The Gamer's Quarter

Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

me and my friend want to play some text adventures, which ones do you recommend? We'd like the best of old and new. She is particularly excited about playing games that feature wizards, keys.

I have a pc, she has a mac.

UPDATE: She also wants ice caves

UPDATE: also, couldn't find robot gardener (crying face)

dessgeega · Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2007 9:06 pm Post subject:

you should play enchanter, from infocom (this is old), and hunter, in darkness, by andrew plotkin (this is new).

you can use gargoyle, she can use spatterlight.

robot gardening is here!
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Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

photopia is still pretty awesome, despite not being terribly interactive. i also like that other short one, i think plotkin did... 9:04 or something
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dessgeega · Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2007 9:35 pm Post subject:

you're thinking of adam cadre.

and yes.
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Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

Ok, cool! Any more?

I think she's especially interested in playing the game from 'BIG' with Tom Hanks, which you can see here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7d0Z3Y62WA

That would probably make her the happiest girl on earth.

UPDATE: Have discovered it does not exist.

God bless thehouseofgames.net, though.

Intentionally Wrong · Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 5:37 am Post subject:

When you said "ice caves" my first thought was So Far which is hard, but brilliant.

When you said "wizards, keys" my first thought was Savoir-Faire, which is probably not what you meant when you said "wizards", but I like it. (Second-to-last major block on the page.)

Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

Ok!! You guys are great! Thankyou!!

Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

So we played ' Time To Die', which is a pretty ridiculous CGA adventure game where you spend the whole time running from thugs whose guns 'blare' and 'bark' at you a lot. It's really fun, even though the game is shit! Text adventures are best shared.

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

have you got in her pants yet
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Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

Yep

Shut up, though, I get in trouble for talking about this shit

Although she won't see this thread, but still.

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

pics plz
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Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

dessgeega · Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 10:49 pm Post subject:

harveypants you need to keep me updated on your romantic life.
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The Great Unwashed · Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2007 3:02 am Post subject:

She's beautiful.
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Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

dizzyjosh · . Joined: 20 Jun 2006 Posts: 64

i'm playing vespers right now and it is kicking my ass. if you like monks, the plague, creepy girls, The Name of The Rose or crucifixions, it is worth checking out for any of those elements alone.

Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

Oh, I definitely will. Got a link?
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

dizzyjosh · . Joined: 20 Jun 2006 Posts: 64

http://ifwiki.org/index.php/Jason_Devlin

should be able to find it through here; my professor (who btw is motherfucking nick montfort) sent it to me originally

-jd

sawtooth · . Joined: 02 Nov 2005 Posts: 419

vespers sounds awesome.

dracko, i think this is the game, here: http://www.wurb.com/if/game/2860

I'm not as keen on wizards and ice caves, but I have some IF I'd like to recommend! Most recently, I've really enjoyed Blue Chairs (http://www.wurb.com/if/game/2396), and I'm still struggling through Spider and Web (http://www.wurb.com/if/game/207 ). Shade and a Hunter in Darkness are two favorites that I just played through again, awhile ago. I noticed a lot of little touches in Shade that I hadn't seen previously (the plant!).
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Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

Oh, has anyone mentioned Galatea yet?
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

Intentionally Wrong · Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 12:52 am Post subject:

Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

'Motherfucker, I can write a better speech than you even if I'm only using the letter A.' The arrogance!

Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

His games aren't all that good either.
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

a_plus · . Joined: 09 Jan 2006 Posts: 252 Location: olympia

a couple of short 'n' sweet ones:

shrapnel by adam cadre
shade by andrew plotkin

Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

Oh God, Shrapnel. it's terrifying and complicit and great while still being utterly meaningless.

Christ, it creeped me out.
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

dizzyjosh · . Joined: 20 Jun 2006 Posts: 64

i'm not much of a critic but i can attest to: dude's good at talking and also at introducing programming to non-programmers.

plotkin writes too, i think?

and yeah, he teaches the workshop for the program i'm in: http://cms.mit.edu

Intentionally Wrong · Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 8:28 pm Post subject:

I favor concept over execution, myself.

Similarly, I like Rameses, actually, not that it's anything like the games that were requested.

a_plus · . Joined: 09 Jan 2006 Posts: 252 Location: olympia

i never had much trouble gleaning meaning from shrapnel, myself.
shade, on the other hand, seems to make sense just under the surface but i can't figure out, what, if anything, it's all about. (bad trip at burning man is about as far as i got)

dessgeega · Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 10:57 pm Post subject:

i've read a compelling argument that it's about tranforming from the player into the environment. becoming the desert, as it were.
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Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

Ok, any tips on playing these games? Like, I can get them to run (and no thanks for just mentioning names and not linking) I have most of these games, but ... there's no instructions for how to play most of these... or are there?

I remember little things from playing these as a kid like Look, Take, Use, Go, but I'm afraid I may get in over my head.

And can you save using Gargoyle?
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"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!"

Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

Make it a habit to type out "help" every time you run a new game. They may have very clear instructions of their own which they should hand over to you. If no help is available, it's a safe bet to assume it's mostly classic fare like the basic verbs you mentioned or geographical directions.

I don't use Gargoyle. Can't help you there. What's so fantastic about it?
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

dessgeega · Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 2:14 pm Post subject:

gargoyle is an interpreter that actually cares about presentation.

you can usually save by typing "save".

and try opening the door? out?
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Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

Ok, I saved... but "load" doesn't load a game.
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“The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932

"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!"

dessgeega · Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 2:54 pm Post subject:

"restore".
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Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

Shaper, WindowsFrotz hasn't failed me yet.

I may give Gargoyle a go at some point.
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

dark steve · . Joined: 17 Jun 2005 Posts: 1110

I'm pretty fond of Robot Gardener myself.
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Intentionally Wrong · Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 12:09 am Post subject:

Can't Gargoyle run zBlorb files? If not, try Glulx.

sawtooth · . Joined: 02 Nov 2005 Posts: 419

dessgeega · Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 12:18 pm Post subject:

here it is.

i like to recommend new players attack of the yeti robot zombies.
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Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

Hey, dess, there was a game you talked about in your indie article but you didn't say the name of it because you gave away the ending (or something like that). I have forgotten the spoilers you gave, so I feel inclined to request you PM me the name of which IF you were talking about.

EDIT: I'm really enjoying Blue Chairs!
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“The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932

"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!"

dessgeega · Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 12:33 pm Post subject:

it's pretty intense. i mean this. i'll send you a link, though.
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Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

I want it too, please.
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

dessgeega · Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 12:50 pm Post subject:

alright, i'll go ahead and post it here.

victor gijsber's the baron. it deals with a pretty intense theme. saying more would ruin it. don't spoil it for anyone else.
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Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

That was alright. Could have done with being more subtle.

EDIT: Here's a whole bunch of classic Infocom IF titles. Includes A Mind Forever Voyaging, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the Zork series and Enchanter, among many others.
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

Hey, blue chairs was pretty good!

I'm still not quite good at this whole IF thing because I had to use the help a lot. Like, who would think to break a lightbulb? It's fuzzy logic I just don't grasp entirely yet.

Honestly, it almost feels like this is a "mature" medium!

Are these technically "games"
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“The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932

"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!"

Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

I like to compare IF and Half-Life 2 a lot in conversation. Maybe I'll work on detailing that at some point.

But yeah, IF have the benefit of being able to pull the same stunts as literature, and mostly demand some degree of quality writing. Even with bleeding-edge graphics and design, it's a shame not more games try to do anything similar.
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

I love the hitchhikers game for kicking me in the balls so hard and so repeatedly.
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