![]() ![]() The child’s preoccupation with the sea monkeys may stem from desire to not see what is going on around him. For what it’s worth, the best outcome I managed to achieve, one where there actually were some baby sea monkeys born, involved rotating through all of the possible maintenance options cyclically. I did nothing at all through the next game. Maybe the best thing to do is to just leave them alone. Maybe the author is trying to make some sort of statement, I thought. No stirring, no water changes - and they did about as well. Next, somewhat angry at the sea monkeys, I just fed the living crap out of them. On the next play through, I tried again to keep them alive. I know I should be more concerned about the bigger picture, but my obsessive streak wouldn’t let the failure with the sea monkeys go. Their descriptive text went from green to yellow to red, following a downhill course mirrored in family dynamics. I digress.īest case, the sea monkeys died. I wish the character had used distilled water rather than tap water, but perhaps the story takes place in a locale that doesn’t halogenate their water. I did may damnedest to take care of those sea monkeys using my best judgement: feed just a bit to avoid excess food that would decay and cloud the tank, occasional stirring to improve aeration (if not amusement of the sea monkeys), and periodic topping off. I’m sure it is intentional that the game focuses on the one aspect of life that the child can control, so let me begin there. The rest of the story consists of short glimpses of his emotionally troubled life at home or school. The story is told from the point of view of a school age boy who would like to have a fish tank, but who is told that he must first prove himself by taking care of sea monkeys. The blurb makes it clear that while this may be what’s going on in the foreground and the part of the game over which the young protagonist exercises control, there is plenty going on the background: a father with an explosive temper given to verbal abuse, a guilty, skittish mother, a dysfunctional household where none of the adults take responsibility, and occasional visits from well-meaning relatives stepping into parental roles until they are driven away. That about covers it, and all these options are, of course, implemented in this Twine-based story. There isn’t all that much to taking care of Sea Monkeys: Add water, feed, stir, and top off the water. Nominally, this is a Sea Monkey simulator, or rather a Simulator for the Care and Maintenance of Sea Monkeys.
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