Baf's Guide to the IF Archive

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Turn off tables (requires cookies)

Being Andrew Plotkin

Author:J. Robinson Wheeler
Genres:Adaptation>Screen
Humor>Satire
Released:2000
Review:

A parody of the movie Being John Malkovich; here, the target is IF luminary Andrew Plotkin, a.k.a. Zarf, author of Spider and Web, So Far, and other well-regarded games. In-jokey, to some extent--you'll probably get more out of this if (a) you've seen the movie and (b) you're familiar both with Zarf's games and with the IF community as a whole--but still playable without knowledge of the in-jokes. Highly linear with very few puzzles; you really can't get very far from the path the game sets out. This is a very funny effort, though, and it's amusing in a knowing way--the fights over identity that the movie depicts are adapted to the IF context in a way that acknowledges the confusion of the player-PC relationship.

Rating: ****

Reviewed by Duncan Stevens (05 Feb 2001)

Competitions/
Awards:
3rd place, rec.arts.int-fiction competition 2000
Winner, Best Game, Xyzzy Awards 2000
Winner, Best NPCs, Xyzzy Awards 2000
Finalist, Best Story, Xyzzy Awards 2000
Finalist, Best Individual Puzzle, Xyzzy Awards 2000
Finalist, Best Individual NPC, Xyzzy Awards 2000
Finalist, Best Individual PC, Xyzzy Awards 2000
Play Online:Play it at ifiction.org
Related Links:SPAG reviews
Downloads:
bap_walk.txt (1.61 KB)
Walkthrough
bap.z5 (198.50 KB)
Z-code 5 executable (version: Release 1)


Baf's Guide to the Interactive Fiction Archive
Copyright © 2012 Carl Muckenhoupt
All reviews included in this site are copyright © the credited author of the review.