Funny Games
Doug Hibbard
Hey folks. I'm a fan of interactive fiction games, and I was wondering if
anyone could recommend some very funny ones that aren't commerical (i.e. I
can get them over the net). Given a choice, I prefer the type of cheezy (pun
intended) humor that is in the Unnkulia games. Thanks for your help!
---Doug Hibbard a.k.a. HyperSplatt
Check out the Official Brotherhood of Splatt Homepage!
http://www.nactx.com/splatton/
Strike me down with all of your hatred, and your
journey towards the Dark Side will be complete!
-Emperor Palpatine, The Return of the Jedi
Phoebe M. Fuentes
Doug Hibbard wrote:
>
> Hey folks. I'm a fan of interactive fiction games, and I was wondering if
> anyone could recommend some very funny ones that aren't commerical (i.e. I
> can get them over the net). Given a choice, I prefer the type of cheezy (pun
> intended) humor that is in the Unnkulia games. Thanks for your help!
Hi Doug! Yeah, the Unnkulia games are a joy to play! There's a whole
bunch of funny ones at:
ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/games/
Here is a list (in no particular order) of SOME of my favorite funny
ones, specifying genre and development system:
Underoos: (Contemporary - TADS) This is a small and easy game to
solve, but I laughed throughout the whole thing. You're walking through
Central Park one day -- when all of a sudden! -- a meteor strikes the
ground near you. You seem fine, so you go home. But when you wake up
the next day, your clothes have come to life, and BOY, are they angry!
Your goal is to vanquish these foul fabric foes before your date
arrives...
The One That Got Away: (Contemporary - TADS) A tiny and easy game to
solve, but this too could split your side. It's all about catching The
Old One, this really huge fish that everyone's been wanted to put their
fish hooks in. Don't miss the reading the pamphlet!
Kissing The Buddha's Feet: (Contemporary - TADS) This is a truly funny
one. Your roommate needs to study for a test that will help him finally
graduate, something you've been hoping for for the past six years (but
only because you're both incompatible with each other -- kind of like
the Odd Couple, he's like Oscar and you're like Felix). So you're eager
to help him study by quizzing him and making sure to get rid of any
distractions. But that's just it. His party-going friends show up and
pandimonium breaks loose. What to do, what to do... BTW, this has some
of the most interesting NPCs.
Save Princeton: (Contemporary - TADS) A much larger game and very
funny. You're a visitor to the much vaunted Ivy League institution, but
you sense that something has gone awry and must Save Princeton. If
you're put off by college themes, don't let that stop you from playing
this one. This has A LOT of funny things guaranteed to double you over
with mirth as you explore the campus and solve the puzzles. I wouldn't
want you to miss them.
Reverberations: (Contemporary - Inform) A small game and truly
off-the-wall. You're a pizza deliverer innocently caught up in the
world of organized crime, corrupt government dealings, riots and
earthquakes. All that from delivering a pizza!
The Wedding: (Contemporary - Inform) A medium-sized game fraught with
mystery, drama and comedy. I LOVE this one. Your best friend, Malcolm,
is about to be happily married to a wonderful girl named Deborah. But
one mysterious phone call later, you arrive at the house where the
ceremony is suppose to take place and you find that your best friend has
skipped out. VERY unlike him. Laugh your way through as you meet the
wacky family, explore the beautiful estate of D'Arcy Manor and solve the
mystery.
The Misadventure Of The Holy Grail: (Fantasy - AGT) You're a knight in
search of -- eh, you know -- the Holy Grail. A really antiquated IF
piece (circa 1989) inspired by the Eamon games for the Apple II,
revamped and embellished. This game comes closest to the Unnkulia
series in that it is set in a fantasy environment, full of knights in
search of honor, valor, blah, blah, blah -- except that it really has
it's own style of comedy which is really zany! I think you'll like this
one. I could be wrong, but try this one first.
Here's another list (again, in no particular order) of my favorite funny
games that I find just as enjoyable, but don't have time to write about
(you can email me if you want more info on them), all of which are in
ftp.gmd.de:
Compuserve (Contemporary - AGT)
Waystation (Science Fiction - TADS)
Frobozz Magic Support (Fantasy - TADS)
Calling All Heroes: Heroes, Inc. Part I
(Contemporary/Fantasy - TADS)
Klaustrophobia (Contemporary - AGT: HUGE!!!)
There are so many others, but I think I'll stop here. I hope you try
these and have fun! If you find others that are funny, drop me a line.
