Eaten By A Grue: Infocom, Text Adventures, and Interactive Fiction

Procrastination is the name of the game when Kay and Carrington play Violet. Okay, technically Violet is the name of the game when Kay and Carrington play Violet, but you know what I mean. Note to self: write a better summary for this podcast episode. I'm sure I'll get around to it before we record.

Hosts: Kay Savetz and Carrington Vanston

Theme tune: "It Is Pitch Dark" by MC Frontalot

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The Grue Gang tackles one of modern IF's most intricate and interesting games, in which letters can be added or deleted from words at any time and anything can be rearranged. Grue can become gruel, games can become gams, and podcasters can become really cool dudes (okay, that one is hypothetical).

Hosts: Kay Savetz and Carrington Vanston

Theme tune: "It Is Pitch Dark" by MC Frontalot

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It's time to dim the lights and break out the legally binding waivers, as Kay and Carrington get busy with an interactive fiction dating sim. They'll also get down to some music inspired by Infocom games. Remember when they used to just play Zork? This podcast just keeps getting weirder.

Hosts: Kay Savetz and Carrington Vanston

Theme tune: "It Is Pitch Dark" by MC Frontalot

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The Grue Crew discuss Carrington's own new text adventure game which he foisted upon an unsuspecting Kay. This is a deep dive into the creation of both the game and Feelies. Can the podcast, and more the point Carrington's ego, survive such a review? As the game itself says, what's the worst that can happen? Only one way to find out.

Hosts: Kay Savetz and Carrington Vanston

Theme tune: "It Is Pitch Dark" by MC Frontalot

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What do you get when you mix difficult puzzles with intricate storytelling? A pair of defeated gamers, that's what. Kay and Carrington throw in the towel and admit they were bested by Andrew Plotkin's Hadean Lands. Then they replay Emily Short's recently remastered Bee, and tackle Jason Shiga's twisted tale of tentacles and truth. Bonus: Kay may or may not have sent Carrington some malware.

Hosts: Kay Savetz and Carrington Vanston

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The guys from Grue tackle another pair of modern Interactive Fiction games, or at least try to. First up is Everybody Dies, by Jim Munroe, in which ... well, everybody dies. Until they don't. And maybe there are ghosts. Next is Bee, by Emily Short, about going to a spelling bee. Except the only version of the game available doesn't include the spelling bee. Infocom games were never this complicated.

Hosts: Kay Savetz and Carrington...

Kay and Carrington get a double dose of IF when they play and discuss Twine games for the first time. First up is Their Angelical Understanding, by Porpentine, which comes with both music and warnings. Next is 16 Ways to Kill a Vampire at McDonalds, by Abigail Corfman, a game about french fries and undeath.

Hosts: Kay Savetz and Carrington Vanston

Theme tune: "It Is Pitch Dark" by MC Frontalot

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It's time for pointin' and clicking' and piratin', oh my, as Kay and Carrington play one of LucasFilm's famously funny forays into adventure gaming. Will they become terrors of the high seas, or be stuffed into Davy Jones' locker? All we know for sure is, there will be grog. Hosts: Kay Savetz and Carrington Vanston

Theme tune: "It Is Pitch Dark" by MC Frontalot

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Kay and Carrington leave behind the world of Infocom and venture into the future! (By which we mean the 1990s.) In this episode they tackle the two winners of the First Annual IF Competition: A Change in the Weather by Andrew Plotkin, and Uncle Zebulon's Will by Magnus Olsson.

Hosts: Kay Savetz and Carrington Vanston

Theme tune: "It Is Pitch Dark" by MC Frontalot

Find links, notes, and more episodes of Eaten By A Grue at MonsterFee...

It's another game with a colon in the title, as Kay and Carrington tackle the ninth game in the increasingly inaccurately named Zork Trilogy. This one wraps up the entire Zork series, and (maybe) (kinda) explains everything. It all started long ago west of a white house, but how will it end? And what comes next? Eaten By A Grue: Zork Zero: The Revenge of Megaboz

Hosts: Kay Savetz and Carrington Vanston

Theme tune: "It Is Pitch Dark...

Kay and Carrington take a midnight train going anywhere into a land of magic, but too few resources to play it any way they want it (that's the way they need it). Will the Grue Crew and this game go their separate ways, or will they embrace this capital-J Journey with open arms?

Journey: The Quest Begins

Hosts: Kay Savetz and Carrington Vanston

Theme tune: "It Is Pitch Dark" by MC Frontalot

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Kay and Carrington set sail on the virtual high seas to give a talk at this year's JoCo Cruise, an annual oceangoing event for technophiles, tabletop gamers, and creative-minded people. In other words, a bunch of nerds. It's the perfect venue to discuss all things Infocom.

Hosts: Kay Savetz and Carrington Vanston

Theme tune: "It Is Pitch Dark" by MC Frontalot

Find links, notes, and more episodes of Eaten By A Grue at https://monste...

Can Kay and Carrington defeat the usurper king and restore peace to a fabled land? And more importantly, can they do it while turning into badgers and turtles and eels, oh my. Some claim there is more to being a knight than just eating ham and jam and Spam a lot. Surely you joust.

Hosts: Kay Savetz and Carrington Vanston

Theme tune: "It Is Pitch Dark" by MC Frontalot

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You'll need swords, seamanship, political guile, but most of all inline hints to tackle Infocom's ill-conceived first foray into graphical adventures. Kay and Carrington find their patience tested in a game where, ironically, the most frequently used command is 'wait'.

Hosts: Kay Savetz and Carrington Vanston

Theme tune: "It Is Pitch Dark" by MC Frontalot

Find links, notes, and more episodes of Eaten By A Grue at MonsterFeet.com

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Kay and Carrington take a victory lap after finishing all of the Infocom text-only adventures. Turn on verbose mode and light the brass lantern, it's time to take a look back at what they liked best, and least, from these classic games.

Hosts: Kay Savetz and Carrington Vanston

Theme tune: "It Is Pitch Dark" by MC Frontalot

Find links, notes, and more episodes of Eaten By A Grue at MonsterFeet.com

Next episode: James Clavell's Shogu...

A bone chilling blizzard at the window, a reanimated hand on your shoulder, and worst of all a term paper deadline. All the ingredients for a deliciously dreadful day at Boston's creepiest college, where Kay and Carrington delve deep into the tunnels and tombs of The Lurking Horror.

Hosts: Kay Savetz and Carrington Vanston

Theme tune: "It Is Pitch Dark" by MC Frontalot

Find links, notes, and more episodes of Eaten By A Grue at Mons...