In which I am less useful than I’d like

Recently I got this email:

My name is (redacted) and I’m totally blind. I am a bit fan of interactive fictions and I have just downloaded Pytho’s mask. I have started it but I’m not exactly sure who I need to talk too or what I should be talking to them about. Do you know if there is a solution for this game or if poss could you send me one please?

I don’t have a walkthrough for Pytho’s Mask, and my suspicion is that (a) none exists and (b) it is more or less impossible to run it with a screenreader because of the way the conversation options are displayed in the status bar. (It does have both a z-machine and a Glulx version, but either way, the options go in their own window.)

If I’m wrong about either, though — that is, if you happen to know of a walkthrough, or you’ve successfully played this on a screenreader — I’d love to hear about it so I can pass on the answer. (I’d just sit down and make said walkthrough myself, but I probably won’t have time to do that for a few days.)

Edited to add: “A few days” has worked out to a long time, but I’ve now finished and posted said walkthrough.

Hadean Lands

I was going to post here about Hadean Lands, the new game Andrew Plotkin is writing, and how you can contribute via Kickstarter to get this thing fully funded.

Events have outrun me, and it’s already fully funded — which is awesome. But it’s not too late to contribute anyway! And here’s why you should:

  • Contributing is the only way to get yourself a PC/Mac version of the game when it comes out. It’s otherwise going to be released for iOS only. There’s a short, playable trailer available, so you can see for yourself what kind of a thing this is going to be.
  • The more Andrew’s funding goes over minimum, the more time he’ll be able to devote to being a full-time IF author and tool-maker. And that’s important because, in addition to releasing the game, he’s planning to share the tools for other people to release iOS games.
  • Also on the agenda is to polish up the browser-based Quixe interpreter, adding CSS support, javascript integration, and graphics.

If you’re keen to see more accessible IF on more platforms, this is a great way to help make that happen.

Homer in Silicon: “Making Mr Right”

My editor refers to this week’s column as “ever so slightly outraged,” which suggests that I don’t really have this whole outrage thing down and need more practice with the flecks of spittle.

However. It is about a game called “Making Mr Right,” which I really really did not like. I don’t know exactly what the makers were trying for, but I suspect their response to my complaints would be along the lines of “it’s just supposed to be fun,” or “it’s just a game!”

But the trick about working in an artistic medium is that you typically wind up saying something whether you mean to or not. So it’s probably a good idea to go ahead and think about what that is.

IF Comp 2010: The 12:54 to Asgard

As has been my practice for the last few years, I’ve set my RSS feed to truncate entries so that I can post reviews without spoilerage. Within an entry, there is a short, spoilerless discussion (though the comp purists may want to avoid reading even that before playing for themselves); then spoiler space; then a more detailed discussion of what I thought did and didn’t work in the game, if appropriate.

I’m also pursuing an approach I came up with a couple of years ago: I’m playing and reviewing games that have listed beta-testers, and skipping those that don’t. In 2008 that turned out to be a pretty fool-proof indicator of which games were going to end up scoring 4 or less on my personal scale, and it made my reviewing process a happier one in 2009, so I’m sticking with it. I’m hoping this will mean I have more time to devote to the remaining games, which in turn will (I hope) be of higher quality, and you, dear reader, will have fewer rants inflicted on you.

Next up: The 12:54 to Asgard

Continue reading “IF Comp 2010: The 12:54 to Asgard”

IF Comp 2010: Rogue of the Multiverse

As has been my practice for the last few years, I’ve set my RSS feed to truncate entries so that I can post reviews without spoilerage. Within an entry, there is a short, spoilerless discussion (though the comp purists may want to avoid reading even that before playing for themselves); then spoiler space; then a more detailed discussion of what I thought did and didn’t work in the game, if appropriate.

I’m also pursuing an approach I came up with a couple of years ago: I’m playing and reviewing games that have listed beta-testers, and skipping those that don’t. In 2008 that turned out to be a pretty fool-proof indicator of which games were going to end up scoring 4 or less on my personal scale, and it made my reviewing process a happier one in 2009, so I’m sticking with it. I’m hoping this will mean I have more time to devote to the remaining games, which in turn will (I hope) be of higher quality, and you, dear reader, will have fewer rants inflicted on you.

Next up: Rogue of the Multiverse

Continue reading “IF Comp 2010: Rogue of the Multiverse”

IF Comp 2010: Death Off The Cuff

As has been my practice for the last few years, I’ve set my RSS feed to truncate entries so that I can post reviews without spoilerage. Within an entry, there is a short, spoilerless discussion (though the comp purists may want to avoid reading even that before playing for themselves); then spoiler space; then a more detailed discussion of what I thought did and didn’t work in the game, if appropriate.

I’m also pursuing an approach I came up with a couple of years ago: I’m playing and reviewing games that have listed beta-testers, and skipping those that don’t. In 2008 that turned out to be a pretty fool-proof indicator of which games were going to end up scoring 4 or less on my personal scale, and it made my reviewing process a happier one in 2009, so I’m sticking with it. I’m hoping this will mean I have more time to devote to the remaining games, which in turn will (I hope) be of higher quality, and you, dear reader, will have fewer rants inflicted on you.

Next up: Death Off The Cuff

Continue reading “IF Comp 2010: Death Off The Cuff”