Acre 6

Now that ProcJam has ended, there are dozens and dozens of things that were made for it that I could talk about. I’m not going to get around to covering all of them: I could theoretically spend the next year alternating between ProcJam and NaNoGenMo projects. But I am going to highlight ones that catch my eye.

And today that’s Blendo Games’ Acre 6.

The first thing you’ll note is a mention in the readme of one of Brendon Chung‘s favorite games. That turns out to be the key to understanding Acre 6.

When viewed in this light, it’s immediately apparent why the game has the level of interactivity that it does. Like it’s fore-bearer, its an effective deconstruction of the RPG status quo. As you complete the quests and progress through the acts, you’ll swiftly realize the jest at the heart of the game.

I like how the vivid juxtapositions in the encounter and item descriptions are effective at painting miniatures: “Wyvern Hobbies”, “Flummoxed Annoyed Snow Yeti”, “Found Ling’s Amber Snow”, or “Baffled Uptight Sink Unicorn.” They’re cameos contrasted with the RPG oil paintings. They are, alas, of no more depth than that mere description: but that’s a problem much deeper systems also struggle with, and it certainly doesn’t detract from the framing here.

You can find the game here: https://blendogames.itch.io/acre6