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From: buzzard@TheWorld.com (Sean T Barrett)
Subject: Re: PC knowledge, Varicella (was: Just a general question)
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In article <9sqnuc$38m$1@news.lth.se>, Magnus Olsson <mol@df.lth.se> wrote:
>On the contrary, I think Adam was concerned with that, and that
>he succeeded; to me, having to re-create Primo's reasoning by
>repeated save-die-restore *increased* the feeling of immersion.

Hmm, since you and Adam have both said this, clearly it must
be true.

As far as I played it (not very), I hadn't realized that I was
reconstructing some actual plans as opposed to just solving random
puzzles strewn about by the author.

>In fact, I think that this kind of deliberate breaking of the fourth
>wall is the recurring theme - perhaps the only commonality -
>throughout Cadre's production; parts of an ongoing deconstruction of
>the game/narrative and PC/player relations.

Well, Adam's games are in many ways the least immersive
ever, but they're still generally engaging (except Varicella,
for me). But I'm not sure to what degree this is him
deconstructing versus him simply not being interested in
immersion--see his review of, say, Punk Points.

(I'm using immersion in the game/VR sense of the
involved-suspension-of-disbelief that is generally
related to the IF community's word 'mimesis'.)

SeanB
