Galatea (video game)

Infobox VG
title= Galatea


developer=Emily Short
publisher=Self published
designer=Emily Short
engine=Z-machine
released=2000
genre= Interactive Fiction
platforms= Z-machine
modes=Single player
media= download
input= Keyboard

"Galatea" is a work of interactive fiction by Emily Short. It won the 2000 IF Art Show and a XYZZY Award for Best Non-Player Character. [ [http://collection.eliterature.org/1/works/short__galatea.html Electronic Literature Collection] ]

Gameplay

"Galatea" alters the typical interactive fiction game mechanics by concentrating instead on the player's interactions with a single NPC, the eponymous Galatea. Much of the interest of the piece derives from the ambiguous nature of the player-NPC dialogue, with the form of the conversation, and indeed the nature of Galatea herself, which shifts depending on the focus the player places on certain aspects of the character's personality. Numerous endings are possible.

Plot

"Galatea" is loosely based around the myth of Pygmalion who carved the sculpture of a woman. He falls in love with the statue, named Galatea or Elise in different versions of the myth, and the goddess Venus brings her to life.

The story begins at the opening of an exhibition. The player, alone, discovers Galatea displayed on a pedestal with a small information placard. She is illuminated by a spotlight and wears an emerald dress. Seeing the player about to turn away, Galatea says, "They told me you were coming."

From this point the story may proceed in a number of ways depending on the player's words and actions.

Multilinear interactive fiction

Short describes this as "multilinear interactive fiction": while interactive fiction in general allows the player to find their own way through the story, this leads in most cases to a single ending (or at least a single desired 'correct' ending). With "Galatea", Short presents a story with around 70 different endings and hundreds of possible ways of reaching them.

The plot is thus designed to appear open-ended with the development of the story entirely dependent on what the player decides to talk or ask about or what actions he or she chooses to perform. Thus the original author and the player share in the creation of a work of fiction.

Technology

Adam Cadre, a respected IF author, has called Galatea "the best NPC ever". [ [http://www.avventuretestuali.com/interviste/cadre-eng Interview with Adam Cadre] ] The complexity is illustrated by the size of the game: as of release 3, it is a 260 Kb Z code file, which is considered large for any Inform game, let alone for one that consists of nothing but dialogue. It is about as large as Curses, a more traditional game that is similarly acknowledged for its depth of content.

References

External links

* [http://emshort.wordpress.com/my-work/ The home page of "Galatea"]
* [http://www.mindspring.com/~emshort/cheats.htm Emily Short's walkthroughs for "Galatea"]
* [http://members.aol.com/iffyart/eastwing.htm 2000 IF Art Show]