Rameses

Have always admired this coming of age IF for its cheeky and insightful depiction not just of passivity but nostalgia.

One aspect I haven't seen mentioned elsewhere: Unless I'm wrong, I believe the concept owes something to the Dostoevsky's "Notes From Underground," another story told by a bitter and impractical man with issues relating to his peers. Years after playing Bond's game, I was reading "Notes" for the first time when something about a rant in it felt very familiar, and I realized I was thinking of the protagonist's speech in "Rameses" attacking "you 'people of action.'"

Rameses is a semi-interactive short story about a shy, insecure teenage boarding school student with too much social anxiety to act on his impulses. Surrounded by jerks and pushovers (and certainly a bit of both himself), the protagonist struggles to navigate awkward situations like bullying and dates with girls.

The protagonist's social paralysis is represented through the "gameplay" decision to restrict the player's behavior at almost every turn. Almost nothing the player can do will affect the story in any meaningful way, and often the protagonist simply refuses to act at all. This is not a bug but a feature, however, as it perfectly expresses the way a surly teenager might shut down in complicated social situations where they feel powerless.

While Rameses may frustrate some players looking for either an adventure game (no puzzles here!) or a piece of interactive fiction with more emphasis on "interactivity," the story and mechanical conceit are strong enough to recommend anyway. It should strike a chord with anyone who has ever experienced being an insecure teenager surrounded by other insecure teenagers, which I'd guess is quite a lot of people.