The Makeshift Magician
 Comedy  One-room |
You learned magic on an internet course, and you’re now conducting your first performance - can you keep the kids happy and keep their hot moms at bay?
| The Makeshift Magician | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Christy Henshaw |
| Publisher(s) | n/a |
| Release date(s) | 11-Feb-2006 |
| Authoring system | ADRIFT 4 |
| Platform(s) | ADRIFT 4 |
| Language(s) | English |
| License(s) | Freeware |
| Multimedia | |
| Color effects | none |
| Graphics | none |
| Sound/Music | none |
| Ratings | |
| Cruelty scale | Cruelty to be determined |
How It Begins
The game begins with a short menu, inviting you to read the introduction or credits, or go directly to the game.
You are a young male stage magician wearing a black cape, a voluminous shirt, jeans and high boots. You are carrying a long plastic wand and a squishy red ball. You are standing behind a table in the Rendels' playroom before an audience of children, their mothers, and the Rendels' Pomeranian dog. The children are expectant; the mothers sip cocktails while they watch you and each other. The tools of your trade are around you, but in your nervousness, they seem unfamiliar.
You have been hired by Marian Rendle to perform at a children's party. It's your first gig. You want to do a good job and get a good reference in this part of town.
Notable Features
- Several NPCs, but as they are all in the audience, you're not expected to converse with them. After every turn, one or more NPCs might perform some small action, including entering or leaving the room.
- The natural disconnect between player knowledge and player-character knowledge is cleverly explained by stage fright jitters, a plausible version of amnesia given the circumstances of the game.
- Instead of a score, the status bar displays the children's current mood.
Trivia and Comments
- According to the ADRIFT Runner's debugger, the PC's name is "Macario the Magic Maker", but this name doesn't seem to be used in the game proper.
- Compare this game with the opening scene of The Act of Misdirection (Callico Harrison; 2004; Z-code), which also casts the PC as a stage magician.
Versions
Version 1.0
- The Makeshift Magician (Christy Henshaw as "C.Henshaw"; 11-Feb-2006; ADRIFT 4).
- IFID: ADRIFT-400-D7958F21E28399A5BFCC18CFE0CDA33B
IFID links: IFDB - Download makeshiftmagician.zip from Delron.
- Or download mag.zip from the ADRIFT Site.
- IFID: ADRIFT-400-D7958F21E28399A5BFCC18CFE0CDA33B
The zipfile contains:
- makeshift-magician.taf - the story file.
- MM-feedback-form.txt - an optional questionnaire which the player may fill out and return to the author.
Links
Reviews
- Delron review compilation by various reviewers.
- Review by David Whyld (posted on ADRIFT Forum).