Phoebe
--
************************************************************************
Phoebe M. Fuentes pho...@earthlink.net
************************************************************************
Dans ce miroir /\ rorrim siht nI
Je suis enclos vivant et vrai / \ laer dna evila desolcne ma I
Comme on imagine les anges \ / slegna senigami eno sA
Et non comme sont les reflets \/ snoitcelfer sa ton dnA
- Guillaume Apollinaire
************************************************************************
C.E. Forman
com...@lcc.net (Doug Hibbard) wrote:
>Hey folks. I'm a fan of interactive fiction games, and I was wondering >anyone could recommend some very funny ones that aren't co=
mmerical (i.e. >can get them over the net). Given a choice, I prefer the type of cheezy >intended) humor that is in the Unnkulia ga=
mes. Thanks for your help!
Gimme another month and a half or so, and I'll have just what you're
looking for: non-commercial, cheesy, and, if you've got a warped
twisted and utterly psychotic sense of humor, you might find it funny.
--
C.E. Forman cefo...@worldnet.att.net
Author of "Delusions", the 3rd place winner in the 1996 I-F Competition!!
Release 3 is now at: ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/games/infocom/delusns.z5
Read "XYZZYnews" @ http://www.interport.net/~eileen/design/xyzzynews.html
Ye Olde Infocomme Shoppe http://netnow.micron.net/~jgoemmer/infoshop.html
Brian Reilly
I'd say definately take a look at Kissing the Buddha's Feet, Save Princeton,
Veritas, and Busted.
Brian
<rei...@gusun.georgetown.edu>
Russell Glasser
Phoebe M. Fuentes wrote:
>
> Doug Hibbard wrote:
> >
> > Hey folks. I'm a fan of interactive fiction games, and I was wondering if
> > anyone could recommend some very funny ones that aren't commerical (i.e. I
> > can get them over the net). Given a choice, I prefer the type of cheezy (pun
> > intended) humor that is in the Unnkulia games. Thanks for your help!
>
> Hi Doug! Yeah, the Unnkulia games are a joy to play! There's a whole
> bunch of funny ones at:
>
> ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/games/
>
> Here is a list (in no particular order) of SOME of my favorite funny
> ones, specifying genre and development system:
>
[snip]
> Reverberations: (Contemporary - Inform) A small game and truly
> off-the-wall. You're a pizza deliverer innocently caught up in the
> world of organized crime, corrupt government dealings, riots and
> earthquakes. All that from delivering a pizza!
>
OH MY GOD, I've been recommended!!!!! Thank you, I will cherish this
moment for the rest of my life. :}
Hope you'll enjoy my submission to this year's competition, if you can
guess what it is. I'm thinking that my characters might actually have TWO
dimensions instead of one this time!
--
"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all
progress depends on the unreasonable man."
-- George Bernard Shaw
Russell can be heckled at
http://sdcc8.ucsd.edu/~rglasser
Matthew Amster-Burton
Russell Glasser <rgla...@penning.lanl.gov> wrote:
> OH MY GOD, I've been recommended!!!!! Thank you, I will cherish this
>moment for the rest of my life. :}
Hey, I second the recommendation. Reverberations was one of my
favorite competition games. A supremely and lovably dumb game--and I
mean that as praise, really. I think I ended up giving it a 9, FWIW.
Easy enough for me, and enjoyable from start to finish.
Matthew
Doug Hibbard
All right! That's what we need more of in this world!!!
In article <5k609m$e...@mtinsc03.worldnet.att.net>, "C.E. Forman"
<cefo...@postoffice.worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>
>Gimme another month and a half or so, and I'll have just what you're
>looking for: non-commercial, cheesy, and, if you've got a warped
>twisted and utterly psychotic sense of humor, you might find it funny.
>
---Doug Hibbard a.k.a. HyperSplatt
David Glasser
In article <336502...@earthlink.net>, "Phoebe M. Fuentes"
<pho...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> Doug Hibbard wrote:
> >
> > Hey folks. I'm a fan of interactive fiction games, and I was wondering if
> > anyone could recommend some very funny ones that aren't commerical (i.e. I
> > can get them over the net). Given a choice, I prefer the type of
cheezy (pun
> > intended) humor that is in the Unnkulia games. Thanks for your help!
>
>
> Hi Doug! Yeah, the Unnkulia games are a joy to play! There's a whole
> bunch of funny ones at:
>
> ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/games/
>
The ones in Inform are in the infocom subdirectory of this; the TADS in
the tads sub, and the AGT in the pc sub.
Unnkulians are great! You can get #1, #2, #1/2 (a short one where you
play an Akmi salesman), and a demo for #0 off the archive, plus The Legend
Lives, set in the Unnkulian future and my hands-down favorite TADS game.
> Here is a list (in no particular order) of SOME of my favorite funny
> ones, specifying genre and development system:
I'll add my own comments and author names.
