“Thanks, Newton” by Zawghu, branung, Michal Zadok & Gabby.
“Newton invited an extra-dimensional Entity to come eat the lovely town of Ribbiton and no one believes him! Can Newton convince his friends to take him seriously?”
In “Thanks, Newton” we play a frog who would certainly not be associated with the popular natural scientist of the same name by those around him. In his home village of Ribbiton, Newton is regarded as a slightly stupid and clumsy fellow who also does not take the truth too seriously. That would not be much of a problem if anyone but him suspected that an alien invasion was on the way! The last weeks the green klutz has spent with occasional radio chats with an alien cryptid called The Entity.
This being has now made its way to Earth together with its friends to hold a feast there. The main course is to consist of Newton and his acquaintances. At least, the amphibious protagonist is sure of that, because The Entity told him in their last conversation that they are “looking forward to eat you”. For this reason, Newton now wants to warn all the villagers of the approaching disaster. Due to his bad reputation, however, hardly anyone believes him that anything important is happening at all. Instead, the frog has to solve a few small tasks before anyone listens to him.
Mother of three Maria wants Newton to find her children playing in the neighborhood and bring them back. But they have a mind of their own and instead of following their mom’s orders, they usually demand to Newton that he plays a round with them before they go home. Even the mayor, a snake named Trey, would only wave him off if he had arms. And from Sally, a cold-hearted person with a superficially syrupy attitude, one should not expect any altruistic help anyway. In the form of minigames, sidequests must first be completed so that the non-player characters listen to the ‘hero’.
The almost childlike charm and humor of “Thanks, Newton” is its great strength, which is evident in the design of the tasks as well as of the characters. For instance, Sally is not only a misanthrope with a purring voice, but also with an outspoken hatred of all authority. On the other hand, Beatrice – one of Maria’s three children – is probably the most grown-up child in the entire universe, which is especially noticeable because of her very pointed way of speaking. And that The Entity is not the big all-devouring monster it is portrayed to be, will hardly surprise anyone. That is exactly what I adore about this wonderful jam submission, though: That very warmth and heartiness, which is palpable in every aspect of it. [PLAY]
