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The Space Under the Window

by Andrew Plotkin

Romance
1997

(based on 35 ratings)
3 member reviews

About the Story

A new, experimental game that has no puzzles but uses only words that change your focus on things, thereby adapting the story.
[--blurb from The Z-Files Catalogue]

Game Details

Language: English (en)
Current Version: Release 2
License: Freeware
Development System: Inform 6
Baf's Guide ID: 920
IFID: ZCODE-2-970402-C5C9
TUID: egtt6j8vif0plzrc

Awards

Nominee, Best Writing; Nominee, Best Use of Medium - 1997 XYZZY Awards

Editorial Reviews

Baf's Guide


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.

-- Duncan Stevens

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Member Reviews

5 star:
(4)
4 star:
(10)
3 star:
(15)
2 star:
(5)
1 star:
(1)
Average Rating:
Number of Reviews: 3
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Essentially Interactive Poetry, April 27, 2009
by Michael R. Bacon (New Mexico)
One of my favorite sandbox gameplay interactive fictions. Rather than presenting a strong plot or developing fleshed-out characters, The Space Under the Window is an interactive free-verse poem with many different endings as well as paths to those endings. It is very rewarding to play repeatedly, even if one spends less than ten minutes exploring the possibilities.

I only wish it were more fully implemented, allowing more keywords to cause revisions to the narrative.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Quirky & Mysterious, November 5, 2008
by WriterBob (Richmond Hill, Ontario)
"The Space Under the Window," is a unique piece of Interactive Fiction. It stretches the definition of IF to its very limits.

Is it interactive? Well, yes, it is, but unlike traditional IF in that you do not control the character with actions. The flow of the narrative is triggered by single word input, a word that is already in the narrative on the screen.

Is it fiction? Traditionally fiction is plot oriented, although I am sure there are enough English majors who would argue that there are character driven works. Still, what is lacking in "The Space Under the Window," is a sense of motivation for the central character. What *is* the goal? This is an experimental piece of fiction.

This work is unsettling and surreal. The sense of time seems to fluctuate as certain commands seem to trigger going back in time to previous moments. That is what this piece is, a collection of moments strung together where the player is left to wonder what it was he (used in this context, "he" is meant to be a generic genderless pronoun, which English is sorely lacking) just experienced.

This is a game that is difficult to love, but easy to appreciate for the skill with which it was crafted.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Short and Sweet, January 25, 2008
by Ziixxxitria (California)
I was pleasantly surprised with the interesting way the player interacts with the scene. It's very short, but I was able to replay it at least a dozen times without being any less amused. It is definitely worth trying.

If you enjoyed The Space Under the Window...

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Polls

The following polls include votes for The Space Under the Window:

Games with extraordinary "wow" moments by J'onn Roger
If there is a moment in a game that stands out to you with vivid clarity, a moment of extraordinary beauty with writing that makes you really makes you see what is taking place, list the game here. Since surprise may play a part in the...

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Whatever else might be said about ___________, there's not another game like it.

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As a historical exercise, I've begun compiling a list of IF games that have either done something ground breaking with the medium or otherwise influenced it; and I've turned it into a poll so everyone can have input on the expansion....

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This is version 2 of this page, edited by David Welbourn on 11 March 2008 at 9:51pm. - View Update History - Edit This Page - Add a News Item