HFCS: effika’s blog

It’s still Spring, but it’s close enough to be Summer.

I smell of sunscreen and chlorine. I wish I could say I was lounging poolside with a margarita, but instead I spent all day inspecting pools. It’s uncomfortable work, but it’s fun (and I get paid for it, unlike margarita-lounging). I got to actually do stuff with chemicals and go outside instead of just temping things and pointing at crap.

Summer also means it’s time for Interactive Fiction! (Winter, if you’re curious, is time for Nethack.) So far I’ve played through Slouching Towards Bedlam, and am working my way though Babel. You can read reviews of those two (linked) and get the details. I’d talk at length about them, but I think I’d give the plot away. So, quickies!

Slouching Towards Bedlam is a game where you’re rather confused for most of the game and that’s the point– you get to find out at the end why the hell the character (and the player!) is so confused, and it takes multiple playthroughs to find out completely. Luckily the game can be as short or as long as you want– you can end it in a few commands (for all but one ending) or play for hours. It’s got a pretty hefty dose of meta running through it, so it will probably be a more fulfilling game if you play a lot of IF already. It’s a great game by any means, though.

Babel starts out with a cliché— waking up alone in the dark with no idea what’s happened or any memories at all. Luckily that’s the only big cliché. Everything in this game is fused with a sense of creativeness and richness. I especially like what I’ve seen of the puzzles so far– no guess the verb, no obscure objects used in odd ways.

The length of the day is screwing with me— it’s harder to get up and harder to go to sleep on time. I’ve had the exact same schedule for the past 6 months, but I’m still not used to it, I guess. Either that or the longer day reminds me that I want to work on a rotating 28 hour day.

G has posted a video review of the books Middlesex and Nightwatch (plus a few movies). He is co-hosting with one Joe Caputo, and I find it very amusing.