script work. I would like to see what he can do without it, and it would make it much easier to compare to the other modules in this contest. Since it was specified that this is a writing contest, and scripting ability would have no bearing on things, I find that I cannot assign a score to this entry because I cannot see past the scripts.
Posted by Cathera at on02/02/06
The writing on this was very nice, even with the limited dialog I felt like I got a nice tease of what the characters could be in a full mod.
Posted by thegeorge at on02/01/06
I was surprised to find an entry with such a high level of scripting that it even has cutscenes. I think the writing was both varied and interesting enough to be good.
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