Illuminated Lantern Publishing

The Ebb and Flow of the Tide to Appear at ELO 2008 Media Arts Show

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:22:18 -0600

This summer, THE EBB AND FLOW OF THE TIDE will appear as part of a juried Media Art Show held in conjunction with the Electronic Literature Organization's 2008 Conference, "Visionary Landscapes". TIDE was selected as one of the 44 works to appear, from among 151 applicants. Details of the conference are located here. Download and play TIDE here.

Slap That Fish Nominated for Three XYZZY Awards

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 12:32:15 -0600

I am pleased to announce that SLAP THAT FISH is a finalist for three XYZZY awards for 2007: Best Non-Player Characters, Best Puzzle (Beating the Shark), and Best Use of Medium. It is a great honor to be chosen as a finalist, and I am sincerely grateful for the recognition. SLAP THAT FISH is the first game I have written since 1893: A World's Fair Mystery to be nominated. (1893 was nominated for Best Setting and Best Game, and won for Best Setting).

Interactive Fiction as Contemporary Art

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 09:50:13 -0600

I have the good fortune to be able to travel to several of the great cities of the world on a regular basis as part of my job. And when I do, I always make it a point to visit the local museums and art galleries. I find art to be inspiring, and I do some of my most creative thinking while wandering around on the creaky wooden floors, looking at works made by artists past and present whose intent is not always transparent. I have come to believe that a work of art is not simply the sum of its creator's vision, the "authorial intent", but rather only made complete through audience engagement and interaction. The audience of a work interprets its authorial intent through the lens of their own experience. This lens may distort, it may enhance, it may obscure. I'm sure this is discussed at great length and more clarity by art critics, this is simply an explanation of my own feeling when encountering and interpreting art. So how does this relate to writing Interactive Fiction?

Slap That Fish

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 22:16:23 -0600

This time, those fishy bastards are finally going to get what's coming to them.

SLAP THAT FISH is a game of -- well, exactly as it says. It doesn't get any weirder than this. Try what ended up being the Most Voted For Game of the 2007 IF Comp! (Maybe I should go into politics, being able to spin numbers like these, what?)

While we're waiting for the game to be uploaded to the Interactive Fiction archive, download it directly from this site, right here.

You'll need an interpreter to play the game. I recommend Gargoyle for Windows or Spatterlight for Mac.

Slap That Fish wins 19th Place in annual IF Comp

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 12:27:44 -0600

SLAP THAT FISH, my entry in IF COMP 2007, won 19th place out of 27th. So, perhaps "won" isn't quite the best choice of words, here. It also received the largest number of votes, 102, which suggests that, while it was not a favorite game, it proved impossible to resist taking a peek at to see what it was. You can try for yourself here, or read the reviews, collated here.

An Interactive Exhibition of Unspeakable Things

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 23:04:58 -0600

New Game -- Slap That Fish

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 12:23:09 -0600

I'm pleased to announce that I have a game entered in this year's Interactive Fiction Competition. The website for IFCOMP 2007 is here. SLAP THAT FISH is a tale of revenge best served with a side of chips. [UPDATE: For more information, and for the latest version of the game to download and play, click here.

MC Frontalot's "It is Pitch Dark"

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 09:58:34 -0600

We're not the only ones who are inspired by the Infocom games (ZORK, ENCHANTER, PLANETFALL, etc.) from the 80's and try to use that inspiration to create something new. But surely, MC Frontalot is unique in that he channels that inspiration into creating a rap song!

Customer Satisfaction Survey Results, Part Two

Mon, 20 Aug 2007 14:58:53 -0600

I've recently sent out a customer satisfaction survey for 1893: A World's Fair Mystery, to about 1,000 people who purchased the game. I'm still analyzing the results, and have been publishing the information here. Let's get right down to the nitty gritty this time: did respondents actually like the game, or not?

1893 Strategy Guide Now Available

Thu, 09 Aug 2007 10:13:52 -0600

I'm very happy to announce that Tami Meyers of Spyglass Guides has written the definitive strategy guide to 1893: A World's Fair Mystery. Weighing in at 62 pages, it covers overall strategy for the game, and arranges tasks in an easy to follow day-by-day listing. How to vanquish the villains, who are discovered only after you have made progress in your investigation, is covered in a section at the end (since you never know when you'll have the chance to nab them!). The best news of all, though, is that the guide is being offered for free in Adobe Acrobat format. Download the guide here.

H.P. Lovecraft's Commonplace Book Project

Mon, 09 Jul 2007 10:26:16 -0600

The Commonplace Book Project

Sat, 07 Jul 2007 15:10:44 -0600

The purpose of this project is simple: to create interactive adventures based on the unfinished story ideas that H.P. Lovecraft collected in his "Commonplace Book". The first set of games were created from April to June of 2007 and have been published here, in an online exhibition. This exhibition is free for everyone to enjoy, in return for your feedback. As of October 27, 2007, these games are also appearing in an exhibit of art and stories based on the Commonplace Book at the Maison d'Ailleurs, Switzerland. Click here for more information. This project is truly international, with French, English, and Spanish entries already on exhibit. Games in this exhibit are not necessarily written by or owned by Illuminated Lantern Publishing; we are simply hosting and organizing the project.

Breaking Boundaries in Gaming Demographics

Fri, 06 Jul 2007 23:22:07 -0600

I've recently sent out a customer satisfaction survey for 1893: A World's Fair Mystery, to about 1,000 people who purchased the game. I'm still analyzing the results, and will be publishing the information here. Let's start with a demographic question I asked: How Old Are You?

Dead Cities

Fri, 06 Jul 2007 10:09:19 -0600

Voted Best in Show among all English language games created as part of the Commonplace Book project.

The letter you received from Arkwright's nephew Carter was clear enough: when the old man dies the inheritance tax will be too great. To raise some capital, the nephew has set up buyers for Arkwright's collection of rare and old books...

Dead Cities is a text based game by Jon Ingold, which ruminates on the nature of time, of life, and of death. And how books, ideas, are part of the cycle. Ingold maintains tension between the ordinary and the mystical throughout the piece, drawing on the Dunsanian side of Lovecraft's style to pull us into contact with the numinous.

Download Dead Cities here. A 1.5 MB "gblorb" file, you'll need to download the "Glulx" interpreter to play (Mac or Windows).

Jon Ingold is an award-winning author of numerous works of Interactive Fiction, including All Roads, considered one of the top five modern text adventures by adventuregamers.com.

Ecdysis

Thu, 05 Jul 2007 16:49:35 -0600

You wake, a pounding headache loud in your inner ear, the back of your head itching and tingling, your mouth full of cotton. The pain drives away your dreams, weird visions of alien landscapes...

Ecdysis is a text based game by Peter Nepstad that drives you forward on the power of your own primal urges, only half understood and increasingly non-human. Can you fight the changes that are overwhelming you? Do you even want to?

There are two downloads for Ecdysis, depending on what system you own. If you are going to play on a Windows PC, download the executable file here. If you are using a Mac, download the .gam file here, then play using Spatterlight for the Mac. Note the two files are different: the Windows executable is designed as "hypertext fiction", where you need only click on hotspot links to advance the game. The .gam file does not have that feature when played using Spatterlight.

Peter Nepstad is...hey, that's me! Browse the rest of the site to get an idea of what else I've been up to, including the commercial game 1893: A World's Fair Mystery, and a collection of games based on the writings of Lord Dunsany called Tales of Wonder.