cgdc #7 – The Zeroeth Dimension

The blurb for this one says,

What happens when fictional protagonist Zakarius Novemus lives within “The Zeroeth Dimension” until everything starts changing?

Huh…? Come again?

Is this a trick question?

I hope it’s not gonna be another one of those games…

Actually, it’s very funny, and nobody could fault it’s originality. I liked it, even given the slightly odd way of dealing with common IF stuff. For example, i’m informed upon attempting to get off couch/stand up etc… that If you would like me to leave the couch, then tell me to EXIT. Now, initially i had thought that this was in some way related to the weird dimensional stuff that the game is based around, but having played through it(not quite to the end, but as near as damn it) i’m not quite getting the significance of having to type EXIT when trying to get off the couch. It’s not a problem of course, since the game itself recognises what you’re trying to do and then tells you what to type to do it(which in some ways is even weirder). Just struck me as a strange way to deal with something that already has other more commonly known methods of getting of the couch.

As much as i enjoyed this game’s sense of humour, it tends to fall into the same traps as many other games i’ve played(and not just these comp. games either).

>x cupboard
You can’t see inside, since the cupboard is closed.

>open it
You open the cupboard, revealing a group of mugs.

Again, a lot of people may not see anything wrong with this at all. The cupboard is closed when i eXamine it, so obviously i need to open it. But surely this is only necessary when the cupboard is locked. If it’s just going to open anyway, then what’s the point? Wouldn’t it be better for the player and therefore the overall impact of the game if it got straight to the point, for example, why not just,

>x cupboard
The cupboard is closed, opening it reveals a group of mugs.

This has the added bonus of cutting out unnecessary typing for the player while giving a more professional feel to the game at the same time.

Also, there are some ongoing problems with the microwave. The first time i played, the microwave was visible in the room and all was well with the zeroth dimension. But then, an unrelated bug fix by the author caused the microwave to vanish completely in the updated version. It is actually still in play, but unless you already knew it was there then… well, you wouldn’t know it was there… if you see what i mean. Luckily, i did know it was there, so it didn’t cause any problems for me. And to be fair i do appreciate the authors of these games diligently attempting(successfully in most cases) to update their games on-the-hoof, as it were.

I don’t want to get grouchy about this game really. It’s sense of humour rescues it from total oblivion. And most of the little problems with it are just little problems, or things that can be adjusted very quickly and painlessly.

So, original and funny and will no doubt be a very good game when the little bugs and niggles are worked out.

3 out of 5. For the originality, very funny bits, usual IF annoyances and bugs.