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I'm pretty much a fan of Interactive fiction games. Sometimes they're fun; sometimes they're just too full of puzzles to solve or I have to play "guess which weird the parser wants" too much. I'm not an uber-fan, so I haven't played a ton of them, but I have noticed a pattern. There's a weird sense of amnesia with most of them.
Here's what I mean:
In IF games, you are the protagonist. You're supposed to be going through your daily life. And yet, since you aren't actually the character in the game, you don't know all the things that that character would know.
You often have to explore your own house because you don't know the layout and you don't know where things are. Sometimes there are even bigger surprises. For example, in *Photopia*, by Adam Cadre, the key to getting out of one of the mazes is to realize that you aren't even human. There are little hints about this along the way, but it makes for an 'aha!' moment when you finally put the clues together.
I actually think this part of *Photopia* works pretty well, because it's sort of a surreal dream-state. But it's a pretty dramatic example of this weird state where you are supposed to be a character, but you can't remember even basic things about yourself.
So in most IF games, not only are you trying to solve puzzles to beat the game, you're also usually trying to solve the puzzle of who the hell you even are.
Some games get around this by establishing that the character has amnesia. *Counterfeit Monkey* does this. In *Counterfeit Monkey*, you begin with another character asking if you remember who you are, and filling in a few blanks while telling you that you have amnesia and your memories will slowly return.
So as your figure things out about your character, it's like the memories are returning. It works, but this if every game did this (gave you amnesia), I think it would get pretty tiring.
Some games get around this problem by plunging you into a completely new environment where the protagonist isn't expected to know anything. *Lost Pig* does this. In *Lost Pig*, you discover a place you've never been before. And the main character is kind of an idiot, so it makes sense that you don't have a lot of helpful knowledge.
And there are plenty of games where it isn't addressed. It's just expected as part of the genre that you have to figure out things that your character should know. So stumble around your own house or neighborhood until you get the layout because even though the main character should already know where everything is, part of IF is figuring this all out on your own.
One thing that *Lost Pig* does that's really nice is that you can say "Go to X" and you'll just go to that location. I think *Counterfeit Monkey* does something similar, but I don't remember. *Counterfeit Monkey* also includes a map, which is really nice.
I wish more games give you this "Go to X" feature. And maps are always welcome. Some games require that you create your own map, since you really can't beat the game without one. I don't find that particularly fun. There are some nice programs out there that will build maps for you. I recommend using one. I really don't enjoy playing "find your way through the labyrinth".
I think it's possible to make a game where the character doesn't seem like some weird amnesiac. That might be possible if the game were written more like a *choose your own adventure* book. They don't have this problem. You don't read one of the old *choose your own adventure* books and come across a passage like:
You wake up, and it's just an ordinary day. Your memories are totally intact. You need to go to the bathroom. This being your house, you totally know exactly where the bathroom is. If you go North, turn to page 5...
No. You make important decisions, but the mundane stuff like finding the frickin bathroom is taken care of. Less navigation; more executive decision making. I think it could work well, but it's not the norm.
Of the games that I've played that take a more narrative approach, *Photopia* and *The Baron* probably come the closest to being like a *choose your own adventure* novel. But not knowing who you are (and having to figure it out) is still central to the game.
Traditional IF tends to be a closer to a text-only version of *The Legend of Zelda* or something. You wander around, find things, and solve puzzles. We're actually pretty darn good at navigating the world. We had to evolve that way to survive. So with a graphical game, we're pretty good at remembering where things are. For me, at least, this doesn't transfer over to the text-only world of IF.
I think it's possible to shift over towards the *choose your own adventure* side of the spectrum, without losing all of the exploration.
Let's say, the protagonist knows where lots of things are. So if you're in a place he knows, you can just say "Go to bathroom" and he'll do it. But when you enter new places, you have to explore. Once you discover a place, you can go back to it with "Go to..." unless you're lost or something.
Maybe having certain objects in inventory means you're presented with more options in places. You don't have to guess about things. Like if you have a record, and you go to the room where you know there's a record player, it'll give you the option of playing it. Or if you inspect the record, it might give you the option to go to the room with the record player and play it.
There's actually something very similar to this in *Galatea* and that other Emily Short game about Snow White. As you have conversations with characters, there are suggestions about what you might talk about next. This same sort of thing could be used for actions. Like when you get the record, you might get the suggestion, "You might go to the MUSIC ROOM and PLAY the record".
For me, IF is very exciting because there is so much potential to do new and interesting things. And yet, it's also so frustrating because most of the time, it's the same old, "You don't know where or even who you are... now wander around and solve random puzzles until I say you're done". 😞
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✍️ Last Updated: 2021-11-18