> Underoos: (Contemporary - TADS) This is a small and easy game to
> solve, but I laughed throughout the whole thing. You're walking through
> Central Park one day -- when all of a sudden! -- a meteor strikes the
> ground near you. You seem fine, so you go home. But when you wake up
> the next day, your clothes have come to life, and BOY, are they angry!
> Your goal is to vanquish these foul fabric foes before your date
> arrives...
This one was really a programming exercise by Whizzard (G. Kevin Wilson),
and has recently been translated into a slightly buggy Inform version by
him. Actually, looking at the Inform source and seeing all the cool stuff
I missed really was fun.
> The One That Got Away: (Contemporary - TADS) A tiny and easy game to
> solve, but this too could split your side. It's all about catching The
> Old One, this really huge fish that everyone's been wanted to put their
> fish hooks in. Don't miss the reading the pamphlet!
By Leon Lin. I know everyone loves it, but I couldn't quite get into the
spirit. Being a vegetarian, I guess it's pretty obvious why I didn't like
a fishing game much. However, the Bob NPC was quite detailed.
>
> Kissing The Buddha's Feet: (Contemporary - TADS) This is a truly funny
> one. Your roommate needs to study for a test that will help him finally
> graduate, something you've been hoping for for the past six years (but
> only because you're both incompatible with each other -- kind of like
> the Odd Couple, he's like Oscar and you're like Felix). So you're eager
> to help him study by quizzing him and making sure to get rid of any
> distractions. But that's just it. His party-going friends show up and
> pandimonium breaks loose. What to do, what to do... BTW, this has some
> of the most interesting NPCs.
Also by Leon Lin, this game rules! The best NPCs on the Archive, IMHO,
and puzzles with slightly-less-than-obscure solutions.
>
> Save Princeton: (Contemporary - TADS) A much larger game and very
> funny. You're a visitor to the much vaunted Ivy League institution, but
> you sense that something has gone awry and must Save Princeton. If
> you're put off by college themes, don't let that stop you from playing
> this one. This has A LOT of funny things guaranteed to double you over
> with mirth as you explore the campus and solve the puzzles. I wouldn't
> want you to miss them.
>
I started this game by Jacob Solomon Weinstein. However, as it tends to
be with large games that let you explore everything from the start (such
as Windhall 1), I couldn't quite figure out what to start by doing, and
gave up. Even the walkthrough couldn't help me!
> Reverberations: (Contemporary - Inform) A small game and truly
> off-the-wall. You're a pizza deliverer innocently caught up in the
> world of organized crime, corrupt government dealings, riots and
> earthquakes. All that from delivering a pizza!
This short fun game by Russell Wain Glasser (no relation that we know of)
is pretty much that - short and fun! The writing is probably its best
part; it sets the mood quite well. It's on my list of
games-that-i-replay-a-lot, and I just played it again yesterday.
>
> The Wedding: (Contemporary - Inform) A medium-sized game fraught with
> mystery, drama and comedy. I LOVE this one. Your best friend, Malcolm,
> is about to be happily married to a wonderful girl named Deborah. But
> one mysterious phone call later, you arrive at the house where the
> ceremony is suppose to take place and you find that your best friend has
> skipped out. VERY unlike him. Laugh your way through as you meet the
> wacky family, explore the beautiful estate of D'Arcy Manor and solve the
> mystery.
>
I played this one by Neil...Neil...Neil something (sorry) a few weeks ago
and I really like it! The only problem is that one puzzle requires the
knowledge of British TVs, which a dumb American like me who doesn't even
know anything about England except that it's across that blue thing could
*not* solve at all.
> The Misadventure Of The Holy Grail: (Fantasy - AGT) You're a knight in
> search of -- eh, you know -- the Holy Grail. A really antiquated IF
> piece (circa 1989) inspired by the Eamon games for the Apple II,
> revamped and embellished. This game comes closest to the Unnkulia
> series in that it is set in a fantasy environment, full of knights in
> search of honor, valor, blah, blah, blah -- except that it really has
> it's own style of comedy which is really zany! I think you'll like this
> one. I could be wrong, but try this one first.
>
I DLd this one, but I never started it. I will soon.
> Here's another list (again, in no particular order) of my favorite funny
> games that I find just as enjoyable, but don't have time to write about
> (you can email me if you want more info on them), all of which are in
> ftp.gmd.de:
>
> Compuserve (Contemporary - AGT)
That's CosmoServe, right? I haven't played this game by Judith Pintar
because I have a Mac.
> Waystation (Science Fiction - TADS)
Again, I DLed it but haven't started it yet.
> Frobozz Magic Support (Fantasy - TADS)
> Calling All Heroes: Heroes, Inc. Part I
> (Contemporary/Fantasy - TADS)
Those two are by Nate Cull, and are funny and interesting. Plus, they
(especially Hero) are small enough for me to know what I'm doing at any
one time. Is Hero 2 coming out ever? Please?
