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Re:Text-only video game shows how genre can be beautiful, in... by nhaehnle on Thursday January 22, 2015 @03:10PM (#8931438)
As somebody who isn't much into gaming, let alone IF, the game that really drove home the point that IF can be awesome is Violet. You can play it online here: http://pr-if.org/play/violet/

(Of course, as is usual with fiction and culture in general, what we enjoy always reflects on ourselves. There is delicious irony in my having played Violet as a distraction during my own PhD...)

Re:Text-only video game shows how genre can be beautiful, in... by mintplant on Thursday January 22, 2015 @08:26PM (#8932918)
For those new to IF, I like to recommend Photopia [1] as a second game. It's less traditional in format, but it's a great example of the kind of storytelling that the medium can support. Shrapnel [2] is another game somewhat along these lines, but it takes things in a different direction.

Once you know your way around the command parser, I suggest Anchorhead [3]--especially if you're a Lovecraft fan--for the richness of the atmosphere it creates. Slouching Towards Bedlam [4] is another good entry in the mystery/horror genre, featuring steampunk themes.

More games, plus ratings, collections, and reviews, can be found on IFDB [5].

EDIT: The Act of Misdirection [6] deserves a mention, too. Another horror(-ish?) game, and the one that got me hooked on IF after Zork and Adventure.

[1] http://adamcadre.ac/if/photopia.html

[2] http://iplayif.com/?story=http://mirror.ifarchive.org/if-arc...

[3] http://pr-if.org/play/anchorhead/

[4] http://ifdb.tads.org/viewgame?id=032krqe6bjn5au78

[5] http://ifdb.tads.org/

[6] http://iplayif.com/?story=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ifarchive.org%2Fi...

Re:Text-only video game shows how genre can be beautiful, in... by ropable on Thursday January 22, 2015 @11:42PM (#8933434)
A wholehearted +1 for both Phototopia and Anchorhead - these are both excellent examples of IF. It should be noted that Photopia is much easier and shorter, being more of a slightly interactive short story (but what a story!) Anchorhead is much tougher to play through, though very rewarding.