samorost.swf: Czech flash piece

quite beautiful, reminds me why i love Jan Svankmajer's films
i rarely play games, but this has me going nutty
jim.. any help on how to get through the engine room ??!!!

neil

On Tuesday, August 12, 2003, at 11:37 am, Jim Andrews wrote:

> Here is a Czech flash piece:
> http://www.freshsensation.com/samorost.swf done
> by Jakub Dvorsky and Tomas Dvorak, as indicated by the credits you see
> at
> the end of this trip/puzzle.
>
> Thanks to Danny Kodicek from the dirGames-L list for this link.
>
> ja
>
>
> + ti esrever dna ti pilf nwod gniht ym tup
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>

i fluked through the engine room. i just went back. i clicked the left
control to set the 0 Direction meter to 50, clicked the left white button,
and then clicked one of the right buttons. not sure of the logic of this
one. anyway, this is the second to final scene.

it's kind of 'myst' like, this piece, in the puzzles. the art is really well
done, isn't it. and the sound design is appropriate. and the
puzzles/navigation are amusing, i thought.

I don't know Jan Svankmajer's films, Neil. Why does this piece remind you of
them?

If anyone reads Czech on the list, would be interested to read what the
credits say at the end. Is this a student piece? Pretty durn good for a
student piece, if it is a student piece.

ja

> quite beautiful, reminds me why i love Jan Svankmajer's films
> i rarely play games, but this has me going nutty
> jim.. any help on how to get through the engine room ??!!!
>
> neil
>
> On Tuesday, August 12, 2003, at 11:37 am, Jim Andrews wrote:
>
> > Here is a Czech flash piece:
> > http://www.freshsensation.com/samorost.swf done
> > by Jakub Dvorsky and Tomas Dvorak, as indicated by the credits you see
> > at
> > the end of this trip/puzzle.

cheers Jim.. finally made it through to the end…

> i fluked through the engine room.

i think i did too..

> I don't know Jan Svankmajer's films, Neil. Why does this piece remind
> you of
> them?

Svankmajer has to be one of the masters of czech cinema, a good
overview of his work can be found at http://www.illumin.co.uk/svank/ -
his films and animations, often a mixture of found objects, models and
people are surreal, stunning - the samorost piece reminded me
particularly of his version of 'Alice' (in wonderland) and his most
recent (to my knowledge) film 'Otesanek', whose main character, a tree
stump is brought to life by a childless couple. I can't recommend his
work enough :)

http://www.kinoeye.org/02/01/hames01.php


> If anyone reads Czech on the list, would be interested to read what the
> credits say at the end.

will try and get through to the end game again and give you a very
rough translation (i'm no expert, but i have a good czech dictionary!)

> Is this a student piece? Pretty durn good for a
> student piece, if it is a student piece.
>
> ja
>
>> quite beautiful, reminds me why i love Jan Svankmajer's films
>> i rarely play games, but this has me going nutty
>> jim.. any help on how to get through the engine room ??!!!
>>
>> neil
>>
>> On Tuesday, August 12, 2003, at 11:37 am, Jim Andrews wrote:
>>
>>> Here is a Czech flash piece:
>>> http://www.freshsensation.com/samorost.swf done
>>> by Jakub Dvorsky and Tomas Dvorak, as indicated by the credits you
>>> see
>>> at
>>> the end of this trip/puzzle.
>
>
> + ti esrever dna ti pilf nwod gniht ym tup
> -> post: [email protected]
> -> questions: [email protected]
> -> subscribe/unsubscribe: http://rhizome.org/preferences/subscribe.rhiz
> -> give: http://rhizome.org/support
> +
> Subscribers to Rhizome are subject to the terms set out in the
> Membership Agreement available online at http://rhizome.org/info/29.php

Jim – I only got to the scene with the dude smoking the pipe. How do I
move on from there? Thanks Rachel

On Tuesday, August 12, 2003, at 06:37 AM, Jim Andrews wrote:

