Floatpoint

Floatpoint
Floatpoint
	Floatpoint being played in a modern interpreter.
Developer(s)	Emily Short
Publisher(s)	Self published
Designer(s)	Emily Short
Engine	Glulx
Platform(s)	Glulx
Release	2006
Genre(s)	Interactive Fiction, Adventure
Mode(s)	Single player

Last updated September 28, 2019

Floatpoint is a 2006 work of interactive fiction written by Emily Short about a diplomat sent to an endangered colony to discuss evacuation options and terms of cohabitation. It is written in Inform 7 and won the 2006 annual Interactive Fiction Competition.^[1]Floatpoint also won 2006 XYZZY Awards for Best Settings and Best NPCs.^[2] The game was generally praised for its use of multiple endings.^{[ citation needed ]}

Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, is software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives, either in the form of interactive narratives or interactive narrations. These works can also be understood as a form of video game, either in the form of an adventure game or role-playing game. In common usage, the term refers to text adventures, a type of adventure game where the entire interface can be "text-only", however, graphical text adventure games, where the text is accompanied by graphics still fall under the text adventure category if the main way to interact with the game is by typing text. Some users of the term distinguish between interactive fiction, known as "Puzzle-free", that focuses on narrative, and "text adventures" that focus on puzzles.

Emily Short is an interactive fiction (IF) writer, perhaps best known for her debut game Galatea and her use of psychologically complex NPCs, or non-player game characters. She has been called "a visionary in the world of text-based games for years", and is the author of over thirty-five works of IF in addition to being chief editor of the IF Theory Book. She wrote a regular column on IF for Rock, Paper, Shotgun.

A diplomat is a person appointed by a State or an intergovernamental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other States or international organizations. The main functions of diplomats are: representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending State; initiation and facilitation of strategic agreements; treaties and conventions; promotion of information; trade and commerce; technology; and friendly relations. Seasoned diplomats of international repute are used in international organizations as well as multinational companies for their experience in management and negotiating skills. Diplomats are members of foreign services and diplomatic corps of various nations of the world.

Plot

Through the course of play, the background to the current situation becomes clear. The colonists of Aleheart were originally exiled from Earth for engaging in prohibited genetic engineering. The colonists heavily engineer plant and animal life. The colony features plants engineered for artistic purpose. The colonists themselves are heavily genetically engineered. However, Aleheart is entering an ice age, which will likely make the planet uninhabitable within a few years.

Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. According to radiometric dating and other sources of evidence, Earth formed over 4.5 billion years ago. Earth's gravity interacts with other objects in space, especially the Sun and the Moon, Earth's only natural satellite. Earth orbits around the Sun in 365.26 days, a period known as an Earth year. During this time, Earth rotates about its axis about 366.26 times.

Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the direct manipulation of an organism's genes using biotechnology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including the transfer of genes within and across species boundaries to produce improved or novel organisms. New DNA is obtained by either isolating and copying the genetic material of interest using recombinant DNA methods or by artificially synthesising the DNA. A construct is usually created and used to insert this DNA into the host organism. The first recombinant DNA molecule was made by Paul Berg in 1972 by combining DNA from the monkey virus SV40 with the lambda virus. As well as inserting genes, the process can be used to remove, or "knock out", genes. The new DNA can be inserted randomly, or targeted to a specific part of the genome.

After colonists left Earth, a plague caused massive depopulation on Earth. To help with recovery, the government of Earth wants the colonists to return.

The protagonist arrives on Aleheart expecting to be an assistant to the previous ambassador, but learns upon arrival that the previous ambassador has been dismissed and that the protagonist has been given the role. Officially the protagonist's goal is to convince the Aleheart colonists to return to Earth. This is to be done by making a formal gift to the colony's representative. Additional motivations including the colonists' desire to not return, and the reluctance of some Earth citizens to accept them give the protagonist difficult choices to make.

