Recommendations for linguist-friends, intended to a) be a good introduction to the medium and b) show off things that you can accomplish in this medium that don't really work elsewhere. This should supplement, not replace, the excellent general-beginner list at PR-IF.org
1. Photopia by Adam Cadre (1998) Average member rating: (563 ratings)
Leland Paul says:
A game that is very nearly static fiction – you have very little free choice at any given point in time – and yet the little bit of interactivity is used to great affect. An example of a story that I really just don't think would be particularly effective in any other medium. (Although apparently the author is working on a novelization?)
2. Violet by Jeremy Freese (2008) Average member rating: (388 ratings)
Leland Paul says:
The first game I recommend to almost everybody, especially academics: Slapstick comedy about writing one's dissertation. Also shows off how the medium can create awesome, interesting relationships between the narrator and the player (and the viewpoint character).
3. Galatea by Emily Short (2000) Average member rating: (343 ratings)
Leland Paul says:
A conversation with a piece of art, literally. Conversation-driven IF is nearly impossible to pull off, but Emily Short is the acknowledged master, and Galatea is one of the best characters ever created in this medium. Short refers to this as "multilinear" narrative: This game can end in any of about 50 different ways, so you should expect to play it several times through and be constantly re-evaluating what's happening.
Short, beautiful sci-fi IF by a master of the medium.
5. Make It Good by Jon Ingold (2009) Average member rating: (84 ratings)
Leland Paul says:
Hard-boiled detective fiction with a twist. A good example of a game that focuses on exploring the hidden space between the viewpoint character and the player, making it painfully clear that they are two different entities with different knowledge and possibly different motivations.
6. For a Change by Dan Schmidt (1999) Average member rating: (115 ratings)
Leland Paul says:
The sun is gone. It must be brought. You have a rock. (Surrealist IF at its cutest.)
7. The Gostak by Carl Muckenhoupt (2001) Average member rating: (92 ratings)
Leland Paul says:
A game with a premise derived from a "wugs"-like ling thought experiment. How could I not include it here? (I've never actually finished this game...)
