In a lot of other threads we criticized some parts of Thimbleweed Park (and made Ron sad). So I would like to know, why and what do you love or like (in) TWP? No criticism allowed. I’ll start:
the ending
Ransome
the good and clever puzzle-chains
the old-school-ness
the interface
Ransome
the annoying in-game-jokes
the backer stuff (for examples the books in the library)
the merch stuff and the backer box
Ransome
the sheriff-coroner-hotel-manager-a-reno
that the player can decide if and how the stories of the characters end
I would have loved it for puzzles and humor and retro style.
But the real reason I love TWP is because I felt part of its birth - from backing to following the devblog and being able to contribute to some of the content, even if it’s an infinitesimal amount, I think that the game would just have been “yet another great game” if it weren’t for how the team asked for the crowd’s involvement.
And the small community it created shows how important it was.
I’ll talk on another occasion about how the project Thimbleweed Park has positively influenced some cultural aspects of my life and I’ll just add here what I like about the game Thimbleweed Park:
The seriousness and sadness of the last part of the game
The general atmosphere of the abandoned town area
The pixel-art backgrounds
Some outstanding voice actors (the actors of Ransome and Willie in particular)
The writing of some dialogues (particularly Ransome’s)
It only works with the ashtrays on the hotel room corridors. It won’t work with the two ashtrays in the hotel lobby. By the way, Ray’s haircut reveals strikingly that the animation of Ray dumping the cigarette is a mirrored version of the throw animation in the opening scene. Maybe she should stand on the right-hand side of the ashtray instead, so that they could use exactly the same animation without having to mirror it, so that her haircut would be consistent.
I like Thimbleweed Park very much because it reminds me of the types of games I like to play: adventure games with very logical and soluble puzzles which reward discovery and exploration rather than punish you for not wanting to play against the designers mind.
Moreover, I think the story and the characters are very compelling, and the particular sci-if/noir genre is very appealing to me. The humour is also high point.
Although I don’t think the game is perfect, I believe that many elements combine for a master stroke of storytelling and world-building in an interactive medium.
I’ve played it countless times already (I was an iOS beta-tester for several months) and still enjoy it every time. I still don’t like the ending for various reasons, but I don’t let that spoil the overall experience, which I feel is superb.
Oh, and playing it on the iPad is a brilliant and joyous experience!
For me, this is valid for all Lucasfilm/LucasArts games: Although I had played them several times in the past, I replay these games from time to time and I still enjoy them. This is an interesting phenomenon, because I know the story, the puzzles and the endings.
The Ending (when I find time I might open a thread describing why it is so great)
The ‘Matrix’ and AI theme
The mystic atmosphere
The humor, all the mini-jokes, references to old games and other things, and self-references
The style of the GUI and overall graphical style
The bookstore/library
Several things that were criticized in reviews are things that I like
The fact that the game gets updated and the existence of this forum for enjoyment of the game after playing.
Regarding the last point: This forum needs to be better linked from the original development blog (and other websites). It is hard to find this forum and I think we are loosing a lot of people that would be interested to be here.
The only reason why I don’t like the ending:
There is an ending.
Just imagine you could play TWP forever. That would be great, wouldn’t it? But on the other hand, one couldn’t enjoy the game over and over again. So in conclusion, it’s good that there is an ending. A good one btw.
I’ll start:
