Photopia
Adam Cadre
Platform: Z-code
Rating: 8.0
Total Votes: 133
Std. Dev.: +- 1.9
Average Playtime: Between 20 minutes and 1 hour
Genre: Puzzleless / Slice of Life / Indescribable / Experimental / Surreal / Literary / Conversational / Existential / System Abuse / Fantasy
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Audience Comments:3/15/08 04:49 AM
This piece underwhelmed me, moreso after all the praise it has won. It's certainly a great distance from bad (except for the title, which *is* bad), but I found that it over-reached itself. The non-linear, put-the-fragments together structure is interesting and well organised, but it does mean that all the potential story ends up being backstory. And it's the backstory of a strangely idealised female character who exists only to be destroyed as a moral point. The writing is good, but I didn't find it good *enough* to carry a piece that stakes so much on the sheer quality of its prose. The intensity of a perfect vignette is needed, and _Photopia_ is longer and more diffuse than that.
Rating:6
8/02/07 01:49 AM
Rating:8
5/09/07 07:25 PM
Rating:8
1/10/07 06:48 PM
it felt like watching a movie...
Rating:7
1/01/07 06:53 PM
Best IF about IFs
Rating:10
10/17/06 04:26 AM
Rating:10
9/27/06 11:02 PM
Rating:10
9/08/06 03:28 AM
A sad, sweet, and at times bitter "game" that largely plays itself save for a puzzle or three. It's barely interactive by IF standards, but requiring me to push the plot along did help involve me in it. Can't say I identified with any of the various friends-and-family PCs - but the story's about Alley after all.
Rating:8
8/02/06 04:52 PM
Better (re)read "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang.
Rating:3
7/17/06 12:16 PM
An important and influential game. It didn't have the same emotional impact on me as it has had on others (for whatever reasons). A very good game, nonetheless.
Rating:8
6/02/06 03:07 AM
Rating:7
5/22/06 01:45 PM
Fiction, yes, but not especially interactive.
Rating:5
9/05/06 01:20 AM
Photopia is interesting game but it didn't match fully my taste. The story and changes of the main character are nice but the game is too linear. I would expect puzzleless game like this to have branches.
Rating:8
2/25/06 06:25 PM
The only piece of IF that ever made me cry... very good.
Rating:10
11/22/06 02:49 PM
Rating:3
1/30/06 10:00 PM
Photopia is a well-written short story in IF form. It's barely "interactive," but it pushes the boundaries of IF - and tells the story more effectively in this way than it could on paper. I enjoyed it.
Rating:8
12/09/05 11:33 PM
Nicely done, quite moving; I had heard all the hype, so I decided to play it. Immediately after I was finished I thought "What's the big deal?" The impact was slow to hit, but it has, and I still find myself thinking about this game.
Rating:8
11/19/05 04:42 PM
Rating:7
9/14/05 10:46 AM
Charming pseudo game. There isn't much to do here other than read the text, albeit the story is interesting. It does feel manipulative. The use of color is relatively good and fits the game.
Rating:7
9/05/05 05:31 AM
Rating:8
9/01/05 07:57 AM
This game will divide IF players depending on how they like their interactivity served up to them. If you like the 'illusion' of a world that can be examined, pushed and pulled around endlessly, and puzzled over, then you may not rate Photopia (although you'll probably appreciate the quality of the prose). I found this the most interactive piece of fiction I've ever 'played' because I was interested in the characters and the how to assemble their fractured story. It's clever in a tricksy, literary way, but Cadre writes with great sensitivity and can adapt his voice to that of a wide range of characters. Very innovative in that the literary techniques employed *are* triggered by the player as s/he progresses through the game. It'll make you think - so what could be more interactive?
Rating:10
7/22/05 09:21 AM
I know everyone raves about this game but I just couldn't get into it; although maybe that's just because I'm less keen on IF that is as on-rails as this.
Rating:5
6/13/05 01:55 PM
Rating:9
4/27/05 01:11 AM
Rating:10
3/31/05 10:22 AM
Puzzleless, with one exception. Like Shrapnel, more a piece of static fiction than interactive fiction, in that you only can only affect the game in minimal ways. Emotional. Doesn't take long to play through, so you may as well.
Rating:8
3/15/05 03:57 AM
Heavy on the "fiction", light on the "interactive". Photopia has a strong emotional impact; I was extremely impressed with this departure from puzzle-oriented IF.
