IFComp 2024 Impressions is a series where must-play entries from the aforementioned jam are showcased for your convenience. Final Arc would like to give a disclaimer that it does not encourage readers to vote for any particular game mentioned in this series.
Wakes pitches his book, Ten Little Astronauts. Video by Unbound via YouTube.
Damon L. Wakes is a prolific author and a man of many talents. Look at his website, and you'll find a plethora of static and interactive fiction (IF). However, his mad genius is best captured in the games that aren't mentioned on his site.
Many of Wakes's more popular pieces are known for being high-quality comedic gimmicks. One Word Warlock, for example, is incredible in that the story's presented to you one word at a time. Each choice you make is also one word at most. Wakes goes the extra mile by including sound effects using his own voice, only further adding to the humor.
I'd also be doing him and the entire community a disservice if I didn't mention his glorious achievement in IFComp 2023 that is DICK MCBUTTS GETS KICKED IN THE NUTS. This man concocted an entire scheme to win the Golden Banana of Discord by making a decoy entry to hide the fact that he made an entire game centered around dick and ball jokes. But, oh no, the story doesn't just end there. As per his usual dedication to the bit, Wakes also went inside DICK MCBUTTS's Twine file and rearranged all the nodes into a glorious rendition of the overall theme. Say what you will about him, the man is a visionary.
Fanboying aside, he has a reputation for helping everyone have a grand ol' time, so I knew I had to cover at least one of his games for IFComp 2024 this year.
What is Quest for the Teacup of Minor Sentimental Value?
Quest for the Teacup of Minor Sentimental Value is an oddity in the IF scene, especially IFComp. Most entries stick to a text-only approach with some of the fancier ones including graphics here and there. But this is a choice-based game made in RPG Maker that's full of sprites, background art, etc. Not to mention, it's also an oddity for an RPG Maker Game since you can't control your character's movements and can only select choices. However, there are some fight scenes that use a typical RPG combat system.
The story's setup is straightforward as it gets. You're a tea shop owner named Jasmine who wakes up to discover that her favorite teacup, which contains minor sentimental value to her, has disappeared. What's not straightforward is the insane journey you take to find it. Along the way you'll encounter characters ranging from magical creatures to Actual, Literal Satan.
While not unhinged to the point of mayhem like DICK MCBUTTS, Quest for the Teacup of Minor Sentimental Value features a cast of quirky characters who aren't afraid to be blunt towards you. For example, one of my favorite moments in the game is when you accuse Actual, Literal Satan of stealing your cup. Right after he sheds a tear or two he replies in the only appropriate way for him. Wakes's style of not taking the concept too seriously works great here.
One big thing Quest for the Teacup of Minor Sentimental Value does well
This is a bit meta but Quest for the Teacup of Minor Sentimental Value does a fantastic job of streamlining the player experience for a non-standard format. RPG Maker games are unusual in the context of IFComp and the specific community that descended from the Infocom era. They shouldn't be since plenty of adventure games are implemented in RPG Maker. Also, digital gamebooks using RPG mechanics are considered IF, so it’s not like including said genre conventions makes a work conflict with the IF label. But I digress.
Since most of the competition's typical audience tends to focus on a mostly text format, Wakes managed to avoid confusing players by taking away the ability to move. It's a smart choice considering there's little to nothing in this game that requires you to walk around. The core interaction here is making choices and removing additional bloat that distracts from that is a wise decision for any game. The battle sequences, sans spoilers, do play a big part in the narrative, though.
Who'd enjoy Quest for the Teacup of Minor Sentimental Value?
Choice game fans will for sure enjoy Quest for the Teacup of Minor Sentimental Value for the author's usual use of wit and sarcasm, if not for the novelty factor. How many choice games can you think of that were made with RPG Maker?
RPG Maker fans should give Quest for the Teacup of Minor Sentimental Value a shot too. Its main draw is subverting the standard assumptions of how an RPG Maker game should play. It might not be an innovative disruptor (or whatever term the tech bros are harping on about these days) but it's always interesting to see what interesting things folks can accomplish with the engine.
Before you search for your teacup…
As I wrote this, a portal to Hell opened up in my bedroom wall. In stepped an imp carrying both a message from Damon L. Wakes on a scroll and a pitchfork. The little bastard's jabbing me as we speak (I WILL STOMP YOU BACK TO SATAN SO HELP ME GOD-) so I'll just type it out real quick:
"Quest for the Teacup of Minor Sentimental Value builds upon my 2020 IFComp Entry, Quest for the Sword of Justice. While Sword primarily used RPG Maker as an easy way to ape the style of the games it was parodying, I found that it was actually very satisfying to set up little cutscenes and let them play out on screen: Teacup leans into that even further, dropping the standard top-down movement controls in favour of something more like an animated visual novel."
Not to be a nag but finding your teacup which has minor sentimental value is a mission with more at stake than life or death. You can embark on your Quest for the Teacup of Minor Sentimental Value through the IFComp website or IFDB.
Anna C. Webster
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Justin's many things: Memer, designer, developer, game maker, Tarot reader, writer, and more. Now he's a keyboard monkey for Final Arc (don't tell them he said that). Website: heyjustinkim.com
