Sorry for being quieter than usual, but I’ve been busy with something that has a deadline. (It’s also all-or-nothing; I’ll find out soon if I have a follow-up announcement worth making.)
I certainly hope to be back to Quarterstaff and the lurking 1980 games soon!
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In the meantime, I wanted to mention that Gareth Damian Martin — who entered Salt in last year’s IFComp — is trying to Kickstart a new game called In Other Waters. “Guide a stranded xenobiologist as they explore and study the secrets of an alien ocean.”
Also, I don’t believe the creators here have any particular past in interactive fiction, but the trailer just looks rad. Genesis Noir: “A noir adventure game set before, during, and after the Big Bang. To save your love, you must stop the expansion of the universe.”
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The new-ish blog Comparative Creation has a series on Wander. It mentions the possibility that work started on Aldebaran III before Castle. This feels likely to me; the former certainly feels more “made from the void” than the latter. (Also, the character Retief was already in full swing in 1974.) Given the potential faultiness of author memory I think the only way to be certain would be to unearth the early BASIC version, which still might be lurking in an archive somewhere.
Renga in Blue 