Sex Artist

IFReviewed by Grimm Sharlak on 2005-10-31 05:50 

Basic Plot:
You play the part of Buzz, a painter who focuses on the more risqué side of human interaction. Tired of both painting porn actresses and the money-grubbing cock-tease that is your girlfriend Claire, you set out to get some better models while making money to get a little further with Claire…

Overall Thoughts:
Sex Artist took out the first prize in the recent CCAB comp, and A. Ninny’s previous comp game, Parlour was also highly regarded. So I was expecting big things from this title and for the most part it delivered.

Puzzles/Gameplay:
While the puzzles in Artist can be taxing, the flow of the game itself is rather straightforward – you start the  game, you check your messages, you get invited to the opera… And so on. The only real struggles I had were with some of the smaller, but still necessary actions; getting a certain character in the right mood, etc. While it never came down to “guess the verb” some of these situations did have many players scratching their head. So while the puzzles could be tough, they were never illogical.

What hurt the game’s enjoyment, initially, were all the error reports Ninny himself was making! However, as long as you have the latest version (v1.1), these bugs are now gone.

Sex:
While the sex scenes in Artist won’t match up to the technical achievement that was Parlour (partly due to time considerations, and partly due their being way more sex in this game) the sex is still considerably good and the women are desirable. Watching Liz in the park, Toni posing,  or Claire teasing really makes the player desire the woman in question, making the eventual conquest even more enjoyable.

Not that the sex scenes needed the help. The player, being an artist, will be a voyeur at times, but this usually leads to the player taking part in the action. This action is well written, and has different descriptions depending on the location the sex is taking place in. Overall the sex is a great effort and very well done by Ninny.

Technical:
While the competition edition of Artist had some technical issues, the version now out is technically sound. After a few weeks in the community, no one has reported any issues with the game and this reviewer hasn’t noticed any problems either.

As for the technical complexity of the game, the drawing sections are quite well, as the simple “draw” command’s outcome changes on previous tasks completed. As stated, the puzzles are logical as well, showing Ninny has a good technical grasp of TADS. Well done all around.

Intangibles:
The almost game-long tease performed by Claire makes the final sex scene one of the most satisfying of recent memory. While the game isn’t all about getting with Claire, it’s one hell of a reward for completion of the game.

Final Thoughts:
A. Ninny’s latest effort well deserved to win the CCAB Comp, with hot sex, hot women and a great original premise. Needless to say, between Sex Artist and Parlour, A. Ninny is building a great reputation as an author.

Rating: A -