GENRE AND PUZZLE FORMULATION
============================
<P>
[Draft -- Neil Yorke-Smith]
<P>

INTRODUCTION
<P>
Consider: Why have more works of interactive fiction -- markedly more --
been set in a fantasy or science fiction milieu than any other?  Why does
the central puzzle of "Spider and Web" (Plotkin, 1998) succeed when it
would fall flat in "Winter Wonderland" (Knauth, 1999)?  What differences
are found between IF works of, for instance, historical romance and
Lovecraftian horror?  In short, what is the influence of genre and what is
its effect on the formulation of puzzles?
<P>
Any typology of puzzles in IF, however careful the theoretical foundations,
remains no more than a dry classification if we neglect the interactive
element of the medium.  Montfort's definition of a puzzle as "a challenge
[...] that requires a non-obvious set of commands in order to be met"
(Theory, 'Puzzles and Their Solution') is designed to be independent of
author and interactor: we "should be able to determine what is and is not a
puzzle simply by studying the IF work in question".  This granted, it is
the experience of meeting the challenge -- though it may differ from one to
the next -- that is significant to the interactor.  The experience with the
Enigma machine in Nelson's "Jigsaw" (1995) and with the navigational
computer in Lebling's "Starcross" (Infocom, 1982) make the two quite
different, despite the many similarities shared by the two machines in an
abstract typology of puzzles.
<P>
Montfort argues that viewing IF works as riddles can bring together the
literary and puzzling aspects.  If the formulation of the puzzles, and the
interactor's experience of them, is central on the one hand, then the
nature and style of the narrative is central on the other.  By Montfort's
definition, the simulated world -- described in the literary aspect and the
setting of the puzzling aspect -- is essential to interactive fiction; we
suggest that the milieu of that world has bearing on the construction of
the riddle.  So we come to the question of genre and its influence on
puzzle formulation.
<P>
The Enigma machine in "Jigsaw" is a fine example.  Unmotivated, the machine
is a formidable, tedious challenge which caused some to wish for respite
(Thornton).  However, in the setting of World War II and motivated by the
larger plot, on the retracing of historical necessity, "I found myself
thinking, `If Turing and Newman could do it, then surely I [...] can do it
too!'" (Rees, Jigsaw).  Whereas the puzzle is natural, if difficult, in the
setting, a Nazi encryption machine would sit unhappily in a fantasy work.
(Which is not to say incongruous and unmotivated, even tedious puzzle
elements are unknown in IF fantasy works: take the anachronistic battery
dispenser in "Adventure" (Crowther, c.1975; Crowther and Woods, 1976).)
<P>
To address our central question, we first examine genre and puzzles in IF
separately.  Second, we ask what genres are conducive to the puzzling
aspect of IF and what effect the milieu can have on the success of a work
overall.  Third, we conclude with a case study and some wider reflections.
<P>

GENRE IN INTERACTIVE FICTION
<P>
Casual use of 'genre' in relation to IF is schizophrenic: the word is used
to refer to the medium of IF as a whole, as well as to "a particular kind
or style of art or literature" (Oxford English Dictionary).  Even in
Nelson's "The Craft of Adventure", an early and thoughtful exposition of
craft, we find "the genre [i.e. interactive fiction] is still going strong"
(par.1) and "the best of even the tiniest games [...] make up a variety of
genres [i.e. kinds of literature]" (par.4).  Rightly, we suggest, "IF is a
medium, and not a genre"; just as "[n]ew genres come and go all the time,
in other media", so "[t]here are different genres of IF -- detective IF,
sci-fi IF, etc." (Weinstein).
<P>
'TableSaw', writing critically on raif, observes:
<P>
    Classification of works is very important [for] it gives potential
    viewers a chance to identify similar works by identifying key traits
    that are similar to them.  In addition it can help authors by providing
    a framework within to place their story.  It can provide an assumed
    context to provide implicit information to a reader.  And it provides a
    basis for comparing works. [...] [C]lassifications must come from
    careful examination and dialogue about works already made, rather than
    either trying to create categories and then fit pieces into them.
<P>
In short, classification is to be descriptive not prescriptive.  As such,
any classification of IF works will be subjective to some degree -- what
genre is "Jigsaw": historical? time-travel fantasy? romance? -- just as no
history of the Roman Empire is entirely complete or objective.  Literature
like history, moreover, has many characteristics by which to classify.  The
encyclopaedic "Baf's Guide to the Interactive Fiction Archive"
(Muckenhoupt) indexes works a dozen ways, including by attribute ('third
person voice', for instance), while a call to classify a set of
highly-rated works by the editor of the fanzine SPAG (O'Brian,
Classification) yielded ten disparate responses, including the abrupt
"They're all games!" (Schmidl).
