Hi Interact-if! I'm looking for a game (99% sure it wasn't a WIP) where you interact (eh) with a computer (like it's mainly/all inside a computer). I remember it has mini-games and there was an internet browser (in-game), and you could talk to an AI/program too. I think? the game got some awards/kudos too?
Hi Anon!
Well... there are a handful of games that could fit what you are looking for (interacting with a computer/AI), but we think these two might come the closest to what you described in your ask:
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Year 3XXX.
In some ruins, youāve found an old computer, one of those antique pieces youād see in museums. Strangely, the device still powers up when you press its buttons.
Wonder what you could find within its files?
DOL-OS is a sci-fi interactive fiction game, all happening inside a fictional computer. You can peruse its archive, delve deeper into its core, maybe solve some puzzles, or execute a probably unsafe programā¦
DOL-OS was the winner of the Concours de Fiction Interactive Francophone, as the "Best Game" of the competition. It was also nominated for Technical Skills, Narrative Design, and Use of Themes.
PLAY THE GAME |Ā RATE ON ITCHĀ |Ā REVIEW ON IFBDĀ |Ā TAGS
Features:
French and English localization
Hints for puzzles, and solution, in-game
Accessibility settings:
Audio control forĀ Music and SFX sound.
Toggle for animation
Automatic Save system
Numbered and Keybinded links
Press H for the Keybinding Menu
Play This is a place for me to tell you about games or game demos that I love and want everyone to play! Right. Now.
Year 3XXX, you discover an old computer, an antique, in some ruins. Surprisingly, it still powers up when you press its buttons. Wonder what you found within its files?
Play the game for yourself!
Y'all, this is a special game. Originally published in French, DOL-OS won Best Game of Concours de Fiction Interactive Frachophone. Luckily for me, @manonamora-if recently released a remastered and translated version of her game in English.
The narrative and story of the game are excellent, but I've gotta talk first about the UI and the loading screen because....dang. Just, mind-bogglingly good. I'm not particularly knowledgable/experienced/good when it comes to the combo move of css, html and javascript that is Twine and clicking Run Game for the first time--you know in Fallout 3 when the vault door rolls away and you're like wooooooah? It was like that. It's so impressive and neat and I've reloaded the game many times now just to watch it start. This game belongs in an art gallery for IF.
Once I picked my jaw up off the floor and started playing, another delight was in store for me. The game sparked the same kind of excitement and interest as Her Story. You are presented with a computer desktop and free to do with it what you will. It invites the player to explore (to snoop! I love snooping) and once you find what's there you can make of it what you will. There's no explicit instruction or implication in what kinds of opinions or thoughts you should form. Explore and think freely. And wonder, are you the player part of this narrative?
And solve puzzles! I love puzzles. I got so excited about the first one that I think I missed a lot of other world-building. Oops!
The more you play the more you learn about the history of this computer, of the world it came from and the influence it's had. Complex moral questions are raised again with no clear directive from the game. You'll have to decide for yourself how you feel about this machine...and what you do about those feelings.
There are so many great moments in this game. [SLIGHT SPOILERS] Though my favorite: while playing the game I enjoyed the ever-present sound effect of the gentle whir of a cooling fan--a nostalgic noise from my youth. Well into the game, a principal character starts suffering deleterious effects from something he refers to as "the Humming Machine" and I'm like !!! Wait, is that a gentle fan blade sound or am I hearing the Humming Machine, too?! It was so creeeeeeepy! Loved it! [/SPOILERS]
Also, there are minigames. Come on, people! Minigames!
DOL-OS is a great game and I highly recommend playing it. I'm excited to play again and discover what I missed the first time through. Give yourself a Sunday treat and play the game!
A tradition with the French Comp is to interview the winner of every edition. Since I won Best Game, I got to partake in this tradition, and answer a bunch of fun questions about my entry and my creation process.
The interview is now available on the French IF community website:
Since it is in French, here is the translation, under the cut. Spoilers ahead.
Note: the French article was over 2k words...
Interview with manonamora, winner of the contest 2023
This year, manonamora won the competition, with her entry, DOL-OS. We spoke with her to learn more about her creative process and her future projects!
Can you introduce yourself in a few words? How did you discover interactive fiction?
My name is Manon, a netizen under the pseudo manonamora for years.
I fell into the "cauldron" of interactive fiction in the spring of 2021, when a close friend had sent me the link to the game A Tale of Crowns. I liked this type of game, and it made me rediscover the pleasure of writing, so I stayed. Itās really nice in this pot, weāre having fun!
People appreciated the different levels of depth of your participation and the care taken at the interface, in particular. How long did it take you to design it?
