The Act of Misdirection

by Callico Harrison

Fantasy, Historical, Horror
2004

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- caligula jones, March 9, 2024

- Zape, October 25, 2023

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
If at all possible, know nothing about this game before starting, October 25, 2023

I downloaded An Act of Misdirection many years ago, having seen it mentioned in passing in a positive way. The only thing that I remembered about it when I loaded it up this morning was that you play the part of a stage magician, and that you had to figure out the steps of the performance.

"Well, this should be interesting," I thought after reading the run-up to the first command prompt. Imagine my delight as I found that the way had been carefully prepared for my bumbling first attempts, that hints and nudges were craftily placed within every turn of phrase of the interaction. These hints began small and subtle but escalated to large and glaring when needed to get my attention, and rapidly taught me both to follow their lead and to take advantage of the breaks in the action to "work the crowd" for a response.

I have noted in the past about certain games' ability to follow the player until the player can learn to follow them. This is accomplished so expertly here that it seems effortless. The only point where I got stalled too long was a place where a little thinking about the logic of performances of this type would have sufficed. (Spoiler - click to show)Specifically, having used a blunt instrument for its intended purpose, it makes sense that it can be disposed of thereafter. (Spoiler - click to show)A hint from your assistance about which item he expects to catch would have smoothed the way here; if there was one, I missed it. The correct move was apparent enough when I stopped to consider it... it just took me a while to do so because I was swept up in the urgency of keeping the show going. The author, Callico Harrison, should truly take a bow for this achievement; not many games manage to instill this sense of immediacy.

Having come to this game mostly "cold," I wasn't even aware that there was a horror component to it. I would imagine that this situation has been relatively rare since the game's initial release -- this IFDB page, for example, clearly labels it as such -- but knowing about it is a massive spoiler! If you have already played the game you can imagine my own shock, echoing that of the fictional audience, as the performance reaches its culmination. The first act had been an Act of Misdirection, indeed.

Moving on from there, Ms. Harrison demonstrates a surprisingly rich and deep command of language in painting the scenes of the protagonist's origin story. Many people seem to find this second section to be inferior to the first; I did not. The same craft and skill is used to keep the action moving with clues, now less blatant in their prompting of the right command. The parser is fairly free in its interpretation of your input at this point, redirecting your intent when you are "close enough" in order to keep the scene moving briskly. Call it "railroaded" if you like, but I prefer to think of it as the game urgently requesting your cooperation to play along so as not to ruin the intended pacing. I found myself eager to catch up as the game led me through a chaotic situation, glancing this way and that at glimpses of Victorian life before being tugged along to a more contemplative setting where the horror begins in earnest.

Here Ms. Harrison shows that her command of the psychology of horror is as great as that of her command of language -- indeed, I found this section to be a master class of the technique for "showing, not telling" in the context of interactive fiction. I expect to spend much time scrutinizing the writing here to better understand how she so expertly conveys key knowledge indirectly; important realizations suddenly appear in your mind at the center of a flourish of well-chosen connotations. A second bow in encore is called for here.

If there is anything to criticize about this work, it is that it is over too quickly, and that certain details of the scenario are not clear after a first playing. I am glad to see that other reviewers almost universally recommend a second playthrough, and I look forward to doing so... preferably with other players who don't know what to expect.

As a final note, I want to point out that this game was written in Inform 6, and it is a remarkable feat to achieve such a level of polish with that toolset. Very few games of the era are its equal in this respect, though nowadays Inform 7 makes it easier (if not exactly easy) to build scenarios of comparable quality.

Ms. Harrison does not seem to have ever produced another standalone work of IF (though she did contribute to Cragne Manor), but if she does she will find me among those waiting "in anticipation of something magical" to try her next work.

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- egostat (1st Level, Abyss), May 4, 2023

- elysee, May 4, 2023

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Tip o' the Top Hat, February 22, 2023
by Rovarsson (Belgium)

The Great Meldellevo ends his magic show with an unforeseen and, honestly, quite gruesome finale. While he runs away memories of how his career began flash through his mind...

The magic show is a marvel of finetuned implementation. It is possible to rush through with a few well-chosen commands, following the game's nudges. Far more satisfying however is to savour the moment and give the audience a real show for their money. (And give yourself, PC ànd player, a healthy dose of adrenalin and smugness...)

The following flashback to "Meldevello"'s humble origin is a rather railroaded vignette. There is one all-important choice to make, which determines the protagonist fate. Whether this option is even available depends on certain actions during the magic show. Replaying once you understand what I am referring to would almost certainly heighten your appreciation of this game.

I found the pacing of The Act of Misdirection somewhat unevenly balanced.
Act I, the magic show, requires the player to explicitly give the right commands for the following step to the PC. While the game does nudge you forward, sometimes the nudges were not enough for me. Being stuck in this part, searching for the appropriate action, breaks the tempo and the thrill of the performance.
Quite the opposite is true of Act II. Here I wanted to loiter in places, taking my time to study my surroundings and especially to talk about all manner of topics. In this part though, the game seemed so eager to drag me along with the story that half a command was often enough to trigger the next scene.