<P>
Unanimity, all would agree, is unattainable.  But just as Gibbon's "Decline
and Fall of the Roman Empire" has become the history to measure against, so
Muckenhoupt's "Baf's Guide" is the canonical reference to freely-available
IF.  Muckenhoupt classifies works into 21 genres, from 'Adaption' to
'Western', via 'Horror' and 'Seasonal'.  The graph in Figure 1 shows
that fantasy, RPG and science fiction dominate the field of IF works.
Of the rivals to Muckenhoupt, we note the genre classification in the
"Z-Files Catalogue" (Baum), the selection by populariser Britton, and a
list by Short based on attributes (Literacy).  For commercial works, while
not a classification, "Adventureland" (Persson and Meier) is impressively
complete.
<P>
 [Figure 1 about here]
<P>
Several reasons have been advanced to explain the dominance of fantasy and
science fiction among IF works.  Historically, not least, "Adventure"
(1976) and "Zork" (Anderson, Blank, Daniels and Lebling, 1979) had fantasy
settings, which many early works thought nothing of borrowing, along
with much else.  Of the 35 works published by Infocom (which we take as
"Zork I" (Blank and Lebling, 1980) to "Arthur" (Bates, 1989)), 17 might be
classified in the science fiction or fantasy genres.
<P>
Speculative fiction -- fantasy and science fiction -- as a rule appeals to
those who take interest in IF, it has been argued; they enjoy "similar
target audiences" (Plotkin, qtd. in deMause; see also Giner-Sorolla).  So
IF author Cull:
<P>
    IF attracts a more technologically minded kind of author.  You don't
    even think about writing stories that interact, that are very
    mechanical, unless you're in love with the machine. [...] And because
    it's a very young, offbeat, cultish medium, you're likely to get
    creatively minded people -- people who look at the world and see not
    what is, but what might be.  The sort of people who like speculative
    fiction.
<P>
A third reason for the prevalence of fantasy and science fiction is the
unreality of the genres; the magic, if we will.  Again, in part, this
facilitates the suspension of disbelief that makes IF an escape from the
real world, for both author and interactor: "Much of real life is not fun,
and much of what makes a game fun is highly unrealistic" (Baggett,
Setting).  But Silcox, noting that hackneyed fantasy settings can be as
hum-drum as a simulation of a modern apartment, argues for works that
engender "de-familiarization", so that real life might be seen afresh.  He
cites Sunset over Savannah (Cockrum, 1998), "which simulates with amazing
psychological accuracy and a surprisingly high level of suspense the
thoughts of a fairly average middle-aged man [...] trying to decide whether
or not to quit his job".
<P>
The magic goes further, though, for it allows the author to impose his own
logic on the simulated world.  The prologue in "Trinity" (Moriarty,
Infocom, 1986) is set in the very real Kensington Gardens, London [1]; the
middle-game spans various surreal worlds.  In the latter we can hardly say,
"but that's not how life works!" when the rules are made by him and told to
us.  Perhaps too the magic lends itself to narratives more suited to the
strengths of IF, a point we must return to later.
<P>
Fifthly, speculative fiction can result in works "easier for amateurs [...]
to write (not write _well_, just to write), and since most IF writers are
amateurs not [as Moriarty] professionals, we pick the easy choice" (Cull).
Newell, similarly, advocates that since the fantasy genre requires less
research than some others, it is more conducive to the amateur not willing
to go to the lengths Moriarty did for the end-game of "Trinity" (Rigby), or
that Nelson, though an amateur, did for "Jigsaw" ("On Jigsaw and 'I'",
par.5; DM4 365).
<P>

PUZZLES AND CHALLENGES
<P>
Theorists debate what defines interactive fiction as a medium and
distinguishes it from other forms of cybertext such as (electronic) CYOA
(Aarseth; Lenssen; Montfort, Theory; Short, IF); with authors and
fans alike they discuss what are the strengths and short-comings of the
medium.  Recurrent in the debate is the role of puzzles.  While the degree
will vary, there must arguably be *some* interaction in an IF work to
distinguish it from mere blocks of text separated by a "MORE" prompt; and
here puzzles have a leading role: "Without puzzles, or problems, or
mechanisms to allow the player to receive the text a little at a time [...]
there is no interaction" (Nelson, DM4 382).
