Void: Corporation -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author(s): Jonathan Lim Genre: Science Fiction Language: en First Publication Date: 2000 License: Freeware Rating: 2.5 (based on 4 ratings) ABOUT THE STORY "VOID: CORPORATION is a short AGT game set in a cyberpunk world I invented when I was a kid. Generally, a fairly easy game (so I am assured) looking at a wider universe! It's also my first "serious" game, so be kind..." [--blurb from Competition Aught-Zero] EXTERNAL LINKS void.ins Requires an AGT interpreter[1] walkthru.txt Walkthrough readme.txt Background story void.da5 Data file void.ttl Title text void.da4 Data file void.da2 Data file void.d$$ Data file void.da1 Data file void.da3 Data file EDITORIAL REVIEWS SynTax > The gameworld of VOID has a neat geography, covering about 32 locations, and > most room descriptions are vivid and quite lengthy, which all helps to give > VOID an interesting and entirely "believable" atmosphere. Jonathan Lim has > clearly created a very detailed fictional world for his RPGs, comics and > game, and has the writing skills to portray this world very well. > Unfortunately there's always a "but..."; and in this case it's that he > hasn't the necessary programming skills to make VOID work as a text > adventure. It's obviously the same agent who keeps on reappearing time after > time to confront you, and on typing and entering "shoot agent with pistol" > you get the same response each time - "it disappears in a cloud of red > smoke" - a dead giveaway that the author hasn't been able to overcome many > of the standard AGT response messages by using his own command file in the > game, and has merely written a "standard" AGT game, the most basic type > possible. > > -- Bev Truter SynTax > Although not a literary masterpiece, the story is intriguing and the game is > reasonably well-written. I had problem in that you can't PUSH BLUE BUTTON > you must simply PUSH BUTTON or it doesn't work, despite this being in the > walk through. > > -- Dorothy Millard >INVENTORY - Paul O'Brian writes about interactive fiction > In any case, there are problems in this game that definitely cannot be > blamed on AGT. For example, one of the critical puzzles in the game depends > on the PC going in a direction that is not indicated as available in the > room description. This, mind you, when every single possible exit is listed > in every other room description. Hasn't the UN passed a resolution or > something against games behaving like this? In fairness to the game, it's > true that a hint toward this action is given at one point, but in fairness > to me, the descriptions do little to indicate in what location the hint is > applicable, and in any case that's still no excuse for leaving an exit > unlisted when all others are. This is definitely the worst offender among > the puzzles, but every aspect of Void, from the design to the writing to the > plot to the coding, is tarnished with flaws. Some of these aspects have a > genuine spark of excitement, or at least the possibility of such, but in the > end, VOID: Corporation is a game that promises far more than it delivers. REFERENCES [1]