The Skies Above

Skies Above Britain explores the complex, hidden world of the skies above us and discovers the human stories of the people who spend their life in flight.

You can't ever really get stuck in Skies AboveOn the surface Skies Above is a different sort of game than the limited-parser puzzlers we've seen from Arthur DiBianca in the previous three IFComps. Yet in some important ways I don't think Skies Above actually is all that different from Arthur's previous work.

In fact, both the similarities and the differences between Skies Above and Arthur's last three IFComp games have convinced me that one of Arthur's overarching goals as an IF author is reducing the unfriendliness of the parser.Tags. ByRelated reviews: I beta tested this game, and was delighted to do so.This is a big game, DiBianca's largest (except perhaps for The Wand). I played it for well over 2 hours (maybe 4 or 5) while beta testing, although I was trying to be exceptionally thorough.Basically, the game is full of little minigames which give you better and better rewards as you understand them better and as they synergize. Your airship captain gives you goals to hit and you do them. There's an economy that grows in scope over time, and a lot of little lovely surprises.There are puzzles here, but not in the traditional sense. It's technically possible to win just by doing the simplest of tasks over and over and over. The real joy here is in optimization, similar to Sugarlawn from this year's comp.Strongly recommended, and lots of fun!

ByRelated reviews: This game is something I have never seen in interactive fiction before. The only game I can think of being slightly similar is 'Superluminal Vagrant Twin', in the sense that you need to save up money and that you gain access to new locations as you progress. However, besides money you must gain 'floatrons' in Skies Above, which determines how high up in the sky your airship can go. There are several 'mini-games' where you can earn money, floatrons or both.I must say that when I first started playing the game, one of the first 'mini-games' seemed a bit repetitive. However, the game quickly opens up with very varied gameplay and you gain routine so that you can quickly finish the repetitive jobs.

So even if the game may not impress you to begin with, carry on. This game is really good!Even though there is a sort of ending, the game can apparently continue forever it seems with a list of achievements and some mysterious objects you can obtain if you keep playing. You can never die and the the game has a limited parser, so guess-the-verb is never an issue.I played for about 4 hours before I was satisfied, but I could have continued for a long time without seeing everything there is to see.

I highly recommend this game. Nationstates tips. StelzerAverage member rating: (8 ratings)Not a single spell! After two full years of study! Every Enchanter—every mortal with the power to change very nature of the universe with their words—has a spell book! Filled with words of power collected over years, decades., by Mike SpiveyAverage member rating: (32 ratings)That survey course in conceptual mathematics seemed like a good idea at the start of the term - no graded homework, no midterm exams - just an oral final at the end. But now that final is tomorrow morning.

After months of procrastination., by Andrew Schultz (as Ned Yompus)Average member rating: (19 ratings)A weird power to save a weird world. So you just got fired from the best company ever, and it's the best day of your life. New opportunities!

New horizons! 911 emergency logo. New ways to look at things! Like calling this stupid kiss-off job fair a.PollsThe following polls include votes for Skies Above.