The Binary is a time-travel science fiction thriller from the same universe as Vicious Cycles, a story implemented first in Inform (2001) and then in a customized web engine as demonstrated at the IF Demo Fair (2011). The Binary appears in an improved version (as I understand it) of that same customized web engine. Consequently, this review talks both about the game itself and about the engine for which it is an early representative.
The Macintosh made sense to my child self in ways that other computers hadn’t. Just about everything I’ve written from the age of eight or so forward has been created on an Apple product. All the adolescent stories, the school essays, the college lab reports and papers; the dissertation, the teaching materials, presentations; the games, columns, and blog posts; love letters, journal entries, fan email, forum messages, chat logs. And the iPhone, able to map my course from anywhere, and contact a friend or a cab if I need one, has made me more free and more safe, able to traverse areas as a woman alone that I wouldn’t otherwise have attempted.
Rest in peace, Steve. I may not have loved everything Apple did. I may have made fun of Mobile Me. But I owe you.
“It” concerns a game we used to call Sardines — one person hides, and the seekers gradually find her and join her in the space. It’s a short but broad game with many possible outcomes.
Taco Fiction is a comedy about crime and being in the wrong part of town. It’s moderate length for a comp game — I think I spent about an hour on it, possibly a little more.
I’m now done with my comp play-through, though some games in the not-recommended pile that will not be reviewed because they don’t list beta-testers. If you have reason to believe I’ve placed something in that category in error, or you know that there were testers even if they weren’t listed, feel free to let me know.
What follows is a non-spoilery list of recommendations and non-recommendations. I’ve been adding to it as I played, but now that I’ve finished the whole field, I’ve redistributed a bit, mostly to try to help people find things they’re most likely to enjoy; that means I’ve taken away the “Must Play” category and replaced it with subcategories.
But some general points: this year sees a lot of entrants and a lot of high-quality work. The proportion of flatly unplayable stuff is low, and many of the mid-range games nonetheless demonstrate interesting ideas and a lot of authorial talent. There are a variety of experiments with user interface — that probably deserves its own compare-and-contrast column; games that explore morality and complicity from several philosophical angles; and every flavor of noir you can imagine. If you like wearing a fedora, this is the comp year for you.
You will find a bunch of other reviews linked here.
Playing Games is a very short, story-light puzzler focusing on spatial memory and reasoning. More details follow the jump.
Emily Short's Interactive Storytelling 