The Wand -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author(s): Arthur DiBianca Genre: Fantasy Language: en First Publication Date: 2017-10-01 License: Freeware Rating: 4.0 (based on 61 ratings) ABOUT THE STORY Explore the wizard Bartholloco's castle with the help of a versatile magic wand. Can you overcome his challenge? Can you levitate a rock? Can you slice a baltavakia? (Puzzle-oriented and family friendly.) EXTERNAL LINKS Story File The latest release Requires a Glulx interpreter[1] Walkthrough by the author (supplied with the competition version) Story File v1 2017 IF Competition release Requires a Glulx interpreter[1] Walkthrough and maps by David Welbourn (for the competition version, Release 1) ClubFloyd transcript EDITORIAL REVIEWS Dhakajack > The title says it all. This story is about the wand, figuring out how to use > it and then doing so. There’s minimal setup and character development and > almost no dialogue, but it’s a darn good puzzle game. Renga in Blue > As one might expect with a wand, this is generic fantasy: you’re supposed to > make your way through obstacles in a castle and gather enough new spells > (things like “levitate” and “fire”) to escape. In a way, the presence of > spells makes this the most expansive verb list Arthur DiBianca has ever > used, since each spell is a verb of sorts. The lack of ability to TAKE > things means even the simplest of activities gets turned into a > spell-related puzzle. The Breakfast Review > The puzzles start off easy and straightforward, getting more complex towards > the end. They're just hard enough, I think, to elicit that all-important > sense of achievement that puzzle-solving has to evoke without crossing the > line into being frustrating. Doug's World > Although the wand can be programmed to cast a variety of useful spells, the > player only acquires knowledge of these spells incrementally. The pacing is > appropriate to this type of game: the player acquires a new spell, finds a > need to use it immediately, and then has to apply it elsewhere in a less > obvious situation. With increasing power of knowledge, the puzzles also > become more challenging. By mid-game often a whole series of spells must be > cast to solve a problem. The final challenge is delightfully and absurdly > complex, requiring the player to invoke nearly every spell they've learned > in a carefully timed sequence. REFERENCES [1]