IF works

Netflix is calling Bandersnatch an "interactive movie," however, it's difficult to not associate it with video games like Telltale's The Walking Dead, or Quantic Dream's Detroit Become Human. While the characters in games are digital avatars, the story-driven dynamic in Bandersnatch is the same - every decision you make creates new possibilities for your character that will determine how his or her story unfolds, eventually leading to a variety of endings. Each unique outcome depends on pivotal decisions you make throughout the story. If you're not an experienced gamer, don't worry - Netflix does a solid job of explaining how the experience works. Before Bandersnatch begins, you're given a brief tutorial on what to do using your remote, game controller, or touchscreen, depending on which device you're on. Once you get the hang of it, it's all very self explanatory.  Whenever you're about to make a decision that affects the narrative, there...

  Galatea alters the typical interactive fiction game mechanics by concentrating instead on the player's interactions with a single non-player character, the  Galatea. Much of the interest of the piece derives from the ambiguous nature of the player-NPC dialogue. The form of the conversation and, indeed, the nature of Galatea herself shift depending on the focus the player places on certain aspects of the character's personality. Numerous endings are possible. Gameplay centers around the developing dialogue between Galatea and the player when asking about topics in the previous conversation. Two commands, "think about" and "recap", are provided to keep track of what has already been said. The former is also used to advance the storyline, as the player character draws conclusions about the story as it has unfolded to that point. As a way to enhance immersion, the game also encourages using sensory commands (touch, sounds, looks,) adding a physical feeling to ...

     Unlike my past blogs where I review an Interactive Fiction game and provide a screen cast of me playing the work provided, today I will be reviewing the novel call Ready Player one.    Ready Player One  by Ernest Cline has an intriguing premise: a treasure hunt filled with puzzles and pop culture references in a massive virtual reality, multiplayer game. The world that Cline creates can appeal to many different types of audiences and has many different topics.   In  Ready Player One  people adopt avatars that can represent who they want to be, not how they actually are in reality. This tension between virtual worlds and reality runs throughout the book, and you could definitely read  Ready Player One  through a a enhanced lens about the nature of technology and reality. In this past year due to the pandemic, people have been more tethered than ever to technology, either with fearful Twitter or perpetual Zoom meet...