I just started playing Cantaloupe Chronicle. It looks like a wholesome and easy-going experience. (...) I don't suspect this game will go all Twin Peaks on us, it doesn't seem that subversive.

This is the first thing you see when you leave the house:

   

Our aspiring journalist calls this disturbing, hoping it's just some sort of "sick decoration". It seems out of place - nothing we encounter seems to indicate this town has all that much darkness hiding beneath the surface.

The tone of the game is still overwhelmingly cozy. I'm doing my best to help and charm the locals. Meanwhile, I've committed two acts of larcency and as a journalist, I'm doing way too much to make my first story happen. Ethics: optional. 

I think I'm about ready for my first article. For some reason, our late millenial protagonist needs to ask her aunt how a computer works.

I'm on the second story, the second day. Mortimer, the big city transplant and editor-in-chief of the Cantaloupe Chronicle, gives me the rundown on this case of the unidentified body floating facedown in the lake. He wrote the story, stirring up all sorts of drama and speculation among the locals. At some point, there was nothing more to report. "The big newspapers" never picked up on it, because it lacked a satisfying conclusion.

That seems odd, especially considering two salient details, with serious implications. Is Cantaloupe Chronicle preparing me for a WILD departure from it's breezy atmosphere? It still seems unlikely - I suspect it isn't incriminating mainstream media in covering up a grand conspiracy. It doesn't fit the tone, the state of mind evoked by the game.

And yet it keeps on giving these little details that spark up that part of my brain. I'll keep going with the flow - half-expecting an undercurrent to swallow me whole.

I've been playing the remake of Riven and enjoying it very much. There are a couple of hair-pullers, different from those in the original game, so I'll be living there many more hours, I'm sure.

Is Professor Layton and the Lost Future counting as an Adventure? I missed them on DS, finally catched up.
If that does not count: "Luna The Shadow Dust" (nice soundtrack and graphics, little short, but nice)

Is Professor Layton and the Lost Future counting as an Adventure? I missed them on DS, finally catched up.
If that does not count: "Luna The Shadow Dust" (nice soundtrack and graphics, little short, but nice)

I really liked Luna! Haven't really played Layton games much, did played a bit in my DS (before its screen broke). Nintendo DS had some very good adventure games like Hotel dusk and Ghost trick

Day three of my internship at the Cantaloupe Chronicle. I returned one of the items I stole (our leading lady didn't want to give the second item back quite yet). Actually, scratch that, I took it, without permission, again. This time I did it to help out the owner, who had a little misunderstanding with the cops, so in more than one way, he couldn't really complain. I created a new dish, a tribute to small town USA cuisine, and it appeased the police. We got a story out of it. What would this town and its newspaper do without us? 

Today, we're walking right into a story - a nearby old timey saloon is about to be torn down by an equally old timey gambling tycoon. His name is Richard Dickson. He wears a top hat and a monocole. 

   

I appreciate his commitment to the bit, even if he's being a bit of a dickson. 

He has the rights to the land, but if we can get the mayor to declare this landmark watering hole a historical site, the demolition plans will be foiled. I have many thoughts - but I feel the depiction of this tycoon implies at least some self-awareness on part the game, so I'll go with the premise, in all of its nonsensical glory.

Let's see if we can bribe figure out a way to sway the mayor, hamper economic development and save the saloon.

I really liked Luna! Haven't really played Layton games much, did played a bit in my DS (before its screen broke). Nintendo DS had some very good adventure games like Hotel dusk and Ghost trick

Ghost Trick is amazing, in my Top5 from a Storytelling point of view. So happy they brought it to Android and I discovered it there last year

Recently iI finished "Detention Room Rampage".Its an old school horror adventure made with AGS. It was surprsisingly dificult and had a nice length. Only problem i had with this is that 

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Spoiler

I had to cut a heart with a dagger to get a key and continue the story

which took me a long time to figure out and I found the puzzle quite random even taking account its old school nature. Anyway I enjoyed it a lot, if you are on for an school experience you should check it out

That's so cool! And thanks for reminding me of the freeware thread, I have a couple of games waiting for my next batch.

I'm still playing through Cantaloupe Chronicle. Each time I load up the game, the gentle acoustic guitar puts me in a calm state of mind. I joke about the tone and direction of the game, mostly because it's a little too smooth for me, from the gameplay right down to the corporate infographic character design. At the same time, it does provide a very soothing and enjoyable experience.

There are two disrupting factors, one glitch that messes up walking and another that disrupts character interactions. The first usually results in some temporary weirdness, the second requires restarting the game - not enough to get me to complain. But now, the walking glitch has gotten me stuck and made my latest save slot useless. I'm repeating half of my daily chores and saving like this is a Sierra game. But hey.. I was able to pick up some cool glasses.

   

That does balance things out for me. I'm almost done for the day. I think this is the most activist I've been as a journalist so far. I made some agitprop and riled up locals to crowd city hall. The presence of the earlier mentioned gallows is giving a little Jan 6 right now, but I'm sure the mayor will be just fine.