Violet

My history with interactive fiction is fraught with frustration and failed attempts. I remember having at least two games on my Commodore 64 (or maybe my Apple IIc) that I started but never finished. After a long hiatus from interactive fiction I discovered a text adventure buried in the Terminal on my Mac a year ago. After several attempts to solve it, I set it aside. A few months later, I found a copy of Adventure that I installed and played a few times. I still haven't finished it.

For some reason I can't yet explain, I continue to be drawn to text-based adventures. About a month ago, I stumbled upon Andrew Plotkin's The Dreamhold which led me to install Zoom and frequent the IFDB. I started downloading games based on recommendations focusing mainly on games for beginners with solid storytelling. Violet is the third game I've played and finished without help from walkthroughs.

The game presents you with an ultimatum - write 1,000 words on your dissertation or your girlfriend Violet is leaving you. In total, you are presented with six distractions to resolve. During my first few attempts at the game, I could see clearly the objects I needed to work with and I had a vague idea of what to do but the how escaped me. My inexperience with IF probably worked against me more than anything. I'm still learning about all of the common actions you can perform in an IF world. After my third or fourth foiled attempt I decided I was going to hate the game. I decided that there was no plausible ending that would satisfy me. But I was starting to gain ground with the puzzles and I kept going.

I think I restarted the game around five or six times before I solved it. And I really wanted to hate the ending. As I worked my way through it I started commentating audibly. I said things like "This game is [bother]," and "Seriously?!" and "This reminds me of MacGyver in a bad way." I also became quite disgusted with Violet, the quirky narrative voice that seemed to enjoy berating me and making me feel stupid for attempting to solve the game's puzzles in decidedly rational, logical ways.

This afternoon I played the game through to the end and I laughed out loud. And I smiled as I read the conclusion. And I uttered my final commentary on the game: "That was crazy!" And I shook my head and smirked for at least a whole minute. And I realized that if I were a person who could find no humor in absurdity I would have been less than amused.

Violet works very well as a beginner's game. In hindsight, the puzzles aren't difficult but each one is more nonsensical than the last. Once you embrace the absurdity you are on the fast track to finishing the game. The game also strikes a nice balance between interactive and fiction. It presents the player with challenges and punctuates them with monologues that clearly convey the backstory, the stakes and the immediate obstacles.

Although I found Violet (as a character) to be maddening, she did inspire all of the anxiety and motivation I needed to play through to completion. In the end, I think I just wanted to prove her wrong and shut her up, so I will close by saying thanks to Violet for (sort of) giving me the last word. If I could choose my own ending, I would totally break up with her.