A Very Short Adventure

Making up an icon (for Dreamwidth's slightly more ample confines only) from a screen shot from "Get Lamp" to illustrate "adventure games" was fine and well, but I still don't seem to make a lot of time to play them. However, in continuing to follow the Planet IF aggregator, I somehow managed to hear about a tiny little game called "The Northnorth Passage," and spurred myself to at least try it, downloading the story file and starting one of my interpreters to begin a story where you're cursed to only move north. Once I'd played all the way through, I reflected on the intimations in the reviews that there was a different conclusion, but needed most of the "Invisiclues" politely included in a comment to figure out just what to do, after which it seemed obvious enough in the fashion of a bunch of other adventure games I've played.

I did get to thinking the "family curse" could have allowed for different responses before the inevitable conclusion, but a bit more looking did turn up the game was being programmed for a "three-hour competition." Having dipped a toe into the creation of text adventures with Inform, I do understand a bit better now how programming always takes more time than you think. The writing did impress me enough that the experience has stuck with me beyond the conclusions of the game.