<P>
Here are authors Andrew Plotkin and Lucian Smith: "A puzzle is a mechanism
for focusing the player's attention"; "[O]ne of the main purposes of a
puzzle is to involve the player in the story more" (both qtd. in deMause),
and here is theorist Jerz: "A puzzle in IF is, in one sense, a management
tool to separate 'movements' in the overall plot" (Puzzles).  Thus, in
addition to Montfort's definition as challenge met by non-obvious set of
commands, we have puzzles as source of interaction and as means of narrative
advancement.
<P>
These additional perspectives suit our present purpose.  We are not seeking
to answer the difficult question of what, formally, is a puzzle, any more
than we seek to give a taxonomy.  Montfort states "[t]here is no
requirement that a puzzle's challenge relate to any other elements of an IF
work in order for it be a puzzle", but equally in our discussion we will
want to consider interaction that by Montfort does not constitute a puzzle.
Indeed, a work can be puzzleless -- all the challenges are met by obvious
sets of commands -- but still, we suggest, the work must have challenges to
be considered IF.  The demarcation line and works along the border, such as
Finley's "Life on Beal Street" (1999) will be debated as the frontiers of
the Roman Empire were contested.
<P>
A poor puzzle is regarded as one whose solution is non-obvious to the
extent that a telepathic connection to the author is required to meet the
challenge (deMause).  In contrast,
<P>
    A good puzzle, in my mind, is no puzzle. [...] [T]he puzzles should be
    transparent.  Getting onto the benchtop in "A Bear's Night Out" [(Dyte,
    1997)] is a good example of this; getting back into your house in "A
    Good Breakfast" [(Adair, 1997)] is not.  Puzzles shouldn't be
    'puzzles', but rather situations that must be resolved to further your
    goals.  (Greenwood)
<P>
Notable is that the puzzles in Dyte's work, which won a XYZZY Award for
Best Setting, are based on the limitations of a teddy bear, for the large
part, whereas Adair's work has "artificial puzzles [...] thrown in for
their own sake" (Stevens, Breakfast).
<P>
Lucian Smith defines a puzzle as 'satisfying' if it gives the interactor
pleasure when solved, and as 'pertinent' if it relates to the plot as a
whole (qtd. in deMause).  Greenwood's point is that better puzzles will be
both satisfying and pertinent: the challenge makes sense in the narrative,
the solution advances the plot (Nelson, DM4 394), and the whole is part of
the atmosphere of the work (Jerz, Puzzles).  Did Dyte succeed here and
Adair not because of the settings they chose?
<P>
Giner-Sorolla's influential essay "Crimes Against Mimesis" argues for
puzzles that maintain, enhance even, mimesis.  Pertinent puzzles are more
satisfying, he contends, and he is supported in this by seasoned IF authors
reflecting on the craft: "[A puzzle] should be logical, according to the
logic of the game's universe" (Meretzky, qtd. in Hochberg); "[T]he puzzles
should arise integrally from the milieu of the game" (Rees, Design).  For
example, the best puzzles in "Scapeghost" (?Mike, Pete and Nick Austin,
Level 9, 1989) arise from the difficulty the PC, a murdered police officer
returning as a ghost, has in interacting with the material world.
<P>
Given, then, that a work "should have a coherent fictional world and its
puzzles should be seamlessly joined to the textual fabric, appearing to
occur naturally" (Nelson, DM4 365), might we call such puzzles 'organic'?
If so, are genres more conducive to organic puzzles better suited to
interactive fiction?  To this question we now turn.
<P>

ORGANIC PUZZLES
<P>
Plotkin's celebrated "Spider and Web" is a tale of espionage.  The
turning point for the interactor is a moment of intuition: in
reconstructing past events under interrogation, the PC has woven a
fabrication.  His unreliable narration deceives the interrogator.  The
puzzle lies in the interactor perceiving the truth (hinted subtly
throughout) and, at the critical moment, using this knowledge to escape; it
is both satisfying and pertinent (Chung).  Plotkin won the XYZZY Award for
Best Puzzle, among others.  Besides his evident mastery of the craft, he
demonstrated a puzzle organic to its setting; it hardly would have worked
in a children's fairy story.