Reception

In the 2006 Interactive Fiction Competition, Floatpoint had an average score of 8.4.^[3] That score is the highest of any Interactive Fiction Competition entry from 1999 through 2007.^[4] That score was topped in 2008 by Violet's score of 8.53.^[5]

A reviewer at Jay Is Games described Floatpoint as "a surprisingly detailed world ... with exquisite storytelling"^[6] The reviewer also described it as "well-paced" and that it "never feels stale."^[6]

Jay Is Games is a game review website that features daily updates and links to casual games, indie games, browser games and flash games of wide interest to casual gamers. It was founded on April 19, 2003 by Jay Bibby, initially as a personal blog, although it later had several contributors.

Notes

↑ "12th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition". 2006. Retrieved 2007-05-12.
↑ "XYZZY Awards: Winning Games of 2006". Archived from the original on 2007-05-15. Retrieved 2007-05-12.
↑ "Results of the 12th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition". Interactive Fiction Competition. Stephen Granade. Archived from the original on 2008-11-23. Retrieved 2008-11-23.
↑ Granade, Stephen. "2008 Interactive Fiction Competition". Stephen Granade. Retrieved 2008-11-25. 1999 (2008-11-23 archive), 2000 (2008-11-23 archive), 2001 (2008-11-23 archive), 2002 (2008-11-23 archive), 2003 (2008-11-23 archive), 2004 (2008-11-23 archive), 2005 (2008-11-23 archive), 2006 (2008-11-23 archive), and 2007 (2008-11-23)
↑ "Results of the 14th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition". Interactive Fiction Competition. Stephen Granade. Archived from the original on 2008-11-23. Retrieved 2008-11-23.
1 2 Bardinelli, John (2006-11-27). "Floatpoint". Jay Is Games . Jay Is Games. Archived from the original on 2009-01-17. Retrieved 2009-01-17.

Related Research Articles

The Interactive Fiction Competition is one of several annual competitions for works of interactive fiction. It has been held since 1995. It is intended for fairly short games, as judges are only allowed to spend two hours playing a game before deciding how many points to award it. The competition has been described as the "Super Bowl" of interactive fiction.

Xyzzy is a magic word from the Colossal Cave Adventure computer game. In computing, the word is sometimes used as a metasyntactic variable or as a video game cheat code, the canonical "magic word".

Inform is a programming language and design system for interactive fiction originally created in 1993 by Graham Nelson. Inform can generate programs designed for the Z-code or Glulx virtual machines. Versions 1 through 5 were released between 1993 and 1996. Around 1996, Nelson rewrote Inform from first principles to create version 6 . Over the following decade, version 6 became reasonably stable and a popular language for writing interactive fiction. In 2006, Nelson released Inform 7, a completely new language based on principles of natural language and a new set of tools based around a book-publishing metaphor.

Text Adventure Development System (TADS) is a prototype-based domain-specific programming language and set of standard libraries for creating interactive fiction (IF) games.

Adam Cadre is an American writer active in a number of forms—novels, screenplays, webcomics, essays—but best known for his work in interactive fiction.

Photopia is a piece of literature by Adam Cadre rendered in the form of interactive fiction, and written in Inform. It has received both praise and criticism for its heavy focus on fiction rather than on interactivity. It won first place in the 1998 Interactive Fiction Competition. Photopia has few puzzles and a linear structure, allowing the player no way to alter the eventual conclusion but maintaining the illusion of non-linearity.

ADRIFT is a graphical user interface used to create and play text adventures. The name is an acronym for "Adventure Development & Runner - Interactive Fiction Toolkit". The project is solely developed by Campbell Wild.

Andrew Plotkin, also known as Zarf, is a central figure in the modern interactive fiction (IF) community. Having both written a number of award-winning games and developed a range of new file formats, interpreters, and other utilities for the design, production, and running of IF games, Plotkin is widely recognised for both his creative and his technical contributions to the homebrew IF scene.