Taken together, the occurences at the magic performance and the explanations in the flashback make for a fragmented, shiver-inducing short horror-tale. A story that takes a while for all the bits to fall into place.

Worth playing, and replaying at least once.

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- TheBoxThinker, February 11, 2023

- jaymesjw, February 6, 2023

- Cerfeuil (*Teleports Behind You* Nothing Personnel, Kid), October 11, 2022

- William Chet (Michigan), June 7, 2022

- Second Lemming, April 4, 2022

- Prosilire (New York City), August 3, 2021

- hoopla, June 7, 2021

- Xuan Li, July 6, 2020

- kierlani, April 2, 2020

- elias67, October 25, 2019

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Play Act I!, July 17, 2018
by f-a

The first Act is marvelous and exquisitely crafted: perfect specimen of a "restricted choice" IF where the player still feels in control. Excellent experience and (for me) a pinnacle in its genre.

The remaining adventure (Act II and III) are less interesting/funny, but worth playing with a walkthrough.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
A Work of Art, July 16, 2018
by Whystler
Related reviews: harrison misdirection

This game is a work of art, and as such, it takes a mind which can wander and forgive the mechanical quirks. It deserves a 5 as a work of fiction, but because of certain stumbles in mechanical planning that made some transitions awkward, I had to knock it down to 4 for IF. If you have an open mind to these things and persevere for a great story, then please, entertain yourself, and spend time savouring this delicacy.

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- Stas, March 31, 2018

- C. W. Gray , February 19, 2018

- lkdc, December 3, 2017

- Wanderlust, August 3, 2017

- gilhova, July 26, 2017

- KGH (North Carolina), September 15, 2016

- NJ (Ontario), June 11, 2016

- Harry Coburn (Atlanta, GA), February 24, 2016

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Unique and 'magical' opening, well-implemented but standard middle and finale, February 3, 2016

This game is set in old London. The first act is amazing; you play a magician in the middle of an act. The level of detail in the opening is astonishing, and is a must-play for every IF fan.

Sadly, the game goes downhill from there. It is still a very good game, but nothing can compare to the opening. You spend the rest of the game trying to understand more of your background and visiting various mundane or mysterious locales.

The game takes less than an hour to play. Some of the puzzles are very hard, and getting the 'best' solution requires that you bring some objects with you from one area to another, with no chance to backtrack if you missed them.

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- Aryore, December 13, 2015

- Ivanr, October 13, 2015

- CMG (NYC), September 15, 2015

- Indigo9182, June 7, 2015

- Lanternpaw, May 16, 2015

- dosgamer, April 12, 2015

- Thrax, March 12, 2015

- cabalia (Ohio), March 2, 2015

- shornet (Bucharest), March 23, 2014

- bluevelvetwings, January 7, 2014

- KidRisky (Connecticut, USA), December 20, 2013

- John Simon (London), October 31, 2013

- verityvirtue (London), October 14, 2013

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Real Gem, October 13, 2013
by streever (America)

This is a strong game with excellent narration and very clever plotting.

Don't be put off trying it by the critical reviews. Bad IF rarely receives actual reviews, and I suspect most authors criticize parts of this piece because it is very, very good.

I am unaware of anything else Harrison has written, which is a shame. I do hope that this author creates more interactive fiction at some point.

The good:
> An original story with an interesting twist.
> Many well-written characters and dialogue.
> An alternate ending which you are incredibly unlikely to get on a first play-through.
> Freedom and choice in the first half, although, with many constraints.

The less-good:
> Linear story (This isn't a contradiction--the story is linear, even railroading you into actions and choices, but you have a surprising degree of freedom in how you make those actions, which allows for a very fun early game on your second play)
> An alternate ending which you receive no clues or suggestions to achieve. I suspect most if not all players would not realize that an alternate was possible if not for the author informing them.
> Several minor typos.
> The occasional "purple prose" example.
> Some strange action/verb choices.
> No follow-up work from Harrison, which is a shame.

All in all, I enjoyed this game immensely. Very fun and very well-written.

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- Jason Lautzenheiser (Navarre, Ohio), August 16, 2013

- Egas, August 4, 2013

- luftmensch (Germany), May 8, 2013

- Floating Info, April 3, 2013

- deathbytroggles (Minneapolis, MN), February 7, 2013

- StrawberryFields (DC Area), December 17, 2012

- platy, September 13, 2012

- Mr. Patient (Saint Paul, Minn.), August 21, 2012

- E.K., August 16, 2012

- shilmista, May 10, 2012

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
A Diamond in the Rough, March 21, 2012
by Jim Kaplan (Jim Kaplan has a room called the location. The location of Jim Kaplan is variable.)
Related reviews: callico harrison, fantasy

Play this game if: you like your IF short and simple, or you want to play through one of the more memorable set-pieces in the genre.

