#dendrie

[manonamora-if]

Ever wanted to try Dendry, the free Choice-based IF program? It now comes with a tutorial!

Click the box above!

[manonamora-if-reviews]

The Archivist and the Revolution by Autumn Chen

============= Links

Play the game See other reviews of the game See other games by Autumn

============= Synopsis

A woman alone in a dying city, on a dying world. What will be left when it all falls apart? The Archivist and the Revolution is a slice-of-life/romance/history simulator set in a far-future sealed city that has undergone cycles of destruction and revival. You play as Em, a middle-aged woman who is no longer an archivist, as she struggles with rent payments, chronic illness, and the remnants of past relationships.

============= Other Info

The Archivist and the Revolution is a Dendry* game, submitted to the 2022 Edition of the IFComp. It ranked 4th overall. *Autumn is also an unofficial maintainer of the Dendry format.

Status: Completed Genre: Science Fiction, Slice-of-Life, Romance

CW: optional sexual content, illness, death, transphobia, homophobia.

============= Playthrough

First Played: 6-Oct-2022 Last Played: 05-Aug-2023 Playtime: around 2h (multiple endings) Rating: 5 /5 Thoughts: Some glimmer of hope in a post-apocalyptic dystopian future...

============= Review

This is a Post-Comp Version review. Also maybe biased because I really like Autumn's work.

In a far future, after centuries of conflict, the Earth's population has been reduced to small communities stuck inside arcologies (city domes). In one of them, lives Em, an Archivist (sorta), trying to survive the best she can (sorta), and maybe (re)form relationships to better her situation. Throughout the game, you must ensure Em is on top of her duties and health.

Spoilers ahead. It is recommended to play the game first. The review is based on my understanding/reading of the story.

As with her other Dendy games, A&R works in layers. On the surface, it is a resource management game, where your savings, energy level (hidden), mental and physical health (hidden) must be minded when organising one's day or spending. While you have agency in this, how far you can go with the different actions will depend on whether you've unlocked certain storylets, or Em's current health at the time. Since she has chronic issues, you won't be allowed to churn through hundreds of files for your job, or even do anything at times.

Underneath, two other mechanics come to play: the relationship/storylet aspect with Em's old acquaintances, and the archiving loop, Em's job. Both will affect Em's survival (savings/health) and the ending of the game. The first is relatively similar to Autumn's previous Dendry games, in which a side-story will be parsed throughout the game, requiring the player to meet specific characters multiple times to uncover the story at large. In this game, clearing more than one path in a playthrough is quite doable. The latter is a mechanic I had not really seen before in an IF game, but one I enjoyed greatly. Your job entails decrypting and archiving files, each with a specific code (hint hint), requiring to be either placed in a specific slot or discarded (or you can keep it for yourself). Combing through the documents were quite fun.

The first time I played the game, I thought I could survive all on my own, leaving past relationships where they were, focusing only on my job and keeping myself afloat. I remember it being incredibly stressful (I almost cried when Em was on the brink of eviction). Everything felt hopeless, and the almost-clinical-at-times prose, as well as the UI, accentuated that feeling.

This time around, I followed Autumn's advice and shamelessly begged my acquaintances for money. I didn't want to recreate that very anxious feeling I had the last time - and wanted to see what else I had missed. Indeed, it was much less stressful to go through. I didn't really have to worry about money (thanks A-), I didn't have to exhaust myself with work, and I could explore more different facets of Em's life (her past relationships, herself, how she had to navigate the world). The world is still wretched, but there is more hope. You almost believe that surviving through it is... doable.

The storylets manages to offer a bit of levity in this wretched world, in which Em can find a community helping others, rekindle her relationship with a (re)closeted trans person, rekindle her relationship with her ex who you had a child with. In (re)making connections, you can learn more about your past and how you (don't) fit in this world. You can go on a date, cook with someone, spend time with your child... have a "normal" life. I quite enjoyed how grounded and raw these storylets felt. They, at times, seemed like a commentary on our present, with the tribalism of social media, the lack of trust in the news, the grueling life under capitalism, and the treatment of transfolks. Strip away the sci-fi/post-apocalyptic future, and they could could be right at home with our current time. I still hated the news part... its description changing the 'a form of self harm' was on point considering the comments...

Even if you don't interact with anyone, you can still learn about the world and your place in it through the notes (essentially a Codex page) or DNA files you decode. From old recovered chats between yourself and other characters, science articles, old journal entries, and documents regarding the Arcology's founder - Liana -, you can build together a bleak image about the world, the state of the environment and human condition, filled with disenchantment and conflict. Depending on what you do with your day, you may find some Easter Eggs, like the TV Series you can watch or the Games you can play, little winks to Autumn's other games. Some characters of the game, made obvious by their names, share a resemblance to ones from the Pageantverse.

