The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Interactive Fiction (IF) describes what used to be called text-adventure games. Classics like the original ZORK series (why has there never been an RPG of that?), ADVENTURE and the HUNT THE WUMPUS are well known among computer game enthusiasts, but less well known is the fact that high-end graphics hasn't killed off the medium. Fans of the genre are still creating IF and making it available as freeware, and a yearly competition helps sort the wheat from the chaff. I hope to review a few examples of quality IF, to add to that sorting process, and because there's a lot of common ground between roleplaying and IF.

I'm getting to the review soon, honestly.

Early IF was typified by the cavern crawl, with a series of obstacles to be overcome, traps, mazes and fearsome monsters abounding. Magical items and limitless inventories were common elements. Since then, IF has matured, exploring science-fiction, conspiracies, espionage, comedy, and retro-cave crawls. HUNTER, IN DARKNESS is one of the latter.

HUNTER is loosely based on HUNT THE WUMPUS, which admittedly I have never played, but I understand was a formulaic maze you stalked with a crossbow and a few arrows hunting an angry Wumpus. On its most basic level HUNTER follows this plot, but it also subverts it. The Wumpus is now intelligent, the showdown a battle of wits, not swords. The token pit and semi-maze don't feel contrived; they're logically integrated into both the cave and the storyline. Directions aren't the usual compass directions; instead it's a more intuitive forwards, back, left, right, up and down.

And Plotkin's writing is so descriptive it makes graphics redundant. GMs take note, not a bare 10 x 10 stone corridor in sight; instead there are flowstone pillars, ravines, canyons and stalactites splashed with calcite. While standing on a narrow ledge, "You try not to feel like it's angled slightly outward." A memorable crawl made me feel genuinely claustrophobic. The Wumpus is barely described, yet easy to picture, at first it's little more than a shadow and a smell, tiny details gathered throughout the hunt gradually adding up to a bigger picture.

The game itself is short and most of the obstacles overcome with a little thought. I'm shockingly bad at puzzles, but I only needed one nudge in the right direction, which a post to the newsgroup rec.games.int-fiction sorted out. There's still a feeling of overcoming tremendous odds when you finish the game, I felt like Indiana Jones hauling himself out of the cavern, filthy, bloody, yet victorious.

Applications for roleplayers should be obvious. I took some notes as I played and ran it as a diceless game for one of my players (with a few simplifications and modifications) and it worked like a dream. If you're in the mood for running a souped-up dungeon crawl there's a wealth of ideas here to be scavenged, and it's a damn fine game even for those who don't feel the need to rip it off.

If you want a copy of HUNTER, it comes as a Z-code file which can be used on any computer. Look in the ftp archive at ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/games/zcode/ for huntdark.z5 and any other IF that takes your fancy. You'll also need a Z-code interpreter to play the game. Different interpreters are available at the archive for different OSs, if you're a Windows schmuck like me I reccommend WinFrotz. And if you should get stuck, ask the friendly folks on rec.games.int-fiction for a hand.

Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Hunter, In Darkness
Author: Andrew Plotkin (writing as Dave Ahl Jr.) Category: Computer Game (Interactive Fiction) Company/Publisher: n/a Line: Interactive Fiction Cost: Free Page count: n/a Playtest Review by Jody Macgregor on 07/20/00. Genre tags: Fantasy	Interactive Fiction (IF) describes what used to be called text-adventure games. Classics like the original ZORK series (why has there never been an RPG of that?), ADVENTURE and the HUNT THE WUMPUS are well known among computer game enthusiasts, but less well known is the fact that high-end graphics hasn't killed off the medium. Fans of the genre are still creating IF and making it available as freeware, and a yearly competition helps sort the wheat from the chaff. I hope to review a few examples of quality IF, to add to that sorting process, and because there's a lot of common ground between roleplaying and IF. I'm getting to the review soon, honestly. Early IF was typified by the cavern crawl, with a series of obstacles to be overcome, traps, mazes and fearsome monsters abounding. Magical items and limitless inventories were common elements. Since then, IF has matured, exploring science-fiction, conspiracies, espionage, comedy, and retro-cave crawls. HUNTER, IN DARKNESS is one of the latter. HUNTER is loosely based on HUNT THE WUMPUS, which admittedly I have never played, but I understand was a formulaic maze you stalked with a crossbow and a few arrows hunting an angry Wumpus. On its most basic level HUNTER follows this plot, but it also subverts it. The Wumpus is now intelligent, the showdown a battle of wits, not swords. The token pit and semi-maze don't feel contrived; they're logically integrated into both the cave and the storyline. Directions aren't the usual compass directions; instead it's a more intuitive forwards, back, left, right, up and down. And Plotkin's writing is so descriptive it makes graphics redundant. GMs take note, not a bare 10 x 10 stone corridor in sight; instead there are flowstone pillars, ravines, canyons and stalactites splashed with calcite. While standing on a narrow ledge, "You try not to feel like it's angled slightly outward." A memorable crawl made me feel genuinely claustrophobic. The Wumpus is barely described, yet easy to picture, at first it's little more than a shadow and a smell, tiny details gathered throughout the hunt gradually adding up to a bigger picture. The game itself is short and most of the obstacles overcome with a little thought. I'm shockingly bad at puzzles, but I only needed one nudge in the right direction, which a post to the newsgroup rec.games.int-fiction sorted out. There's still a feeling of overcoming tremendous odds when you finish the game, I felt like Indiana Jones hauling himself out of the cavern, filthy, bloody, yet victorious. Applications for roleplayers should be obvious. I took some notes as I played and ran it as a diceless game for one of my players (with a few simplifications and modifications) and it worked like a dream. If you're in the mood for running a souped-up dungeon crawl there's a wealth of ideas here to be scavenged, and it's a damn fine game even for those who don't feel the need to rip it off. If you want a copy of HUNTER, it comes as a Z-code file which can be used on any computer. Look in the ftp archive at ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/games/zcode/ for huntdark.z5 and any other IF that takes your fancy. You'll also need a Z-code interpreter to play the game. Different interpreters are available at the archive for different OSs, if you're a Windows schmuck like me I reccommend WinFrotz. And if you should get stuck, ask the friendly folks on rec.games.int-fiction for a hand. Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Hunter, In Darkness