The Dink Network

I'm called Tim. I've been playing Dink since it came out, when I was a young, dumb kid.

timthreethreethree@gmail.com
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146: Dry Author: Binirit Release Date: January 24, 2003
"...you will be facing a heck of a lot of screenlocks."

What the Hell did I just play?

This is the strangest DMOD I have yet come across. Sorry, "Goblin Trouble," you can't hold a candle to this one. It was kind of frustrating and exhausting, but it was certainly unique. If someone were to tell me that this were their favorite DMOD, I wouldn't argue with them. I could see this appealing to a certain very specific sort of person a great deal.


Trilobites. If you are expecting an explanation, you're playing the wrong DMOD.

"Dry" is so called because it takes place in a desert, but this is also the name of a major character in the DMOD. Dink's friend Dry is thirsty, and Dink must find water. This turns out to be an absurdly complicated task with many nonsensical steps.

This world is a bizarre one. Many of the graphics have been re-tinted, resulting in scenes so vivid that it kind of makes your head hurt.


For example, look at those neon pigs. It's nice to see more focus on pigs, incidentally. Ducks get all the attention.

Many things are placed in a way that defies logic. A hanging sign just sits there in midair. There's a toilet-cleaner blue sea, but you're told that it's actually just more sand; indeed, you can walk all over it without a problem. You'll be doing this a lot, so you might as well get used to it.


Poor Dink vainly tries to retain some sort of perspective on the universe.

Almost everything talks to you: dragons, rocks, the hanging sign, "sandfish," pigs, a roast chicken and more. Those things that will not talk to you are scripted nonetheless. Dink has an awful lot to say on the subject of tables in particular. Examining a certain table produces sixty-two lines of text, mostly Dink telling you that he bets you're sorry you hit spacebar and that you might think twice before doing so again.


I've often praised DMODs for their thoroughness in scripting various objects, but I've rarely seen it taken to this extreme.

You can't count on anything being as you might reasonably expect. This is a deliberate approach taken by the author, as she explains in the readme file - "I decided to let go all the presumptions I had about how things should be in Dink's world." This can be a strength. "Dry" succeeded in surprising me quite a few times, which already puts it ahead of quite a few DMODs. At its best moments, the odd dialogue reminded me of one of the more esoteric Monty Python sketches, playing around with language, what it means to have a conversation, and the expectations people have of one another. However, the text did tend to go on for a very long time without really saying much, and it could drag and get rather boring. Another problem is that the near-abandonment of logic made it difficult and frustrating to try and figure out what to do next. I messed around for half an hour, making absolutely no progress, before I gave in and used a walkthrough. Even with the guide, I spent nearly an additional 90 minutes before reaching the end. I was exhausted and had a fierce headache, both from the bright colors and the queer dialogues that had my brain viciously chasing its own tail.

To give you an idea of the kind of leaps of logic you're expected to take, there's a bit where you meet a pig named Sniff who wants you to get a hunter to stop killing pigs. When you talk to the hunter, he complains that if he stops killing pigs, he'll have nothing to do anymore. You need to go talk to somebody whose sole character trait is that he speaks French. Dink will ask the Francophone to teach his language to the hunter so that he'll have a new hobby. Well, of course, right?

And then there were the combat screens. You will indeed be facing a heck of a lot of screenlocks. The combat, which mostly involves throwing Joshriot's Bangerang Boomerang at things that can't hit you, is easy but time-consuming and pointless.


...in the naaame of spiiiikes! Before they breaaaak your heaart!

I think that "Dry" is a DMOD you should play, but not necessarily a DMOD you should attempt to finish. Some parts of it really are interesting, if only because I'd never have thought anyone would take things in quite such a direction. Plus, it really is quite clever at some times. You're likely better off calling it quits when it starts to bore, frustrate and confound you, though.