The Dink Network

If Ducks Ruled the World

Dink sneaks past a sleepy guard. From the COTPATD project.
December 13th, 2006
v1.00
Score : 8.5 good
fairy.gif
Arik
Peasant He/Him
 
The major question when it came to playing IDRTW was one of time - how might Wesley's authorial style have changed over the past few years and how much about module making he could remember, as well as the deadline that would inevitably limit the module's scope - so it comes as a pleasant surprise to see a module that uses time so effectively.

This module puts Dink in a race against the largely invisible clock in order to put a stop to a dastardly plot - I say "largely" invisible because there are some ingeniously subtle indications of how far the timer has progressed - the landscape will change over time as the plot proceeds, and the occasional cutscene will warn the player of the rapidly encroaching deadline. This is an ingenious way of depicting a changing world, albeit one that seemed to only affect one portion of the map (and if I'm wrong then the changes are even subtler than I thought).

Anyone who has played Wesley's other modules should be right at home - IDRTW retains the pleasant atmosphere of the Friends Beyond trilogy with its uncluttered but never underdecorated map, its easily navigable geography and its plentiful secrets. In many ways it is an improvement of Friends Beyond, avoiding the trilogy's occasionally oversized and underpopulated areas in favour of an island that is not small but is populated enough to never feel boring. There is very little in the way of aimless wandering and the environments never feel too maze-like. The plot is slight but engaging and the dialogue is bathed in gentle humour that can't fail to raise a smile.

There were some problems. There were bugs - nothing to compare to the original rewrite of FB1, but they are occasionally problematic - I haven't been able to reproduce the problem I had with the guard, but I'm not the only one to have on. The keys - one of this module's brilliant minor innovations - sometimes do not disappear after being picked up, damaging what is otherwise an excellent mechanic. Other minor glitches abound, but all these things could well be fixed in the future. More problematic is the guard you meet early on - in an interesting move that continues the focus on time, getting around him requires the player to think in real time as well as game time. Whilst this is very clever it's not very well hinted at, and considering the player can waste considerable game time wondering why the guard won't move the walkthrough becomes an unfortunate necessity.

No huge complaints there though - it's an excellent and considerate walkthrough to complement an excellent and considerate d-mod. This is no epic world-beater, but its a thoroughly pleasant and enjoyable game with masses of tiny innovations and comes highly recommended.