<P>
The experience of interacting with an IF work is that we "get to *meet*
the people and *live* the events", we feel "*responsible* for [the PC's]
actions" (Baggett, Simulations).  If, as we suggest, this interactivity
is achieved through the puzzles (in the broad sense), then, other things
being equal, those genres amenable to better puzzles may be expected to be
more successful: as narratives more immersive, as crosswords more
satisfying.  This is not to say any genre cannot be the setting for a
successful IF work, merely that some may be more amenable than others.
IF centred on psychological drama, for example, is decidedly difficult to
write well, but Bond's "Rameses" (2000) uses non-interactivity to its
advantage.
<P>
Amenability to puzzles is aided, firstly, by genres whose organic puzzles
render naturally in the IF world.  Hence, one reason for the popularity of
speculative fiction, in addition to those we saw earlier, is that these are
"genres of exploration and action," to which "the modelled world of IF
lends itself very nicely" (Short, Private).  Jerz's essay on exposition in
IF argues for 'live, don't tell': "The IF player is supposed to live the
story [...] Exposition that relies this heavily on narration -- on
'telling' -- is awkward in IF" (Exposition).
<P>
Take the romance genre, territory well-explored in static fiction, where
the PC's feelings are central to the narrative.  Much easier it is to walk
through a landscape as it is explored than communicate the emotion of the
PC.  Only one Infocom work, "Plundered Hearts" (Briggs, 1987), is a
romance, and much of the romantic interest, though well-written, is told in
cutscenes, not shown, and still less lived.  Later attempts in the genre
have emphasised the narrative, with varying success: Huang's "Muse" (1998),
Fischer's "Masquerade" (2000), Ingold's "My Angel" (2000).  Besides
Ingold's, the other works all feature developed PCs in a historical
setting; Ingold's is notable for its 'novel mode'.  The crossword struggles
in the romance [2].
<P>
In view of Jerz's essay, his own "Fine Tuned" (2001) becomes most 
interesting.  Although subtitled "An Auto-mated Romance", the work is more
a comedy:
<P>
    [Jerz] dares -- and manages to pull off -- a number of pieces of
    *participatory* comedy, which is much harder to pull off than just
    writing a bunch of funny lines that always show up. [...] *I* had to
    make the joke happen, or rather, the author had to set things up such
    that I *would*  (Cadre)
<P>
Here is 'live, don't tell' in practice.  And as Baggett emphasises 
(Simulations), it is powerful.  Brian Moriarty on "Trinity":
<P>
    You could just feel the weight of history on you. [...] I just wanted
    people to feel that weight on them when playing the game. [...] It's
    nice to know that interactive fiction could do that, make you feel
    uncomfortable about killing things.  (qtd. in Rigby; see also Buckles
    127-29)
<P>
Secondly, in some genres -- mystery and adventure especially -- the organic
puzzles are readily 'found'.  Cadre defines a "found puzzle" as one that
"derive[s] from the story" (qtd. in deMause), while Plotkin gives his first
rule of puzzles as, "The world you've created creates the puzzles" (Happy).
In static fiction, works in these genres "from Poe's 'The Gold Bug' on, can
capably integrate set-piece puzzles into the overall mimetic goals of the
story" (Giner-Sorolla, par.3).  It is not overly surprising, therefore,
that the mystery was the first genre beyond speculative fiction explored by
Infocom, beginning with "Deadline" (Blank, 1982).  Blank later wrote,
"[M]ost people, when they read mysteries, are constantly trying to think
ahead, what happened. [...]  So, it seemed to lend itself perfectly."
(qtd. in Greenlee).
<P>
Writing in the New York Times Book Review, and clearly enthusiastic about
"Deadline", Rothstein links the success of Infocom's early work to their
choice of genres, "the worlds of popular fiction -- the detective story,
science fiction, adventure and fantasy.  These genres define worlds with
their own logic; they pose lucid questions and possess clear narrative
easily adaptable to a computer".  Less is this so for the romance, we might
add.  Dyer reports "Infocom people [...] joke[d] about the idea of a
romance series; somehow the moves don't seem appropriate to a computer
keyboard"; Briggs's "Plundered Hearts", the sole Infocom work authored by
a woman, was the exception to prove them wrong.
<P>
Thirdly, amenability to organic puzzles can be aided when the interactor
and characters in the work share parallels in their knowledge acquisition;
Myers cites Callaci's "Dangerous Curves" (2000) as an example.  The most
extreme situation, the cliche'd IF amnesia opening, is "nearly identical to
the premise upon which so many detective stories and film noirs open"
(Arnold, reviewing "Gumshoe" (Oliphant, 1996), in which we have both).  If
this, together with the found puzzles, makes the mystery suited to IF in
principle, then the difficulty lies in the execution.  "Deadline" has its
share of bugs (Aarseth 115-27; Cree) and Infocom's subsequent "Suspect"
(Lebling, 1984) was harrowing to test (Lebling).  "[T]he mystery genre
demands extremely rigorous testing" (Rees, Undertow).
