Anyone who knows me would be surprised to learn that I have never actually played roller derby. Violence on Wheels ....... Thankfully, "Roller Drama" gives us a taste not only of the sport of roller derby itself, but also of the drama and camaraderie that surrounds it When not plagued by UI flaws and puzzling puzzles, "Roller Drama" has an engaging character, art style, and glides with the unbearable responsibility of being the team's coach.

You take on the role of Joan 'Jeanne D'Arc' Galliano, the coach of a girls' roller derby team that has moved into the same house. The game is divided into a hodgepodge of keeping the team and their personal lives in order and winning games. It is both a management game and a visual novel. Being linear is not a problem, but it is largely a matter of choosing sentences and little lines of dialogue to convince yourself that your coaching style is working. It doesn't always work. But when it does work, you will be drawn into the role of Joan, feeling responsible for the women in your care and stressed about how to talk to them.

Relationships in games are usually defined solely by being liked by the characters, but as a coach in "Roller Drama," you also have to worry about being respected and trusted. This role gives an interesting angle to the story and made me think about my choices beyond trying to be nice to everyone. Sometimes he is too strict and loses the trust of his players, or he spends too much time flattering them and doesn't earn their respect.

A match is a place to brainstorm about strategy. You watch the game unfold in real time from above, giving direct instructions to your jammer (the player who runs the track and scores the points), while giving instructions to the other teams who must balance breaking down the enemy defense, protecting your jammer, and slowing down the opposing jammer. It may seem simple at first glance, but getting the timing and tactics right is truly difficult. In addition, energy levels must be managed so that the team does not become exhausted before the match is over. There is a separate practice mode, but through the story you will get to know your team and gradually find the synergy that will allow you to win big in the grand finale.

None of this works at all if the team is not attractive, but thankfully they are a colorful and diverse bunch. Nevertheless, they are all terribly flawed. Here, direct confrontation seldom solves problems, so dealing with their problems successfully requires subtle tactics. If you piss someone off too much, they leave the team and it's game over. But rather than a subtle examination of team idiosyncrasies, "Roller Drama" is more of an absurdist, almost sitcom-like series that resolves conflicts in truly bizarre ways. For example, one player, Anne, is forced to hand over a pair of skates she stole from her teammate Portia by giving her a magic disco ball that gives her a sense of euphoria. It's classic coach conflict resolution. The game is never less than imaginative in coming up with these unlikely scenarios.

Unfortunately, it has its drawbacks. Joan's supernatural therapist, Shakespeare's ghost, hangs around to give feedback on your performance. Like I said, this game is weird. Each time I was given a new problem to solve, I was immediately lost, unable to figure out the specific sequence of actions I needed to take to solve things. The aforementioned disco ball may be the solution to that puzzle, but there are so many steps and chances for failure before you get to that point, and if you make a mistake you are sent back to the beginning of the section. This means a lot of conversation and trial and error.

Given the arbitrary nature of some of the solutions, I feel that a more forgiving fail state should have been implemented instead of a punitive one that would restart the entire task. If they succeed, we see these strange and humorous scenes, but if they fail, they only get another chance to make the right choice. The rigors of the game have ruined the role of the coach. You can only deviate so slightly from the intended path of the game. The rewards are fun, but getting there is a chore.

The roller drama is at least pleasant to watch, even when it is a struggle. The character designs are fun, but I especially like the large cross section of their homes, like when you see all the characters fighting over the use of the elevator. Despite the attractive visuals, however, the UI is often unreadable. Too often, I thought I was choosing one option in the menu, but I was choosing the option above or below it. The game didn't get out of hand until a bug forced me to restart a chapter and instead of selecting the current chapter, I selected the very first chapter, which erased all progress. As you can imagine, I was not thrilled.

Such problems are unfortunate. When "Roller Drama" went out of my way, it was because I was preoccupied with taking care of a small team of misfits. Like them, "Roller Drama" has many flaws, but its heart and raw enthusiasm shine through.