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Savoir-Faire

by Emily Short profile

Episode 1 of Lavori d'Aracne
2002
Fantasy
Inform 6

About the Story

The beautiful life is always damned, they say. As for you, you've
overexpended yourself: fifteen years of prominence, champagne,
carriage rides in the Tuileries, having your name whispered behind
manicured hands, getting elegant ladies out of elegant fixes -
and you're in debt. Bound by oath and honor to a pack of scoundrels.
Your father, old peasant that he was, could have warned you against
their type.

Page Update History

  v.16: 09-Nov-2024 01:55 - JTN (Current Version) - Edit Page - Normal View
Changed cross-references
v.15: 13-Jun-2024 05:25 - OtisTDog
Changed development system
v.14: 21-Sep-2023 20:26 - Zape
Changed Web site URL, download links
v.13: 14-Dec-2020 16:05 - Lance Campbell
Changed download links
v.12: 14-Dec-2020 15:50 - Lance Campbell
Changed download links
v.11: 01-Jul-2020 08:51 - Zape
Changed external review links
v.10: 23-Sep-2013 03:27 - Edward Lacey
Changed external review links
v.9: 17-Feb-2013 11:21 - Edward Lacey
Changed external review links
v.8: 07-Dec-2011 15:27 - RedHatter
Changed download links
v.7: 28-Sep-2008 10:13 -
Changed download links
v.6: 04-Apr-2008 14:28 - Emily Short
Changed download links
v.5: 04-Apr-2008 14:28 - Emily Short
Changed download links
v.4: 25-Oct-2007 20:04 - Eriorg
Changed author
v.3: 21-Oct-2007 14:00 - Emily Short
Changed download links
v.2: 21-Oct-2007 02:46 - Emily Short
Changed description, series name, episode number, forgiveness, download links
v.1: 16-Oct-2007 01:49 - IFDB
Created page

3 Off-Site Reviews

Gaming Enthusiast
It’s not a masterpiece, but a very enjoyable and memorable game nonetheless.
See the full review

IF-Review
Fait Accompli
This is, all in all, very Emily Short: clockwork and magic, affluent Rococo / Enlightenment scenery and pseudo-Continental setting, cheese, acerbic put-downs as parser responses, complex object code and the usual and inimitable tersely elegant turns of phrase. The central contraption in particular felt extremely Metamorphoses-esque; however, Savoir not only outdoes Metamorphoses in terms of scale, but also has a much more widespread and human touch, despite the lack of immediately present NPCs. The motivation changes subtly throughout the piece; initially, it appears to be just an old-skool grab-and-plunder, which then develops a recollection-of-past subtext: so far, so conventional. The nature of these memories adds a definite feeling of guilt to the indiscriminate raiding, though (I looked over my shoulder a couple of times before breaking the seal on the letter), as well as introducing the further motivation of finding out what happened to the house's residents.
See the full review

SPAG
Savoir-Faire is an excellent game, featuring a strong sense of place, an innovative backstory & magic system, and a protagonist whose idiosyncrasies are charming in a way that reminds me of Varicella. (Daphne Brinkerhoff)

When a game comes out and patently calls itself old school, comparisons to some of the more popular Infocom classics and early shareware games will be drawn. So the question is, does Savoir-Faire succeed in replicating the old Infocom standard? As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't just succeed in replicating it; it's better in every respect I can think of while still maintaining the illusion that the game could have been created in Infocom's heyday. (Francesco Bova)
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Game Details