Further Explorations: 50 Years of Text Games

“Further Explorations: 50 Years of Text Games” collects even more stories and history from the definitive look at interactive fiction’s first half-century. Covering fan-favorite games that couldn’t fit in the main volume like “Planetfall” and “A Dark Room,” and more genres and styles of text game (including wordplay games, hacking simulators, and visual novels), the book contains eleven new chapters covering interesting failures as well as classic successes. A detailed timeline of text game history rounds out the end of the collection. Games covered include The Gostak, A Dark Room, Planetfall, Anchorhead, Amnesia, The Antagonists, and The Mist; genres featured are Wordplay, One-Room Games, Visual Novels, Hacking Sims, Type-Ins, and Adaptations. Praise for “50 Years of Text Games”: “It’s impossible to overstate how good a job Reed has done… well-designed, easy to browse, and full of primary source material. It’s not just a great book– it’s an invaluable resource for everyone interested in text-based games, whether you’re a scholar or a game designer or a player.” –Adrian Hon “Shows why interactive fiction is important, why it still matters, and how the field has evolved.” –Cidney Hamilton