Yearly Archives: 2008

Monks, Manuscripts, and Modern Technology

And now for something completely different.

This has nothing to do with the IF Comp. Nor does this have anything to do with adventure games, interactive fiction, or indie game development. It does, however, concern a medieval European abbey and the intersection between monks, manuscripts, and modern technology, and if you haven’t noticed I just can’t help but be drawn to juicy stuff like that.

I caught this story in the NY Times while traveling on a cross-country flight, and thanks to the miracle of the web you, too, can partake. John Tagliabue reports that a vast collection of handwritten medieval books and manuscripts, one of the oldest and most valuable collections in the world, is going online with the support of a grant from [More...] Read the rest

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IFComp: Capture Me This

Onward with the next batch of IFComp entries, as I review my initial impressions of each game’s opening (introduction, “About” screens, and the first location), summarized by the Capture Score from 1 (intriguing; a definite play) to 4 (dreadful and forgettable). Just a reminder, no spoilers here, just early impressions.

Hard to believe, but with this next set I find myself only halfway through all of this year’s entries — and I’m only reporting my initial impressions.

Games covered here include “Dracula’s Underground Crypt”, “Search for the Ultimate Weapon”, “Cry Wolf”, and “Snack Time!”.

“Dracula’s Underground Crypt”, by Alex Whitington

Upon opening the game, I’m notified immediately that this release may be less than ideal because of the author’s recently [More...] Read the rest

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IFComp: EnCaptured

Continuing yet again with the next batch of IFComp entries, as I review my intial impressions of each game’s opening (introduction, “About” screens, and the first location), summarized by the Capture Score from 1 (intriguing; a definite play) to 4 (dreadful and forgettable). Just a reminder, no spoilers here, just early impressions.

Games covered here include “Violet”, “The Absolute Worst IF Game in History”, and “The Ngah Angah School of Forbidden Wisdom”.

“Violet”, by Jeremy Freese

“Violet” is a game that begins with a more minimalist approach; no long introduction, just what sounds like an initial conversation between two people. And I’m apparently a procrastinating writer; the ABOUT screen notifies me that I am the boyfriend of the character (Violet) narrating [More...] Read the rest

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IFComp: Searching For Capture

Forging onward with the next batch of IFComp entries, as I review my intial impressions of each game’s opening (introduction, “About” screens, and the first location), summarized by the Capture Score from 1 (intriguing; a definite play) to 4 (dreadful and forgettable). Just a reminder, no spoilers here, just early impressions.

Games covered here include “Nightfall”, “Trein”, and “Red Moon”.


“Nightfall”, by Eric Eve

This is the next game from Eve, another veteran IF author with previous notable works like “The Elysium Enigma” and “All Hope Abandon”. I’m already biased, knowing the quality of his work, but even if I could evaluate the opening of this game objectively I’m sure it would score well. The quality and polish of his [More...] Read the rest

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The Winner: Frayed Knights

A few of the scattered individuals who stop by here every now and then might not be aware, but there was a year-long competition sponsored by MyDreamRPG.com, a group dedicated to developing tools to help indie developers create RPG games, including MMORPG games. The contest started in April 2007 and, I would assume, finished in April 2008, with the goal of creating the best CRPG game based on one of the Torque Game Engines. First prize was an impressive $10,000, and a number of groups entered.

I say that I assume it finished in April 2008 only because I never heard anything about a winner, and had completely forgotten about it. I do know that Jay Barnson of The Rampant Coyote had entered, and [More...] Read the rest

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