<P>
All three points come together in the horror genre, such as in Finley's
dark "Babel" (1997), a deeply suspense-filled work.  Although, like
romances, there is emotion to convey, it can be done through living and
showing: foreboding in the world, terror from shadows glimpsed; organic
puzzles ("how do I escape the cellar?") can arise from story and world; and
the PC's realisation of the nature of things can mirror the interactor's
own.  But horror, more so than speculative fiction, relies on proper
pacing, which by nature is harder to ensure in the IF medium.  Perhaps this
offers an explanation for the reliance in IF horror on building suspense
through the modelled world.  Lovecraftian "Anchorhead" (Gentry, 1998)
excels here; like "Babel", its puzzles are organic and woven into the plot.
Author Gentry analyses the genre in detail in "IF and the Horror
Genre" (IFTB).
<P>

HUMOUR
<P>
Rothstein goes on to note that Infocom "tempers [their works] with
irreverent wit".  The tradition of humour in IF, like the commercial boom
in the medium in the early '80s, extended beyond Infocom (though the witty
narrator responses in "Zork" and descendents was unconsciously most
later echoed in Nelson's Inform library).  Besides speculative fiction and
alongside 'Adaptation', 'Humour' is the next largest category on "Baf's
Guide".  The works can be divided into three groups: satire and parody,
such as the many Zork pastiches; jokes, for instance "Pick Up the Phone
Booth and Aisle" (Bauge et. al., 2001); and mainstream comedy.  Like
"Fine-Tuned", the latter will come under some other genre as well:
Infocom's two most famous, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (Adams
and Meretzky, 1984) and "Leather Goddesses of Phobos" (Meretzky, 1986), are
science fiction and spoof 1930s space opera respectively.
<P>
As in worlds where he can dictate the logic, so the author has increased
freedom if he is allowed to exaggerate and parody -- even break mimeses.
He enjoys the "bulletproof bracelets of satire and ridicule" (O'Brian,
Frenetic).  This said, humour for its own sake is a fine thing, of course.
Moriarty's "Wishbringer" (Infocom, 1985), for example, tempers horror with
comedy to yield a well-judged work.
<P>
Humour, moreover, can soften the edge of puzzles that block the
interactor's progress through a work: "If a game is funny even while I'm
banging my head against the wall, I'll keep playing.  If not, I'm probably
gone" (Cadre, qtd. in deMause; see also Coleman).  A case in point is
"Fish!" (Molloy et. al., Magnetic Scrolls, 1988), a parody of a British
secret agent; "Fish!" is a delight to interact with, despite fiendish
puzzles.  Nelson observes that it is no coincidence that sarcastic narrator
responses "are often jibes at the player's progress" (DM4 373).  Sufficient
wit can even -- almost -- compensate for a poor implementation, as in the
notorious early revisions of "Fine-Tuned".
<P>

ADAPTATIONS AND LITERARY WORKS
<P>
>From the earliest days of interactive fiction, other works -- in static
fiction, in film and (in due course) in IF -- have given inspiration.  The
"Dungeons and Dragons" role-playing game influenced Crowther (Peterson
187-88), while Woods recalls in an interview, "I had read Tolkien, but I
didn't consciously use it as a model for anything" [3].  Tolkien's powerful
myth undoubtedly inspired much early IF, directly as well as indirectly.
Nelson records that the first IF book adaptation as "Lord" (Paavola, c.1980)
(DM4 347); Melbourne House produced faithful adaptations of both "The Hobbit"
and "The Lord of the Rings".
<P>
Science fiction too was at once a source, and in due course book
adaptations were undertaken (Dewey; Nelson DM4 351; Randall), the most
famous and assuredly most successful being "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Galaxy".  Interestingly, here is Adams's co-author Meretzky:
<P>
    My criteria [for a successful adaptation] would be things where the
    book(s) or movie(s) creates a rich universe with lots of possibilities
    for stories that aren't necessarily the one told in the original book
    or movie.  For example, I think that's why Hitchhiker's was such a
    successful game, and why it got better further in the game, when we
    diverged more from the scenes of the original story line.
