Gold Microphone: Stories and Games

Challenge, Mimesis and Parsercraft (Trinity continued)

A long-form reflection on game design and parser craft theory continues with a discussion of Inform Design Manual 4's version of Graham Nelson's "The Craft of the Adventure." Particular attention is paid to mimesis, challenge, and, as Drew puts it, "cool stuff." Part of a series about Infocom's Trinity. Resources discussed in this episode: Gold Machine: Emily Dickenson and the Wide Middle of Trinity [https://golmac.org/narrative-surface-features-of-trinity-part-2/] https://golmac.org/narrative-surface-features-of-trinity-part-2/ Top Expert: Let's Make IF Season 2, Episode 1 [https://topexpert.blog/2024/07/03/lets-make-if-season-2-episode-1/] https://topexpert.blog/2024/07/03/lets-make-if-season-2-episode-1/ DM4 Version of "The Craft of the Adventure" (pdf) [https://inform-fiction.org/manual/Chapter8.pdf] https://inform-fiction.org/manual/Chapter8.pdf 50 Years of Text Games [https://if50.textories.com/] https://if50.textories.com/ My own game, Repeat the Ending [https://ifdb.org/viewgame?id=eueqjtej7bvnfp5a] https://ifdb.org/viewgame?id=eueqjtej7bvnfp5a Correction: Photopia was released in 1998.

The Craft of the Adventure: Trinity Part 2

Drew returns to discuss a foundational work of game design craft, Graham Nelson's The Craft of the Adventure (1995). This is part of a larger, multipart examination of narrative friction in Brian Moriarty's Trinity (1986). Referenced content: Top Expert, Drew's blog about learning Inform 7 (and other things) [https://topexpert.blog/] Jimmy Maher's "The Neo-Classical Interactive Fiction of 1995" [https://www.filfre.net/2021/09/the-neo-classical-interactive-fiction-of-1995/] Graham Nelson's The Craft of the Adventure (1995 version) [https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=a0cbdc66325fee39JmltdHM9MTcxNTkwNDAwMCZpZ3VpZD0zOWI5ZDJiMC05ZTA4LTY4M2QtMzU2My1jMTJjOWYyZDY5NDYmaW5zaWQ9NTIwMQ&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=3&fclid=39b9d2b0-9e08-683d-3563-c12c9f2d6946&psq=the+craft+of+the+adventure&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaWZhcmNoaXZlLm9yZy9pZi1hcmNoaXZlL2luZm8vQ3JhZnQuT2YuQWR2ZW50dXJlLlQxLkE0LnBkZg&ntb=1] Graham Nelson's The Craft of the Adventure (2001, Designer's Manual 4) [https://inform-fiction.org/manual/Chapter8.pdf] Drew's "Zork II, Idolatry, and the Legendary Awfulness of Two Puzzles" [https://golmac.org/zork-ii-idolatry-and-the-legendary-awfulness-of-two-puzzles/]

Reboot: Vampires and Trinity

After nearly two years, host Drew Cook returns solo! This reboot episode lays out a framework for future discussions of Infocom's Trinity and Nacon's Vampire: The Masquerade--Swansong. The Craft of Adventure : Graham Nelson [https://archive.org/details/TheCraftOfAdventure] Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong on Steam (steampowered.com) [https://store.steampowered.com/agecheck/app/1299510/] Jimmy Maher's Trinity posts [https://www.filfre.net/tag/trinity/] Gold Machine - Games as text, text as games (golmac.org) [https://golmac.org/] top expert – i am my own ghost [https://topexpert.blog/] Repeat the Ending IFDB page [https://ifdb.org/viewgame?id=eueqjtej7bvnfp5a]

Episode 6: A Mind Forever Voyaging

Callie Smith and Drew Cook welcome guest Aaron A. Reed to discuss his 50 Years of Text Games project as well as 1985's A Mind Forever Voyaging. Aaron's experiences as both reader and author lead us to some great exchanges and insights into Steve Meretzky's classic game about art, political witness, and as-yet unexplored possibilities in computer games. Aaron's current project, 50 Years of Text Games, is a history of interactive text as told in essays, images, and infographics. See below for more information, including Aaron's sample book chapter about A Mind Forever Voyaging. We're looking forward to seeing the final product! 50 Years of Text Games: Kickstarter page [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/aaronareed/50-years-of-text-games] A Mind Forever Voyaging sample chapter New to Gold Machine? This podcast (Gold Microphone) is a spinoff from Drew Cook's project to play and document every Infocom game. You can find that content (still in process) at Gold Machine [https://golmac.org]. Drew Cook and Callie Smith come together here to have less formal conversations about the joy of playing these classic games. Get in touch! Drew and Callie don't monetize any content from the Gold Machine project. The best way to reward our efforts is by reaching out. Start a discussion, suggest a game, or leave a nice review someplace. We started these IF projects to meet people and have some rewarding IF conversations. golmac@golmac.org Drew's Twitter: @GolmacB [https://twitter.com/GolmacB] Callie's Twitter: @golmac_callie [https://twitter.com/golmac_callie]

Episode 5: Zork I

Join Callie and Drew for a discussion of Infocom's best-selling game, Zork I. They'll talk about one of their all-time favorite video game characters, the thief, as well as its amazing (yet often overlooked) worldbuilding.  The games mentioned in Ian's email were "The Hobbit," "Hampstead," "Lords of Midnight," "The Worm in Paradise," and "A Mind Forever Voyaging." Notes published at Gold Machine: https://golmac.org/gold-microphone-zork-i/ Next up: A Mind Forever Voyaging featuring guest Aaron A. Reed, who has lots of great insights into AMFV thanks to his 50 Years of Text Games project!