Unfinished - An Artist's Lament

I enjoyed this game. It's short but I think if it was too long it would start to wear out its welcome. The art is great and it was cool playing a game about the creative process.

A neat little game with a fun premise. I'd love to see a fully fleshed out version that really explored the design space. Really wish there was a tutorial or something, just a bit more guidance, and a less awkward/unintuitive control scheme (especially when playing with an xbox controller). Little more than what I might have been inclined to spend on a game of this length, but I think I got the same amount of enjoyment out of it as an equivalent fast food purchase.

Make of that what you will. Tentative recommendation.

Not worth your time.

amazing premise with a lacking implementation; very short but worthwhile, definitely.
the adventure of an unfinished artwork - you are not intended to be a stick figure. while you chase down the creator-pencil, you will come across three seperate abilities for your head, body and feet, each. you can switch between these on the fly (time pauses when you do) to surmount the challenges posed in navigating.
from the title, it can be gleaned the frustration everyone feels while in the process of trying to create something. that is effectively portrayed while wandering the desolate white space of the notebook (page(s)) - a couple times, you seemingly catch the pencil off-guard, scribbling with appropriate, hurt words emanating from it.
sadly, there was really only one level that showcases art proper (beyond stick figures)(the rest of the game being blinding white with paper ramps, crumpled pages, etc.), but that was no doubt intended, just to further drive home the point.
practically, for $5, i couldn't recommend it for the gameplay; this is one of those instances: "pay to support the developer, knowing that the product you're getting probably won't necessarily satiate." i do recommend it because i did enjoy the gameplay (despite the bugs) - the ways the abilities combine was neat, albeit under-developed (because of the game's overall length, mind) - and thoroughly appreciate the message, but, again, on the basis of "worth to the player," most would probably be unsatisfied if (/when) they got to the end within an hour and didn't purchase it in a bundle. i personally did get this from a bundle, i think Steam had counted 66 minutes at that point; the first time i had tried to play it, i got stumped, so knock maybe ten minutes off of that for actual time it takes to run through. once i get funds, i would like to purchase a gift copy directly through Steam to support the dev more directly, but for the majority/those who pay full price (see the Mixed user reviews), upon finishing it, anger/bewilderment would be more likely than appreciation.

This game is not what I expected and reminds me why I would never want to work as an artist.
The game was short but incredibly enjoyable. For its current price it is definetly worth a look.

An interesting concept executed poorly. Maybe the game's content would have fared better as a visual novel or an adventure game. I appreciate what the creators were hoping to depict, however having it be this extremely slow-paced platformer kills a lot of the immersion and momentum to bother getting into it.

Poignant story and a very creative style. The voice over and melancholy story unfolding as you play makes for a uniquely peaceful experience that draws you in. I connected more with the invisible voice than my stick-figure avatar. Even as a non-artist it was enjoyable.

Trickly controls with a strange ability toggle system, and occaisonal trouble detecting white on white edges of things were only minor problems.

Before anything else, let me say that I wanted to like this game. I'm an artist myself and have studied both illustration and animation. I was honestly expecting to connect with this concept. Sadly, my artistic senses were offended more than anything. I feel bad for saying this about any other artist's work, but this is also one of the few Steam purchases I deeply regret.

Like the title says, it's unfinished. Not even in any artsy way. The only lament I experienced from this game was that of my wasted money.

Maybe the idea was good at some point, but the mechanics feel broken, and navigating the world is terrible, which really just killed the experience (hence my very short playtime on record). I went into this hoping for a short, thoughtful, story driven experience, but instead I was apalled by bad coding and environment design. Simplicity can be great; I knew what the game looked like from screenshots, and I was still expecting to like it. Instead, it felt uninviting and badly planned out. This is an example of an indie game where simplicity and idea doesn't win me over.

The 2D animation and the video of the artist drawing are easily the best parts of this game, but I found myself mostly looking at the equivalent of Google SketchUp blocks without textures, meshing badly with the hand drawn art. Those who are finding deep artistic meaning in this probably have far more going on in their head than what's going on in this game.

Bottom line is, I feel like the creator of this game had ideas that they couldn't properly convey in this format.

The idea sounded good, but I can not recommend this game.
You just don't get what to do, mainly because everything is white in a paper world and the tutorial is not really explaining anything.
The controls feel a weird and the settings make no sense.

As someone who frequently suffers creative blocks I thoroughly enjoyed this short but beautiful and sincere game of artistic struggle.

So true. There is a lot of stress and efforts to put into one creative work.
Some people don't value artists and just want them to finish their work early for their own good.
Long ago I supported cracked games, but since I learned about all the hardworks from the game developers, like now, I buy the games instead of downloading a cracked game. Luckily, I found steam. Steam sales a lot of games at reasonable prices.

Remember, if you support a creative work, don't copy paste or reupload the work to somewhere else.
You can see people reupload someone else's videos and images illegally. Mostly in Facebook that allowed copyrighted content to be posted with minor changes.

