[Review] The Isle of the Cult

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As part of an attempt to post more reviews, I am posting more
reviews. Like all my reviews these are archived on my website at
http://www.drizzle.com/~dans/if/reviews.html -- if you're reading this
post after a few days there may be a more updated version there.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

The Isle of the Cult
by Rune Berg (TADS)

It's always a pleasure to play a game by a new author which is not only
fun in its own right but promising of even better things to come. The
Isle of the Cult doesn't aspire to anything much beyond "ok, you're on
this island and you have to collect the N magic whatsits because the
introduction says you do", and this is fine by me since it pulls it off
pretty well. There aren't a lot of fancy descriptions or complicated
puzzles here, but there's also very little fat in the game.

Berg clearly grasps a number of fundamental principles of puzzle
design. The puzzles are always fair (albeit simple), and as far as I
can tell the game can't be made unwinnable. Furthermore, for the few
multi-step puzzles, the game will automatically solve them for you if
you need to do them a second time. The one place the puzzle design fell
down was on giving guidance for nearly-right answers. This was a little
surprising given that The Isle of the Cult did a really exceptional job
on a similar task, clueing which items in the room/object descriptions
are significant without being blatant about it. In general, the game
has only a few rooms and objects which felt unnecessary: a good start,
though I hope that in Berg's next game he manages to trim it down even
more. On the other hand, I hope he increases the number of objects
which are reused for multiple puzzles. This game has a few reused items
(one of which is quite surprising) but I'd like to see even more, along
with more complicated puzzles.

Overall I was very pleased with the construction of the game world,
and, especially for a first-time game, The Isle of the Cult felt like
it had great beta-testing. My only real complaint with the game is the
backstory. Though normally that wouldn't matter in this sort of game,
this has a few hints of some bigger story that fails to quite make
itself clear, leading to a somewhat ambiguous and unsatisfying ending.
If you have several hours to play and are looking for a good-sized but
reasonably straightforward puzzlefest, The Isle of the Cult would be a
great choice.

--
Dan Shiovitz :: dbs@cs.wisc.edu :: http://www.drizzle.com/~dans
"He settled down to dictate a letter to the Consolidated Nailfile and
Eyebrow Tweezer Corporation of Scranton, Pa., which would make them
realize that life is stern and earnest and Nailfile and Eyebrow Tweezer
Corporations are not put in this world for pleasure alone." -PGW

 

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Dan Shiovitz wrote:
<An excellent review of The Isle of the Cult>

Was there an Announcement of this game that I missed? FOr those of you
who, like me, were completely unaware of its existence I can fill in a
few gaps. It appears to be a new game that can be found currently in
the unprocessed directory of the archive but should eventually move to
games/tads/islecult.gam . There is, of course, no entry yet in baf's
guide. But if inky's review is any indication I'm in for a treat as
soon as my download completes.

Cirk R. Bejnar

 

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On Tue, 28 Dec 2004, Cirk R. Bejnar wrote:

> Was there an Announcement of this game that I missed? FOr those of you
> who, like me, were completely unaware of its existence I can fill in a
> few gaps. It appears to be a new game that can be found currently in
> the unprocessed directory of the archive but should eventually move to
> games/tads/islecult.gam . There is, of course, no entry yet in baf's
> guide. But if inky's review is any indication I'm in for a treat as
> soon as my download completes.

It was announced by "Rune" on the 23rd:


On Thu, 23 Dec 2004, Rune wrote:

> A new TADS 2 game,
>
> "The Isle of the Cult"
>
> is now available at http://ifarchive.org/if-archive/unprocessed/
>
> If you´re looking for a Fantasy game with trad. style exploration and
> puzzle-solving, this might be one to enjoy over the holidays...
> Best of luck, then
> - Rune

 

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dbs@cs.wisc.edu (Dan Shiovitz) wrote:

> The Isle of the Cult
> by Rune Berg (TADS)

> Berg clearly grasps a number of fundamental principles of puzzle
> design. The puzzles are always fair (albeit simple), and as far as I
> can tell the game can't be made unwinnable.