Rating:9
3/03/05 08:38 PM
Rating:10
3/06/05 03:20 PM
Rating:9
2/12/05 07:29 AM
Rating:10
1/18/05 06:44 AM
Rating:9
1/16/05 01:27 AM
Rating:7
12/25/04 06:53 PM
Great story. Not particularly interactive, but the content more than makes up for it.
Rating:8
11/29/04 09:41 PM
Rating:9
11/14/04 10:56 PM
Rating:6
11/08/04 04:56 PM
Brilliant, beautiful, gripping. A must read. (Not, of course, a must play. This is not a game.)
Rating:9
10/20/04 09:26 PM
Rating:6
9/12/04 01:27 AM
Rating:10
9/15/04 06:44 AM
Possibly the most influential work of modern IF to date, this one is a must-play for people who wish to follow discussions of the recent history of the development of this medium. I almost wish I could have left it unrated while still writing a comment, because while I personally don't care for it much, I also recognize that it holds a (very well deserved!) place in the "canon" of modern IF.
Um. What else to say? To my mind, calling this a clever exploration of the nature of linearity really *is* a big-time spoiler. However, everyone here seems to have already said it, so I guess I'll repeat it.
If this piece works on you, then it *really* works on you. If, on the other hand, you fail to engage with the central character, or if you Get The Schtick too soon, then it can feel treacly and gimmicky, and also rather cheesily manipulative. I'm afraid that I fell into the latter category, but I can still appreciate the cleverness inherent in the work's construction; and the fact that Photopia *did* work so well on such a large number of players proves to my satisfaction that it was indeed very successful in what it set out to do.
Although playing this one offers no traditional "game challenges," I would not recommend it to a newcomer, as I feel that its impact is likely to be minimized if the player does not come to it with certain expectations regarding the interactivity of IF already in place.
Rating:5
8/28/04 06:43 PM
To all who say this is not IF: you may be right. Frankly I don't care. This story was simply incredible.
Rating:9
8/24/04 04:04 AM
Fragmented short story disguised in z-code format. Outstanding writing (though plot and character leave something to be desired). Thoroughly underwhelming as a game.
Rating:3
8/12/04 03:01 PM
Rating:7
7/17/04 05:29 PM
Not to give anything away, but this game is depressing. And it's completely non-interactive. It's very well done but I didn't find it particularly enjoyable.
Rating:5
7/17/04 11:15 AM
What can I say that hasn't already been said? One of the greatest pieces of IF I've ever played, and my only regret is that I didn't try it sooner. The Glulx graphical version adds a rather nice interface that changes colour along with the text.
Rating:10
7/12/04 06:29 AM
Excellently written story. Sacrificing puzzles or extensive interactivity is fine by me if you replace it with a strong story like Photopia's.
Rating:10
6/22/04 11:07 AM
I enjoyed the game a great deal. I even cried. Still, I can't give it a 10 because it didn't seem like IF to me. It is a great work, but not necessarily a work of IF.
Rating:8
6/06/04 01:41 AM
Beautiful and extraordinarily written; a true masterpiece that mines the human heart, and one of the greatest IF achievements ever.
Rating:10
6/05/04 01:06 PM
Rating:7
5/01/04 11:04 AM
Rating:7
3/27/04 09:53 PM
Powerful and beautiful. It's a story that makes you invest in its characters.
Rating:10
3/07/04 11:15 AM
Very well written, and an innovative use of the medium for when it was released. Despite this, it felt a little too linear and the story didn't affect me emotionally as much as it seems to have with others.
Rating:7
3/03/04 06:51 AM
Rating:9
2/19/04 05:26 AM
Rating:8
2/03/04 11:11 AM
Innovative and beautifully done. Wonderful experience.
Rating:9
1/16/04 02:59 AM
Rating:9
1/04/04 01:03 PM
This is story in the purest sense of the word. The reader is confronted with the limitless realm of possibility juxtaposed with the harsh reality of circumstance, as the story weaves through the happy labrynth of IF play. As the inevitable ending made itself apparent, I kept looking for a way to change the choices made earlier, knowing, as in life, how futile that sometimes is. The story is a joyous tear-jerker, and well worth the read.
Rating:10
12/16/03 09:02 PM
One of the first truly successful puzzleless IF stories. It's not for everyone; the linearity and total lack of player "agency" (control over the story's path) leave some players cold. But it demonstrated a different use of the medium that's compelling in its own way.
