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otf.gam
Requires a TADS interpreter. Visit IFWiki for download links.
readme.txt
author's blurb
walkthru.txt
Walkthrough
trcolor.dat
color file for DOS tr runtime
Requires an AdvSys interpreter. Visit IFWiki for download links.
Walkthrough and map
by David Welbourn

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On the Farm

by Lenny Pitts

Slice of life
1999

About the Story

"Visiting Grandma and Grandpa on the farm for the weekend is not your idea of a good time. Mom has told you countless stories about the great adventures she had growing up there. Days spent feeding the chickens and pigs, and riding the horses, but that was before Grandpa got too old to work the land. Now the farm consists of barren fields, rusting equipment and empty pens." [--blurb from Competition '99]


Game Details

Off-Site Reviews

SPAG
The farm is supposed to be abandoned, nonworking, and there are plenty of nicely done stray details that convey decay and neglect, such as a barn door hanging by a hinge, a rusted-out tractor with a dead battery, a groundhog-eaten garden, and a mildewed haystack. In that respect, it's a vivid setting--it's a specific rather than a generic farm. There are also lots of unexplained details, however (notably a huge ball of twine and a metal hook whose presence and function remain mysterious), and the writing is uneven at best--punctuation errors and unfortunate phrasings.
-- Duncan Stevens
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>INVENTORY - Paul O'Brian writes about interactive fiction

When so many IF games take place in science-fictional or fantastic settings, it's quite refreshing to play a game that is firmly grounded in the real world. Even better than that, the setting is fully realized, to an impressive level of detail. Most all of what I call the first-level nouns (that is, nouns that are mentioned in room descriptions) are implemented with descriptions. The writing is crisp, conveying an excellent sense of place. Lots of details are present, not because they somehow serve the game's plot, but simply because they bring the farm and its environs to life more vividly. Yes, there are some problems in the writing as well. There's the occasional comma splice or punctuation stumble, and from time to time the sentences seem to lose their rhythm, foundering like a lame horse. In addition, the prose sometimes descends into a sort of juvenile, scatological humor that works against the sincere tone of the rest of the game. Despite these few flaws, in general the game's prose achieves a satisfying clarity. I grew up in suburbia, and my ancestry is decidedly urban, so I've never experienced firsthand most of the game's referents. Nonetheless, after playing On The Farm I really have a sense that I've been there.
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Page Update History

  v.8: 06-May-2022 04:52 - Paul O'Brian (Current Version) - Edit Page - Normal View
Changed external review links
v.7: 24-Dec-2020 14:01 - David Welbourn
Changed download links
v.6: 18-Oct-2016 05:31 - David Welbourn
Changed cover art
v.5: 17-Aug-2013 05:21 - Edward Lacey
Changed external review links
v.4: 02-May-2008 17:13 - Paul O'Brian
Changed external review links
v.3: 02-May-2008 17:12 - Paul O'Brian
Changed external review links
v.2: 27-Feb-2008 21:52 - David Welbourn
Changed description
v.1: 16-Oct-2007 01:50 - IFDB
Created page