Photopia - An Introduction to Interactive Fiction

My goal: to spread the joys and wonder of good text adventures.

Not an incredibly hard task, but some text adventures will likely leave newcomers frustrated when they can't solve the puzzles.

Photopia is a great start for text adventuring. A linear plot with a twist, helpful hints along the way, and it's impossible to get stuck. It's a little short on interaction, though, and heavy on plot. Basically you just talk to people, walk around, do what the description says, etc. But it's a worthwhile game, and takes maybe 15-20 minutes (probably less) to complete. Many may want to replay it after the first time round to fit the puzzle pieces together.


==How It Begins==

(The game asks if you would like color and instructions. Someone suggests: "Let's tell a story together.")

You are some dude regaining consciousness after a day on the slopes and too much alcohol. It's after midnight. You're in your car and carrying nothing. Your buddy Rob is driving, speeding down Montgomery Boulevard. Perhaps you want Rob to stop or slow down or find out more about those chicks you two hooked up with. But before you can do anything, you see a red light.

Now you're Wendy Mackaye, first girl on the red planet. You are at the landing site in your spacesuit. An orbiter blew up, scattering pieces of itself and stuff for a new colony all over the landscape. Your mission is to find any piece of that equipment that's still functioning.

The Wikipedia article.

==Download==

Download here, unzip, and run .bat file.

Some players may want to read this post on how to play IF.