It’s hardly a secret that text adventures have been a passion of mine since I was young. I played them extensively, even before I picked up a graphical adventure game. I couldn’t get enough of the titles from Infocom and others. When Parsely Games was brought to my attention, I had to take a look at it. And I fell in love with it instantly. Here’s the catch. It’s not your traditional adventure game.
Parsely Games is a tabletop party game heavily influenced by the digital medium, and it makes perfect sense that something like this would be created. The genre did take from “choose your own adventure” books and early roleplaying after all. And it’s rare enough to see new titles creep up on the Internet, but it’s almost unheard of to have one in written print. Even if you’re not into roleplaying or party games, this is worth the nostalgia factor alone.
Text adventures, or interactive fiction as the genre is also known as, are a piece of computing history, and to see it paid homage like this is invigorating. The big tome comprising Parsely Games has several of these adventures compiled into one 300 page book. These have been released over the past decade and a half, and they sound worth the pledge of only $30. Honestly, this is a steal for anyone even remotely interested.
Text adventures are a woefully underappreciated genre of gaming, especially in today’s market of photorealistic graphics and shooters. But, back when the technology was young, this was a pastime that let your imagination run rampant. It also helped to learn proper grammar, reading, and syntax. They just don’t make games like these anymore, and anything that pays respect to them is sure to be a hit in my book.