With the implementation of the Autosave, I was able to reach a lot more endings than the first time around, especially less bleak ones, without having to replay the game. Those endings are highly dependent on the actions you took during the game, some being sweet (especially with K-), some being maybe critical (imo A-'s, Alone), and one specifically blew my mind (Ending 1 - didn't find before). Ending 1 is by far the most interesting one in my book. While it might seem a bit like a Deux Ex Machina or coming from out of nowhere (depending on your playthrough it may feel like a whiplash), it is the one that has not left my brain since I've replayed the game - maybe because of how strikingly different it is from the others. I think this ending might work best if connections with other characters were not made. It also made me wonder whether Em's life would have been that different if her arcology was still in contact with the others, or whether contact was severed between all arcologies. Honestly, it brought a lot of questions about the world after reading through (sequel of Ending 1, when?).

I don't know if there is a point or a moral to the game. If I were to give one to it, it would be that communities are important for people to thrive, maybe even necessary, and that the world can be a very difficult place when you keep to yourself, worse when your situation is dire in the first place. Even if it seems bleak, there is a glimmer of hope and goodness there...

============= Old Review

Can we code DNA to make data storage?

I enjoy Autumn’s games and (re-)played all her other publications this year (after being introduced through A Paradox Between Worlds). So I was excited for her entry this year too!

Although it is supposed to be placed in a bleak almost apocalyptic future, there seems to be references to some sort of post-Covid period, the current inflation (especially housing) and the treatment of transpeople. Or at least this was the vibe I got from it. A strong feeling of almost hopelessness oozes from the prose (though you can end with a more hopeful/positive ending if you play it right). I almost cried when I didn’t make the rent and saw the amount just jump…

Like Autumn other games, there is a focus on the relationship between the different characters and on MC’s conditions (mental and physical). It is a bit hard to go through (the trigger warnings are warranted) but it does offer an interesting exploration on how to survive when your situation looks this dire. The news items are heart-breaking… but I hated the comments even more.

The Archiving mechanic is really interesting. Reading each file (some being contemporary pieces) as if they were bits and pieces from an ancient time is disturbing (but in a good way). The filing section is simple when you get the hang of it, but it does its job as it’s supposed to. I don’t know if this has been mentioned in the other reviews but: the code for the DNA strings are related to which category you are supposed to file it in and or the origin of the document, W being wikipedia. If you ever wanted to make the filing more difficult, you could add subsections to each categories

But, when you take into account the small resource management (you being the resource to take care of), the simplicity of the archiving makes things a bit easier to go through. I think I would have liked some sort of “action points” or “energy level” bar to see how much more I could do that day (but that is almost the only issue I have with the game, and it’s not even an issue really).

The inclusion of a walkthrough is very welcomed, as each ending requires widely different paths to take. I also liked the background changing depending on where the character was physically (outside, in the room, working…) and the way the pictures were edited enhances the feeling of things not being quite right.

I also like the small link between this entry and the previous games (which was made obvious to me by following the progress of this game on the author’s personal blog)

Overall, this was a great entry, and I hope our future is not as bleak as this one.

[heckthis-heckallofthis]

Y'all CANNOT just ship the main!wbcs where is my Friends!ships where are they

[ieatcerealboxes]

The gay uncles at the wedding

[steponremix91]

Last Resort (1996) dir. Lyman Dayton

[avi-apricot-art]

"I guess insects are considered organic arent they"

-things i say to myself as i try to to redesign the same oc for the 5th time

[techaddictsuk]

Fever (1991)

Back in 1991 Sam Neill and Armand Assante made Fever, an HBO TV Movie promising to be packed with action, sex and thrills. Spoiler, it wasn't.

[mozart-tt]

art fight stuff ! most of these are revenges haha yoyonny | trina de lux | lobster wizardthing | dendri | void unnamed | lucy kaur | circuit breaker

[the-rosebush-mag]

An Interview with Autumn Chen

by Drew Cook

The Rosebush editor Drew Cook (@golmac) had an online conversation with critically acclaimed author Autumn Chen (@cyberpunklesbian). Her interactive fiction games include The Archivist and the Revolution and A Paradox Between Worlds. Autumn is also very active as an organizer and supporter of IF development jams, including the Goncharov Game Jam, which was the subject of a talk at Narrascope 2023. Autumn maintains her own version of the IF storylet platform Dendry, and she assisted Emily Short in releasing a complete port of Bee, a game that audiences had long despaired of playing in full.

