Archived from groups: rec.games.int-fiction (
More info?)
In article <avdfc0di22g97cgrptbcconqi5a7rg09bd@4ax.com> PaulCsouls <paulcsouls@worldnet.att.net> writes:
>On 8 Jun 2004 21:13:27 -0700, juuitchan@hotmail.com wrote:
>>I have played many IF games and it seems I always get stuck. It's as
>>if I have to read the author's mind to get on with the game.
Actually, you're right. Sometimes you do basically have to think exactly
like the game author did in order to solve a puzzle.
>>Personally, I think that "wurm.z5" (a Z-code version of the classic
>>"snake" video game) is better than any IF I have ever played.
You've played "many IF games" and think wurm.z5 is the better than all
of them? Wow. Maybe you picked all poor games to start with or something
because there are a bunch of games far better than some abuse of the
Z-machine. I think I posted these in a recent thread, but check out
these sites which have ratings, reviews, classifications, etc. of games:
http://www.wurb.com/if/index.html
http://www.igs.net/~tril/if/best/index.html
http://emshort.home.mindspring.com/literacy.htm
http://www.carouselchain.com/if/statistics.php
I have them all linked up on one of my web pages and they should provide
you with a lot of information on the games and help you pick some good
ones to play. Make sure you try some of the games that are generally
considered some of the best before you give up on IF.
>>I don't understand how anyone can have the mindset required to solve
>>many IF games.
Well, it's true that it does help to have a certain mindset to play and
enjoy IF. I don't think it's a requirement, but it often helps to think
in particular ways. I think you can learn that by practice and playing
a bunch of games. Things like examining everything and taking everything
that's not nailed down are common IF practices that you wouldn't do in
real life. Once you get a feel for IF, you should pick up on these sorts
of things and it should become slightly easier. But if you've given IF a
fair try and don't like it, that's fine. No problems here. Of course
almost everyone here is a fan of IF though.
>Cheating is part of the game.
This is true. It is often difficult if not impossible to avoid getting
stuck in IF games. That's when you need help from hints, walkthroughs,
a second opinion (get a friend to play along) or whatever. Because
sometimes you do have to think exactly like the author, as already
mentioned, don't feel bad about getting help. I think we've all done
so at one point or another. You just *don't* think exactly like
someone else so it's pretty much inevitable that you'll need help.
>I give up after a couple of days on a
>puzzle and look for hints on the web.
I guess I do something similar. I try for a while, leave it, come back
to it later, try again, and when I finally get frustrated, go looking
for help. I do like hint systems built in to the game because I can
read the first few, see they're things I already know/did, and work up
to the hint that's got something new, then stop and try it again.
Sometimes that's all I need, that one missing piece that I just keep
overlooking.
>I really hate when you can screw
>up and can't win or go on for while before you figure it out. Then you
>have to start all over again.
Yeah, those are pretty bad. But isn't there an idea that games should
be coded so that you can't unknowingly get into an unwinnable state?
That you should get some sort of warning or indication that what you
want to do may be a bad move? I thought I read about that before.
--
. . . . -- James Marshall (ORI) * ,
,. -- )-- , , . -- )-- , marshall@astro.umd.edu
' '
http://www.astro.umd.edu/~marshall '''
"Astronomy is a dyslexic's nightmare." , *
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