So has everyone or anyone here seen it? I’ve guessing pretty much everyone has. I’ve been watching all the interviews over the past few weeks and I’ve wondered how many, if anybody from the documentary is on this forum. I even noticed just tonight that Andrew Plotkin has made at least two extensions for Inform 7.
Yes, and I really enjoyed it. Though to be honest I’ve never watched any of the extended material – which ones in particular did you like?
Probably the David Welbourn interview and his notes. I just thought his thoughts were pretty interesting, especially in regards to note taking in IF and the amount of detail in IF.
Just keep in mind that it was filmed around 2007-8, mostly. Getting to be old even for a “new” survey of the field.
I remember being interviewed for the documentary, and I even received a copy from Jason. But (perhaps oddly) I have never watched it. --Bob
I have watched it many times and I love it and I wish there was more commentary from all the players in the scene. I think Jason did a great job with this. I just want more but I suspect I’d never be satisfied if there was more to watch and learn from!
For me the whole “Get Lamp” thing is somewhat of a hallmark, an institution and a home coming. It’s kind of defined my entire love for the genre because I could see the stories behind the stories and it was just this sort of perfect storm of awesomeness! Sure it’s a bit dated now but I think it’s extremely relevant and I find myself delving deep into the raw interviews because deep down I want to be closer to this genre and the artists. I just want to say THANK YOU to all of the artists that gave interviews. Your commentary and your effort have shaped my understanding and love for this art form!
How outdated do you think most of the information is?
About seven or eight years.
But how much of that information is actually outdated? Granted, whatever dwells in “RAIF” being the present hub of the community, for instance, is naturally outdated, as well as general design references - but the documentary is mostly about the past, isn’t it? How much of it can be outdated?
I may be under the wrong impression. I thought that it was a historical piece, rather than a “survey of the field”, much like Maher’s brilliant Digital Antiquarian blog.
I wish he would release a version in iTunes. Once Ready Player One with its scenes in Zork is released, a documentary like this could get a lot of attention.
While much of the documentary is indeed historical, there is a section on “the modern era of interactive fiction” that, in an ideal world, would be updated with the rise of Twine and other choice-based systems, the effect of Inform 7 on IF development, and the fact that Stephen Granade no longer runs IFComp.
I like Get Lamp… sometimes I have it playing in the background while I’m developing IF.
Honestly, I saw it pretty soon after it was released, and it felt dated – perhaps more charitably, “retrospective” or “nostalgic” – even at the time.
I just saw it, and I certainly felt that it had a nostalgic/historic bent. It was incredibly interesting to watch, as a newcomer to IF.
I do feel like it’s dated (by 7 or 8 years…) because to me there was a clear story arc:
When I felt like it really needed another beat before the end of:
People are making a living from IF again! Okay it’s only a few, but it’s happening, and it’s increasing. And Choice of Games pays more for a game than most publishers do for a novel! And now there’s Twine! Now ANYONE can play! Also, check out all the awesome experiments happening! And the parser VS Choice-based debate! And this amazing, generous, multilingual community!
(Too bad the creators didn’t go forward in time and get that done. Hopefully they’ll be more thorough in their omniscience next time.)
Well - a Get Lamp 2 is certainly possible! An Epilogue. A weblog. Or somethingog.
I just watched @cvaneseltine’s google talk on interactive fiction, and WOW. I feel like it’s the sequel to “Get Lamp”…the Act 3 when everything is new and different and hopeful after Act 2 took us to the depths of despair.
Also, just a brilliant, fascinating, accessible talk.
Made me laugh.
I watched it once. Has lots of interesting info, but I found the overall tone a bit maudlin. I assume he was going for that tone, based on: the editing, choice of content and the maudlin ambient music.
-Wade