In fact, I can find only one place where you can even die.

> My only real complaint with the game is the
> backstory. Though normally that wouldn't matter in this sort of game,
> this has a few hints of some bigger story that fails to quite make
> itself clear, leading to a somewhat ambiguous and unsatisfying ending.

Have you
- thoroughly examined the library?
- made the connection with what you find there, and what you find in the
lair?
- made another connection with the final words of the Guild Master?

I don't think the ending is ambiguous at all. I also think that the
Guild is far from a pleasant society. Most of all, I think Mr. Berg owes
us another game with the obvious continuation of the story .

Richard

 

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dbs@cs.wisc.edu (Dan Shiovitz) wrote:

> In article <41ed921e.17418328@news.individual.net>,
> Richard Bos <rlb@hoekstra-uitgeverij.nl> wrote:
> >dbs@cs.wisc.edu (Dan Shiovitz) wrote:
> >
> >> My only real complaint with the game is the
> >> backstory. Though normally that wouldn't matter in this sort of game,
> >> this has a few hints of some bigger story that fails to quite make
> >> itself clear, leading to a somewhat ambiguous and unsatisfying ending.
> >
> >Have you
> >- thoroughly examined the library?
> >- made the connection with what you find there, and what you find in the
> > lair?
> >- made another connection with the final words of the Guild Master?
> >
> >I don't think the ending is ambiguous at all. I also think that the
> >Guild is far from a pleasant society. Most of all, I think Mr. Berg owes
> >us another game with the obvious continuation of the story .
>
> Hmm. What I get from the sources you cite (and I guess the dragon also
> appears on the obelisk, though not adding much info except to hint
> that it's very old) is that the guild, or a related organization, used
> to control the island, including disappearing people when they're
> bad. I would guess that the dragon was instrumental to their control
> over the people. But this leads me to wonder:
> - How did they control the dragon?
> - Who turned the dragon to stone?
> - Why are they only now turning it back from stone?
> - Why did they have to get you to do it?
> - Why is the Guild no longer in control of the island?
> - What is the book and why was it the key?

Right... if I read you correctly, your complaint is about the backstory
_itself_, not really about the ending as it is.

The ending, and the events leading up to it, seem quite clear to me: the
Guild, in one form or another, was once involved with the island, before
it got abandoned. This is clear from their symbol being found there. It
is also quite clear that this logo is a depiction of the dragon himself,
who is explicitly described as lying with his head near his tail: the
broken circle.
Like you, I don't know how they controlled the dragon, who turned it to
stone or why, and why it is only now reversed, though I can guess at
some things: the Guild had defeated the dragon, but did not destroy it,
as they were supposed to, but kept it hidden; the Chronicles indicate
that people came to be aware of this, or at least of wrong-doings
withing the Guild; they started losing their grip on the island;
something went amiss, probably in the control of the dragon (the city
was burned down); they had to abandon the island and flee to the main
land, probably stoning the dragon from orbit (the only way to make
sure); in doing so, they lost their library (note that they seem to have
left all their books behind), and therefore presumably most of their
power; they planned to go back, releasing the dragon, at a time when
they'd gained enough power back; to stop anybody from setting the dragon
free before they were ready, they put an elaborate mystical lock on his
resting place. All of this is speculation, though.
What does seem pretty certain is that:
- they sent you because releasing a dragon is obviously dangerous (in
fact, even the island itself would not be safe for an untrained
person) - better send a disposable dupe than someone important, in
case something goes wrong;
- the book contained the spell that kept the dragon stoned: remove it,
and the spell wears off;
- they will now put further plans into action, involving the living
dragon - presumably, they think they can safely control it now.

