newbie needs suggestions for what to play next

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I played Advent 25+ years ago, then restarted playing again a week or two ago.
I'm looking for suggestions of games that would help a newbie learn how to
play more recent games. These wouldn't neccessarily be the ones that people
talk about as especially innovative, unless they are also "suitable for
newbies" - don't require years of prior playing before one knows the
conventions that make it relatively easy to make progress.

I've played Ad Verbum, Dreamhold, and Photopia through to the end (two ends in
Dreamhold's case). I started on Curses and Christminster, but bogged down
fairly quickly. I've installed WinFrotz and am willing to do similarly for
other authoring systems.

Any suggestions?
--
"Yo' ideas need to be thinked befo' they are say'd" - Ian Lamb, age 3.5
http://www.cs.queensu.ca/~dalamb/ qucis->cs to reply (it's a long story...)
 

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David Alex Lamb wrote:
> I played Advent 25+ years ago, then restarted playing again a week or
two ago.
> I'm looking for suggestions of games that would help a newbie learn
how to
> play more recent games. These wouldn't neccessarily be the ones that
people
> talk about as especially innovative, unless they are also "suitable
for
> newbies" - don't require years of prior playing before one knows the
> conventions that make it relatively easy to make progress.
>
> I've played Ad Verbum, Dreamhold, and Photopia through to the end
(two ends in
> Dreamhold's case). I started on Curses and Christminster, but bogged
down
> fairly quickly. I've installed WinFrotz and am willing to do
similarly for
> other authoring systems.
>
> Any suggestions?

Some of my picks. For new style games, last year's IF Comp winner --
Slouching Towards Bedlam -- is great on many levels and doesn't really
require you to be a genius puzzle solver. Outstanding setting and
great choices required of the player. It's also relatively quick. From
this year's comp, All Things Devours is another excellent game that
will keep you going until you reach the end, as long as you don't mind
dying a few times to get the point. And if you want a classic-style
game that's very new, Isle of the Cult, just released last week, is
enjoyable. If you want a breeze through IF culture, play Stephen
Bond's Cabal or Being Andrew Plotkin by J. Rob Wheeler, and if you want
a game where you can literally type "z" 57 times and still get the
story, play Bond's Rameses. For a monster game that will keep you
occupied a long time, Mulldoon Legacy by Jon Ingold. Or Anchorhead --
not quite as large -- by Michael Gentry. Varicella by Adam Cadre is
another winner (each of the last 3 are difficult, but great games).
They're all available at the IF archive, easiest access through Baf's.
 
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City of Secrets is a good one for newbies; more plot than puzzles, but
that means it's difficult to get stuck.



On 30 Dec 2004 22:54:19 GMT, dalamb@qucis.queensu.ca (David Alex Lamb)
wrote:

>I played Advent 25+ years ago, then restarted playing again a week or two ago.
>I'm looking for suggestions of games that would help a newbie learn how to
>play more recent games. These wouldn't neccessarily be the ones that people
>talk about as especially innovative, unless they are also "suitable for
>newbies" - don't require years of prior playing before one knows the
>conventions that make it relatively easy to make progress.
>
>I've played Ad Verbum, Dreamhold, and Photopia through to the end (two ends in
>Dreamhold's case). I started on Curses and Christminster, but bogged down
>fairly quickly. I've installed WinFrotz and am willing to do similarly for
>other authoring systems.
>
>Any suggestions?
 
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Archived from groups: rec.games.int-fiction (More info?)

David Alex Lamb wrote:
> I played Advent 25+ years ago, then restarted playing again a week or
> two ago. I'm looking for suggestions of games that would help a
> newbie learn how to play more recent games. These wouldn't
> neccessarily be the ones that people talk about as especially
> innovative, unless they are also "suitable for newbies" - don't
> require years of prior playing before one knows the conventions that
> make it relatively easy to make progress.
>
> I've played Ad Verbum, Dreamhold, and Photopia through to the end
> (two ends in Dreamhold's case). I started on Curses and
> Christminster, but bogged down fairly quickly. I've installed
> WinFrotz and am willing to do similarly for other authoring systems.
>
> Any suggestions?

One that might not get mentioned much is "Not Much Time" from a Comp 02.
It's not earth-shaking or innovative like some others people have mentioned
(which you should play!) but it's fun and funny and quick and good for
people just getting into the conventions of IF. (It's TADS, which will open
up a lot of great games to you.)

http://wurb.com/if/game/1912

Jess K.
 
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In article <nl0bt01933lscr7punuk51eph3hi8cmb55@4ax.com>,
Jacqueline H. <lumin_orb@hotmail.com> wrote:
>City of Secrets is a good one for newbies; more plot than puzzles, but
>that means it's difficult to get stuck.

Thanks; I downloaded both CoS and Glulxe. It seems like it might be a good
example of highly conversational games, which I wasn't familiar with before.
--
"Yo' ideas need to be thinked befo' they are say'd" - Ian Lamb, age 3.5
http://www.cs.queensu.ca/~dalamb/ qucis->cs to reply (it's a long story...)
 
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In article <33vv93F426upnU1@individual.net>,
Jess Knoch <jessicaknoch@mindspring.com> wrote:
>One that might not get mentioned much is "Not Much Time" from a Comp 02.
>It's not earth-shaking or innovative like some others people have mentioned
>(which you should play!) but it's fun and funny and quick and good for
>people just getting into the conventions of IF. (It's TADS, which will open
>up a lot of great games to you.)
>
>http://wurb.com/if/game/1912
>
>Jess K.
>

Thanks. I downloaded TADS already for Isle of the Cult, recommended by
another poster, and will try Not Much Time later.
--
"Yo' ideas need to be thinked befo' they are say'd" - Ian Lamb, age 3.5
http://www.cs.queensu.ca/~dalamb/ qucis->cs to reply (it's a long story...)