Text-based Games Get the Limelight in Upcoming Doc

[leunas]

Around 1975-1985, hardcore gamers could be described as virtual pen and paper gamers. As computers before (back then, you're considered lucky if yours has an 8 or 16KB memory) aren't as sophisticated as the ones we have now, most games were text-based RPGs. You would be given a scenario, and you'd type a command for your character to move further in the game. Basically, these are pen and paper RPGs where interaction is limited to you and your computer.

But the advent of more high-tech computers seemed to have rendered these games quite obsolete. So Boston filmmaker and Unix system administrator Jason Scott decided to pay homage to these text-based games with his documentary, "Get Lamp." Scott adds that the said games are well, books. "Early interactive fiction borrows stylistically from Dungeons & Dragons role-playing games and fantasy adventure novels."

The said film is currently in the works, and Scott plans to include interviews with the early game developers, which include those who made Zork as well as Adventure, "the first interactive works to gain a following." We're not sure when this film will be released, so just regularly check QJ for updates.



www.qj.net/Text-based-Games-Get-the-Limelight-in-Upcoming-Documentary/pg/49/aid/62245

[leunas]

Hardcore gamers between 1979 to 1985 weren't fortunate enough to lap in the luxury of the games we have today. Back then computers were only capable of around 8 KB - 16 KB so the type of games they played were called text adventures, like Zork, and the idea was simply to control a character around the screen via key commands. It's like the horse and buggy before the car; Laborious and stinky.


Jason Scott, a Boston filmmaker and Unix system administrator is producing a documentary text adventure film aptly titled Get Lamp about the pioneers of the game era. He also made another documentary called BBS: The Documentary, which is of course about the solitary network Bulletin Board System just before we had this thing called the internet. Even though I'm just pushing 31, I do recall text adventures and BBS's on the Commodore 64. These films would make an interesting comparison of the technologies we have today, and how far we've gone. I need to check these out.


www.aeropause.com/archives/2006/08/text_adventures.php

[leunas]

GET LAMP is a documentary about Text Adventures (later Interactive Fiction), the storytellers who created them, and their unique place in the history of computer games. It is being created by Jason Scott, director of "BBS: The Documentary", located at bbsdocumentary.com. If you wish to be notified of progress of this project or think you would like to contribute information, please write jason at [e-mail].


www.getlamp.com/