Even though we got a computer in the mid to late 90’s, a shitty DOS-box that no-one kind of really knew how to do anything with, I was infinitely interested in anything to do with it. I remember playing Guerrilla Wars and some dungeon crawlers on it and such, but I feel like I almost entirely missed out on text-based games. I vaguely remember playing two, but I guess I was just excited about computer graphics or something that I didn’t really care for them or the ones I tried just sucked.
I’m sure there’s people here that have more experience with them so I ask you to bring forth all your favorite text-based adventures, regardless of genre. What classics should I go for?
Alphaman
https://www.mobygames.com/game/21019/alphaman/
https://www.myabandonware.com/game/alphaman-315
A humorous post-apocalyptic roguelike starring Elvis and Donald Trump (the 90s version).
I worked with the creator Jeff to release the original source code, and it’s seen a little bit more recognition in roguelike circles recently
I feel like early Legend Entertainment games are a perfect gateway to interactive fiction since they do have some graphics and interface while still being primarily text-driven. My personal favourite is Frederik Pohl’s Gateway series (books are amazing too), but you could check out Spellcasting 101 and Eric the Unready which are available on GOG.
And if we’re talking classics I’d recommend Babel for starters, it uses very modern game design without softlocks and unfair fail states, almost entirely narrative driven with simple and satisfying puzzles sprinkled in.
Otherwise I’m a huge fan of anything by Andrew Plotkin.
Not a huge fan of Zork, it’s so rough to play these days without a guide. Maybe other Infocom games should be played first, like Planetfall, it’s relatively not so player hostile.
Yes, text adventure games go beyond Infocom, although they won the era. There’s Magnetic Scrolls, Melbourne House, Level 9, and (yes) Legend, which shares DNA with Infocom in the form of prolific alum Steve Meretzky. Back in the day, everyone was getting in on text adventures; even Electronic Arts published one.
That said, I would go with an Infocom game for your first, as the later ones especially were very well-designed and tended to be fairly forgiving. A Mind Forever Voyaging or Planetfall are good choices. Planetfall has a sequel, if that makes it more interesting to you. I would avoid Zork to start; it’s a good game, but there was a lot of evolution after 1977.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is one of the medium’s crowning achievements and you should probably wait to savor that one.