Rating:8
12/08/03 02:31 AM
Rating:10
11/21/03 08:36 AM
Rating:10
11/26/03 01:39 PM
If one were to abuse an IF system to make a game of pac-man, even if its an excellent game of pac-man, it just shouldn't rate well as interactive fiction. This is similar. Its less interactive than one of those old "choose your own adventure" books, and I wasn't entertained enough by the story to play out more than a few scenes. - JAA
Rating:3
10/28/03 10:09 AM
Ok, beautiful, "artistic", well built, and interesting for its originality. But puzzleless, so not what I look for in IF.
Rating:5
10/08/03 12:51 AM
Provokes thought even after the game is finished. Artistic...and like art, can generate powerful emotion.
Rating:8
10/06/03 10:26 PM
Rating:9
9/25/03 07:02 AM
Excellent writing, good plot, good characters. I had some guess-the-action problems which I'm sure were unintended by the author. I didn't mind the lack of interactivity at all, since the game uses the interactivity very well, but in another way than what is common.
Rating:9
9/25/03 05:16 AM
Rating:7
10/29/03 07:26 AM
This is linear and virtually puzzleless but despite that still makes good use of the medium. The writing is generally good but there are a couple of poor sentences which spoil things a little. Recommended though I hesitate to call it a game.
Rating:8
9/21/03 05:20 PM
Subtly beautiful. I would have preferred to not be dragged kicking and screaming through the plot -- those who like to spend lots of time just messing around and exploring might not care for this one. Still, it's an excellent, bittersweet story.
Rating:8
9/15/03 01:13 PM
This is the game that championed the notion that puzzle-solving and story-telling couldn't live together in interactive fiction. "Photopia" has no real puzzles and most of the gameplay consists of typing "Z" or choosing an option from a numbered menu. The writing and story were better developed than most of the hobbyist games at the time, but the characters are all cliched, the game's structure only allows players to spend a trivial amount of time with each character's point of view and the story's preachy message was done to death more than a decade before the game was written. Nevertheless, the game received a great deal of praise and inspired many imitations.
Rating:3
9/08/03 04:49 AM
People who say this isn't interactive are simply railing against fate's inexorability, which is one of the game's themes. It is interactive - at one point even the map forms itself according to the player's decisions - but you can't avoid what eventually happens. It's also wrong to call it puzzleless: there is one puzzle, and the moment when you solve it feels glorious.
Rating:10
8/30/03 12:39 AM
Superb writing, but anything this--well--railroaded doesn't really count as interactive fiction. A work of art, not a game.
Rating:8
8/26/03 08:03 AM
Isn't it interactive? Well, who cares... It's so beautiful, so well written, so moving...
Rating:9
8/21/03 08:25 AM
Rating:10
8/21/03 08:16 AM
It's NOT interactive fiction. It's just mediocre fiction.
The piece does perhaps open up IF to a wider audience-- English Teachers, Performance Artists, Suicidal Poets, etc... yet I fail to grasp how so many people can think that this is the #1 all time greatest piece of IF. It neither represents nor takes advantage of the medium very well.
Rating:1
8/12/03 10:08 PM
Rating:7
8/12/03 02:28 AM
Excellent short story in IF-form. One of the modern classics.
Rating:9
7/31/03 10:36 PM
I don't really like puzzle-less IF, but I admit that the story is strong and well told.
Rating:6
7/27/03 11:07 AM
Rating:4
7/24/03 01:55 PM
Considering the reputation this game has, I was kind of expecting a masterpiece. Instead I found quite a tedious game. It's very well written but there's very little in the way of gameplay here: most of the commands are so obvious and straightforward it often seems like you're not even playing a game at all but reading a book. I played through to the end not because I liked the game but just to see if it got better as it went along. It didn't.
Rating:3
7/20/03 04:47 PM
Serious and effective. If it is manipulative, then I was successfully manipulated.
Rating:9
7/16/03 05:18 PM
An IF classic -- a great intro to IF, and a rather touching story. The form is clever, and effective. Almost puzzle-less.
Rating:10
7/16/03 12:36 AM
Rating:10
7/15/03 08:46 AM
Rating:9
7/12/03 05:28 PM
Rating:7
7/11/03 11:25 AM
Rating:9
7/11/03 07:09 AM
Rating:9
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Rating:10
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Rating:10
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Interesting story and good implementation, and the level of interaction is good enough to make you forget somewhat the 'game' is on rails. Even though I had fun with this, the whole 'puzzle-less' thing doesn't quite do it for me. Maybe if there was more controle over the outcome of the story, it would have been better, but maybe I missed something. -- Harry Hol
Rating:6
7/10/03 12:10 PM
A beautiful story, one that has to be experienced multiple times. As a game it is less successful, as at times the interaction is minimal. However, the story and especially the writing go a long way in making this game a modern IF classic.
