| Violet | |
|---|---|
 Violet being played in a modern interpreter. | |
| Developer(s) | Jeremy Freese |
| Publisher(s) | Jeremy Freese |
| Designer(s) | Jeremy Freese |
| Engine | Z-machine |
| Release | 2008 |
| Genre(s) | Interactive Fiction, Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Violet is a work of interactive fiction by American author Jeremy Freese. [1] It is a one-room puzzle game. [1]
The protagonist of Violet is a graduate student trying to write 1,000 words for his dissertation. [2] The protagonist's girlfriend, Violet, threatens to leave otherwise. [2] [3] The protagonist faces a stream of distractions, [2] including a window with a view of the campus, and a computer with access to blogs and webcomics. [3] In the course of the game, the protagonist must "reconsider—and risk wrecking—" his career and relationship. [2]
A reviewer for The A.V. Club described the puzzles as "smart but logical" and "fit[ting] thematically into the story." [2] The reviewer also called out the ability to disable "'heteronormativity,' so you can play as Violet’s girlfriend" as something that makes the game "Worth playing for". [2] A second review also observes this option, noting that at least one puzzle changes based on the choice. [3]
A writer for Jay Is Games called out Violet for "succeed[ing] in the difficult task of capturing the intricacies of a dynamic relationship." [1] The writer also praised the game for succeeding at engaging the player at "the core emotional level", again noting how difficult this is. [1] Emily Short, in a review on Jay Is Games, noted the strength of the implementation, pointing to the breadth of "interesting responses even to silly or unexpected actions." [3] Short felt that the characters were "seemingly-real" and "their problem is plausible and serious." [3]
It took first place in the 2008 Interactive Fiction Competition with an average score of 8.53. [4] That score is the highest of any Interactive Fiction Competition entry from 1999 through 2012. [5]
Violet was selected as the best interactive fiction game for 2008 by both the Jay Is Games staff and audience. [1]
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 . [1]
Violet won four awards in the 2008 XYZZY Awards: Best game, writing, individual puzzle ("Disconnecting the Internet in Violet/Getting rid of the key in Violet"), and individual NPC (Violet, the eponymous character). [6]
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, graphic text adventures 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.
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.
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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.
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