Baf's Guide to the IF Archive

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Turn off tables (requires cookies)

The Space Under the Window

Author:Andrew Plotkin
Genre:Romance
Released:1997
Review:

Highly unusual. Rather than entering commands, you choose words from the text presented, and the text alters in various ways depending on what words you choose. (Example: when the text is "The table is open, so you climb down inside. The table is set for two.", and you type "table," the text becomes "The table is open, so you climb down inside. The table is set for two. An empty vase, white glass, stands beside a single lit candle.") You can interact with the game, to some extent, though it's rarely predictable, when you choose a word, exactly how the interaction will go. Some of the more interesting effects involve light--choosing certain words either limits or enhances what you see, and affects how you interact with the game in various ways. If you're especially goal-oriented, this might be frustrating, since it's difficult to steer the narrative toward any particular conclusion, but watching the story go where it does can be rewarding. There are lots of different endings, and not many of them are upbeat.

Rating: ****

Reviewed by Duncan Stevens (07 Feb 2001)

Competitions/
Awards:
Finalist, Best Writing, Xyzzy Awards 1997
Finalist, Best Use of Medium, Xyzzy Awards 1997
Related Links:Project page: description of the project for which the game was created
SPAG review
Downloads:
sutwin.z5 (31.00 KB)
Z-code 5 executable (version: Release 2)


Baf's Guide to the Interactive Fiction Archive
Copyright © 2010 Carl Muckenhoupt
All reviews included in this site are copyright © the credited author of the review.