Pantomime -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author(s): Robb Sherwin Genre: Science Fiction Website: https://www.joltcountry.com/index.php/robbsherwin_videogame/pantomime Language: en First Publication Date: 2006 License: Freeware Rating: 3.5 (based on 9 ratings) ABOUT THE STORY Pantomime takes place on the Martian moon of Phobos, in the year 2044. Mankind has developed colonies on Mars, Titan, Ganymede and installed a life bubble on the closer, larger Martian satellite. Mankind has also figured out a way to do cloning from bits of DNA (it's been busy, mankind). One such clone, colloquially called a pantomime, is preparing to tell all the denizens on Phobos that it will crash into Mars much sooner than expected, by several thousand years. EXTERNAL LINKS pmime.hex Post-Spring-Thing release Requires a Hugo interpreter[1] pmime.hex version entered in 2006 Spring Thing Requires a Hugo interpreter[1] EDITORIAL REVIEWS Just Adventure > In summary, Pantomime has some drawbacks –obscure puzzles, a sudden change > in the pace of the story -- and is clearly inferior to its author’s previous > creations. But even when considering these cons the game stands in good > shape, mainly by the richness of its prose and the originality of the story > and characters depicted throughout it. I can easily recommend it, not only > to cyberpunk fans but to anyone interested in trying a modern and very well > written interactive fiction game. Pantomime is graded B by this reviewer. > > -- Ricardo Pautassi IF-Review Fear and Cloning... In Space > I did find Pantomime enjoyable, if less focused than some of Sherwin's other > works; his dialogue and narrative style are unique in IF. What's more, > despite the linearity of the plot, I did feel as though there was a value to > presenting this as IF rather than as a piece of static fiction. At several > points in the dialogue, the player character gets to make a choice of tone > and attitude, especially one that reflects his opinion on pantomimes. I > chose to characterize him as friendly and unbigoted, since this seemed to > fit the PC and my own preferences best. The presence of the alternate > options on the dialogue menu reminded me that this was an active choice on > the PC's part, though, and that he could have acted much differently. > > In sum, this is a game that Sherwin fans will enjoy. It's not his best work, > but it has some fine moments. > > -- Emily Short SPAG > I've only played the beginning of one or two Robb Sherwin games prior to > this. That's probably why my reactions bounced between "whoa. did he really > say that?" and "wow. what's it going to be *next*?" Somehow, even if he's > holding back, it doesn't *feel* that way. Aside from a few typos - probably > the result of the hurried effort to meet the deadline - the writing is > great. It flows better because it's more casual. It's not just *how* Sherwin > writes - it's also *what* he writes: the insults between characters, the > one-off jokes, the clever descriptions and bits of back-story. I usually > cringe at coarse passages and lowbrow humor in a game, but that's part of > what makes Pantomime so interesting. Sherwin seems to write it in a > convincing, honest way. > > -- Mike Snyder REFERENCES [1]