Frenemies: Or, I Won an Andy Phillips Game
An Interactive Tribute to the Games of Andy Phillips by B F Lindsay
and
Gone Out for Gruyère
An Interactive Fiction by B F Lindsay
Having really enjoyed Bill F. Lindsay’s Bullhockey games (1, 2), I offered to beta test his two entries to IFComp 2019, Frenemies and Gone Out for Gruyère. In my humble opinion, they both turned out really well!
The homage that is Frenemies does not only feature a die-hard fan who has filled his dorm room with objects from Andy Phillips’ games, but is also centered around a single puzzle that should make Phillips proud. Of the games alluded to in Frenemies, I have only played Inside Woman, which is without doubt the longest and most difficult game I have completed. The main puzzle in Frenemies is possible to solve in five minutes, but more likely to take you close to two hours of tears and frustration, followed by a deep and fulfilling sense of accomplishment. If the game were significantly larger, I would have probably regarded this puzzle as too clever, but as it stands more or less alone in a one-room game, I think it’s just perfect. The writing is mostly excellent, though the humour a bit juvenile at times, while the protagonist carries some of the naïve, self-mocking touch that characterised Tom from the Bullhockey games.
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Gone Out for Gruyère, on the other hand, is based on one of the most silly, crazy and absurd premises I have encountered in an IF. It’s also much easier than Frenemies; here I ultimately find the writing and the humour more essential than the puzzles. And with a talking cheese that mocks your every move as its antagonist, it is very funny.
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