|
Have you played this game?You can rate this game, record that you've played it, or put it on your wish list after you log in. |
Playlists and Wishlists |
RSS Feeds New member reviews
Updates to downloadable files
All updates to this page
|
|
Game Details
Language: English (en)
Current Version: 2 License: Freeware Development System: TADS 2 Baf's Guide ID: 10
|
Awards
Editorial Reviews
Baf's Guide
Are you crazy? Perhaps. Your father started rambling about aliens when he went mad, and now the same aliens are apparently giving you a series of intelligence tests in a simulation of your home town. A short Twilight Zone-ish story with a convincing rural Appalachian setting, a strong element of mystery, a back-story that's revealed over the course of the game, and a tricky double twist ending. It is possible to lock yourself out of victory by solving a certain puzzle too soon.
-- Carl Muckenhoupt
SPAG
It's hard to believe that this is the very first serious game about aliens. Oh, there have been the pulp sci-fi offerings ("LGOP," for instance), and the typical plot-forming UFO abduction (as seen in "Waystation," "Plague Planet," and "Lost"), but I can't recall ever seeing a work of I-F that deals with the anomaly from a standpoint that does justice to the phenomenon. [...] C. E. Forman
[...] How well Alien Abduction? works is a function of the player's expectations, I suppose - it's certainly a well-written game with some suspenseful moments and good deal of atmosphere, and if you're someone who enjoys IF that emphasizes setting and mood, and who doesn't care overmuch about being able to solve the puzzles without reliance on hints, this is definitely for you. [...] Duncan Stevens
See the full review
>INVENTORY - Paul O'Brian writes about interactive fiction
Really provocative premise. Loved the Twilight Zone feel of things, and finding out more about character’s (and character’s father’s) past worked quite effectively. On the downside, some fairly significant omissions.
See the full review
Tags
Member Reviews
| Average Rating: Number of Reviews: 2 Write a review |
Abduction or Delusion?, August 26, 2012"Assuming you haven’t lost your grip on reality, you are Isaiah Knott, a twenty-seven year old man from the Appalachian mountains". The question is, have you lost your grip on reality? Your partner thinks you have, and the whole town is sure your dad was crazy. And it's all down to those darn UFOs.
Alien Abduction? is not a huge game - one good Mastermind-like puzzle, some mechanical manipulation and a little lateral thinking will get you through. But the characterisation of you-as-Isaiah is very strong, the mystery and ambiguity are both compelling, and the NPCs are amusing, if not perhaps as interesting as your own motivations.
It's a game that could have been truly great given a little more implementation. There were way too many stock responses that inevitably become annoying for the diligent IF player. For me, if something is important enough to be described in scene-setting, it should be important enough to be at least recognised by the parser. I get very tired of exchanges such as this:
You are wearing your comfortable jeans, a thick flannel shirt, and hiking boots.
>x jeans
I don’t know the word “jeans”.
Still, I think its age means that Alien Abduction can be forgiven somewhat for this, and its conversation system is a little more fleshed out, in that it can deal with concepts as well as objects (though you still can't ask anyone about "UFOs", unfortunately).
A mid-length, early, serious alien abduction game, February 3, 2016This game was entered in the 1996 IFComp, where it took 9th place. In this game, you play a backwoods fellow who is convinced that aliens have been messing with his brain, just like they messed with his father.
You are abducted, and forced to pass a sequence of tests. They start abstract, and then become immersive. Some reviewers and I had to use hints frequently, but the story and setting are quite interesting.
The scenery is often unimplemented, which may be frustrating for those used to more recent games.
Interesting for those who'd like to see an alien abduction game.
If you enjoyed Alien Abduction?...
Related Games
People who like Alien Abduction? also gave high ratings to these games:| Augmented Fourth, by Brian Uri! Average member rating: (61 ratings)WANTED: Amateur musicians to serve the Royal Court. Must provide own instrument and be inured to copious constructive criticism. Impress your friends! Meet the King! Apply in person at the Castle, located on the south side of the volcano... |
| The Gostak, by Carl Muckenhoupt Average member rating: (75 ratings)"Finally, here you are. At the delcot of tondam, where doshes deave. But the doshery lutt is crenned with glauds. Glauds! How rorm it would be to pell back to the bewl and distunk them, distunk the whole delcot, let the drokes uncren... |
| Choice of the Dragon, by Dan Fabulich and Adam Strong-Morse Average member rating: (32 ratings)Play as a fire-breathing dragon who sleeps on gold and kidnaps princesses for fun! Choice of the Dragon is a free text-based game of multiple choice. Dominate the local kingdom, loot and pillage, and inspire terror in the hearts of your... |
Recommended Lists
Alien Abduction? appears in the following Recommended Lists:Most unusual games by MathBrush
These are games that are very different than most games on IFDB. Some games that are exceptional in execution (like Counterfeit Monkey) are derived from concepts that are similar to other games (like Andrew Schultz's or Ad Verbum). This...
This is version 5 of this page, edited by Paul O'Brian on 5 May 2022 at 1:24am. - View Update History - Edit This Page - Add a News Item