Grip thoughts (SPOILERS)

[erkyrath@netcom.com (Andrew Plotkin)]

Ok, I have finished Grip. (And sent feedback to the author :-) The 
discussion threads seem to have expired from my news server, but I went 
back in Dejanews and read over most of them.

I am in general agreement with the big stuff. First of all, I had a
kick-ass good time and I think it's one of the most impressive games of
the past many months. Very effective evocation of mood, huge gobs of
imagery and imagination. 

I decided, and then noticed that lots of people also said, that the 
fourth fit (math/verbal) wasn't really tied into the thematic structure 
of the rest of the game. The verbal scene to some extent, since it was 
about memory and the burden of past experience. But I played the math 
scene first, and it was just kind of stuck in there. It was a really fun 
thing stuck in there, mind you -- I enjoy exactly that kind of puzzle. 

OTOH, there's no reason that a game, even an introspective one, has to be
all about a single idea (Terry and father.) The scene *does* fit in in the
sense of exploring Terry's head, and aspects of personality (abstract
versus verbal, or what's annoyingly labelled "left-brain" versus
"right-brain".) I took it in that sense. But since it's the first scene 
that *doesn't* relate to the childhood/father experience, and it occurs 
fairly late in the game, it jars.

On the whole idea of multiple outcomes, or even multiple middle-sections: 
I think it's pretty clear that you *can't* predict what's going to occur
later, or even notice that you have a choice. (When playing, I (1) did not
save Buddy; (2) opened the faerie cage; (3) clenched my fist at the end.
In each case, I either didn't know there was an alternative, or I assumed
all the alternatives would be disastrous (maybe because I tried a couple
of them.))

(The largest decisions, the university/hospital split and the math/verbal
split, are exceptions: it's pretty clear that you have two paths, and you
can try both of them.)

But for most of them, you're almost certain to just pick one and go on. 
So I'm really *not* willing to say that the different outcomes cast a 
more revealing light on the game. It's not a single story where you can 
compare different views of the end; it's several stories, and the 
author shows you one of them. I liked the story I got, but people are 
talking about a scene with puppet-strings; well, that wasn't in the story 
I got, so it doesn't figure into my opinion of LYG.

I'm not being completely consistent about this. I went back and played 
all four of the large scenes (university, hospital, and then math, 
verbal.) I did this deliberately. I did both forms of Fit 2 before I 
tried to finish Fit 3; and while I "won" (hit the Epilog, anyway) after 
playing the math scene, I then went back and played the verbal scene. And 
I figure all of that into my idea of "what LYG was."

But I didn't go back and try the other options I mentioned above. (In fact
I did try a couple, but it was just too much work. I got stuck trying to
make the dolls work a second time; I couldn't figure out what invoked the
cat/dog/music series of questions as opposed to the introvert/extrovert/
painting series. I didn't get up to the ending a second time.)

Oh, and I don't see anything particularly redeeming in the father. When he
hits you, and then looks shocked and apologetic, I read that as classic
abuse behavior. It may be sincere, but he'll do it again. 

--Z

-- 

"And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these were the
borogoves..."