Read the full article on The Rosebush.

The Rosebush | Submissions | Mastodon

[unblogparaloschicos]

TV: Jesse D´Amato

Hablar de HBO es referirse a una marca celebrada por su calidad narrativa y técnica desde hace décadas. Cada serie o película que lleva su sello es inmediatamente recibida con el interés con el que sólo se admite a un acontecimiento televisivo. "Sex and the City", "Game of Thrones", "Six Feet Under", "Euphoria" o "The Sopranos" representa un mínimo puñado de títulos que ya son parte de la historia de la televisión mundial. "In Treatment" es otra joya que ha enriquecido su frondoso historial catódico.

Surgida de una exitosa serie israelí ("BeTipul", creada por Hagai Levi, Ori Sivan y Nir Bergman entre 2005 y 2008), la versión estadounidense es sólo una de las muchas adaptaciones que gozó, ya que llegó a producirse para sitios tan variopintos como Canadá, Argentina (con el título "En terapia"), Brasil, Chile, Rumania, República Checa, Polonia, Hungría, Serbia, Países Bajos, Eslovenia, Portugal, Italia, Croacia, Macedonia del Norte, Francia, Rusia o Japón. Su realización norteamericana estuvo a cargo de Rodrigo García, hijo del escritor y Premio Nobel colombiano Gabriel García Márquez, y contó con cuatro temporadas: las primeras tres fueron emitidas entre 2008 y 2010 y la última en 2021.

En líneas generales, la historia se enfoca en la vida cotidiana de un psicólogo, Paul Weston (Gabriel Byrne), cuya inseguridad lo lleva a buscar a consejo con otra colega, Gina (Dianne Wiest). Así de loco como suena, no es una situación infrecuente. Las primeras dos temporadas le encuentran atendiendo a sus pacienes (uno por día), mientras que los viernes le toca su turno con Gina. La tercera muestra un cambio en la rutina de la serie (ya no hay sesión los los jueves) mientras que la cuarta establece un reboot en la que el rol principal recae en la Dra. Brooke Taylor (Uzo Aduba).

En la tercera temporada (2010), en su cita de los miércoles, al Dr. Weston le toca atender al complicado Jesse, un adolescente gay interpretado por Dane DeHaan ("El sorprendente Hombre Araña 2: "La amenaza de Electro", 2013). El chico, cuya primera sesión en la serie no es la única del personaje, es muy problemático y con gran conflicto con su familia debido a que no es la biológica: de hecho recibe una llamada de una mujer que aduce ser su verdadera madre. Su cámara fotográfica es tan esencial para él como su celular y su tendencia a la promiscuidad, a pesar de que aún no ha cumplido los diecisiéte años. Vive metiéndose en problemas (vende adderall, que es una droga), mintiendo constantemente sobre su vida y su familia convencido de que ésta lo desprecia debido a su homosexualidad.

Todo en su vida es confusión, en especial desde el momento en que tanto Karen, su madre biológica, como Kevin, su padre, le invitan a conocerse. El muchacho duda en ir, pero también duda sobre callar tan sorpresiva novedad. Al fin, después de tanto discurrir una situación que lo estresa, opta por concederse esa visita, pero tan pronto como llega se disipa la expectación que tenía sobre la pareja a la que tanto había idolatrado, consiguiendo aumentar el respeto hacia sus padres adoptivos, Marissa (Dendrie Taylor) y Roberto (Joseph Siravo). Razón por la cual decide concluir su terapia de modo repentino justo cuando el Dr. Weston le había aconsejado continuar para asentar el gran avance que habían logrado.

[manonamora-if]

Interactive Fiction Showcase 2024

Showcase your Game!

The Interactive Fiction Showcase is a year-long "jam" meant to collect and showcase Interactive Fiction games completed in 2024, and show how diverse the Interactive Fiction scene is! And maybe: build more bridges between the community, help people finding their new favourite game/author...

Whether it is long or short, an easy adventure or a complicated puzzle, a strange experiment, a quick creation, or a years-in-the-making game, come show off what you've made!

Are you more of a player? Then, come check this page regularly for new submissions! Maybe leave a rating or a comment too :)

This is an unranked event.

Rules:

The Showcase is open to IF games in all of its forms: kinetic, choice-based, hyperlinks, parser, visual novels... As long as it is Interactive Fiction (there is interactivity and the focus of the game is on the text), the entry will be accepted.

The Showcase is open to IF games in any language.

Entries must be playable and in its complete form when submitted. Completed games in 2024, whose demo was previously public, are welcome. Games submitted to other events (jams/competitions) are welcome.