I agree with you that the backstory itself is incomplete, and I, too,
would be happy with more, but I don't think it's necessary to
understanding the "current" events. It's quite possible that even the
Guild itself doesn't know its complete history. The obelisk seems to
indicate that the dragon is older than the Guild, because the beast is
mentioned, but the people are fleeing from it, not controlling it; and
there is no indication of anything Guild-related on it; and it is said
to look like "a relic from an older age". If that is true, then the
Guild itself wouldn't know all the history, and their motives must be
mostly comprehensible from the bits which are present in the story.

Richard

 

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Archived from groups: rec.games.int-fiction (More info?)

> > JRW
> > Hmm. What I get from the sources you cite (and I guess the dragon
also
> > appears on the obelisk, though not adding much info except to hint
> > that it's very old) is that the guild, or a related organization,
used
> > to control the island, including disappearing people when they're
> > bad. I would guess that the dragon was instrumental to their
control
> > over the people. But this leads me to wonder:
> > - How did they control the dragon?
> > - Who turned the dragon to stone?
> > - Why are they only now turning it back from stone?
> > - Why did they have to get you to do it?
> > - Why is the Guild no longer in control of the island?
> > - What is the book and why was it the key?
> Richard Bos
> Right... if I read you correctly, your complaint is about the
backstory
> _itself_, not really about the ending as it is.

Just to add to the discussion I'll make my own analysis and highlight a
couple of points that I don't think got enough attention.

My own take on the history is as follows:
>From time immemorial a dragon terrorized the people of the island from
its lair near the north shore. At some point, however, the rulers of
the island found a way to petrify the dragon. They kept him in his
cave and built a temple over the site to commemorate their victory.
Later the people of the island became restless over the totalitarian
way the "Cult" ran the island and revolted. The village was burned,
the leadership fled, and the people died. Once they had recovered
their power one of the leaders sends a young apprentice to the island
to awaken the dragon.

This story fits all the facts, I think but it does leave a few
questions un-answered. Why send a novice rather than a fully trained
thief or even the master himself (perhaps with help)? What is the
point of releasing the dragon, since I can't see any evidence that it
was every actively _controlled
_ by the Cult, just petrified? The symbol implies that the dragon has
not moved in a long time (unless it always sleeps that way) and so I
don't think that he was actively involved in their totalitarian rule of
the island.

I think that the spell of the book is fairly clear. The entrance to
the dragon's lair was locked with a complex lock that requires all the
figurines to open. Once this has been done you can descend and remove
the book. The book is the spell that keeps the dragon petrified. Once
it is removed that spell is broken. It has apparently no other use and
the master discards it once it is no longer needed.

I would also like to point out that the exile of the Cult from the
island didn't occur that long ago. The dilapidation of the wooden
village suggests, to me, 10-20 years of abandonment and the
Guildmaster's comments clearly imply that he one of the leaders of the
Cult on the island itself. This period of time doesn't seem to long
for the Cult to spend gathering strength before returning to the
island, especially since the presence of one of the figurines in the
stone initially could suggest a previous attempt.

So those're my thoughts. Except for why the guildmaster wanted to
release the dragon I think I understand what's going on (obviously
there is lots of stuff like the bird headed man that we just don't know
much about). I want to thank Rune for a great game and second
Richard's request for a sequel (or prequel). The only thing I would
ask for is more in game hints (not the type hint variety but the your
hands are sticky but you still don't have enough friction variety) and
more alternate phrasings (an hour trying to guess, put log _on_ gap
rather than over or in or across is no fun). The implementation of
first and even second degree nouns was outstanding.

Cirk R. Bejnar

 

[rune]

Archived from groups: rec.games.int-fiction (More info?)

OK, enough people have complained about the gap/log issue now,
that I guess I owe everyone a big Sorry-For-Wasting-Your-Time.
It´s entirely my own fault - several of the beta-testers warned me
about it.

Happily, Release 2, just out, allows for alternative phrasings when
solving
the log/gap puzzle, so future players should have an easier time.
- Rune