That Sweet Old Mr. Plimptons Performance

That Sweet Old Mr. Plimptons Performance

These 3 pieces we looked at are all different forms of interactive fiction than we have looked at before this. These pieces are not considered games nor anything like games, they are more like art forms or stories that are being told with images and some words.  In that Sweet Old Etcetera you can watch the leaves fall the colors change and watch a poem by e.e Cummings, it combines traditional literature with "new" technology like adobe flash( even tho its been around for  a while still newer than writing)... These forms of literature are very interesting because they are allowing us to one look at old works in new ways and create new works that will give us a better way to express ourselves and to communicate with others. I quite enjoyed the water colors that they had near the end of the peice as well. In Mr. Plimptons revenge the story is most likely fiction and is a interesting story but it is more intriguing of how its told. It allows you to actually have a a visual of the area he was in along with pictures and images allowing you to be further immersed within the story. I love google map stories after being exposed to this because they in my opinion gives you a far better way to see and experience the world. This is because you can view what is read whats happening and then view where it is happening, allowing you to get a feel for the time and space of the area maybe even letting you say hey i was there before and imagine what happend in the story at that area and if it was like your experience at the same place. Also this peice is extremely interesting because it is actually published!WHat? a published google map essay !! That is just awesome to me a work of literature that is not traditional but is published, just awesome. Finally the final performance, what do I say about this peice, .. loud at the beginning, when i first turned it on the horse made me jump. Its odd the way to "read" it is kind of difficult you have to try to interpret it in your own way, you can explore the way to flows and moves by reading it, it meshes sound images, dancing, and words quite lovely but the best way to understand how it all comes together is just to explore it for yourself. All of these pieces are just click and read pretty much but they are simple and that's what makes them lovely, they all aren't in depth works but rather just simple stories combined with a computer to create something truly beautiful.

9:05

9:05 

This piece is a different kind of work than what we have seen so far, one it is far shorter than any I've seen, two I didn't realize that I had reached the end when I did because it was so abrupt, I had to play through and look up a few guides to realize I had actually reached one of the endings, that I had committed a crime and got caught by my boss I suppose. I looked in the trunk of my car and I had a stereo and a TV set, the character said it was a pretty good haul meaning I stole them from a store I suppose. The story seemed like a fairly simple one at first and it seemed to get more and more complicated as it went on, but in the end it became clear and that 9:05 was just about a thief who gets caught. It is possible that you can escape, for example one of the endings I just kept going on the highway and the game ended. This game also had a few interesting aspects of it, you can check the time by reading the watch, it also allows you to do bodily functions such as using the toilet, and showering.  It seemed like a different kind of game, instead of going on an adventure, or being a hero of a game, you just wake up and try to get to work. Part of the beauty of this game is that it is very short, proving that for interactive fiction you don't need a 5 hour play through to have fun you can have a few short play throughs with multiple outcomes. I would consider this work less of a game and more of a work of Interactive fictions, more like a short story. The game really doesn't move along until you continue through it,even though the time ticks away you still aren't hurried along i tried to wait for a long time but nothing happened. All in all this game was a fun little work, not my favorite and not my least favorite, it was easy short and fairly entertaining, it intrigued you to play through it more than once even if just to see if you could get a different outcome. Definitely one worth looking at and worth a few play throughs.

-Adam Feather

Leather Goddeses of Phobos

Leather Goddesses of Phobos

In this interactive fiction it gives a different kind of feel than the traditional ones, or at least the ones that we have looked at so far. In this piece you are in space, so already a little different. It also allows you to pick your gender which is innovative for the time. However this game is far different than any other game that had ever been released, this game had a setting where you chose how .. well lets say vulgar the text was. Or how sexy it got, if you wanted a more "interactive" experience you could choose the setting Lewd, in which case the game would accept more vulgar words and would give you more vulgar choices. It was supposed to be a more sexy version of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, according to the creator of the piece. It begins with the player having been abducted by the Leather Goddesses for the final testing of the plan which will enslave all of humanity. Unless this nefarious plan is stopped, the Earth will be turned into these twisted vixens' pleasure dome. Despite the player's possible motives, this outcome is considered to be the bad outcome. The game allows you to explore both the physical world and your sex fantasies.... I mean your inner desires... well I guess there isn't a great way to say it, but it is a sex farce game. With adventure and comedy. My experience playing the game was well interesting to say the least, I was a bit lost on where I was supposed to go until i found Trent, then I realized what I was supposed to do.The game definitely had interesting things going on with later parts of it. I found it interesting what all comands you could give rather than just the regular comands like kill the game understood a whole assortment of comands, such as kiss and hug, and more "lewd" words Id rather not say. It was one of Info cons best selling games and and gave people a different look on what Interactive Fictions could become, you know if you're into that sort of Lewd Acts. Overall the game I thought was a interesting turn that these games took, it allowed the user more customizing because it allowed you to choose your gender and it allowed the user to make good or bad choices like let the earth become sex slaves or not. For this i believe the game was a strong turning point into what video games today are like because even now they are filled with all sorts of things that Phobos displayed even the sexy bits.

Adam Feather