Hadean Lands

By: Derek Yu

On: December 1st, 2014

Andrew “Zarf” Plotkin is a well-known and influential figure in interactive fiction – on top of penning classic IF games like Spider & Web and Shade, he also developed the Blorb package format, Glx API, and Glulx virtual machine for making and playing them. His latest game, Hadean Lands, is four years in the making (following a successful Kickstarter) and is apparently one of the largest and most complex IF games to date, spanning 73,000 words of printable text and 170,000 words of logic (according to Andrew’s twitter). In the game, you play a young alchemist who has awoken to find him or herself trapped in a crashed starship, armed only with your knowledge of alchemical rituals and whatever ingredients you can scrounge up on the ship.

I’ll spoil some of the unique features of the game after the jump:

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Andrew Plotkin Wants to Write IF Fulltime and You Can Help

By: Derek Yu

On: November 1st, 2010

For fans of interactive fiction, the name Andrew “Zarf” Plotkin should be familiar. Plotkin has been in the scene for over a decade and has not only developed some of the genre’s most beloved games (Spider and Web, Shade), but has also made a number of important technical contributions to IF, including the Blorb archive format and the Glulx virtual machine. Up until now, however, he’s only pursued IF as a hobby. That’s about to change!

With his upcoming project, Hadean Lands, Plotkin would like to make the leap into fulltime IF development. The Kickstarter page for Hadean Lands has already surpassed its goal of $8000 after the first day, but the more the merrier, obviously. Donors can get some fun stuff, like a limited edition or their name in game. Plus, you know, you’ll be supporting the growth of the inspiring IF community.

A very early demo of the game is available to play here, in your web browser. The commercial version of the game will be released on iPhone/iPad for $5.

(Source: george, via TIGForums)

TIGdb: Entry for Andrew Plotkin