Laid Off from the Synesthesia Factory

Laid off from the Synesthesia Factory (LoftSF) does a clever and strange and beautiful thing. The player plays - types in commands - but suddenly their in-world actions aren't necessarily in total control of the narrative. Its trajectory and momentum continue with or without them. They guide the narrative maybe, rather than control it. At first, this is disconcerting, and for players used to the traditional parser model of action/triggered response, it could result in an extreme negative reaction.

And that would be a shame, because LoftSF shows me something I haven't seen before. As a player I am part of the narrative, I can suggest direction it might go. I can influence it at certain points, but I am also being guided by the hands of a master storyteller - taking me through a compelling beautifully written story that doesn't lose momentum or get bogged down by traditional parser mechanics.

Going forward, I want this idea to be explored more. If I have a criticism of LoftSF, it's that sometime I am unsure whether my actions are guiding the text, or the text would happen anyway and is just coincidentally reflecting my wishes. But, then again, maybe that's the point.

This is a game to be read without pre-conceived notions of IF.