Re: FAQ?

[jeffmill@nr.infi.net (Jeff Miller)]

On Mon, 23 Mar 1998 13:01:51 -0500, jemeret@geocities.com wrote:

>Sorry, just a newbie lurker here looking for a FAQ.

It's posted often in this newsgroup, but you can also find it here:
     http://www.truespectra.com/~svanegmo/faq/

>FWIW, I'm a fan conceptually of IF games, but haven't had a chance to
>play any in years (tried a few recent titles but couldn't find anything
>compelling).  I've currently got what I think would be a fantastic IF
>game in my head at the moment, but then I've usually got several what I
>think would be fantastic game ideas in my head, so who knows....
>
>Anyway, while we're on the subject, can anyone suggestion any compelling
>(e.g., involving) IF titles I can download from somewhere?

Absolutely!  You're in the middle of a renaissance.

I don't know what you've got, so I'll start at the beginning.  If you
find I'm insulting your intelligence, just skip down to the games.

First, get an interpreter if you don't already have one.  There's two
that you'll want to start with: one for games written with TADS and
another for games written in Inform (there are other games written in
other languages, but these are the two most popular).


TADS -- ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/interpreters-other/tads/executables/
		All types of systems are supported.  Check out this 	
		document (found there) for more info: 		
		00ReadMeFirst-TADS

Inform -- For Win95, I like the Frotz interpreter 

ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/interpreters-infocom/frotz/WinFrotzR52.zip


	For Macs, I hear that Andrew Plotkin's MaxZip is great

ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/interpreters-infocom/zip/MaxZip-175.hqx

	For another system, check the index in the zip directory -- 
		there will be a port of zip for your system, I'm sure.

	(By the way, this interpreter can also play the old Infocom
	.dat files; however, only Zork has been released publicly. 
	You can still buy a collection of the others, but I'm not sure

	where to point you.  Check the faq for more info.)

Next, the GAMES:

Geez, where to start?  There are so many great ones.  Here's a few of
my personal favorites.

Inform Games:
	
	Curses!
	ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/games/infocom/curses.z5
	
	
		Curses! was the first game I played from the i-f
	archive three years ago.  
	I still haven't solved it (I refuse to look at the 
	solution), but don't let that stop you -- you'd miss out on
	what is arguably the best i-f game written.  It starts off 
	innocuously enough -- you, the last of the Meldrews, need
	to find a map of Paris stashed somewhere in your ancient 	
	house's attic before going on vacation (excuse me -- on 	
	holiday :-)  But there's much, much more going on, as you'll
	soon see.
	
	Christminster
	ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/games/infocom/minster.z5 

		Christminster ranks right up there with 
	Curses! as far as I'm concerned.  You begin the story
	as Christabel, a young Englishwoman, going to visit
	your brother at college, but soon find that he
	has disappeared under mysterious circumstances.  Like
	Curses!, Christminster has a richly detailed history and 
	sense of place which you'll need to learn (this is half the 
	fun) in order to solve the mystery.

	The Spider and the Web
	ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/games/infocom/Tangle.z5

		Andrew Plotkin's (author of A Change in the Weather 	
	[weather.z5] and So Far [SoFar.z8)) latest game.  And what a 
	game.  I don't want to say too much for fear of spoiling it, 
	but all is not as it seems ... at all.  The best of its genre,

	as far as I'm concerned.

TADS 
  	ADVENTIONS	games	
	ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/games/adventions/adventions.tar.gz
	
		An archive of .gam files (open the game file in your 	
	TADS interpreter to play) produced by Adventions.
	Adventions was an i-f company that tried to make 	
	i-f games commercially.  It eventually shut down, but not 	
	before they'd produced some GREAT stuff.  And, lucky for us,
	 they released it all publicly in Dec. 97.  Yahoo!

	ccr.game -- Colossal Cave Revisited
		A port of the classic that started it all. 
	
	uu1.gam -- The Unnkulian Unventures
		A hysterical pastiche of the dungeon crawl genre of 
		i-f.  The game isn't easy, but it's lots of fun.  

	uu2.gam -- Unnkulian Unventure 2: The Secret of Acme
		The sequel to uu1.  If you like uu1, you'll like this.

	onehalf.gam -- Unnkulia One-Half: The Salesman Triumphant
		A little promo game for Unnkulia Zero.  It's not hard 
		and, if you've played 1 and 2, playing from the 
		perspective of Acme is a nice twist.

	zero.gam -- Unnkulia Zero
		I haven't played this, but I've heard it's good.  It's
		included in the archive, so I thought I'd mention it.

		The prequel to uu1.

	rylvania.gam -- The Horror of Rylvania
		Simply the best gothic horror i-f there is.  Vampires
		and such.  

	legend.gam -- The Legend Lives!
		A science fiction epic, based far into the future
		of the Unnkulia universe.  It made quite a splash
		when it was released.  The level of detail, the
		expansiveness of the universe, the headiness of its 
		theme -- this is a great game.

Other TADS games
	
	John's Firewitch
	ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/games/tads/firwitch.zip
	
		John's Firewitch is a small self-executing TADS game.

	You need a PC to play it.  Though it's small, the puzzles 
	are very satisfying.  John has disappeared, raving about a 	
	fire witch and an ice wizard.  Things seem a bit amiss in his 
	apartment.  

	Lost New York
	ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/games/tads/lostny14.gam

		Lost New York is an sweeping look at New York's 
	history.  If you have any interest at all in the Big Apple, 	
	this is a fun way to become a part of its history.  (If you 
	register, btw, the manual is a great read),

	Uncle Zebulon's Will
	ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/games/tads/zebulon2.zip

		Uncle Zebulon's Will doesn't break any new ground; 
	still, I really enjoyed this small game (it was a competition 
	entry).  The puzzles were fairly easy, but the atmosphere
	really intregued me. 


Last, check out Baf's Guide to the I-F Archive.  He's rated over 200
games, though I think it's been a while since he updated.  Still, it's
a great resource.

	http://www.escape.com/~baf/if/if-guide.html

Whoops.  I overdid it.  I missed the part where you said you'd already
downloaded some games.  Sorry.  I went ahead, though, and left the
stuff about the interpreters in -- hell, I spent a half hour on this.
I might as well send it out to help someone.

Let us know what you like.

	Happy gaming,

	

                  Jeff Miller
                  jeffmill@nr.infi.net