Entries can include NSFW content, as long as it is indicated in the submission.

Entries should not include any generated AI content - or it will be removed.

Spam or hateful content will be removed.

Creating Interactive Fiction:

Interactive Fiction is a text-based narrative medium, where players can interact with the story in some fashion (input commands, click a link/button, press key). There are many different ways of creating IF, and many different programs to do so. You can find some mentioned below:

Primarily HyperText/Choice-Based: Twine,  Ink, ChoiceScript, Dendry

Primarily Parser/Input: Inform 6, Inform 7, PunyInform, Adventuron, ADRIFT

Other: Bitsy, Binksi, Ren'Py

and many more can be found listed in the IF Wiki.

If you are looking for other Interactive Fiction Events, discuss general IF, or ask question, you can visit the IntFiction Forum. (we also have monthly IF events over at @neointeractives)

Interactive Fiction Database and Archive:

IFDB

The IFDB, or Interactive Fiction Database, is an IF game information catalogue, creating a historical record of the IF landscape. The database is a community project, updated by its members, by adding titles to the directory, ratings games, writing reviews... If a listing has not yet been created for your game, please consider making one!

IF Archive

The IF Archive is an archive of Interactive Fiction games, and IF-related elements (walkthroughs, interpreters, articles, collections...). The Archive’s mission is to preserve the history and practice of interactive fiction and make it freely available to the public. If you wish to, you can upload a copy of your game to the IFArchive, through the IFDB listing of your game (recommended) or directly to the archive.

The IFDB and IFArchive, as well as the IntFiction Forum and Twine, are managed by the Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation. These programs are funded through individual donations.

Visual Novel Database

The VNDB, or Visual Novel Database, is a community project that strives to be a comprehensive database for information about visual novels. The database is updated by its members, by adding titles to the directory, ratings games, writing reviews... If a listing has not yet been created for your visual novel, please consider making one!

[manonamora-if-reviews]

A Meeting in the Dark by Autumn Chen

A Single Choice Jam entry.

Entry - IFDB - More by Autumn - @cyberpunklesbian CW: COVID-19 pandemic

A Raw Snippet of the Early Pandemic As the months pass and people seem to move on from the health crisis that changed the lives of millions, the early days of the pandemic seem like a distant mirage of a time. Stuck at home (some of us), away from loved ones, crushed under the uncertainty of recovery... there was a lot do deal with. And this entry manages to capture a raw snippet of those early days, when there was more uncertainty about the virus and how to deal with it than known knowledge. Set in the Pageant universe as some sort of sequel, we catch up with Karen, who obviously is not handling being cooked up at home well. From her characterisation in the previous installments, this truly feels like the correct continuation of her personality: still depressed, still a mess, still unable to communicate her feelings (or just period). Unable to sleep, she meets up with Emily, her somewhat-girlfriend-but-maybe-not-really - Karen is always questioning labels when it comes to her relationship with others (case and point: Miri). Even with Emily's reassurance, Karen does not shy away from falling into unhealthy choices (well, you can't affect that part of the story). Honestly, she's a bit of a dick there. I've also noticed how similar Karen and Em are, especially when Em unloaded her worries about relationships in general, the want to both be present around people and disappear without leaving a trace, or struggling with her feelings at time and what they mean. It is interestingly very similar to what is expressed from Karen throughout the text, though Em handles it probably more healthy by actually communicating all of this. Removing player agency from the game is not new in Autumn's Games, often used to depict the character's inability to perform a certain task, whether it be because of external forces (e.g. friend is asleep), physical health (e.g. can't hug your girlfriend during a pandemic), or mental reasons (i.e. Karen is a mess) - with those reasons often styled in a self-deprecating manner (a Karen's guarantee). Half-way through the game, there is an interesting point made about choices. While you only have a small choice at the end, the story refers quite a bit to past actions, and how they affected others. There is a heavy sense of regret from having done some actions or failed to do those, with hindsight and time adding onto those guilty feelings. It feels so... real, and human, and it hurts.

Got to say, studying viruses and immunology during the pandemic must do a number on your mental healthy, and affect your faith in humanity...

[heckthis-heckallofthis]

You ask me if I'm normal about the cells, I am, for Main!CaW. The second you ask me about 3033/Cross or Friends!M cell/Dendri I send you a 1000 word long paragraph

[ieatcerealboxes]

What if.....

[steponremix91]

Last Resort (1996) dir. Lyman Dayton

[glacialmonolith]

The Great Ravine of Dendri Novo, an eerily quiet, empty planet of "new beginnings."

Music is Orange Lizard from Rain World. Wanted to test my drawing app's built in time lapse function.