[Group Play 24] Pandora's Box

A weekly event where a random games is played and discussed.
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Auro-Cyanide
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[Group Play 24] Pandora's Box

#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 "Pandora's Box" by Terrorbullgames!

You can find links to the game here: Pandora's Box

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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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saguaro
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Re: [Group Play 24] Pandora's Box

#2 Post by saguaro »

I just played this the other day, so posting here and there...

I like this one. It's a good example of how to tell a FP POV with an unreliable narrator. I don't know what it's like to have a serious mental illness, I can only assume that it's very frustrating, confusing, and lonely on a level I can't begin to appreciate, and the narrative offers a glimpse of that. It took me quite a bit of trial and error to reach the end, which seems reflective of what it might be like to have to 'learn' or 'adapt' to what we consider normal society. (PROTIP: Don't talk back to nurses.)

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Re: [Group Play 24] Pandora's Box

#3 Post by Funnyguts »

Well, that was weird. I rarely respond to any horror/paranormal stories with the intended reaction, usually I'm laughing more than I'm screaming. It was hard to take Stock Photo Nurse and Stock Photo Businessman as particularly disturbing entities, and the music was more annoying than creepy. I don't really get why the art references were included in the game, they felt like allusions for the sake of allusion rather than anything truly meaningful. However, I loved the absurdly bombastic music when you finally get the good ending.

It was fun to explore the same sequence over and over, surprisingly. It gives you a sense of the repetitive trap the protagonist is in, and once you figure out that there's a way to break the cycle the exploration becomes a lot more meaningful game-wise.

Cabriolean
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Re: [Group Play 24] Pandora's Box

#4 Post by Cabriolean »

Just finished playing it, I really enjoyed the way the unusual music augmented the distorted images.
Improvement: It says realtive instead of relative, but that's just a small typo.....

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SusanTheCat
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Re: [Group Play 24] Pandora's Box

#5 Post by SusanTheCat »

This is on my list of Visual Novels I force people to play. It is short and sweet and shows that a visual novel doesn't have to be a romance.

I don't have much negative to say. It's a well crafted short VN.

Susan
" It's not at all important to get it right the first time. It's vitally important to get it right the last time. "
— Andrew Hunt and David Thomas

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