Old school: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 23:34, 11 March 2024

A parser game is considered to be "old school" if it borrows heavily from the conventions of IF games from the '70s and '80s, particularly Adventure (William Crowther and Don Woods; c. 1975) and its imitators. These conventions may be considered frustrating by modern players, especially hunger puzzles and mazes.

Games that seriously challenged old school conventions and established a "new school" of IF include Photopia (Adam Cadre; 1998; Z-code) and Galatea (Emily Short; 2000; Z-code). New school works emphasize story over puzzle, include more NPCs and conversation, and may avoid the inclusion of a scoring system. Endings in new school works are often not split into winning and losing ones, although some endings may still be considered better than others by the player.

Also noteworthy, the game Savoir-Faire (Emily Short; 2002; Z-code) is a virtual showcase of old school tropes, except they are presented with new twists.

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-A game is considered to be "[[old school]]" if it borrows heavily from the conventions of IF games from the '70s and '80s, particularly ''[[Adventure]]'' ([[William Crowther]] and [[Don Woods]]; c. 1975) and its imitators. In recent years, the term "old school" is sometimes used pejoratively, suggesting that many of the older IF conventions are tiresome or unenjoyable and should be avoided in newer games, especially [[hunger puzzle]]s and [[maze]]s.
+A [[parser]] game is considered to be "[[old school]]" if it borrows heavily from the conventions of IF games from the '70s and '80s, particularly ''[[Adventure]]'' ([[William Crowther]] and [[Don Woods]]; c. 1975) and its imitators. These conventions may be considered frustrating by modern players, especially [[hunger puzzle]]s and [[maze]]s.
-Games that seriously challenged old school conventions and established a "new school" of IF include ''[[Photopia]]'' ([[Adam Cadre]]; 1998; [[Z-code]]) and ''[[Galatea]]'' ([[Emily Short]]; 2000; Z-code). Works of IF like these aren't considered ''games'' in the usual sense. New school works emphasize story over puzzle, enjoy a greater use of NPCs and conservation, and avoid awarding points for [[score]]s. Endings in new school works are often not split into [[winning]] and [[losing]] ones, although some endings may still be considered better than others by the player.
+Games that seriously challenged old school conventions and established a "new school" of IF include ''[[Photopia]]'' ([[Adam Cadre]]; 1998; [[Z-code]]) and ''[[Galatea]]'' ([[Emily Short]]; 2000; Z-code). New school works emphasize story over puzzle, include more [[NPC]]s and conversation, and may avoid the inclusion of a [[Score|scoring]] system. Endings in new school works are often not split into [[winning]] and [[losing]] ones, although some endings may still be considered better than others by the player.
 Also noteworthy, the game ''[[Savoir-Faire]]'' (Emily Short; 2002; Z-code) is a virtual showcase of old school tropes, except they are presented with new twists.
 [[Category:Glossary]] [[Category:Tropes]]