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Story File
Release 3 (Minor bug fixes from competition and Jay Is Games releases; used for Club Floyd)
For all systems. To play, you'll need a Z-Machine Interpreter with Blorb support - visit Brass Lantern for download links.
Story File
Original competition version
For all systems. To play, you'll need a Z-Machine Interpreter with Blorb support - visit Brass Lantern for download links.

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Violet

by Jeremy Freese profile

Romance, Slice of life, Collegiate
2008

(based on 186 ratings)
22 member reviews

About the Story

Calm down. All you have to do is write a thousand words and everything will be fine. And you have all day, except it's already noon. [blurb from IF Comp 2008]

Game Details

Language: English (en)
First Publication Date: October 1, 2008
Current Version: 1
License: Freeware
Development System: Inform 7
Forgiveness Rating: Polite
IFID: 12110E65-BABB-4C67-B047-1C7BA122CAF9
TUID: 4glrrfh7wrp9zz7b

Awards

1st Place overall; 1st Place, Miss Congeniality Awards - 14th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition (2008)

Winner, Best Game; Winner, Best Writing; Nominee, Best Story; Nominee, Best Setting; Nominee, Best Puzzles; Nominee, Best NPCs; Winner, Best Individual Puzzle; Winner, Best Individual NPC; Nominee, Best Use of Medium - 2008 XYZZY Awards

10th Place - Interactive Fiction Top 50 of all time (2011 edition)

Editorial Reviews

Jay Is Games
Ultimately, though, the formal invention of having the game speak in Violet's voice would not be worth much if the story weren't so well-observed... The main characters of Violet have real feelings for one another, and a real investment in their relationship — and underneath the goofiness and the cute pet-names, their problem is plausible and serious.
See the full review

Rock Paper Shotgun
Whilst playing, I certainly found myself questioning my relationship with my girlfriend, shall we say, and that recognition turned into open farce as the scenario escalated. I felt. I laughed. I enjoyed.
See the full review

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Member Reviews

5 star:
(104)
4 star:
(61)
3 star:
(18)
2 star:
(2)
1 star:
(1)
Average Rating:
Number of Reviews: 22
Write a review


Most Helpful Member Reviews


24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
Well crafted, demented, and fun, November 17, 2008
by WriterBob (Richmond Hill, Ontario)
This game is as rock solid a piece of IF as I've seen in quite a while. It is a single room, single extended puzzle, written clearly. All the objects in the room are capable of being examined and most are, to a great degree capable of being manipulated.

The tone of the game may not appeal to all people. The major conceit of the game is that the narrative is told from the point of view of your girlfriend, Violet. All of the actions you take are commented on by her voice in your head. When you look at the room the game doesn't tell you the description so much as Violet relates the description to you in her own unique voice.

The plot and motivation are developed as the game progresses. There is no need for a lot of background feelies to get the player in the mind-set of the game. As the story developed, the solutions to each situation became increasingly bizarre. Also of note is the status bar in the game which clearly relayed what the next obstacle was in the sequence of this extended puzzle.

Overall, I found this a very satisfying piece of IF.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
My favorite xyzzy response ever., November 26, 2008
by mazirian (Yarmouth, Maine)
Related reviews: IF Comp 2008, comedy, single room
Violet is entirely responsible for rekindling my interest in interactive fiction recently. The interesting aspects of this game are amply highlighted in the other positive reviews here--that it's a single room game where everything, even metagame response, is conveyed in the voice of the protagonist's girlfriend. In the hands of a less capable author this would have quickly turned into an annoying gimmick, but Freese avoids that fate so thoroughly that I was actually sad when the game was over. Everything, from the nature of the puzzles (battling procrastination) to the never ending stream of increasingly bizarre pet names (lemon squidgie?), fits together perfectly, and almost nothing in the coding of the game was irksome. The single negative review below (at the time of this review) can only be the result of an unfortunate, soul-crushing cynicism.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
Earns a spot on the 'all-time favorite' list, June 9, 2010
by Bernie (Fredericksburg, VA)
After reading a review on here, I popped open Violet to read a few quick sentences. Unfortunately, I had to surrender my computer to my husband for an appointment 10 minutes later. Violet was so well-written and interesting that I ended up co-opting my husband's computer and downloading an interpreter so I could keep playing. The game was just too much fun to put down.

The narration in the game is entirely from the point-of-view of a girlfriend, and it sparkles. Almost every command you type evokes a witty response. As I played, I found myself falling in love with the girlfriend behind the keyboard who makes clever artwork and calls me cute pet names.

The puzzle behind the game is deceptively straightforward: you need to write. There are many highly entertaining distractions and the puzzles center around masking them. The solutions to the puzzles are logical and a built-in hint system helps keep you from getting stuck.

Everything about the game shines, from the well-implemented commands and descriptions to the strong and well-developed characters that kept me glued to the game until the finish. The writing is so good that you will want to play it again, just to see more of the fun distractions and hear more cute pet names.

See All 22 Member Reviews

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Recommended Lists

Violet appears in the following Recommended Lists:

The Small Underground Empire: List of Games To Play by stadtgorilla
Wishlist for our weekly collaborative IF meeting. Not really a recommended list, but really useful for me. Sorry for the inconvenience, should any arise.

Beginner's choice. by Grey
If for first time or beginner players.

For Ash by Keita
Games I'd think she'd enjoy.

See all lists mentioning this game

Polls

The following polls include votes for Violet:

Emotional IF by Sorrel
I'm looking for IF that inspires one or more strong emotions in the player – an IF that pulls on your heartstrings a little.

Sublime Moments by Sam Kabo Ashwell
I've been thinking about games that provide really brilliant moments. This is not about the overall quality of the game: there are plenty of excellent games that never deliver a clear, standout moment of unalloyed excellence. And surely...

Games where you can't screw up by Pinstripe
Sometimes, when I'm playing a game, I spend more time juggling my save files than I do reading the text. I don't want to have to restart because I picked up the green rod instead of the clay jug (with apologies to Zarf). So I'm looking...

See all polls with votes for this game

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This is version 11 of this page, edited by Edward Lacey on 14 December 2012 at 4:30pm. - View Update History - Edit This Page - Add a News Item