.Last Stop For Gas.

9:05, Lock & Key, and Varicella - Introducing Adam Cadre

2009-01-05T00:32:00.005-05:00

If you've played his Photopia, you already tried one of Adam's works. However, as I said, that game eschews interactivity in favor of a story. These next three games place more emphasis on the player's interaction with the environment, and are a great bit of fun.

==9:05==

This game is perhaps notorious for having one of the most surprising twist endings found in IF. It'll only take 10 minutes of your time, and is well worth the effort. The premise:

"It's 9:05 when the phone rings. Last night was exhausting. You wake up on the bed still wearing clothing (now soiled) and a gold watch. Elsewhere in the bedroom, you see dirty laundry, a dresser (containing cleaner clothing), and an endtable (on which are a telephone, a closed wallet, and some keys). The bathroom is south, and the living room is east.

The phone rings. "

==Lock & Key==

A fantastic escape-the-dungeon game. Can't give too much away about it, but try it out.

You are locked in a cell.

This in and of itself is not a new thing: spending a little time behind bars every now and again is one of the hazards of the job. But up until now it's been for little 50-crown and 100-crown jobs out in the countryside, and you've ended up in decrepit little gaols that managed to hold you for, what, a minute? Possibly two? This, though, this is different. You thought you'd try one last job, land one big score: five thousand crowns. And now you're the newest resident of King Tyrak II's deepest, darkest dungeon. Scream all you like: no one will be coming to rescue you. No one will even be coming to feed you. If you ever want to see the sun again, you will have to pull off an audacious escape — and soon.

==Varicella==

Arguably Adam's strongest work, and one of the best games I've ever played, and one of the funnest. Why? Because your job is to off your rivals on your way to the throne. You've be restarting a lot on this one.

"It's like juggling 24 things, eight of them being axes, and eight being live kittens."—Jennifer Earl

From the game's first screen:

You are Primo Varicella, Palace Minister at the Palazzo del Piemonte. This title is unlikely to impress anyone. Piedmont is the laughingstock of the Carolingian League, and the Palace Ministry has devolved into little more than a glorified (and not even especially glorified) butlership: your duties include organizing banquets, overseeing the servants, and greeting visitors. It is safe to assume that the War Minister and the Coffers Minister lose little sleep over your presence in the King's Cabinet.

But Charles Martel was a Palace Minister, and he turned back the Moors at Tours lo these many years ago. His son Pepin was a Palace Minister, and he became King of the Franks. It is not unprecedented for Palace Ministers to make something of themselves. One might even say it is tradition. All you need is an opportunity.

And that opportunity is now.

King Charles was not an old king. Indeed, he had a good forty years left in him. Perhaps even fifty. But an assassin's bullet or a well-placed icepick can steal fifty years in less time than it takes to say the words. And a sudden illness? An illness such as the one King Charles contracted two days ago? Perhaps not as quick, but just as effective. For if this letter you've just received is correct, just such a disease has claimed the life of the King. This leaves the principality in the hands of his son, Prince Charles. Prince Charles is five years old. Piedmont, it seems, will be requiring the services of a regent for the foreseeable future. And you can think of no better candidate than yourself.

Of course, you shall scarcely be alone in seeking the position. The King's Cabinet is not a small body. And your fellow ministers will no doubt try all sorts of unseemly tactics in their quest for the throne. Some will try bribery. Others will employ treachery. A few may even resort to brute force. But would Primo Varicella stoop to using one of these methods? Perish the thought! You're better than that. You shall employ all three.

It will be an uphill struggle, to say the least. Of those soon to be clamoring for the regency, you are among the lowest in rank. But you are not without a number of advantages. The drama to unfold will play out in the palace — your palace. Time is also on your side: at present, only you and the Queen know of the King's demise. And you've known of his illness for a couple of days now, days in which you've hatched a flawless plan. There should be little to stand in the way of your ascent to power so long as you put your plan into action immediately.

Or at least as soon as this manicure is finished. One must have one's priorities.

==Download==

Download links for all these games can all be found here, at Adam's website.

Violet

2009-01-02T18:45:00.002-05:00

So you've played Photopia, but that was more of a story than a game. This game, titled "Violet" , increases the game aspect with puzzles for the reader to solve, but still manages to keep the story in the foreground.

I found Violet to be an incredibly engaging game, one that was fairly easy but still kept the reader interested with its level of detail. "Violet" received first place in the 2008 IF Competition, so that's always a good sign. Check it out.

==Quick plot synopsis:==

The problem? You're a graduate student working on your dissertation, but you haven't gotten any writing done in months. Your girlfriend Violet has put her life on hold, waiting for you to finish, and she's getting fed up. If you don't get a thousand words written today, your relationship is over and she flies home to Australia. Unfortunately, your office is full of every kind of distraction, from the window overlooking campus hijinx to the computer on your desk, always ready to show you the latest blogs and web comics instead of your chapter-in-progress. So you have no choice but to shut out everything that's causing you distraction so that you can turn in a few hours of solid work for once." ~ Jayisgames

==Download==

Get the game here: Download Violet from the IF Archive.

You'll want the zblorb file. Please don't use the walkthrough, it's highly unlikely you'll need it.

Download the Frotz Interpreter here: Download the Frotz Interpreter.

Photopia - An Introduction to Interactive Fiction

2009-01-02T18:42:00.005-05:00

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.

Sadistical Logic Circuits

2009-01-02T18:29:00.000-05:00

The file is 3.3 Megs, a bit too large for an upload.

Download image here. (Right click and save link as instead of waiting for the image to load.)

Unfortunately, the right answer doesn't grant you a cookie.

Perhaps I'll incorporate this image into my online puzzle maze.

This link might help a bit:

Prologue

2009-01-02T00:22:00.000-05:00

"Look, the night. It's so bright...It'll blind you." -- Mae, Near Dark

Welcome to the world of Weber the insomniac, where I'll lead you into the depths of the internet and back, through the circles of interactive fiction, online gaming, and the best (and strangest) the net has to offer.

This isn't just about the W3, though, I'll batter y'all with a smattering of my favorite literature, music, and Tru-Life Tales (TM).

But wait, there's more! I'll also entertain you (hopefully) with a bunch of other random stuff I pick up through my daily travels.

See you around,

--Weber.