Influential Games - an IFDB Poll

by Rose
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As a historical exercise, I've begun compiling a list of IF games that have either done something ground breaking with the medium or otherwise influenced it; and I've turned it into a poll so everyone can have input on the expansion.

This list began as a recommended list combined with poll, but I have decided to keep everything on this page for convenience's sake.

Thanks for your help!

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Zork I, by Marc Blank and Dave Lebling
49 votes
"Set the standard for modern IF." [+]... "IF Ancestor should not be missed" [+]... "Epic and Funny Universe." [+]... "One of the earliest, and still great." [+]... "The one and only." [+]... "The best IF game ever!!" [+]... "it's zork" [+]... "In the beginning, there was ZORK." [+]... "It's the first!" [+]... "first game ever played on a personal computer (1982)" [+]... "IF as we know it does not exist without the original Zork!" [+]... "The Great Underground Empire. Enough said." [+]... "Infocom's first..." [+]... "IF's sine qua non" [+]... "Funny and immersive!" [+]... "A game changer with Grue" [+]... "There at the Beginning" [+]... "Seminal" [+]... "To my knowledge,..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... "The game that..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... "Its a tough call..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... "Does this even..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... "Loved this game..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Adventure, by William Crowther and Donald Woods
42 votes
"It all starts here" [+]... "No IF without this one." [+]... "The Granddaddy Of Them All" [+]... "What Zork copied from." [+]... "It literally set the standard, it created the standard" [+]... "Zork's sine qua non" [+]... "Inspires imagination and wonder!" [+]... "Even before PC" [+]... "welcome to adventure!!" [+]... "The one that..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... "So much that we..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... "The very first..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... "The very first...." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Photopia, by Adam Cadre
27 votes
"Vivid and charming." [+]... "A new spin" [+]... "Imitated a lot." [+]... "Others sum up..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... "Photopia drove..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... "Very interesting..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Curses, by Graham Nelson
25 votes
"Beautifully written epic" [+]... "Kickstarted modern IF and Inform" [+]... "Charming and beautiful..." [+]... "A new beginning for Interactive Fiction" [+]... "The first modern game" [+]... "Quality and depth" [+]... "Large, sprawling, mystical, funny, awe-inspiring" [+]... "The first Inform..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... "Inform's default..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams and Steve Meretzky
24 votes
"frackin' hilarious. and tough." [+]... "Mostly harmless!" [+]... "Don't Panic!" [+]... "Tough but charming" [+]... "The adventure at the end of the universe!" [+]... "Funny" [+]... "Nostalgic" [+]... "First game with a..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... "Proved that the..." [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Anchorhead, by Michael Gentry
21 votes
"Widely praised, standard-setting modern game" [+]... "One of the most..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Galatea, by Emily Short
18 votes
"Vivid and intelligent." [+]... "The entire game..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... "Arguably kicked..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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A Mind Forever Voyaging, by Steve Meretzky
16 votes
"Broadened the possibilities of IF beyond "gaming"" [+]... "Breaking out of the box of traditional I.F." [+]... "Defines "Interactive Fiction" as contrasted with "Adventure Game"" [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... "The first IF that..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... "Groundbreaking..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Aisle, by Sam Barlow
15 votes
"Multiplicity actualized!" [+]... "Introduced the..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Spider and Web, by Andrew Plotkin
12 votes
"Perhaps the cleverest use of IF to tell a story that would not work in any other medium." [+]... "The unreliable narrator taken to another level." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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The Hobbit, by Philip Mitchell and Veronika Megler
11 votes
"Unbelievably advanced for its day" [+]... "Innovative early..." [+]... "Extremely..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Trinity, by Brian Moriarty
11 votes
"Perhaps Infocom's best game." [+]... "The first IF that made me say, "This can be art."" [+]... "The first serious game" [+]... "I haven't played..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Adventureland, by Scott Adams
10 votes
"Scott Adams influenced everyone who played computer games in the eighties." [+]... "One of the first. Challenging." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... "A fun game which..." [+]... "Limited, but..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Deadline, by Marc Blank
10 votes
"Established a new genre" [+]... "Whodunit I.F. A fun new genre when introduced. " [+]... "Got me hooked on Infocom games." [+]... "Set the template..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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De Baron, by Victor Gijsbers
10 votes
"Contains an..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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howling dogs, by Porpentine
9 votes
"got me interested in IF" [+]... "Arguably the game that kickstarted Twine" [+]... "It may be a bit..." [+]... "Highly visible..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Leather Goddesses of Phobos, by Steve Meretzky
8 votes
"Black circles, gender-changing restrooms, and more" [+]... "How can you not like a game that introduced scratch and sniff. It is a pity that this particular innovation was not more widely copied." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Blue Lacuna, by Aaron A. Reed
8 votes
"Great extensions" [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Suspended, by Michael Berlyn
8 votes
"Broke the Mold" [+]... "Very innovative" [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... "A very..." [+]...

