Player Comments on LOTR:The Shire, an Exploration Game
This is a charming little game. It's pretty short, but well-written, and you convey a strong sense of geography using only links and pages. To my knowledge, it's the only attempt at an "exploration sim" on CYS.
Unfortunately, it is hampered by the fact that nothing really happens. I understand that that goes with the territory of a peaceful exploration/walking sim, but I don't think that the format of a text adventure is able to carry that idea without it being boring. This is a very short game, and it was starting to drag by the time I finished.
It's clear that you're capable of good writing, though. You conveyed the tranquility and peace of the Shire very well, and some of the interactions with the Hobbits were genuinely amusing. I genuinely laughed when the bartender commented on how even the big folk now about how great his beer is.
I must also commend you on your impressive knowledge of the Legendarium.
I hope you take your strong descriptive skills and sense of humour and try to apply it to something more ambitious, because I can easily see you making a very worthy contribution to the site.
Also, just a bookkeeping matter, this should be filed under "Fan Fiction", not "Fantasy Adventure", as it is based on the work of J.R.R. Tolkien and is not an original setting.
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hetero_malk
on 7/13/2020 8:18:25 PM with a score of 0
It was fun exploring the shire. To be honest I got kind of bored and was trying to find a way out for the last couple of minutes. I guess I found one!
6/10
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Yummyfood
on 3/3/2022 12:19:12 PM with a score of 0
I have to say I love the concept of exploration games and discovery tours of iconic locations for interactives, and this was well thought out in terms of parts of the Shire and its locales. I will agree it would be nice to have a little more to do and see and maybe a few more characters to interact with, but the principle is still a great one. I am hoping to do something similar myself with Star Wars in the future.
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— Derek Metaltron on 1/4/2022 5:17:07 AM with a score of 0
On the short side but definitely sweet, this felt very therapeutic to play. Something about following in the footsteps of LOTR heroes and poking around in every nook and cranny that was very satisfying. I would really enjoy more of these...(and not just LOTR-themed.)
I appreciate a lot of writing, and complex story structures go into these kinds of stories, but it would've been nice to avoid re-reading the initial 'buys a beer' or 'you get a ticket to the museum' when moving between one branch and another of a location.
It was neat being able to use a bribe at one point... Pity the encounter with the charming Ranger-lady was a one-off (although I can appreciate why).
Thanks very much - I thoroughly enjoyed it. Good work.
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instruMinstrel
on 12/8/2020 10:26:10 AM with a score of 0
Great story! It looks like plenty of work and time went into this.
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Lightning_11
on 8/2/2020 3:55:39 PM with a score of 0
Very charming. Nice and relaxing. Thanks for this. :-)
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— Dale on 8/1/2020 9:13:00 AM with a score of 0
It's okay but not as good as the Star Wars one. I agree with the others that there needed to be something to do.
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Starbourne
on 7/28/2020 7:59:03 AM with a score of 0
The descriptions are okay and vivid. But as game this is boring as hell, you are just going aimlessly from A to B. Without any reason carved into a plot. There is also no dialogues... A good first attempt.
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poison_mara
on 7/26/2020 5:08:35 AM with a score of 0
This is cute enough for what it is, and I think kids may enjoy it. I liked the part with the Entwife.
I'd have liked just a tiny bit of background on the character and maybe some goal or reason they're traveling though. You don't need a full plot, just a little hint of one to propel the whole thing forward.
If you learned to do variables and a little on page scripting, you could change the descriptions of places the player had already visited. That way every time you enter the inn wouldn't be the first time, and so on. That would add a lot to the interactivity of the whole thing.
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Mizal
on 7/13/2020 7:25:53 PM with a score of 0
As per the description, you do explore the world, but I would suggest allowing the player to make choices that have consequences, rather than wandering around aimlessly. I would also suggest adding at least a little plot, even if you mean for it to not be so much of a story, to give the player some reason for wandering around. It is unclear to me, if it is not a story, as stated, and not a game, as you cannot lose, what exactly it is meant to be.
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greenBean
on 7/13/2020 5:56:38 PM with a score of 0
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