On the post I published last month I talked about telling stories without words, and how tempting it can be to abuse of a minimalist approach to puzzles and experience design.

Then I remembered Tiny Thief, and how it actually did the same thing as Virginia, which is telling a story (a very different one, though) without words.

Tiny Thief, however, deals with the same challenge in its own way.

While Virginia finds the solution in focusing the attention with a timely use of subtle resources, Tiny Thief relies on expressivity and visual emphasis to guide the player.

When I think about it, I imagine the narrative voice behind Virginia to persistently whisper to the player the direction that needs to be followed, and that of Tiny Thief to cheerfully call to action with eloquent outburst.

Both good. Both unique. Just different, and demanding of different design and visual efforts.

Enjoy the silence

Here I leave you with a couple of screenshots showing how nice and consistent is this game approach to silent story telling.