Three More Visitors

I found the game moving and very well-written. The descriptions are not only "descriptive" but also very narrative, which gives a litterary feeling.

We are very passive at several moments of the story, but it is emblematic of the whole game: we know what to do, we know what actions will make the story progress. We can speak of interactive fiction as "participatory reading" or "engaging reading" when the actions are limited, simple, ultra-obvious, simply allowing the player to read a story while having the pleasant impression of collaborating in its unfolding. It is like turning pages, but more active; we act in an intradiegetic way instead of simply acting on the very object that is the support of the work.

This is almost more a short-story with slight participation of the reader, than an actual "text game". For example, (Spoiler - click to show)the key is useless: you have it from the beginning of the game, with no reason to lose it, and no reason not to be able to open the door (unless you drop the key before trying to enter; but why to do such a thing?). The author could just as easily have connected the "Courtyard" room and the inside of the house, without a door in between. I interpret the fact that he chose to implement a door and a key as the will to stick to Interactive Fiction standards. The objects and the organization of space are not necessary, but correspond to a tradition.

That said, there are a few embryonic puzzles — (Spoiler - click to show) I would never have thought to give this coin to the Chinese if the ghost hadn't suggested it to me... This is the first "puzzle" of the game, and although it is the simplest ever conceived (there is no other possibility than to give this piece to the man) it surprises relatively because until then the story was progressing more or less on rails. The fact that the author felt the need to suggest what to do to the player suggests that he was aware that he was creating a break, however small it might be. — that didn't diminish the pleasure I had reading/playing Three More Visitors.

Longer review here : https://me-myself-if.blogspot.com/2020/01/three-more-visitors-by-paul-stanley.html