Interactive Fiction
You are sitting at your computer, browsing Livejournal and reading your friends list, when you come across an unusual entry in mutecornett's livejournal about interactive fiction.
> read entry
The entry reads: "I love interactive fiction and I'd really love to see more people getting interested in it." What's interactive fiction? you think, and read on. "If you recognize the general format, skip along. If you don't, this is the definition from Wikipedia:Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, describes software containing simulated environments in which players use text commands to control characters. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives and as computer games.
"Personally," the entry continues, "I get a lot of the same thrills from IF and IF theory as I do from fandom and meta, so I thought this might interest some of you. Anyways, these are the games I remember off the top of my head that I would recommend for beginners. Keep in mind, these aren't always necessarily games--in some cases, they're just stories you interact with. And mazes are passe, so no worries about twisty little passages, all alike. Plus, they're tiny--usually only 300 kb tops."
There is an lj-cut here.
> click it
So, your interest is piqued? You want to play IF? First, you'll need interpreters--a very quick download, I promise. Make sure to get the Z-code and TADS interpreters for your system. That's all you need for these recommendations, although you might want to get the others later.
1. Well-clued puzzle games: Dreamhold is a good place to start for beginners because it contains a tutorial mode. You can turn the tutorial mode off if you're an experienced player and turn it to expert mode, which, by the way, isn't that hard, and you'd still have a solid, entertaining game. On roughly the same level of difficulty and of roughly the same type is Metamorphoses, which also has a stronger story element to it. The Edifice, a story spanning three stages of the evolution of humankind, is also solid and generally well-clued (and there's a fun little language puzzle in it) with a couple of difficult parts. A Day For Soft Food is a story where you play as a cat, and it's much tougher but doable, with hints.
2. If you really hate the puzzle aspect of interactive fiction, these three are almost completely puzzleless: English Suburban Garden, Rameses, and Exhibition. Exhibition can seem a little dry at first, but it comes together into a really fascinating portrait. (I took Photopia out because it's got a killer of a puzzle in it that I forgot, but it's a good game.)
3. If you like clever word games, try Goose Egg Badger, which was my favorite from the last IFcomp. You'll see the trick soon enough. Oh, and the classic Ad Verbum. If you love those, try Letters From Home, which is pretty tough on the IF puzzle front but fun on the word puzzle front. The Gostak is linguistically interesting but probably not to be tried until you know the shortcuts and the conventions of IF.
4. I love exploring unusual settings within a story, and for this I liked Worlds Apart, which explored a beautiful and fascinating fantasy landscape as part of its story, and Lost New York, which delves into the past of New York as well as having fun puzzles. There's also the Victorian steampunk Slouching Towards Bedlam, and a vibrant city rich in magical realism in City of Secrets, which requires Glulx, actually, but it's worth it. This group is somewhat harder.
Finally, if you like Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the interactive fiction version of the game is really brilliant, well-written, good puzzles, but hard. You can find it at www.douglasadams.com.
To download individual games, since the IF archive is a little intimidating, I usually go to Baf's Guide, which also collects the winners and runners-up of various competitions. The ones to note in particular are IFcomp and XYZZY. There are other comps around; I particularly like the IF Art Show.
Em Short's recommendation page is a good place to go when you're more familiar with the form, focusing mostly on games that have unusual formats. There are several interesting essays on her site, but IF theory mostly resides at Brass Lantern, and I find it as interesting and as satisfying as fandom meta, personally, so.
Stuck? Look up the game on Baf's Guide and see if they have a walkthrough, or type "help" or "hint" while in-game.
And I'm always up for recommending IF games, so hit me up if you want more.
> read entry
The entry reads: "I love interactive fiction and I'd really love to see more people getting interested in it." What's interactive fiction? you think, and read on. "If you recognize the general format, skip along. If you don't, this is the definition from Wikipedia:Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, describes software containing simulated environments in which players use text commands to control characters. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives and as computer games.
"Personally," the entry continues, "I get a lot of the same thrills from IF and IF theory as I do from fandom and meta, so I thought this might interest some of you. Anyways, these are the games I remember off the top of my head that I would recommend for beginners. Keep in mind, these aren't always necessarily games--in some cases, they're just stories you interact with. And mazes are passe, so no worries about twisty little passages, all alike. Plus, they're tiny--usually only 300 kb tops."
There is an lj-cut here.
> click it
So, your interest is piqued? You want to play IF? First, you'll need interpreters--a very quick download, I promise. Make sure to get the Z-code and TADS interpreters for your system. That's all you need for these recommendations, although you might want to get the others later.
1. Well-clued puzzle games: Dreamhold is a good place to start for beginners because it contains a tutorial mode. You can turn the tutorial mode off if you're an experienced player and turn it to expert mode, which, by the way, isn't that hard, and you'd still have a solid, entertaining game. On roughly the same level of difficulty and of roughly the same type is Metamorphoses, which also has a stronger story element to it. The Edifice, a story spanning three stages of the evolution of humankind, is also solid and generally well-clued (and there's a fun little language puzzle in it) with a couple of difficult parts. A Day For Soft Food is a story where you play as a cat, and it's much tougher but doable, with hints.
2. If you really hate the puzzle aspect of interactive fiction, these three are almost completely puzzleless: English Suburban Garden, Rameses, and Exhibition. Exhibition can seem a little dry at first, but it comes together into a really fascinating portrait. (I took Photopia out because it's got a killer of a puzzle in it that I forgot, but it's a good game.)
3. If you like clever word games, try Goose Egg Badger, which was my favorite from the last IFcomp. You'll see the trick soon enough. Oh, and the classic Ad Verbum. If you love those, try Letters From Home, which is pretty tough on the IF puzzle front but fun on the word puzzle front. The Gostak is linguistically interesting but probably not to be tried until you know the shortcuts and the conventions of IF.
4. I love exploring unusual settings within a story, and for this I liked Worlds Apart, which explored a beautiful and fascinating fantasy landscape as part of its story, and Lost New York, which delves into the past of New York as well as having fun puzzles. There's also the Victorian steampunk Slouching Towards Bedlam, and a vibrant city rich in magical realism in City of Secrets, which requires Glulx, actually, but it's worth it. This group is somewhat harder.
Finally, if you like Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the interactive fiction version of the game is really brilliant, well-written, good puzzles, but hard. You can find it at www.douglasadams.com.
To download individual games, since the IF archive is a little intimidating, I usually go to Baf's Guide, which also collects the winners and runners-up of various competitions. The ones to note in particular are IFcomp and XYZZY. There are other comps around; I particularly like the IF Art Show.
Em Short's recommendation page is a good place to go when you're more familiar with the form, focusing mostly on games that have unusual formats. There are several interesting essays on her site, but IF theory mostly resides at Brass Lantern, and I find it as interesting and as satisfying as fandom meta, personally, so.
Stuck? Look up the game on Baf's Guide and see if they have a walkthrough, or type "help" or "hint" while in-game.
And I'm always up for recommending IF games, so hit me up if you want more.