[Group Play 18] Winter Shard

A weekly event where a random games is played and discussed.
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Auro-Cyanide
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[Group Play 18] Winter Shard

#1 Post by Auro-Cyanide »

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Group Play is a weekly event in which one game is selected to be promoted within the forums to be played by us as a group. It provides an opportunity to promote some smaller games that would otherwise get lost, promote discussion and promote creativity. This isn't just about the creators of the games, but also us as a community. It acts as a way for us to analyse work as creative people and for us to develop the necessary critical language to develop and pursue our work.

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This week's game is "Winter Shard" by F.I.A!

You can find links to the game here: Winter Shard

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There are some rules to follow in the following discussion about the game.

- In your primary comment on the game, please try to mention one thing you liked and one thing you think could be improved. This is in the spirit of giving both encouraging and helpful comments to the creators. You may of course go beyond this with praise or critique. I can't enforce this rule, I'll just silently judge you.

- Please try to do one play-through or enough of the game to develop a solid opinion. Some things can be commented on early on, but things like plot might be best left until you finish the game.

- There is no rule as to whether you post here only or in the completed game topic. Feel free to do as you like. This is just a space to discuss this game while playing it at the same time as others.

- Please try to think about the game play as a whole, as well as the different parts that make up the game.

- Please be respectful to the game and creator. You don't have to like a game, but you should be respectful to the effort.

- Please follow the forum rules.

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If you would like to make your own suggestions and haven't already, please feel free to PM them to me.

These are the current guidelines for suggestions:

- Anyone can send me 3 games (VN, KN Sim, whatever, just from these forums or related to) that they think are worth playing by PM.
- There can only be three suggestions per person and if a game gets suggested multiple times, they still only get one draw.
- You may suggest your own games.
- For now they must not be 18+, just because we want to encourage everyone to join first up. If it goes well, maybe something can be arranged for the big kids.
- Please try to make sure the game is short (around a max of 30,000 words). It isn't a hard and fast rule, but it's easier to make time for smaller games and it will give this a greater chance of success.
- They must be free and preferably available on all 3 platforms, again for easy access.

And with that, let the games begin!

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azureXtwilight
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Re: [Group Play 18] Winter Shard

#2 Post by azureXtwilight »

Oooh! Definitely one of my favorite games back in the day! I'm glad that people are starting to play this again, and the true ending still teared me up. Although the art aren't super shiny like recent games, there is something about the story that draws you in, definitely not like your average short non-commercial VN.
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kkffoo
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Re: [Group Play 18] Winter Shard

#3 Post by kkffoo »

I'm having a hard time working out where the download link is for this one.
It isn't impossible I am looking right at it and not seeing!
At the moment all I have is a script download?

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Arelune
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Re: [Group Play 18] Winter Shard

#4 Post by Arelune »

Oh, actually one I already played, never commented on it though. I'm going by memory as it is a bit too long to replay atm.
I liked the concept of it, the choices, some of the endings and the dark atmosphere, but it never managed to engage me. It all just feel so rushed and I couldn't connect with the characters. If it had elaborated on things more, I would have loved it.I seem to be in minority about this though, most people seem to love this game.
The art wasn't remarkable, but did its thing. I wasn't bothered by it. The music was sparse, but it was used at right times.

@kkffoo: http://renai.us/game/wintershard.shtml

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cuttlefish
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Re: [Group Play 18] Winter Shard

#5 Post by cuttlefish »

This VN has some cool transitions, sound effects, and good descriptive writing. I found the story pretty interesting, and I've been able to get 6 out of 8 endings.

But... the writing could benefit from another proofreading. Sometimes, the wrong word would be used in a sentence (I think F.I.A. meant 'traverse' or another word instead of 'transverse' somewhere in the beginning). There was awkward phrasing throughout, which made me feel like I was reading a roughly translated work.
Arelune wrote:I liked the concept of it, the choices, some of the endings and the dark atmosphere, but it never managed to engage me. It all just feel so rushed and I couldn't connect with the characters.
I partly agree with this. I think the lack of engagement might be due to the character names. For me, some of the names were too weird (ex. Zewoe) or too lame (ex. King Cower, Rosetta [because Frederic had to remember her after seeing roses]). People might say names aren't important, but when I'm thinking, What kind of name is Blablablooey? or Why'd the author have to call them that?, for most of the characters, I'm distracted from the story, thus not engaged in the story.

EDIT: Got the last 2 endings! The Staff Room was very telling (and enjoyable). It's too bad some of the things mentioned in the Staff Room were not included or at least hinted at (more) in the VN.
i.e. How Frederic's father summoned Krotus to end the war. In the VN, it just seemed like Krotus wanted to end the war on his own 'cause he's a being who has the power to do that, and it's not clear that Frederic's father just made a careless decision. (I mean, why didn't he think Krotus would just rule the land after he ended the war?)
The explanation for Frederic's glasses (noted in the original thread) would also have been good, even if it was just mentioned in another character's dialogue (e.g. Temonz: I'll smash your glasses so you'll never have to study those apothecary texts again). The glasses did come off as anachronistic when I first saw Frederic's sprite.

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kkffoo
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Re: [Group Play 18] Winter Shard

#6 Post by kkffoo »

@Arelune thank you!

I think I haven't completed all the ending but a got two, one being the good ending.
This was quite epic story-wise, felt like a norse legend.
I loved Krotus, the villain, especially how he was drawn all in black and blue with lighter edges and highlights.
Lots of moral choices, which made the story satisfying, and the ending was quite emotional.

Some of the drawing felt a bit basic, but I don't really mind as so much thought and effort went into the tale.
Well worth reading.

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Re: [Group Play 18] Winter Shard

#7 Post by ludeshka »

F*ck yeah, Winter Shard!

This is definitely one of my favourite vns from this forum. I think I might have said that before XD

So, something I enjoyed about this game?

How unique it is.
Only Winter Shard has Winter Shard's graphics. They're memorable. (Zewoe's lab, with all the pieces of dead people... :D)
The writing is just as unique. Frederone has personality.
It is all very stylized in Winter Shard, the prose is stylized (Frederone doesn't think, he ponders XD); or the way the choices shape Frederone's antiheroism. Is he an antihero with honor? What does he want now? Rosetta? Vengeance? The whole world?
So, yeah, I really recommend this game.

Something that could be improved....?
I'm not crazy about the font that was used, but seriously, I know nothing about fonts. Maybe it could use different music.

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