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The Ice-Bound Concordance

by Aaron A. Reed profile and Jacob Garbe

Science Fiction
2016

Web Site

(based on 1 rating)
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About the Story

The Ice-Bound Concordance is an award-winning indie game ("Best Story/World Design" winner, IndieCade 2014; "Excellence in Narrative" nominee, IGF 2015) with cutting-edge interactive story technology, enhanced by a printed book using augmented reality. Inspired by the mysterious fiction of writers like Borges and books like House of Leaves, the story will take you deep into the frozen ruins of a sinking polar research base.

When a digital simulation of a long-dead author is created to complete his final masterpiece, a story of explorers trapped in at the end of the world, the player must help by exploring hundreds of permutations of these famous stories. By conversing with the troubled A.I. and rearranging his fragmented stories, you'll decide how (and if!) his novel should end. A logic-driven combinatorial narrative system allows the player's input to shape the story in a way completely unlike most story-based games.

The game takes on a new dimension when combined with the physical printed book "The Ice-Bound Compendium." This full-color 80-page art book drives the game forward by unlocking new levels and new pieces of the A.I. writer's past. Seen through the iPad camera, pages come alive via augmented reality technology, inscribed with new layers of secrets. Find out how to get the book at http://www.ice-bound.com/


Game Details


Awards

Winner, Best Use of Innovation; Winner, Best Use of Multimedia - 2016 XYZZY Awards

Finalist, Excellence in Narrative; Honorable Mention, Nuovo Award - Independent Games Festival 2015

Editorial Reviews

Rock Paper Shotgun
"This is a game that defies easy explanation."
A love triangle I’d accidentally wrangled from the light permutations was forgotten about for three layers then re-appeared suddenly further down. When I realised quite the extent to which the story was procedural and responsive, it felt like a dizzying pit had opened up. How was this made, I began to wonder. What needs to be done to make a game like this?
See the full review

Killscreen
Death of the Author
Highlighting certain imagery (environmental objects, characters’ possessions, etc.), the player chooses points of focus for Ice-Bound’s narrative, and each choice ramifies as the player helps the AI unlock new chapters to build and order the book from incomplete data.
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The Ice-Bound Concordance on IFDB

Polls

The following polls include votes for The Ice-Bound Concordance:

For your consideration: XYZZY-eligible Writing of 2016 by MathBrush
This is for suggesting games released in 2016 which you think might be worth considering for Best Writing in the XYZZY awards. This is not a zeroth-round nomination. The category will still be text-entry, and games not mentioned here...

For your consideration: XYZZY-eligible Best Games of 2016 by MathBrush
This is for suggesting games released in 2016 which you think might be worth considering for Best Game in the XYZZY awards. This is not a zeroth-round nomination. The category will still be text-entry, and games not mentioned here will...

For your consideration: XYZZY-eligible Multimedia of 2016 by MathBrush
This is for suggesting games released in 2016 which you think might be worth considering for Best Use of Multimedia in the XYZZY awards. This is not a zeroth-round nomination. The category will still be text-entry, and games not...

See all polls with votes for this game




This is version 3 of this page, edited by JTN on 14 January 2024 at 5:27am. - View Update History - Edit This Page - Add a News Item - Delete This Page