> Klaustrophobia (Contemporary - AGT: HUGE!!!)
AGT doesn't run on Macs.
And also, there's MST3K #1: Detective, a game that in the style of Mystery
Science Theater 3000 (4-6 P.M. and 11-1 P.M. eastern time on the Sci-Fi
Channel in the states) makes fun of a horrible game. There's also
another, but it is in AGT. This is by C.E. Forman.
Let's see...Phlegm was pretty humorous too, and that new one, Everybody
Loves a Parade was great, funny, and had puzzles that weren't obscure.
Sorry, Cody Sandifer, but I was supposed to beta-test it. Oops.
David Glasser
dsgl...@hotmail.com
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/6028/
TADS Programming Tip of the Week (or whatever time period)
Read ADV.T. Even if you are using WorldClass. Then read WorldClass, even if you aren't using it. Then read ADV.T again. NOTE: Don't try reading TADS libraries, Inform parser/libraries, and C source for TADS or Inform in the same day, unless you're insane. I read them all in the same day. And I didn't even know how to program in C. Now, I can't even manage to make short .sigs. Sorry for the rambling
Phoebe M. Fuentes
David Glasser wrote:
> > The Wedding: .......blah, blah, blah......
>
> I played this one by Neil...Neil...Neil something (sorry) a few weeks ago
> and I really like it! The only problem is that one puzzle requires the
> knowledge of British TVs, which a dumb American like me who doesn't even
> know anything about England except that it's across that blue thing could
> *not* solve at all.
You're not so dumb! But this is a pretty good game right up to the
end. Here's a couple of hints, so you can finish it.
Move back everyone! Spoiler alert!
*
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
*
S
P
A
C
E
*
There are only two channels on the TV that you need to solve the game:
Channel 3 which is all commercials all the time; and
Channel 8 to play video cassettes.
Neil Brown
In article <dsglasser-040...@22.ts3.icdc.com>, David Glasser
<dsgl...@hotmail.com> writes
>> The Wedding: (Contemporary - Inform) A medium-sized game fraught with
>> mystery, drama and comedy. I LOVE this one. Your best friend, Malcolm,
>> is about to be happily married to a wonderful girl named Deborah. But
>> one mysterious phone call later, you arrive at the house where the
>> ceremony is suppose to take place and you find that your best friend has
>> skipped out. VERY unlike him. Laugh your way through as you meet the
>> wacky family, explore the beautiful estate of D'Arcy Manor and solve the
>> mystery.
>>
>
>I played this one by Neil...Neil...Neil something (sorry)
The Wedding
An Interactive Family Headache
by Neil...Neil...Neil something
> a few weeks ago
>and I really like it! The only problem is that one puzzle requires the
>knowledge of British TVs, which a dumb American like me who doesn't even
>know anything about England except that it's across that blue thing could
>*not* solve at all.
>
The relevant hint in the game (and they are hints, not outright
solutions) explains how British TV is set up.
Come, now, surely American TV has taught you something about the English
way of life... such as the fact that we all live in London, all say "cor
blimey guv'nor" and "'ello ducks", have to put up with foggy conditions
almost every night and are served at pubs by buxum serving wenches. Oh,
and according to that Time Trax episode, we all have Australian accents
as well. :-)
As for other funny games, I would like to suggest BSE. The history of
Skebdale in the help menu is hilarious, and the demise of the hens and
the villain's last words also spring to mind. (That's not much of a
review, but its all I can manage at the moment...)
______________
Neil James Brown
ne...@highmount.demon.co.uk
Nulldogma
> > Save Princeton: (Contemporary - TADS) A much larger game and very
> > funny. You're a visitor to the much vaunted Ivy League institution,
but
> > you sense that something has gone awry and must Save Princeton. If
> > you're put off by college themes, don't let that stop you from playing
> > this one. This has A LOT of funny things guaranteed to double you
over
> > with mirth as you explore the campus and solve the puzzles. I
wouldn't
> > want you to miss them.
> >
>
> I started this game by Jacob Solomon Weinstein. However, as it tends to
> be with large games that let you explore everything from the start (such
> as Windhall 1), I couldn't quite figure out what to start by doing, and
> gave up. Even the walkthrough couldn't help me!
And don't forget Jacob's other masterpieces, _Toonesia_ (wherein you are
hunting a certain wascally wabbit) and _Modernism_ (a one-joke game, but
oh, what a joke...).
Neil
---------------------------------------------------------
Neil deMause ne...@echonyc.com
http://www.echonyc.com/~wham/neild.html
---------------------------------------------------------