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Planetfall, by Steve Meretzky
8 votes
"Floyd is the first NPC that everyone talks about." [+]... "An early success at vivid imagery and storytelling." [+]... "Really showed what could be done with an NPC" [+]... "Floyd!" [+]... "30+ years later, I still remember Floyd." [+]... "thoughtful, robust NPC development" [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Slouching Towards Bedlam, by Star Foster and Daniel Ravipinto
7 votes
"A sinister steampunk masterpiece" [+]... "Ingenious and innovative" [+]... "Incorporates meta-commands into the story." [+]... "Great work on..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Rameses, by Stephen Bond
7 votes
"New innovations in railroading and in strongly characterized PCs." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Counterfeit Monkey, by Emily Short
7 votes
"My first really great if game I've played- it's still my favorite!" [+]... "The best game ever created" [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Plundered Hearts, by Amy Briggs
7 votes
"Not just for the female PC" [+]... "Early example of..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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So Far, by Andrew Plotkin
7 votes
"A beautiful and unsettling dream" [+]... "If this isn't the..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... "Inspired a flurry..." [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Enchanter, by Marc Blank, Dave Lebling
7 votes
"Seems like every IF product ever is named after a spell from this trilogy." [+]... "Showed the world what IF was capable of" [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Pick Up The Phone Booth And Die, by Rob Noyes
6 votes
"Hugely influential... in its own way" [+]... "Love it or hate..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Fail-Safe, by Jon Ingold
6 votes
"Would not work if..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... "Perhaps the first..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Shade, by Andrew Plotkin
6 votes
"Modern IF work..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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9:05, by Adam Cadre
6 votes
"Very short, but play it again. Trust me." [+]... "Great comedic game with amazing replay value" [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Mystery House, by Ken Williams and Roberta Williams
5 votes
"The first graphic adventure" [+]... "Launched a genre" [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Hunter, in Darkness, by Andrew Plotkin
5 votes
"Linguistic claustrophobia" [+]... "Does away with..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Varicella, by Adam Cadre
5 votes
(No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of It, by Jeff O'Neill
5 votes
"Long-term influence seems minimal or at least indirect, but noteworthy for discarding the standard adventuring-room-to-room paradigm almost entirely in favor of conceptual puzzle-play." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Softporn Adventure, by Chuck Benton
4 votes
"The granddaddy of..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Main Hall & Beginners Cave, by Donald Brown
3 votes
"Representative of a series" [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Border Zone, by Marc Blank
3 votes
"different roles/perspectives in the same story, and realtime events" [+]... "A new spy genre in realtime" [+]... "Perspectives IF" [+]...

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For a Change, by Dan Schmidt
3 votes
(No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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John's Fire Witch, by John Baker
3 votes
"Start of the trend towards short IF" [+]... "Fun and atmospheric" [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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A Change in the Weather, by Andrew Plotkin
2 votes
"I believe this..." [+]...

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Rematch, by Andrew D. Pontious
2 votes
"Tour de force of indirection" [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Ditch Day Drifter, by Michael J. Roberts
2 votes
"This was the..." [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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All Roads, by Jon Ingold
2 votes
"Linearity of play and nonlinearity of plot in a way that goes beyond Photopia and I think was influential." [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Endless, Nameless, by Adam Cadre
2 votes
"inspired my love for interactive fiction" [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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A Day for Fresh Sushi, by Emily Short
2 votes
(No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Lime Ergot, by Caleb Wilson (as Rust Blight)
2 votes
(No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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A Bear's Night Out, by David Dyte
2 votes
(No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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The Space Under the Window, by Andrew Plotkin
2 votes
(No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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She's Got a Thing for a Spring, by Brent VanFossen
2 votes
(No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Exhibition, by Ian Finley
2 votes
(No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...

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Twine Story, by Mike69420666
1 vote
"Inspiration for twine starters" [+]...

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The Edifice, by Lucian P. Smith
1 vote
"The language..." [+]...

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Beyond Zork, by Brian Moriarty
1 vote
(No comment) [+]...

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The Pawn, by Rob Steggles, Peter Kemp, Hugh Steers, Ken Gordon, and Geoff Quilley
1 vote
"First Magnetic Scrolls game" [+]...

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The Guild of Thieves, by Rob Steggles
1 vote
"Funny, Surrealistic and innovative" [+]...

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A Conversation on Cheating the Twine Word Counter, by Mykael
1 vote
"gives us tips on twine internals and some workarounds" [+]...

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the uncle who works for nintendo, by michael lutz
1 vote
"creepy as hell and makes great use of its format" [+]...

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The Golden Wombat of Destiny, by Huw Collingbourne
1 vote
"The sass on this game." [+]...

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Mystery Science Theater 3000 Presents "Detective", by C. E. Forman, Matt Barringer, Graeme Cree, and Stuart Moore
1 vote
"Several other..." [+]...

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The Lost Spellmaker, by Neil James Brown
1 vote
"First IF to..." [+]...

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Fallacy of Dawn, by Robb Sherwin
1 vote
(No comment) [+]...

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King's Ransom, by Sean Ellis
1 vote
"The first game made with GAC - a tool used for 300+ games" [+]...

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Ghost Town, by Scott Adams
1 vote
"Very clever and well themed" [+]...

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PataNoir, by Simon Christiansen
1 vote
(No comment) [+]...

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