What Heart Heard Of, Ghost Guessed

I had the privilege of playtesting What Heart Heard Of, Ghost Guessed, though I had no prior connection to the author.

This story is a unique take on gothic horror. For those unfamiliar with the genre, gothic horror is less concerned with horror, the frightening situations we want to run from, than it is with terror, the frightening situations that draw us towards them. By my count this work contains at most two scenes of horror. What it is much more inclined to deliver is an disquieting atmosphere and fragments of a tale so terror-inducing that the reader cannot help but try to learn more. There is nothing inherently good or bad about this genre, but as with any work, it helps to approach it on its own terms.

With respect to the game mechanic, what immediately distinguishes this work from other interactive fiction is that most of the set of verbs (“commands”) partakers of parser fiction take for granted are useless here. The player must instead learn a set of unique verbs. This is not as daunting as it might initially sound: The verbs are introduced gently, one by one. My play experience was defined by the joy of discovering a new verb and feeling the anticipation of the next verb well up within me.

Each verb corresponds with an emotion. This works well for a number of reasons, one being that the creator never loses sight of the fact that they are emotions and never just commands. Thus the timing with which the verbs are introduced or lost makes narrative sense.

The more time goes by, the more I realize how brilliant this story is. Consider, for example, (Spoiler - click to show) that in gothic horror a literal or figurative woman in the attic embodies dark secrets that the heirs of the estate hope no one ever learns. In this story “you” (the protagonist) are the woman in the attic. The full significance of this will become apparent while the reader progresses through the work.

If you want to get started with parser IF but have found the prospect of engaging with parser IF daunting, try this story. The verbs are simple, and my subjective sense is that the most difficult puzzles it contains are of moderate difficulty at most.

If playing parser IF has gotten stale for you, try this story. The satisfying narrative and the use of unique verbs make it a breath of fresh air.

If you fit into neither of the aforementioned categories, try this story. The creator has a deep knowledge of her craft, and if you are anything like me, this work will stick with you years after you first read it the way only a good story can.