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https://www.filfre.net/2021/09/the-neo-classical-interactive-fiction-of-1995/>
"The games below evince no concern whatsoever about keeping their playing time
down to a couple of hours. On the contrary: all of the games that follow are
big enough that Infocom could conceivably have released them, while at least
one or two of them are actually bigger than Infocom’s technology could possibly
have allowed. Over the years, I’ve come to realize that works like these are my
personal sweet spot for interactive fiction: big, puzzly works which are
well-written but which aren’t afraid to be games — albeit games which
incorporate the design lessons of those pioneers that came before them.
Neo-classical interactive fiction, if you will. (Yes, I’m aware that we’ve
jumped from the Renaissance to Neoclassicism with dizzying speed. Such is life
when you’re making broad — overly broad? — historical metaphors.) If your
preferences are anything like mine, the games that follow will be heaven for
you.
In fact, let me close this introduction with something of a personal plea. I’ve
noticed a reluctance on the part of many diehard Infocom fans to give what came
afterward a fair shake. I do understand that nostalgia is a big part of the
reason people read sites like this one and play the games that are featured
here, and there’s nothing inherently wrong with that. Although I do try very
hard to keep nostalgia out of my own game criticism, I firmly believe that no
reason to play a game is ever a wrong one, as long as you’re enjoying yourself.
And yet I also believe, and with equal firmness, that the games you’ll find
below aren’t just as good as those of Infocom: in a lot of ways, they’re
superior. There’s nothing postmodern or pretentious or precious here (all of
these being labels I’ve heard applied to other strands of post-Infocom
interactive fiction as a reason for not engaging with it), just good clean
old-school fun, generally absent the worst old-school annoyances. Please do
consider giving one or more of these games a try, if you happen to be a fan of
Infocom who hasn’t yet explored what came afterward. Nostalgia is all well and
good, but sometimes it’s nice to make new memories."
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
