Today's item, FutureGame(tm), was written by an anonymous author for the 2005 IF Competition, where it tied for an unflattering 33rd out of 36 entries. It's hardly a game at all -- more of a programmatic joke (riffing off of themes also seen in Progress Quest.) One with a long set-up and a brief punchline, and whose prime distinguishing elements are its set of easter eggs. Hopefully in some future I can modulate my posting activity to result in fewer posts of more content-ful works. We'll see! (In any case, eventually I'll exhaust the "easy-to-convert" ones, and then we'll see what I'm made of.)
FutureGame (tm)-- created using the high-end Adventure Book 3D text engine, (c) Jon Ingold 2001-2004
Enjoy our revolutionary MaxEasy control system - just select options by their number.
FutureGame (tm)
"the ESSENCE of GAMEPLAY" (tm)presented by the FutureGame Corporation
Here at the FutureGame Corporation (or FGC, as we like to say) it is our sincere belief that computer games are the future of the entertainment industry. Thus, we have decided not only to invest into this market, but also to investigate into it, to do research and to analyze its hidden potential.
At this, we have succeeded.
A good businessman must have a good eye. He must be able to strip away the upper layers of what makes a product succeed and to see the fundamentals of it, the core concept (CC) that is the essence of its success. He must be able to observe the rules that make a product work, to formulate them abstractly, and then to apply them to the creation of a new product. This is very much like a mathematical equation.
Based on an exhaustive analysis of market research figures and abstract neomathematical design theory, FutureGame will appeal to the widest possible player demographic. We have ensured this by understanding and applying the CC of computer games: choice. The reason for the success of computer games such as Morrowind and The Sims is the element of choice and consequence. Elements such as 'story' are ultimately irrelevant to the players. To be successful, a game must simulate a 'free market' environment in which the player can, through his choices, achieve individual success along multiple paths.
In creating FutureGame, we have created the *essence* of gameplay. The player can play on two different and unique levels of difficulty, where it is not 'story progression' or other non-interactive elements that will lead to his victory, but personal choice. Enjoyment is guaranteed.
The Interactive Fiction scene provides us with an unexplored niche that few so far have attempted to reach (with the prominent exception of our friends at Cascade Mountain Publishing) or exploit. With its potential for dramatically lower budgets, we believe that IF (as we like to call it) represents the future of computer gaming.
. . .
You have won.
. . .
. . .
>xyzzy
You have activated the hidden SuperSexy mode!!!!!!!!!!All the text is now nude!!!!!!
Yeah baby!!!!!
. . .
You may have won.
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>xyzzy
You have found a secret level! You can now get "Photopia 2: Return of the Babysitter" (developed by the FutureGame Corporation, inspired by Adam Kadree's best-selling hit game) for just 15$.
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You have lost.
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>xyzzy
Fatal error: 3D shaders not responding. Exiting game.
