A Fork in the Tale

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A Fork in the Tale
Forkbox1.jpg
Developer(s) AnyRiver Entertainment [1]
Publisher(s) Electronic Arts [1]
Designer(s) Rob Lay
Platform(s) Windows
Release
  • NA: February 26, 1997 [1]
Genre(s) Adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

A Fork in the Tale is a full motion video (FMV) comedic adventure game developed by AnyRiver Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts on February 26, 1997. The game features voice-overs by comedian Rob Schneider. Because of the large number of video sequences, the game was originally released on five CDs.

Contents

Plot and gameplay

The protagonist (voiced by Schneider) finds himself transported to the land of Eseveron. Playing from a first-person perspective, the player must click on icons overlaid atop video clips with specific timing to proceed, all in an effort to figure out what is happening and how to escape. Failing to choose an action before the end of a clip is considered a choice of inaction. [2] Schneider's voice-over work was added late in development to replace earlier placeholder voice work. [3]

Development

The game was in development for three and a half years with a budget of $2 million. It would be the only game released by AnyRiver Entertainment, with its low sales leading to the shuttering of the company within months of release, its assets being sold to Total Entertainment Network. [4] The rights for a later DVD release with higher-quality video were acquired by Digital Leisure, but never came to fruition. [5]

Reception

PC Gamer US called A Fork in the Tale "a dismal flop, uniformly panned by critics and avoided by gamers, who bought less than 1,000 copies." [4]

A Next Generation critic complained about the small amount of interactivity and said Rob Schneider's vocal delivery was mediocre. [3] Charles Ardai of Computer Gaming World also criticized the limited interactivity and Schneider's performance, but focused most of his commentary on the repetitiveness of the video clips. He summarized, "At its best, it's reasonably funny; at its worst, the comedy is abysmal. But since the gameplay involves going through the same FMV scenes over and over and over, even the best comedy in the world couldn't stave off a creeping sense that you have been damned to some sort of Sisyphean penance." [6] Game Revolution thought the game was short and easy, yet fun. [7] In contrast, Rebecca Anderson of GameSpot considered the plot interesting but the gameplay frustratingly difficult, saying that the game demands the player to make decisions on a split-second's notice, and sends the player back too far after failures. [8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "OGR: NewsNet". 1997-02-27. Archived from the original on 1997-02-27. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  2. 1 2 Wildgoose, David (June 1997). "Reviews: A Fork in the Tale". PC PowerPlay . No. 13. Next Publishing. p. 56.
  3. 1 2 3 "Finals: A Fork in the Tale". Next Generation . No. 30. Imagine Media. June 1997. p. 124.
  4. 1 2 "TEN to Absorb AnyRiver?". PC Gamer Online . July 7, 1997. Archived from the original on 1997-10-12. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  5. ↑ "E3 Expo/Digital Leisure acquires "A Fork in the Tale" rights for DVD-ROM and DVD-Video". digitalleisure.com. May 29, 1998. Archived from the original on December 2, 1998. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  6. 1 2 Ardai, Charles (June 1997). "Forking Awful". Computer Gaming World . No. 155. Ziff Davis. p. 104.
  7. 1 2 "A Fork in the Tale Review". www.gamerevolution.com. June 5, 2004. Retrieved 2017-03-17.
  8. 1 2 Anderson, Rebecca (March 13, 1997). "A Fork in the Tale Review". GameSpot . Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  9. ↑ Whitta, Gary (May 1997). "A Fork in the Tale". PC Gamer . Archived from the original on November 17, 1999. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
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