IF that purposely conceals crucial player character information - an IFDB Poll
by Puddin Tame
RSS FeedIF that doesn't explicitly clue players in on knowledge they would/should have if they actually were the player character (The character's motivation, interests, relevant parts of their past etc.), which, for good or bad, results in some sort of twist/unexpected revelation. *NO SPOILERS PLEASE!!!* If you leave a comment, please don't reveal the nature of the concealed information!
View Comments (9) - Add a comment
| 9:05, by Adam Cadre 19 votes "Amnesia and murder lead to a profound identity crisis" [+]"Amnesia and murder lead to a profound identity crisis: This short game takes the assumptions about who the player is and turns them on the player in a most satisfactory way." ( - Full review) --WriterBob... "Probably the best example on this list." [+]"Probably the best example on this list." () --Kinetic Mouse Car... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Trif... (No comment) [+](No comment) --katz... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Petrichor... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Fredrik... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Karl Ove Hufthammer... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Bloodsong... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --E.K.... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --darint... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --DJ... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Zepton... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --tekket... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --cgasquid... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Cerfeuil... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Denk... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Marco Innocenti... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --aluminumoxynitride...  Vote for this game | |
| Spider and Web, by Andrew Plotkin 9 votes "I'll never forget..." [+]"I'll never forget that opening sequence..." --Danielle... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --EJ... "I haven't played..." [+]"I haven't played Cadre's "9:05," which is enjoying what seems an insurmountable lead in this poll, so perhaps I am poorly equipped to respond to this poll. I will say, though, that Plotkin's approach to the player/PC relationship, way back in those heady 90's, struck me as wholly novel, if not revolutionary. Perhaps the impact the game had upon me is hard to grasp, unless the last IF one experienced prior to "Spider..." was "Zork Zero" or some such jokey puzzlefest. It was, I think, a landscape-changing piece." () --Jimmy Gonzolo... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --DJ... "An excellent..." [+]"An excellent puzzle makes you reveal the hidden pieces of information." ( - Full review) --Simon Deimel... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Ismarus... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --cgasquid... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --aluminumoxynitride... Vote for this game | |
| Slouching Towards Bedlam, by Star Foster and Daniel Ravipinto 5 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Felix Pleșoianu... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --EJ... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Ann R. J.... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --cgasquid... Vote for this game | |
| Photopia, by Adam Cadre 4 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --DJ... "One puzzle is..." [+]"One puzzle is solved by the player learning about an attribute of the (current) PC." --Christina Nordlander... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Marco Innocenti... Vote for this game | |
| Fail-Safe, by Jon Ingold 3 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Fredrik... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --DJ... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... Vote for this game | |
| The Weapon, by Sean Barrett 3 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --DJ... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Felix Pleșoianu... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Pinstripe... Vote for this game | |
| A1RL0CK, by Marco Innocenti 2 votes "save the little, defenseless girl..." [+]"save the little, defenseless girl..." --Marco Innocenti... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Lance Cirone... Vote for this game | |
| Snowquest, by Eric Eve 2 votes "Its very deep" [+]"Its very deep: Everything is symbolic, and the meaning changes." ( ) --mousetail... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Ghalev... Vote for this game | |
| Tales of the Traveling Swordsman, by Mike Snyder 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) --Merk... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Sobol... Vote for this game | |
| A Thousand Thousand Slimy Things, by Charm Cochran 2 votes "The protagonist is hiding some big secrets" [+]"The protagonist is hiding some big secrets: Which are revealed in a way that doesn't end well for you at all!" ( ) --Cerfeuil... (No comment) [+](No comment) --OverThinking... Vote for this game | |
| Fingertips: The Day That Love Came To Play, by S. John Ross 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) --Ghalev... (No comment) [+](No comment) --cgasquid... Vote for this game | |
| Babel, by Ian Finley 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --IFforL2... "Turns out......" [+]"Turns out... (spoilers) YOU'RE the test subject!" () --Kinetic Mouse Car... Vote for this game | |
| Heroine's Mantle, by Andy Phillips 1 vote "A Masterpiece In Character Delineation And Growth By Andy Phillips" [+]"A Masterpiece In Character Delineation And Growth By Andy Phillips: Your character develops skills you never knew you possessed and grows in bravado as the story unfolds. I always love Andys' games. Another game of his, Heist, would also be germaine to this poll." ( ) --Canalboy... Vote for this game | |
| HAUNT, by John Laird 1 vote "Schrodinger's Player Character" [+]"Schrodinger's Player Character: [SPOILERS] Depending on what name you input when asked your name, you either are or aren't the descendant of the owner of Chez Moose - and you have to answer correctly because everyone who isn't a descendant goes crazy after spending some time in the house. Notably, the right name to choose has to be discovered in-game after you've already made a character." --P-Tux7... Vote for this game | |
| The Phantom's Revenge, by Dian Crayne 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Canalboy... Vote for this game | |
| Lock & Key, by Adam Cadre 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --DJ... Vote for this game | |
| Make It Good, by Jon Ingold 1 vote "Surprised this isn't here already. Fundamental to the game." [+]"Surprised this isn't here already. Fundamental to the game." ( ) --Pinstripe... Vote for this game | |
| Delusions, by C. E. Forman 1 vote "The nature of your character is not revealed until late in the story." [+]"The nature of your character is not revealed until late in the story.: Clues are provided throughout the story, if you try a wide variety of commands. But the big reveal is not the only plot twist." --mjhayes... Vote for this game | |
| The Black Lily, by Hannes Schueller 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Sobol... Vote for this game | |
| The Wizard Sniffer, by Buster Hudson 1 vote "Make a silk purse out of a sow's ear" [+]"Make a silk purse out of a sow's ear: Suffice it to say that there is a reason a pig like you is so smart." --P-Tux7... Vote for this game | |
| Everybody Loves a Parade, by Cody Sandifer 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) --baf... Vote for this game | |