It was a bit of a sprintā¦ š
I think I started scribbling my ideas on pages about a month before the entry deadline.
I wanted to try to incorporate both themes (archives and trahison) into the game, just for fun. So I took the easiest path and went on to create an archive of different documents, all linked by the theme of betrayal. Of my list of documents that I wanted to include, I was only able to include half at the end (the other remained in draft, due to lack of time).
From there, I thought I would just do two blocks of archives: one on the guestās account, where some of the documents would look corrupt, and another on Theophilus' account, where those missing documents would be. But by writing certain documents, such as the note in the trash and the journal entries (which were not separated from the archive initially), I had fun looking for the links between all the different parts and thinking more about the universe in which this old computer was. Thatās how the Jupiter-Broker project became an artificial intelligence project, more than a virus.
What are the things that inspired you?
Other than a title I had written down in my drafts, Iām not sure which source inspired me to choose this genre or framework or use of the theme in this way. Iāve been a big fan of science fiction for as long as I can remember (I had swallowed Asimov in middle school/junior highā¦ and now Iām stuck with the anthologies of short stories) and video games in general (especially the history and universe of these games). Everything that has to do with robots, the advancement of technology, futuristic stories, and human dilemmas that have to do with these first points, Iām passionate about it! I wouldnāt be surprised if, somewhere in my brain, I could pick up stuff from Portal or System Shock or Fallout or Asimovās Robot Cycle, or even WALL-E and Alien, without really realizing it.
In my notes, the only concrete thing I could find was one of the entries of the Intertact-IF 2022 game jam: Logical Choices, especially in terms of its simplicity, and, finally, the newspaper too.
For the visual, I wanted from the start to have something simple, with the look of old computer in black and green, like my grandmotherās minitel. I really tried to search for minitel page images (I even found a page editor!). On the other hand, trying to code everything, it didnāt really go well with Twine, especially the animation of the blocks that appear one after the other. I was quickly tempted to create the game in minitel pages, but well, I only had 2 weeks leftā¦ It was a bit short to learn a new system. So I just took pictures of old computer screens.
Are there any secrets the players might have missed?
There are several little secrets in the game.
The first category concerns the names in the game: the title, Ā«DOL-OSĀ», is based on the Greek deity of the same name, Dolos, personifying treachery (and bam, the theme of the contest; and it sounded good as operating system name). The AI is named Janus, the deity with two faces. The program of Theodoreās diary, in which he was summoned by his organization to write his days, is named Ā«Ind.icĀ», coming from the French word indic, a person who informs the police.
Something a little more fuzzy can be found in the writerās draft, which is related to one of my other games, Exquisite Cadaver, where the player plays this writer, who has not been able to write for months. This is not the first time I have included a link to this game in my projects, like the "cocktail" Renaudās Nightmare in The Thick Table Tavern.
Where do you get your ideas, generally speaking?
A bit everywhere. Sometimes, it comes organically enough looking at the theme or the constraints of a game jam (La Petite Mort, Goncharov Escapes!). Sometimes, itās just the desire to push a kind of puzzle or a type of gameplay into a project (Exquisite Cadaver, well it was also the theme). Sometimes itās typing ātrope [genre]ā in Google and taking the first thing that comes out (SPS Iron Hammer). Otherwise I have some ideas that have been inspired by books (P-RIX ā SPACE TRUCKER, by StanisÅaw Lemās Tales of Pirx the Pilot) or films (Meeting the Parents, inspired by Meet the Parents). Other projects or ideas for future projects are inspired by books on my nightstand, or conversations with loved ones, or even just random thoughts that come and go.
Iām not trying too hard to think. If it doesnāt inspire me or amuse me, Iāll move on. Creating interactive fiction is all about fun. And I already have a super long list of ideas I want to doā¦
You only use Twine. Is there a particular reason? Do you intend to try other creative systems in the future? Maybe some of the other entries gave you some ideas?
For the moment, yes. Twine remains my favourite, having been the first program I hooked up with when I started creating interactive games. The software was easy to navigate and rather playful to use (Harlowe has extra help to code in the program) and the program is open source. It was really important for me, who didnāt have any code or programming knowledge that went any further than that techno hour to the colleague where a substitute had taught us to create a basic HTML page. With Twine, it stuck from the start.
And then, personally, I love that the customisation aspect can be pushed as much. You can do hypertext or multi-choice games, dungeons, RPGs, etc. I created a cocktail bar for my participation in the IFComp last year, and there I did a puzzle. I have a friend who has recreated Minesweeper and another who has made Snake with his sauce. Almost anything is possible with Twine!
