Author Archives: mzspivey

When Alone begins, you’re driving down a barren stretch of road. Then you run out of gas, forcing you to leave the safety of your car to look for fuel or help. However, with the worldwide Infection running strong, finding another living soul just might mean your death.

Creatures is a text-based role-playing game written with a custom engine. It’s almost entirely menu-driven, giving it the feel of a choice-based game. There are also a few puzzles.

Tombs & Mummies is a text adventure made in Quest in which you are trapped in an Egyptian tomb and must escape. There’s a quite dramatic reason why you’re trapped in the tomb, but the game doesn’t explore that at all. Instead, the emphasis in Tombs & Mummies is on solving some puzzles and escaping.Continue reading “Tombs & Mummies”

(some vague spoilers below) The two games by Bitter Karella that I’ve played before this year were both made with the Quest system. However, Lovely Assistant: Magical Girl, Bitter Karella’s IFComp entry for this year, was made with Inform 7. I think Inform 7 is a better system than Quest for writing and playing interactiveContinue reading “Lovely Assistant: Magical Girl”

(more spoilers than usual below) Captivity is a parser-based puzzlefest in which you play the role of a young woman captured by the local Duke. His plan is to, well, rape you. You’re locked in the tower when the game begins, and your goal is to escape.

(After reflecting on this game some more, I decided to write a second review, which appears below. In general, I reserve the right to change my mind. 🙂 Also, the original review appears at the bottom of this post.) A Rope of Chalk is a slice-of-life parser story about a sidewalk chalk competition on aContinue reading “A Rope of Chalk”

Little Girl in Monsterland is a choice-based, custom-engine-made fantasy game. It is HUGE. Its blurb in IFComp says that it’s fifteen hours long. I am proud to say that I completed it, although it didn’t take me fifteen hours to finish. More like ten. Still, the only IF games on which I’ve spent this muchContinue reading “Little Girl in Monsterland”

Big Trouble in Little Dino Park is a choice-based game made in Ink. In this game, dinosaur cloning has become commonplace, resulting in lots of dinosaur theme parks around the country. You play as a teenager working at one of these parks when something goes awry.

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants is a short parser game in which you play the role of Isaac Newton.  Something has gone wrong with the world, and Newton needs to fix it.  

(mild spoilers, most likely) Academic Pursuits (As Opposed to Regular Pursuits) is a short parser game in which you take on the role of a new professor moving into her office.  Gameplay consists of unpacking your boxes and deciding where each object should go.  While this may not sound like a promising setup for aContinue reading “Academic Pursuits (As Opposed to Regular Pursuits)”