Favorite sort of IF & exception

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1.) What is your favorite sort of IF? (Can be multiple answers.)
2.) What great exception(s) do you like?

Me:
1.) Parser, Fantasy, game complexity, easy puzzles, short games, terse room descriptions.

2.) Anchorhead (not short, not terse.)
Orc life sim (I keep forgetting its name) (not parser)
A mind forever voyaging (not fantasy.)

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  1. I tend to prefer choice IF these days as a player (not as an author). Storylet structures in particular really interest me. Tonally, I tend to prefer quote-unquote ā€œseriousā€ games with a focus on narrative.
  2. The entire Infocom canon, though Iā€™m mainly interested in those games as ā€œliterary texts.ā€ So maybe that isnā€™t an exception after all! Still, it shouldnā€™t be a surprise that A Mind Forever Voyaging is my favorite of the lot.

Other: I also enjoy thinking about the development of narrative games over the years, especially considering the role 1980s adventure games played in that evolution.

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An Unexpectedly Green Journey - FOR THE HORDE, PETER! :wink:

1.) I like terse IF, but not caveman speak. No play beyond a failed state. Lots of synonyms for parsers. Puzzles that donā€™t require great stretches of the imagination (no MacGyver shit). Stories focused on ideas/concepts, not people. RPG elements welcomed. Fewer areas to travel (mapping not absolutely required). Secret optional content. Exploration of the rooms.

2.) Iā€™m not a voracious IF player. I played the same Orc game as Peter did and enjoyed aspects of it. I recently played though A Dark Room and liked it quite a bit. The game always surprised me with how the gameplay evolved, but itā€™s way too long and complex for my usual taste. I like thoughtful and simple, typically.

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first and foremost, exploring. whose isnā€™t map size, but also item/static/furniture/description and finding hidden details.

on genre, my favorite (being an historianā€¦) is timetravel and historical settings.

Best regards from Italy,
dott. Piergiorgio.

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My favorite games tend to be character-focused and have a solid narrative arc.
Exceptions: Dual Transform, Andrew Schultzā€™s Prime Pro-Rhyme Row series

My favorite games also tend to be fairly short and narrowly focused.
Exception: Repeat the Ending

My favorite games all have some sort of speculative element. So far I havenā€™t found any exceptions to this.

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My favourite games are all pretty much long, puzzly parser games.
Exceptions being games such as Dr Ludwig and the Devil (not long), The Gift of What You Notice More (not parser), and Eat Me (okay, not that puzzly).

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  1. Parser based; small to medium in size; high puzzle density; puzzles may be easy to hard, but I like the ones that force you to think; concise room descriptions; good story development; any theme, but objects, object placement and descriptions should be consistent and in character with the theme and time period.

  2. I liked some of the point ā€˜nā€™ click adventures from the 1990s when 16-bit computers were becoming popular.

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  1. For choice and parser, I want something that has good story and good gameplay/puzzles/powerups etc. Itā€™s harder to do so for choice-based I think. Which is why I rated Little Match Girl 4 the highest. I am impressed by A Beauty Cold and Austere and Counterfeit Monkey- I have yet to fully see everything, and already I know that these fit the bill.

  2. Not so sure yet. Still exploring.

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