When I get tired of Twine, I think Iāll try other systems, especially those to create parsers (because making one with Twine is a bit of a messā¦ /did and done that). And then also test programs made in France. Already during the ECTOCOMP and the Feldo streams of the games of the old competitions, Donjon had intrigued me a lot. And also ink, to make stories that extend to infinity (it takes too much tinkering with Twine for it to work...).
But my Twine fling isnāt over yet. Iāve only been playing with the interface since last summer, and I donāt feel like Iāve discovered the bottom of the iceberg yet. There are still a lot of things I havenāt tested yet, whether itās in different formats or gameplay. I would like to do some kind of escape room or RPG in the future. I still want to push the envelope a little furtherā¦
You participated in the IFComp (the largest English-language event) before participating in our contest. Are there any differences that particularly struck you between the two?
By missing the inclusion of a theme (which the IFComp does not), I think the biggest difference between the two contests is the attitude of the participants and the players. The atmosphere of the French competition is really relaxed and I noticed a lot of support in the Discord. Or even have a person stream all the games on Twitch (itās very convenient for me who is a loser in parsersā¦). Itās really positive!
On the other side, there is the IFComp which is really considered the event of the year, where the authors exhibit their best creations, without any real constraints, some having been in development secretly for years. The atmosphere is more professional and harsh towards its participants. There is really a lot of expectation from the entire interactive fiction community. Itās supposed to be the crĆØme of the crop in interactive fiction.
After that, even if the atmosphere of the French-language competition is more chill, I found the level of entries much more uniform in terms of quality. While the IFComp will often have very poor or even zero entries (the bottom of the ranking having an average of below 2.5 out of 10), the overall French competition had a very high level (a sentiment shared by one of the critics on intfiction.org). The attention to each game had a lot of merit, especially as regards writing.
Another thing that struck me as well was the diversity between the systems and formats usedāit is possible that the competition, having three times fewer bids than the IFComp, may have influenced my perspective on the subject. But between the French programs (Moiki, and Donjon), the more popular ones (Twine, Inform, ink), or even made from scratch (like the participations of AZ and Narkhos), there were many choices and important differences between uses. It was a fascinating experience that really made me want to try something new.
Finally, I had a very different attitude towards the two competitions. After taking a little slap during the IFComp (arriving in the middle of the stack and having received fair but also severe feedback, read more here), the expectation I had with myself with the contest was less trying to get to a certain position in the standings, but no more fun creating something different. It was much easier to look a little moreā¦ healthy competition, with all the lessons learned during the IFComp and new knowledge and experiences between the two competitions.
And on top of that, you regularly participate in game jams like ECTOCOMP or Partim 500, you co-organize the SeedComp! , and youāre going to participate in the Spring Thing. Is there a secret to such productivity?
Delusion that all this is doable in the allotted time. Free time. And spite. But especially the first point. š
(this was the gif that came into my mind when I wrote my answer, not part of the actual interview)
Frankly, Iām not helping my cause either. As soon as I find a project that is a bit interesting, I can get all in on it quite quickly and put all my energy and free time into it. Itās not recommended, actually. Even if all these participations taught me a lot of things (and especially to learn quickly), it tires a lot in the end... I am often emptied at the end of each new jam/comp.
Itās probably a little psychological, too. The will to create a lot to leave a trace behind me, a trace that will represent everything I could accomplish, everything I could be able to do or try to do. The desire to prove to others and especially to myself that I can create stuff that I as a child could not have imagined; especially since before 2021, I really didnāt have any programming knowledgeā¦ Willingness, or perhaps duty, to prove that I can solve a challenge in a short time (for example: in 4 hours for ECTOCOMP, or two quiet afternoons for Partim 500), or with significant constraints (One-Button and Two-Buttons jams), or just because thereās a piece of spaghetti code that taunts me about unravelling it.
Anyway...
Do you have other projects underway or coming soon? Perhaps you plan to participate in the contest next year?
Of what happens soon, hopefully, The Roads not Taken, a parser made with Twine, will be finished in time for the Spring Thing. I really want to talk about it, but at the same time, itās more fun if itās still a little secretā¦
[note: it is now out!]
Otherwiseā¦ Too many projects in progress. Between the demos not yet completed, the translations of my old games finished, the organization of game jams (SeedComp! will not be the only one this yearā¦), and the hope of participating in the next IF competitions, I have given myself a lot of work (too much) to do.
Ha ha haā¦
Thank you for answering these questions! Congratulations again, good luck and donāt forget to take care of yourself!
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My entry to the French IF Comp is out! Play it here!
It has dark stuff, puzzles, suspense... and an unexpected end :P
You can vote for the French IF Comp until the end of February!
