The Bible Retold: The Lost Sheep

A straightforward retelling of the parable of the lost sheep. This is a problem.

First of all, the choice of stories: the parable of the lost sheep is exceedingly short and small. In readings, it is generally told together with the parable of the woman and the lost coin, because they are told practically in the same breath, to illustrate the same point. This need not be a stumbling block, however, as at least one past comp entrant has won with a similar, if somewhat less biblical, premise. I speak, of course, of "Lost Pig", which spun the search for a missing farm animal out into a humorous underground romp.

But "Lost Sheep" is no "Lost Pig", because of the second point: the fact that it is straightforward. That is the last thing you want. If the original is short, as was the case here, then the final product will be correspondingly short. And being straightforward, that means that very little is added to the original -- the player is not being told anything new or anything he might not already know. Without commentary one way or another, without scholarly analysis and without period embellishments, the end result remains lukewarm and unexplored.

Still, the implementation of what little there is is quite deep, with interesting responses to a wide variety of actions both likely and unlikely. The canvas and the tools exist, though the subject matter is lacking. The whole, in the end, feels more like a demonstration work, something to show the community the author's technical capabilities before he actually sits down and exercises them. Perhaps next year we shall be treated to something hot and spicy (Judah and Tamar?) or something cool and refreshing (the wedding at Cana?) but in the meantime, I'm afraid there is little else to be said for this.

Vegan granola smoothie and lukewarm herbal tea.