Rating:8
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Intelligently and sensitively done story, though not very interactive.
Rating:8
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Rating:9
8/18/03 05:25 PM
Rating:10
6/25/05 12:33 PM
We used to call them text adventures; now it is called interaction fiction. Photopia tries to move the slider away from puzzle-based games toward a new kind of fictional art form, but in doing so it sacrifices interactivity and much of the pleasure that traditional games provided. Most of the player?s time is spent passively in waiting or hitting the space bar. I suppose piecing together bits of discontinuous narratives could qualify as a game. Whether it is an entertaining one, however, is another matter. Still, I cannot deny the story's impact, nor the game's impact on the IF world.
Rating:7
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Rating:9
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Rating:8
7/10/03 12:10 PM
More than the structure, the characters carry this through--ordinary lives tinged by the extraordinary.
Rating:9
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Too linear, too melancholic. Well written, but uninteresting subject and dull characters. I was utterly bored by the time I finished this.
Rating:3
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Not just the best IF, but one of the best computer games I have ever played, period.
Rating:10
7/11/03 03:06 PM
Rating:7
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Very little game to speak of, but brilliant in any case.
Rating:10
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Rating:9
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Rating:9
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Found myself wanting to like it and be moved by it more than I actually liked it and was moved by it.
Rating:8
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Rating:9
7/10/03 12:10 PM
I enjoyed the work, but somehow it didn't really affect me all that much. I finished the game thinking -- huh? That's it?
Rating:7
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Possibly the finest work of interactive fiction ever written.
Rating:10
9/06/04 12:13 AM
Once past the off-setting intro, one will find a fascinating story with a careful "on rails" execution.
Rating:9
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Very beautiful, emotional and also haunting and disturbing. In one word, brilliant.
Rating:10
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Powerful story, relatively no obstacles/puzzles.
Rating:8
7/10/03 12:10 PM
The game that started it all. No, wait.
Rating:10
7/15/03 09:29 AM
As Interactive Fiction, I would have to rate this quite low. As a story, it is quite good, even though not my quite cup of tea. It does succeed in its aim, however - and what more could one want?
Rating:7
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Rating:9
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Very well done in many ways but potentialy disturbing (in a good way). Very linear.
Rating:7
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Another genre-defining game; the fantasy sections are somewhat weak and the whole thing is a bit forced but this didn't keep it from revitalizing puzzleless IF
Rating:9
7/11/03 12:51 PM
There's little to say that hasn't already been said, but Photopia was clearly a turning point for IF as a medium. On its own merits it's perhaps not so extraordinarily amazing these days, but it's still a polished, beautiful work. -DJW
Rating:7
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Comment: Felt like my strings were being pulled so much I could barely type. A nice enough game but hardly the benchmark for all IF some make it out to be. The writing in parts was just too fey for my taste.
Rating:7
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Rating:10
3/24/05 01:54 PM
Its greatest strength lies in emotional impact; many of the actual constituent parts are fairly weak. When I first played it, it was the best IF game I'd ever played; every time I replay it it seems less impressive.
Rating:8
7/10/03 12:10 PM
There are few games like this one. Very emotionally evocative, and the story is pieced together with perfection. If you're into puzzles, this one isn't for you. But if you like a good story, this is one of the best.
Rating:10
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Yes, it's very good. Well-written and moving--but it's not a game. It's a short story. And I don't think you'll have the response to it unless you're aware of the conventions of IF that it (sort of) thwarts. So play lots of other games first, then com
Rating:8
7/10/03 12:10 PM
In the competition that year, this game was the one I thought about for days. I agree with whoever said "play it before reading reviews". It made me feel, which is hard for a work of IF to do.
Rating:10
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Rating:8
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Blurring the line of the "interactive" in "interactive fiction?" Probably, but still Photopia must be the best written IF ever. Period.
Rating:10
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Rating:9
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Rating:10
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Beautiful, moving, and compelling. Play before you read reviews.
Rating:10
7/29/03 01:37 PM
The defining moment of modern IF. Loses some of its effect on the nth replay,
but the first couple of readings are unforgettable.
Rating:10
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Sweeping, emotional; almost pure perfection in terms of modern IF.
Rating:9
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Rating:10
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Wonderfully well-executed, but didn't leave me with the impact it did on others.
Rating:7
7/12/03 01:17 AM
Ground-breaking work, but the actual content left me fairly cold. It felt annoyingly manipulative at many points.
Rating:9
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Rating:9
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Rating:10
7/10/03 12:10 PM
A portrait, beautiful and moving.
Rating:9
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