> Here is a Czech flash piece:
> http://www.freshsensation.com/samorost.swf done
> by Jakub Dvorsky and Tomas Dvorak, as indicated by the credits you see
> at
> the end of this trip/puzzle.
>
> Thanks to Danny Kodicek from the dirGames-L list for this link.
>
> ja
>
>
> + ti esrever dna ti pilf nwod gniht ym tup
> -> post: [email protected]
> -> questions: [email protected]
> -> subscribe/unsubscribe: http://rhizome.org/preferences/subscribe.rhiz
> -> give: http://rhizome.org/support
> +
> Subscribers to Rhizome are subject to the terms set out in the
> Membership Agreement available online at http://rhizome.org/info/29.php
>

> Jim – I only got to the scene with the dude smoking the pipe. How do I
> move on from there? Thanks Rachel
>
> > Here is a Czech flash piece:
> > http://www.freshsensation.com/samorost.swf done
> > by Jakub Dvorsky and Tomas Dvorak

Hi Rachel,

Tighten the ski-lift line by clicking it where it is clickable.

Then get the dude stoned. When the hash is all gone, he drops the pipe,
which is also the key. Click the pipe/key, and click the button on the lock.
Or is it click the button on the lock and then click the pipe/key?

The little hero will then ski up the hill.

Change the sign at the top of the hill to point to the left, and get the guy
at the bottom of the hill out of the way (the little hero will complain
otherwise). Then click the little hero and he'll ski down the hill and off
into the next scene.

This sort of piece is a matter of looking for significant items and cursor
changes; things that are clickable cause the cursor to change shape, and one
proceeds via some sequence of clicks/actions.

Someone on the dirGames list criticized this sort of 'myst'-like
logic-of-unfolding as just click-like-mad ness. but i disagree. it's no fun
if one just clicks like mad all over the place on whatever is clickable; the
fun is in trying to discern what one is trying to do to advance.

ja
http://vispo.com

you need to fix the ski lift.

turn the key, press the button.

i found this interactive narrative to be very engrossing and very entertaining.

i enjoyed this piece tremendously.

it has qualities similar to alice in wonderland or spirited away,
total lyricism. every screen holds a new small, but original,
experience which you need to figure out to help the story move along.
the last engine room screen was really the only dud in the whole
thing.

At 13:37 -0400 8/13/03, Rachel Greene wrote:
>Jim – I only got to the scene with the dude smoking the pipe. How
>do I move on from there? Thanks Rachel
>
>On Tuesday, August 12, 2003, at 06:37 AM, Jim Andrews wrote:
>
>> Here is a Czech flash piece: http://www.freshsensation.com/samorost.swf done
>> by Jakub Dvorsky and Tomas Dvorak, as indicated by the credits you see at
>> the end of this trip/puzzle.
>>
>> Thanks to Danny Kodicek from the dirGames-L list for this link.
>>
>> ja
>>

–
<twhid>
http://www.mteww.com
</twhid>

> i found this interactive narrative to be very engrossing and very
> entertaining.
>
> i enjoyed this piece tremendously.
>
> it has qualities similar to alice in wonderland or spirited away,
> total lyricism. every screen holds a new small, but original,
> experience which you need to figure out to help the story move along.
> the last engine room screen was really the only dud in the whole
> thing.
>
> >> Here is a Czech flash piece:
> >> http://www.freshsensation.com/samorost.swf
> >> by Jakub Dvorsky and Tomas Dvorak.

Yes, the engine room is a bit off, although the graphics are, typically,
very well done.

Though the 'narrative' and line of action of the piece, as a whole, is
well-constructed, the ending was anti-climactic. As opposed to the ending
of, say, 'myst', which is in a sense the 'paradigm' of this piece.

It is enjoyable, I agree, because the world created and the interactivity is
engaging, and the overall 'objective' is clear and the objectives along the
way are well-suggested. One might wish for a deeper story, but maybe that's
criticizing it for what it isn't rather than what it is. A project like Myst
took a team of people a couple of years to build. The Czech project is more
humble and may even be a student project, not sure (excellent for a student
project, if so). It would probably take one person at least a year to do
this project.

No comment from anyone on the more ambitious but somewhat related Danny
Kodicek and friends Time Hunt project at http://timehunt.com –related only
in that it's also a proceed-by-interactive-puzzle sort of piece and the
graphics are, again, pretty deluxe. Too involved? I found the puzzles
tedious actually, rather than intriguing, so I didn't get very far. But I
admire the scope of it and much of the execution. The narrative and depth
and scope and subject of the narrative is worthy.

ja

oops, sorry, the http://www.timehunt.com link needs the www.

ja