Don't play this game if: you're easily put off by linear and nearly puzzle-free gameplay.

The Act of Misdirection opens with a wonderful scene in which the player must perform a magic act without knowing the choreography beforehand. Fortunately, the protagonist does know, which puts the player in the interesting position of being one step ahead of the audience (as the narrative voice provides clues to the tricks) and one step behind the protagonist. The writing is very strong here, and the game effectively builds the player's sense of entertainment and anticipation as the player does the same thing to the in-game audience. It's thrilling stuff, the kind of set-piece which would make for an excellent Inform tutorial.

The rest of the game pales a little in comparison. This is not to denigrate Harrison's achievements: from a purely technical standpoint there's still a fair amount to appreciate, such as some solid NPC interactions and a setting that has the population density of character and detail just right. But the writing and atmosphere just don't harmonize with these aspects of the game the way they do in the first act (no wordplay intended?).

Beyond the opening scene, the writing is probably the chief attraction. Harrison isn't afraid to use some flowery prose, but more importantly establishes a good couple of narrative voices. (Spoiler - click to show)The contrast between the narrator's voice for the magic act and the rest of the game is a good touch, with the dramatic and confident narration in the beginning emphasizing Meldellevo's power and skill, and the following imagined diatribes from Sally highlighting how insecure a character Sarah really is. This adds somewhat to the Faustian conflict at play. The settings are easy to picture as a result of the good descriptive text, rendering progress that much more comfortable, and some tense moments have genuine punch. (Spoiler - click to show)Consider the excellent use of the single-sentence paragraph at the climax of the magic routine, as well as the "normal" ending's final sentence. There are, however, some rough patches - syntax and word usage errors not due to technical issues. They aren't really numerous enough to destroy your enjoyment of the game or anything, but together with a sense that a premise this creative could have supported a bigger story, they add to the feeling of the whole package as a little unpolished.

This is also one of the more linear stories I've encountered in IF - as the author notes, it's impossible to put the game into an unwinnable state. However, the alternate ending - and yes, there is one - relies on a sufficiently unfair puzzle that getting it is more of an exercise for a second playthrough than a genuine opportunity for the first-time player. It also means that the nearly puzzle-less environment consists largely of "guess the verb" mini-games, though these aren't particularly unfair.

Overall, this is a story with strong promise - and even as a diamond in the rough (emphasizing the "diamond"), it's worth your time. Were Ms Harrison to expand this into a larger narrative - which I would argue, is a worthwhile pursuit - I'd suggest maintaining (where possible) the information asymmetry between player and protagonist, as well as getting one (or maybe one more) friendly eye to proofread and test-play.

Good job!

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- Savaric (Sweden), August 31, 2011

- RichCheng (Warwickshire, UK), July 20, 2011

- Felix Pleșoianu (Bucharest, Romania), April 24, 2011

- Simon Christiansen (Denmark), January 11, 2011

- The Year Is Yesterday (California), December 12, 2010

- Telvayne (Tennessee, USA), August 18, 2010

- Sorrel, July 25, 2010

- Azazel, April 8, 2010

- Benjamin Wochinski (Milwaukee, WI), November 28, 2009

- JonathanCR, September 21, 2009

- Shchekotiki, August 3, 2009

- MyTheory (Missouri), June 14, 2009

- Cheryl L (Australia), May 4, 2009

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
Revising my opinion, May 7, 2008

The first scene of this game is a favorite of mine: the player is called on to do a magic trick in front of an audience, though (of course) as player he does not know how the trick is done. But there's more to the scene than simply getting the trick right and solving the puzzle: on a replay, it's possible to turn the scene into a real performance, by hamming things up, tantalizing the audience, and making the most out of each stage. This allows for expressive play -- getting into the character of the PC and making the most of it -- to a degree I have seen in few other games.

When I first played, I found the pacing broke down a bit in the later scenes, and the writing became more overwrought. Replaying later, I found the later pieces of the game much more successful. I'm not sure whether this is because I was playing a later version of the game (these notes are based on version 6) or whether I was just luckier with my subsequent play-through. But on review, this piece impressed me quite a bit more than it did the first time around.

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- Nusco (Bologna, Italy), October 31, 2007

3 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
Evocative but Linear, October 23, 2007
by AmberShards (The Gothic South)
Related reviews: non-interactive, victorian, horror

One of the effects interactive fiction generates a strong feeling of "being there", due to the description of your environs and your interaction with them. The Act of Misdirection features stunningly evocative prose; you never doubt that you are in turn-of-the-century London, seen through the veil of Victorian horror. The game also features a flashback, which is a rarity in IF. However, there are no choices in this game. It is more like you fumble around where interaction is required until you discover "the" answer, which allows the plot to continue. The ending is satisfying in a cathartic way, but still feels hollow. It's like someone is reading you an engrossing story where you have to guess what comes next at certain junctures. Fiction it is; interactive, it is not.

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