I'd Better Review My Zork

On October 27th at Kelly Writer's House at Penn in Philadelphia, I'll be hosting an interactive fiction event, “Interaction Fiction Walkthroughs.” When I agreed to serve in this role, I didn't realize that I'd also be the primary guinea pig — the interactor with the three works involved. Daniel Ravipinto and Star C. Foster will presenting “Slouching towards Bedlam,” the Winner of the 2003 IF Competition and of four 2003 XYZZY Awards, Nick Montfort will presenting his “Book and Volume,” a new work, in its premiere reading, and Emily Short will be presenting “Savoir-Faire,” the winner of four 2002 XYZZY Awards. I'll have to spend some time reviewing the basics of IF. The truth is that when I play these works, I usually end up spending most of my time typing curse words after I can't figure out how to use the screwdriver I picked up to open the door I'm locked behind. Hopefully I'll have a little time to play around with these things beforehand to at least feign some marginal capability of deciphering IF puzzles, as the entertainment value of watching a bald man pull out his nonexistent hair is decidedly questionable.