Cinderella's Spark

I tried to describe this without spoilers but I fear I failed. Please be warned:

there be spoilers ahead!

I'm not great with words, thus, even though there is so much to say about this game, I'll limit it as best I can to a smattering of the most prominent points:

I like this game very much and find it to be well-crafted with many layers of interpretation and meaning woven into it with such acuity. This is a story which seems simple and pretty straight forward for about the first half of the game. This illusion gets stripped not as would be expected in the narrative when the story presents the mystery of some machinations going on in the background, rather, the illusion is dispelled after Cinderella is no longer bound. That is when the story guides the player from a surface-level tale into (the story-relevant) exploration of existential philosophy and the responsibility which comes with creation, presenting questions about ethics and morality in-so-far as how they affect culpability through intention, and examining a few aspects of the psyche through asking questions about what the self is and to which extent do nature and nurture shape what we are and whom we become.

I thought the stark contrast between Agatha's unintentional harm vs Cinderella's decision at the end which can lead to her causing harm intentionally was very evocative and thought provoking. You used the opportunity the medium of a fairy tale affords so well in keeping it grounded in 'reality' for most of the story but have the fantasy elements come out so poignantly to show massively important points of character development (as plays out in Cinderella basically choosing whom she wants to be) and as a herald of change. How you refrained from directly showing the audience Agatha using magic, and the one time she did, it was in an act of self-preservation vs the rather grand uses of magic Cinderella came into, illustrated in a very compelling way how intention is ever-present and always has an effect.

And when Cinderella frees herself, the mechanics of having given the player very little choice up until that point (which represents the state in which Cinderella has existed up until that choice presents itself) then opening up Cinderella's psyche (which is represented in slowly building-up giving the player choices), was both very noticeable yet also subtle at the same time. I am so very impressed with the different levels of narrative woven so seamlessly together in this game :) .

The question is asked whether 1 good individual who tries but has issues (uncontrollable magic she needs the means to learn to control and will make many many mistakes until she has the needed practice) is worth the damage she causes to those she needs to make use of until she can learn to be self-sufficient and survive by her own means. At what point does the 'social and mental calculus' shift from it being acceptable to make limited use of others until one is able to survive without doing so to it being not okay? And then the contrast of the royal family having all this power yet being afraid of one young woman who just wants to learn how to control her magic, to have a measure of freedom, and to be treated well going to those lengths to control her and lie to the citizens without caring one whit what effect it has on the populace. How many people hearing the royal family say "it's a witch! who abducted and tortured the princess" will have a deleterious effect on society? How much abuse will that encourage? How many women and girls will be harmed because of this? Though these aren't questions posed directly in the game, the contrast between the 'original' Cinderella story (*Hans Christian Anderson even if technically it isn't the original) [*edit Feb 2020: spelled Andersen wrong, geez. Also, it's the brothers Grimm, not Andersen.] and the way the royal family is set-up as the fairy tale's traditional 'evil witch' role, make these questions demand to be explored. It is very telling how the background people are shown as the vectors of disseminating information (gossiping market vendor & her customer) and are also the ones put under Agatha's spell, yet, it is only Agatha and Cinderella who give thought to them as people whereas the royal family gives thought only on how to use them.

Cinderella's growing consciousness was evinced so effectively, especially noticeable in the types of awareness she lacks. Agatha tries to improve things for Cinderella as soon as she realized what she's done, whereas Cinderella gives no thought to Agatha's suffering and is so focused on herself and how she believes she's been wronged, not once considering everything she has is thanks to Agatha. Not until much later when the story opens up near the end making for a symphonic coming together of all these story elements.

Speaking of symphonic, the game's music is appropriate and amusingly on point at times too. And I found the art quite enjoyable with the bits of dramatic lighting changes very effective.

I've babbled enough so I'll stop here. Thank you so much for sharing this on itch.io. I can't really describe how wonderful an experience it has been playing Cinderella's Spark. This game is excellent and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a story they can delve into that is thought-provoking and has many layers of interpretation and meaning.