Slouching Towards Bedlam is an interactive fiction game that won the first place in the 2003 Interactive Fiction Competition. It is a collaboration between American authors Daniel Ravipinto and Star Foster. Slouching Towards Bedlam was finalist for eight 2003 XYZZY Awards, winning four: Best Game, Setting, Story, and Individual NPC. The game takes place in a steampunk Victorian era setting. Its title is inspired by a line from The Second Coming, a poem by W.B. Yeats.

ifMUD is a MUD associated with the rec.arts.int-fiction newsgroup accessible via telnet or a MUD client. It is central to the interactive fiction community, frequented by many of the genre's best-known writers. Every year, the XYZZY Awards are hosted on ifMUD during an online ceremony.

Jon Ingold is a British author of interactive fiction and co-founder of inkle, where he co-directed 80 Days. His interactive fiction has frequently been nominated for XYZZY Awards and has won on multiple occasions, including Best Game, Best Story and Best Setting awards for All Roads in 2001. Ingold's works are notable for their attention to the levels of knowledge that the player and player character have of the in-game situation, with the effect often depending on a player who understands more than the character or vice versa. Ingold has also written a number of plays, short stories and novels.

Anchorhead is a Lovecraftian horror interactive fiction game, originally written and published by Michael S. Gentry in 1998. The game is heavily inspired by the works and writing style of H.P. Lovecraft, particularly the Cthulhu mythos.

Shade is a psychological horror interactive fiction game written and published by Andrew Plotkin in 2000.

Earth and Sky is an interactive fiction trilogy written and produced by American author Paul O'Brian about the adventures of a brother and sister who gain superpowers while searching for their lost parents. Games in the series have won awards in the annual Interactive Fiction Competition and received an XYZZY Award.

Lost Pig is a comedic work of interactive fiction about an orc retrieving an escaped pig. It was created by Admiral Jota and released as freeware. It took first place in the 2007 Interactive Fiction Competition with an average score of 8.27. Lost Pig won best game, best writing, best individual non-player character, and best individual player character in the 2007 XYZZY Awards. Lost Pig finished with 18.7% of the votes for the Audience Award in the interactive fiction category in the 2008 Jay Is Games Best of Casual Gameplay awards, placing it second after Violet.

Violet is a work of interactive fiction by American author Jeremy Freese. It is a one-room puzzle game. It took first place in the 2008 Interactive Fiction Competition with an average score of 8.53. That score is the highest of any Interactive Fiction Competition entry from 1999 through 2012. Violet was selected as the best interactive fiction game for 2008 by both the Jay Is Games staff and audience. Violet took 35.1% of the vote in the Jay Is Games audience award, compared to 18.7% for the second-place winner, Lost Pig. Violet won four awards in the 2008 XYZZY Awards: Best game, writing, individual puzzle, and individual NPC.

Unauthorized Termination is a 2006 work of interactive fiction written by Richard Otter about a senior investigator given a murder enquiry that is not everything it appears to be. It is written in ADRIFT 4 and came 10th in the 2006 annual Interactive Fiction Competition. Unauthorized Termination was also a Nominee in the 2006 XYZZY Awards for Best Settings.

References

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[ifcomp-1] "12th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition". 2006. Retrieved 2007-05-12.

[2] "XYZZY Awards: Winning Games of 2006". Archived from the original on 2007-05-15. Retrieved 2007-05-12.

[3] "Results of the 12th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition". Interactive Fiction Competition. Stephen Granade. Archived from the original on 2008-11-23. Retrieved 2008-11-23.

[4] Granade, Stephen. "2008 Interactive Fiction Competition". Stephen Granade. Retrieved 2008-11-25. 1999 (2008-11-23 archive), 2000 (2008-11-23 archive), 2001 (2008-11-23 archive), 2002 (2008-11-23 archive), 2003 (2008-11-23 archive), 2004 (2008-11-23 archive), 2005 (2008-11-23 archive), 2006 (2008-11-23 archive), and 2007 (2008-11-23)

[5] "Results of the 14th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition". Interactive Fiction Competition. Stephen Granade. Archived from the original on 2008-11-23. Retrieved 2008-11-23.

[jayisgames-6] 1 2 Bardinelli, John (2006-11-27). "Floatpoint". Jay Is Games . Jay Is Games. Archived from the original on 2009-01-17. Retrieved 2009-01-17.