intfiction.org

Hi there, I'm new to the forum but not quite so new to IF. Then again, I haven't played an IF/Text Adventure game in 10-15 years so for all intents and purposes, I am indeed new to IF. I recently find myself wanting to get back into playing IF (perhaps even writing it) and I wanted opinions on where to start. I am aware this has been asked many times before. Therefore, I took the liberty of looking at a few IF games and I have a some in mind.

The following games are the ones from the list on http://pr-if.org. I know I want to play these first but I'm iffy on the order in which to play them. Heres the order I think:

First, Photopia (because I heard that it has a great story and is light on actual gameplay)

Second, Shade (because it's a one room IF and is apparently very good)

Third, Lost Pig (because it has a few locations and is apparently very good and funny)

Forth, The Dreamhold (because it's a larger "tutorial game" that is long in length)

Any corrections to the order to start playing them or indeed to the games themselves would be appreciated, thanks.

If you are not completely new to IF go for Anchorhead and Christminster. Unsurpassed, in my opinion.

Lost Pig, Photopia, and Dreamhold are all a great place to start. Personally, I'd suggest holding off on Shade a bit, not because it's not a great game, but because I think it's more effective once you have more genre/medium expectations.

This was pretty much what I was going to say.

Thanks for the replies so far guys. Well then, from what you've said about the ones I mentioned, I think the order shall be: Photopia, Lost Pig, The Dreamfold, Shade. As for the ones that Jamespking mentioned, I've heard of Anchorhead, I've heard alot of people say it's very good and I do like lovecraftian stories. I also just looked up Christminster, again looks very good. I just think those two maybe a little heavy at the moment after an IF dry spell of alteast 10 years.

Of course though, that will change after I get into the IF groove again.

I highly recommend Emily Short's Bronze as an introductory IF -- not only does it have a new-player mode, suggesting actions to take, but also a number of tedium-of-puzzle-solving- and -of-movement-simplifying features not found elsewhere.

Plus it's a great play on its own.

Thanks. I will most likely play Bronze directly before or directly after The Dreamhold

An Act of Murder is a great way to re-engage with IF. It's a nice murder mystery story with some story randomization.

The King of Shreds and Patches is also a great and large Lovecraftian horror game with a good help system and a nice map to keep you on track. I'm not sure it's better than Anchorhead, but it is certainly more inviting for a new(ish) player.