Video series on Interactive Fiction (Episode 3: Counterfeit Monkey)

EDIT: I’ve slightly changed this thread’s title and I will post all episode updates here, so I don’t scatter them around the forum every time.


Hiya,

Not exactly an essay nor a review, but Arcweave just released the pilot episode for a YouTube series on IF—and I’m writing and presenting it. Depending on how many crickets we’ll hear, we’ll keep it up. :partying_face:

Any thoughts welcome.

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Brilliant. Very professional production.

I’m now intrigued to see how such a complex story line could be implemented in a parser-based game.

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Thank you!!!

You mean you haven’t played it? I’m so happy I didn’t include spoilers!!! :innocent:

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I’ll have to watch this tonight, when I have time…

Of course the storyline was designed for a parser-based game! That is, I started by thinking up player-parser interactions, and then came up with a story that made use of them. That’s how I write IF, in general.

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Well… Almost anything one can meaningfully say about Spider and Web (beyond “It’s awesome, you should play it!”) is spoilery. From the moment you mention the unreliable narrator at the very start of the video, you’re already giving away a lot.

But it would be impossible to talk about one of the strongest pieces of IF (still.) without, well, you know… saying something about it.

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True, that’s why I intentionally stayed at the very first scene and the unreliability as it plays out there.

And that’s part of what makes the story well designed: we get the setup of the unreliable narrator at the very beginning. Consistency—but not without surprise!

By the way, I recently listened to Inkle’s podcast, the episode that mentions Spider and Web, and was very shocked to hear them kinda-giving away the solution of the puzzle! Shame shame! :hushed: Of course the game is 20 years old, but… ouch!

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Please do keep it up :slightly_smiling_face:
So much potential for analysis of plot, etc.

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It is wonderful, amazing work. I have visualized the video two times but as you speack so fast I can’t barely understand all the message. I am unable to read subtitles when activated, at normal speed.
The video graphics and the explanation are great both.
I also want more of this reviews.

  • Jade
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Sorry to hear that! That’s me trying to keep the video short! (I actually haven’t checked if subtitles work.) :innocent:

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I’ve watched several times and I catch up the info. I wan’t to play Spider and Web so I have started now and I will go on after comps. Thank you a lot for the video.

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Hey all, we just released the 2nd episode, on 80 Days:

As always, all comments welcome. :blush:

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I have played three times and this game is a bit “try and error”
I think the game is awesome, if you get involved you can play it for a long time trying a lot of options.
The video is very impressive with all that flashes that illustrate very fine your review.
Thanks a lot.

  • Jade
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I completed it twice; one took me 81 days (as the video illustrates) because of a silly last minute delay and the second was much faster, with more calculated trading. :laughing:

I started a third one, attempting to go through the poles, but I haven’t proceeded much.

Thank you for the kind comment!

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Another brilliant production.

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First of all, let me say that I’m loving this series, so please keep it up.

However:

  1. In English, the city in Germany is pronounced “Myoo-nick” (Munich) or you can use the German pronunciation “Moon-hen” (Munchen).
  2. I counted at least seven uses of the word “master” to describe Fogg’s status. In both the book and game, Fogg is the employer of Passepourtout, not his “master,” even if a valet (or butler) was referred to as a “servant.” Furthermore, Passepourtout is himself a well-traveled explorer already, meaning he is a man of some status, hardly a “working-class laborer”.
  3. Passepourtout means “skeleton key” in French rather than the more literal “key that opens every door.”
  4. Not really sure making fun of French accents is all that funny.

Can’t wait to see the next installment!

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I always read it as a respectful tongue-in-cheek term of affection, like a nickname, since Fogg is “in charge” of the entire mission and calling the shots even though the PC is the one carrying out his wishes and keeping him safe. Like I might deferentially say “All right, Chief, what’s next?” or “All right Boss, what’s next?” even if that person were not actually my superior.

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Um…while you could make an argument that the language should be updated, it is consistent with Verne’s novel, in which Passepartout (note Verne’s and inkle’s spelling, btw) consistently refers to Fogg as his “master” and no variant of “employer” appears even once for their relationship.

Thank you all so much for watching! And for all the comments!

I’m not sure, but I have the impression I picked up “master” from the game’s text. I may be wrong.

As far as “Munich” is concerned, I expect myself to unintentionally butcher many more words in future episodes. I had a tough time with the word “valet,” too; I was never sure how to pronounce it, even after googling the British and American accents. That’s part of not being a native English-speaker.

Does speaking in French count as “French accent?” :innocent: But, I see your point. The question is probably how funny is relying on clichés. I hope I don’t do it too much.

Again, thanks everyone for the support! I really enjoy the process of making the vids—and it puts me in a mindset of playing more IF.

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As far as I know, the German pronunciation of München does not resemble “moon-hen” very much. :smiley: German “u” is indeed pronounced as English “oo”, but München is written with a “ü”, which is a sound that is hard to transcribe in English but is certainly not the “oo”. Meanwhile the “ch” is pronounced like the “ch” in Scottish “loch”.

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Actually (also as far as I know, but Wikipedia agrees with me), in the case of München, the “ch” is pronounced more like “sch”, but a bit different. It’s difficult to give an English equivalent since according to Wikipedia, only 5% of languages has this sound. Apparetly it’s a bit like UK English “hue”?

See Near-close near-front rounded vowel - Wikipedia for the “ü” Voiceless palatal fricative - Wikipedia for the “ch” of "München.

And this audio file for the whole pronunciation the whole word. (Really, Wikipedia is great! :smiley:)

(I guess it’s enough of off-topic for now.)

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