Unreliable narrators - an IFDB Poll

by verityvirtue
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I'm interested in games which hinge on the 'unreliable narrator', from amnesia to a plain distorted worldview. The more this distortion affects the storyline, the better.

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Spider and Web, by Andrew Plotkin
10 votes
(No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sam Kabo Ashwell... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Edward Lacey... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Emily Short... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Danielle... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Dannii... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --DJ... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Ismarus... "The narrator..." [+]"The narrator doesn't tell the whole truth up to a certain point." ( - Full review) --Simon Deimel... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --shornet... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol...

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9:05, by Adam Cadre
9 votes
"Short, unconventional, perfect." [+]"Short, unconventional, perfect.: "The" unreliable narrator at his best. Another, small, masterpiece by Adam Cadre." --Marco Innocenti... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Emily Short... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Danielle... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Molly... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --DJ... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --darint... (No comment) [+](No comment) --explorington... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --shornet... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol...

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Fail-Safe, by Jon Ingold
7 votes
"The unreliable narrator is what makes this game." [+]"The unreliable narrator is what makes this game.: This game is presented as a conversation between you and a crew member of a damaged spaceship, who may panic, misunderstand you, or misinterpret things." () --DJ... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Edward Lacey... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Emily Short... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Fredrik... (No comment) [+](No comment) --shornet... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Kinetic Mouse Car...

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Shade, by Andrew Plotkin
6 votes
"Possibly one of the classics- the reveal of the unreliability unfolds beautifully" [+]"Possibly one of the classics- the reveal of the unreliability unfolds beautifully" --verityvirtue... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Emily Short... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Danielle... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --DJ... (No comment) [+](No comment) --shornet... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol...

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Úrquel, the black dragon, by David T. Marchand
3 votes
"The viewpoint..." [+]"The viewpoint character is distinct from the character controlled by the player, and can misunderstand the latter's actions" () --Edward Lacey... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --IFforL2... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Pinstripe...

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My Evil Twin, by Carl Muckenhoupt
3 votes
"The narrator..." [+]"The narrator seems to be delusional in a way that's mostly transparent to the player." () --Edward Lacey... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Molly... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol...

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The Blind House, by Amanda Allen
3 votes
(No comment) [+](No comment) --Emily Short... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Danielle... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --E.K....

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Bliss, by Cameron Wilkin
3 votes
"I didn't like this, but it's worth a play if you're really into the unreliable narrator genre." [+]"I didn't like this, but it's worth a play if you're really into the unreliable narrator genre." () --Molly... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Emily Short... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol...

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The Warbler's Nest, by Jason McIntosh
2 votes
"The PC has..." [+]"The PC has specific beliefs about the core event of the game, and the player is very unlikely to agree with her." --Christina Nordlander... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol...

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Lux, by Agnieszka Trzaska
2 votes
(No comment) [+](No comment) --Edward Lacey... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol...

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Ecdysis, by Peter Nepstad
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) --verityvirtue...

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we, the remainder, by Charm Cochran
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) --OverThinking...

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And the Robot Horse You Rode in On, by Anna Anthropy
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) --Hulk Handsome...

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Broken Legs, by Sarah Morayati
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) () --Emily Short...

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Heroes, by Sean Barrett
1 vote
"Five different heroes deal with the same situation from different perspectives." [+]"Five different heroes deal with the same situation from different perspectives.: I might not quite call the narrators unreliable, but each notices things that the others miss. The adventurer's view of the shop- and his options for dealing with it- differ radically from the king's, or the thief's or (especially) the dragon's. So you see the "distortion" of each hero's point of view." () --DJ...

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Little Blue Men, by Michael S. Gentry
1 vote
"I probably should..." [+]"I probably should replay this one, but I *think* it fits." () --Jonathan Blask...

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Escape From Summerland, by Joey Jones and Melvin Rangasamy
1 vote
"Includes two..." [+]"Includes two player characters with distorted (or at least very eccentric) viewpoints." () --Edward Lacey...

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Blue Chairs, by Chris Klimas
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) --Jonathan Blask...

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No Time To Squeal, by Mike Sousa and Robb Sherwin
1 vote
"Maybe I'm..." [+]"Maybe I'm wrong to include it, but I see the metaphor usage and dream imagery in something like this as another form of unreliable narration." --Jonathan Blask...

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Poll created on February 12, 2013