Mise-en-abîme is a technique of having a play within a play, a painting within a painting, etc.
Let's list those interactive stories where the characters play interactive stories.
Endless, Nameless, by Adam Cadre 4 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) --jakomo... (No comment) [+](No comment) --IFforL2... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Denk... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Karlok... Vote for this game | |
Chuk and the Arena, by Agnieszka Trzaska 3 votes "'Tlazl of Danger! A Xlxian Adventure'. Reading it is an experience akin to The Gostak." [+]"'Tlazl of Danger! A Xlxian Adventure'. Reading it is an experience akin to The Gostak." () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Victor Gijsbers... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Kinetic Mouse Car... Vote for this game | |
IFDB Spelunking, by Joey Jones 2 votes "The PC plays..." [+]"The PC plays through a series of random IF." --IFforL2... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Victor Gijsbers... Vote for this game | |
Hallowmoor, by Mike Snyder 2 votes "The tapestries." [+]"The tapestries." () --Sobol... "Tapestries are a..." [+]"Tapestries are a fun side-activity from the actual game. They are appropriately placed and implemented so they add to the dungeon atmosphere without leading the player in a different/distracting direction. It is fun to find every ending." --Kinetic Mouse Car... Vote for this game | |
Ryan Veeder's Authentic Fly Fishing, by Ryan Veeder 2 votes "A CYOA withing a parser game." [+]"A CYOA withing a parser game." () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --IFforL2... Vote for this game | |
Photopia, by Adam Cadre 2 votes "Frame..." [+]"Frame story/subplot with a babysitter reading to a small girl" --Robin Johnson... (No comment) [+](No comment) --IFforL2... Vote for this game | |
Beautiful Dreamer, by S. Woodson 1 vote "The CYOA in the book" [+]"The CYOA in the book: Connects with many other elements of the game world; provides a light puzzle." () --Sobol... Vote for this game | |
Undo, by Neil deMause 1 vote "Escaping from a world within a game that's gone buggy" [+]"Escaping from a world within a game that's gone buggy: Excellent concept, even if the execution is little more than "Pick Up The Phone Booth And Die." I'd love to see this premise expanded upon." --mjhayes... Vote for this game | |
Creatures Such As We, by Lynnea Glasser 1 vote "The relation..." [+]"The relation between the inner and outer games is central here. Both games share the same name." () --Sobol... Vote for this game | |
Birdland, by Brendan Patrick Hennessy 1 vote "The PC spends..." [+]"The PC spends part of her time at a 'real' camp and part of it in interactive dreams that affect her 'real life' abilities." () --IFforL2... Vote for this game | |
And Then You Come to a House Not Unlike the Previous One, by B.J. Best 1 vote "A game about playing a game" [+]"A game about playing a game" --autumnc... Vote for this game | |
A Trial, by B Minus Seven 1 vote "A subplot with a hacked Pokemon-style game." [+]"A subplot with a hacked Pokemon-style game." ( - Full review) --CMG... Vote for this game | |
My Day off Work, by Andrew J. Schaefer 1 vote "You can spend time playing a game-within-a-game on your computer." [+]"You can spend time playing a game-within-a-game on your computer." () --Sobol... Vote for this game | |
The Day I saved Elvis , by Marius Müller 1 vote "You get to meet..." [+]"You get to meet the author of the game you’re playing." ( - Full review) --Karl Ove Hufthammer... Vote for this game | |
Bugged, by Anssi Räisänen 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Denk... Vote for this game | |
Delusions, by C. E. Forman 1 vote "Playing through a computer simulation" [+]"Playing through a computer simulation: You start off by helping to debug a VR simulator. At one point, you're entering commands to do mundane tasks on a computer, like click on an icon. Maybe not exactly mise-en-abîme, but this is the first thing that comes to mind." --mjhayes... Vote for this game | |
The Storm, by Stephane F. 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) --Stephane F.... Vote for this game | |
Poll created on June 17, 2016