I really like how YouTube prevents copyrighted materials. Their system is really supporting the creator of the creative works.

I really wanted to love this game, I love the concept. The concept and art sold me. However, I couldn't stomach the incredibly slow walking speed of the character. You're forced to walk incredibly slow, and it doesn't seem like any consideration was given to the physics of the character- how it moves, specifically. Just flat, boring, WASD walking through miles of endless white. And you don't really jump either- you select a "bouncing" power up and bounce constantly to get over obstacles. I did not find this mechanic fun or intuitive- just annoying and slow like the walking.

Great concept and art, frustratingly slow and plain controls. I didn't want to force myself through the boring process of moving my character around to getting the final message or metaphor of the experience- I just wanted it to end.

This game is short... about 30 minutes long, possibly pushed to an hour if you have a difficult time with the mechanics. It is not really even a game. It is a walking (and bouncing) simulator where you hear an artist complain that he is out of ideas and that people do not like his work, all while you try to wander over to a pencil. That's it. There is no story, there are no enemies, and there are just a couple of puzzles (if you count stacking blocks as puzzles). You do get a few power-ups, but they are difficult and clunky at best.

I will say this though: I did enjoy the music.

Game is interesting and worth playing if you manage to follow this game's logic.

Puzzles it not what you should be playing for, see this game more as an experience and puzzles are just in the way of experiencing it all at once. That's why I think this game should have been 100% walking simulator, not just 50% as it came out to be.

Looks good, cute music, interesting story/experience.

The bad is that I couldn't find any graphic options except for some shadow settins, and the introduction of new game mechanics is poor. Also no subtitles.

Game is very short, think twice before buying if you don't have a job or can't afford to spend 5$ on a very short experience.

There is a demo outside of Steam, try it before buying.
http://steamcommunity.com/app/388680/discussions/0/541907867761968494/

To developer, try a full narrative experience next time and make the game longer. With better game options and easier to understand game mechanic introduction if it has some puzzle/platformer/exploration elements.

Here is the short review I did for Unfinished: An Artist's Lament.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUWVSIH1sJc

Honestly, I don't recommend this game, but I think I have a reasonable argument about why, and the game isn't a whoesale failure or anything. There are things I really like, but overall it just isn't enough of a "game" for me.

This is a difficult game for me to review.

Unfinished is an interesting short game. You play as an unfinished drawing who wants to be complete.
The game serves as an effective metaphor for the creative process in general: everyone who has tried to create something, be it art, writing, a game, or whatever, can recognise the story this game tries to tell.

The art style is great. All hand-drawn, and it stays this throughout. The art is accompanied by soothing music.
The narrative is told through voice over -- sadly no subtitles -- that is clear, if at a little low volume compared to the music.

Gameplay wise, you walk through white, empty environments to find body parts (different legs, different bodies, different heads), all of which give you enhanced abilities. As you progress the levels become more... drawn.

Unfortunately Unfinished is hard to get in to. I was stuck at the first real puzzle for far too long, since the game didn't make it clear at all that I could swap abilities in mid-air, and I only found this by chance.
It is also short. Too short perhaps for Steam refunds. If I hadn't gotten stuck at the beginning I could've finished it within 30 minutes.

While a bit rough the game is mechanically sound and the story resonates with me, as a fellow (want to be?) creator.

As for the price point, €5 is perhaps steep for such a short game, and (disclaimer) I didn't buy it for that price: I had a 50% off coupon. At that price level (€2,50 or less) I can recommend it to everyone.

Just don't be a dick and refund it after you've finished your speed run, okay?

Overall, it's a nice, fun game. You play as a simple, unfinished sketch. While chasing the pencil of the person who designed you, you hear the story of your creator, and the trouble he's going through. It's got a good message, and while it can get a little laggy, most of it runs pretty smoothly. I've played it twice, and truly enjoyed each time. It didn't take long to get attached to the cute sketch you play as. I'd definately recommed this game.

Simple but effective, and pretty much aimed at artists.

If you're in the business of creating things, it's quite easy to relate to the story being told. There's a few "I know that feeling" moments, and that's really what the game is designed for I think.

It's not going to blow your mind with indepth mechanics. Not a Hardcore platformer etc. But if you're having an artblock, feeling a little down on your skills or whatever?
Yeah why not, it's cheap, give it a go.

A platformer that tells a story any professional artist will resonate with. For an indie its good, the controls can be a bit wonky as you can not move and select body parts at the same time. The only time this was an issue was the first level, but overall a good experience. Also the voice acting and music can get repetitive if you get stuck, annoying but didn't diminish my enjoyment. I do recomend this, and if you work in a creative field it will be relatable.

A fairly short game that sheds light on the difficulties that artists have to face from time to time. While being a bit rough on the edges it is still worth your time. Love it!