(please go vote, the games are really cool!)
(also I saw a funny Chicken picture, and I had to submit to this other jam for the lolz. Like the SeedComp! prompt, you can use that one however you want! It's under the CC-BY license)
Fixed :
some visual issues with small height non-mobile screens
settings in the light mode, and labelling overall
title page small edits
Reloading the page will only give you the logo
the glitchy text in Chapter 3 is fixed (it now works! if you have the setting turned on)
MelS wrote quite a bit this week too! We've passed 8k words.
I don't have any substantial story update to give yet... but I've still some a tiny bit of coding work:
Some visual issues are getting fixed (similar ones to TTATEH + others).
2 new fonts will be included: a monospace and Atkinson Hyperlegible.
I am also adding Keybindings to the main story (the Codex Pages will be a bit tricky, as of now they won't work) for computer play.
I will be changing the code for the notification to a more aria/screen-reader friendly (and there's a lot of them)
A big bug found in the last update of TTATEH has turn up in CRWL too, so that's getting fixed...
Some other bugs raised lately have to be checked out...
OH and the biggest thing: I am adding custom pronouns AND give the choice for the player to choose their title (liege, lord, lady) regardless of their genre :D
Anyway, the Settings, the whole Prologue and Scene 1 is clear. I have started Scene2. Going through the scenes is a bit dull and repetitive (there's 1.5k lines of code for each scene on average), but I am chipping away at it.
Nothing big actually. Just added 2 fonts : a Garamond like and the Atkinson Hyperlegible.
No I haven't forgotten P-RIX. I've been fighting its code all this time...
Anyway, the UI will be changing slightly to give more space for the text (less scrolling, especially on bigger font sizes). The background has also changed (especially the stars looking less like rain, lol). And the radar actually works this time too!
And I've been testing a Mobile portrait version (finally!), which will not include the background, but will be much easier to play!
[It'll be the next UI template too, but bare]
This is the first update of February, so here's a little run-down of what to expect here this month:
a small CRWL update (general UI and bug-fixing)
a P-Rix update (UI for sure, extra content maybe? time will tell)
my SeedComp! entry (if I manage, it will be Gonch-short)
The IFDB Awards are ongoing. You can vote for Outstanding entries published in 2022 until the 17th of February!
Check out this post for more information.
This is the first year of this award, so the turn out will decide what will happen to it (or at least some categories) next year. Please go vote!
(I have like 7 games that are eligible this year, some have appeared on the polls already, it's neat :P )
Patched some lil bugs (one that I had created trying to fix something else...), reformatted some pages, and fixed some typos.
Since the end of the Comp, the French IF community has been streaming the entries. Last Wednesday was my turn! It is not a full playthrough (as the game is really that long), but it solved all puzzles but one. The participants in the stream were also quite close in figuring out the story... :)
Two people on the IntFiction Forum are also reviewing the Comp entries. And I was among the first to get very lovely reviews from both of them!
I've also got someone lovely return from players in general, as well as more critical feedback/ideas for edits. When I have a bit more time, I will try to implement those and add an English translation to it...
Anyway, play DOL-OS here!
No one has figured out the Easter Egg or found the hidden meaning either yet... :(
I have finished reworking the UI.
This include shuffling around some blocks, increasing the container size, simplifying the Interface code, adding some transitions between screens, fixing the animations (;-; finally), adding a new "screen", customising the Dialog boxes, etc...
AND ! The UI has been optimising for Mobile view too!
To get the full experience, I'd still advise for a screen being at least 900x600, but smaller screen (portrait) will be able to play soon!
Before I upload the fix, I would like to add a tad more text (a small scene with Mr. E) and add a few extra settings, especially for timed/typed animated text (tested, need to add to the file), and font options.
Maybe next week update? Or the week after...
You know what I forgot last week? Recoding the searching through the room part of Scene 1 (because it's a sperate file)... That's done now. As well as the side destination options. I've done 1/3rd of Scene 2, not touched Scene 3, and half of Scene 4.
I thought I would have been further than I am now but I'm not... I forgot how big the chapter were. Each file is 1.3k - 2k lines of code/writing. That's a lot to go through.
On the plus side, since I've figured out a better way of coding the next animation, I got to optimise some stuff!
I am still not set on a title, but I do have the theme for my SeedComp! entry: Noir... but kind of a spoof?
Short pitch: you play as a down-on-your-luck P.I. waiting for your next case to pay your bills, when a Dame enters your office.
The whole thing is drafted, I've described the big actions/choices, and started writing it. Since I've also set myself on the One Page template as my UI, I won't need to spend too much time on that. Just the coding, when the writing is done.
