Release Date: 18/08/2015
Played On: Win
Available On: Win
Time Played: 2h 30m
Progress: A lot of runs
Developer: Edmund McMillen / James Id
Publisher: Edmund McMillen / James Id
I'm really enjoying these experimental little games from accomplished developers that are tiny examples of a good idea that probably could never be expanded on. Before playing the wonderful Subsurface Circular, I unironically got my hands on Edmund McMillon's experiment; Fingered.
The game itself is essentially a version of the classic board game Guess Who. Through a series of clues, the player is tasked with identifying an individual from a lineup, after eliminating others who fail to meet the criteria.
However, to make things difficult, Fingered is populated with unique monsters and disfigured folk, who can be incredibly hard to identify. Additionally, the clues are given by witnesses who may or may not be telling the truth about the information they give you, or they might just be confused and have It completely wrong anyway. So when you're told that the guilty individual looked rich and ugly, it can be a bit of a challenge to figure out which of your suspects fit the bill.
The difficulty comes from using vague descriptors like "ugly" or "wealthy" instead of the traditional Guess Who descriptors of hair and skin colour. Besides, the design of the suspects can also be misleading, as they are drawn with the unique flair of Edmund McMillon's imagination that doesn't always seem to line up with what you expect.
Often I found myself fingering the wrong suspect because they looked exactly like the witness had described, but apparently I'd misinterpreted what "old" looked like. In fact the most frustrating thing about Fingered is that sometimes the descriptors are so vague that you end up making arbitrary guesses without figuring anything out for certain.
It's one thing to have a uniquely designed and interesting take on what is essentially a puzzle game, but there has to be some point where you figure out the language and feel equipped to go further in the game.
For me it quickly became clear that I wasn't ever going to understand the language of Fingered enough to progress anywhere meaningful, so I eventually shelved it for good.
It's a real shame in my opinion, as the game presents well and is filled with interesting designs and ideas, but it fails to ever become completely realised. Of course, Fingered isn't meant to be a fleshed out game with depth and polish, but its current scope is so limited that it ends up being little more than a short amusement.
I rarely think that any game should be given away for free, but when I compare Fingered to some of the other conceptual games I've played, it can't really compete. Knowing that there are comparable experiments out there to play for no cost at all, relegates Fingered to the "don't bother" category, even though it's cheap and I think everyone deserves to be compensated for their work. I'm happy to have paid a few dollars for the game and I had a few hours of entertainment from it, so I'm not complaining about the cost.
Unfortunately though, when you put it alongside other experimental little games, there are better ways to spend your time. In context, it feels like Fingered is only charging for the experience because it's made by a popular developer who can afford to demand some cash in exchange for the idea. If Fingered had been made by an unknown entity, I don't think it would have anywhere near as much attention as it did on release day.
Let me iterate again, I'm not saying it should be free! Of course the developers can leverage their former success to charge for what is essentially concept, and I think they should. It's more of a shame that unknown developers can't charge money for their experiments if they want anyone to play it.
Ideally, I'd like to see a world where unknown developers can make experimental games and sell them for a few dollars. It would be cool if all a developer had to do to get noticed was make a good game, but unfortunately that's not how it works and giving something away for free can often be a good way to get people to play it.
There's not really anything wrong with Fingered at the end of the day, but there's not a lot to write home about either. It's a nice idea that won't hold anyone's interest for long, so don't expect it to live up to the success of its predecessors.
It's great that there's a way for small ideas to be distributed into the hands of players, but try not to get caught up in the hype and think this is anything that it's not.