<a href="/doctorm/"><img class="alignleft" title="The Life (and Deaths) of Doctor M" src="/doctorm/images/symbol_flowers.jpg" alt="The Life (and Deaths) of Doctor M" width="251" height="251" /></a>I'm pleased to announce the official release of my interactive fiction game, <a title="The Life (and Deaths) of Doctor M" href="/doctorm/"><em>The Life (and Deaths) of Doctor M</em></a>. The game follows the exploits of you, a dying soul, who must determine your fate as you wander a land somewhere between life and the afterlife. In the tradition of <a title="Wikipedia - Infocom" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infocom">Infocom</a> text adventures, <em>Doctor M</em> confronts you with a variety of puzzles, a host of characters, an intriguing narrative, and decisions that only you can make. Tied together, <em>Doctor M </em>weaves a tale of morality and choice that is ultimately dependent on you, the player.

<em>Doctor M </em>originally made its appearance in the <a title="2011 Interactive Fiction Competition" href="http://www.ifcomp.org/">2011 Interactive Fiction Competition</a>, written under the pen name of Edmund Wells. Out of 38 games, <em>Doctor M </em>placed sixth, tied for third for the <a title="IFWiki - Miss Congeniaiity" href="http://ifwiki.org/index.php/Miss_Congeniality">Miss Congeniality</a> award, and won the coveted <a title="IFWiki - Golden Banana of Discord" href="http://ifwiki.org/index.php/Golden_Banana_of_Discord">Golden Banana of Discord</a>. <em></em>The game is also up for two <a title="2011 XYZZY Awards" href="http://xyzzyawards.org/">XYZZY Awards</a>, the interactive fiction equivalent of the Academy Awards, including nominations for Best Story and Best Individual Puzzle, the latter of which it shares with several co-conspirators.

The co-conspirators include <em></em><em><a>Cold Iron</a>, </em>by <a title="Zarfhome" href="http://eblong.com/zarf/home.html">Andrew Plotkin</a> (as Lyman Clive Charles); <a title="Last Day of Summer" href="http://ifdb.tads.org/viewgame?id=422j31x1l6ulwagy">Last Day of Summer</a>, by Doug Orleans (as Cameron Fox); and <a title="Playing Games" href="http://ifdb.tads.org/viewgame?id=7xxhw9da4j3ff3hd">Playing Games</a>, by Kevin Jackson-Mead (as Pam Comfite). Together, the four games create a "meta-puzzle," now known as "<a title="The Hat Mystery" href="http://pr-if.org/event/hat-mystery/">The Hat Mystery</a>." Although each game stands as an independent piece, a player can unlock a secret ending by combining elements found in all four games. A tip of the hat to Kevin Jackson-Mead who came up with the idea, and to Andrew Plotkin who conceived the actual puzzle.

For those interested in playing <em>Doctor M</em>, but who have never played interactive fiction before, I strongly suggest consulting the <a title="Brass Lantern's Beginner's Guide to IF" href="http://www.brasslantern.org/beginners/beginnersguide.html">Beginner's Guide to IF</a>, and playing a few other <a title="Play some introductory games" href="http://pr-if.org/play/">introductory games</a>. <em>Doctor M </em>assumes you're an experienced interactive fiction player--that you know the language, so to speak. Even those fluent in interactive fiction have found <em>Doctor M </em>a challenge, albeit a compelling one, which it was ultimately meant to be.

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