<P>
While some professional writers like Adams have dabbled in IF (DM4 352-5),
straight book adaptations are difficult.  Besides the issues of copyright and
linearity, a novel is too long (DM4 366-7; Randall 186).  Instead,
borrowing the world, as Meretzky suggests, has been more fruitful: Nelson,
for example, acknowledges (367) his close and literary adaption of
Shakespeare's "The Tempest" (1997) is inferior to "Avon" (Partington,
Topologika, 1982), a "confection" that takes puzzles from many of
Shakespeare's plays.  Similarly, works that have set their story in the
world of Sherlock Holmes or Alice in Wonderland have faired better than
those that have sought to adapt the story outright.
<P>
Cult fiction accounts for a good chunk of the 'Adaptation' category on
"Baf's Guide".  Tolkien adaptations and the ilk aside, Stevens regards
literary adaptation as an underpopulated IF genre (Nevermore).  If setting
and possibilities rather than plot are sought, then poetry can be as
suitable as novel or film: Cull freely took inspiration from Poe's "The
Raven" for "Nevermore" (2000).  Even nursery rhymes can be adapted, as
Callaci demonstrated with "Mother Loose" (1998); and arcade games too: "IF
Arcade" (Cadre et. al., 2001).
<P>
Literature comes to IF by a second, more original means.  Published author
Michael Berlyn brought a literary edge to the medium (with others, be it
said) when he joined Infocom, not just in his works -- "Infidel" (Berlyn
and Fogleman, Infocom, 1983): "consciously literary ends", "clearly a
plotted novel" (Nelson DM4 355) -- but in opening the way for moral and
rhetorical questions and studied allusion and allegory.  Hence the weighty
themes and chosen quotations in "Trinity", and the evocative symbolism of
"So Far" (Plotkin, 1996); Randall considers literary IF works and concludes
that "interactive fiction allows the reader to partake, first-hand, of a
new literary world, and the unfolding of that world is continuous, even if
the plot is not" (190).
<P>

DIMINISHING GENRE
<P>
Simmering beneath our discussion, like rumours of Nero fiddling, is a
question distilled by Nelson: "Today's designers are not always so definite
in keying a game to an established genre of fiction [as those prior to the
IF renaissance]" (DM4 354); the trend is "of shorter stories moving away
from genres" (342).  True enough, early authors, particularly Scott Adams,
deliberately explored well-defined genres, whereas later IF authors -- with
established confidence in the medium -- inclined towards stronger
narratives, able to stand without supporting themselves with an explicit
genre ("Photopia", Cadre, 1998), and towards exploring the boundaries and
expectations of the medium ("Spider and Web").  Both are trends of
maturity.
<P>
Nevertheless, Nelson continues, "the first decisions remain to choose the
style, the mood, [...] and above all the fictional world of which the story
itself will remain only a part" (DM4 354).  Therefore, just as we have
considered a broader definition of puzzle than Montfort's, we do well to
include setting and milieu in our broader discussion of genre.  Not all
works of static fiction fall into a tidy "genre fiction" category; nor will
all works of interactive fiction.  Douglas and Hargadon suggest the
attractions of genre and 'non-genre' fiction divide between "immersion" (in
a familiar world) and "engagement" (with literary works); whether
consciously adopting a genre or not, interactive fiction can span both.
Further, classification into genres has value even for literary works with
subtle milieus, as we see in static fiction with cases like Stephenson's
"Cryptonomicon" [4].
<P>
Take Plotkin's "Hunter, in Darkness" (1998), which won XYZZY Awards for
Best Setting and Best Individual Puzzle.  It appears to be a hackneyed cave
crawl, complete with maze -- a genre exhausted ten years prior.  But "the
cave is as much your adversary [as the prey]" (in the tradition of
Crowther, using the environment as an organic puzzle), the maze requires no
mapping (a good thing, since it is infinite), and "the plot branches and
rejoins so seamlessly that you're unlikely to notice that there are
multiple ways through the game" (Stevens, Hunter).  In conclusion, Plotkin
subverts the genre assumptions and exploits the medium, and so "breathes
new life into a very tired genre, no small feat".
<P>
Michael Kinyon, a seasoned interactor with IF, picks up this theme,
preferring works that make a "genuine attempt to push the limits of a genre
for aesthetic effect" (qtd. in Forman).  Likewise, Stevens identifies the
genre "bait-and-switch", encountered for instance in "Trinity" and "Once
and Future" (G. Kevin Wilson, Cascade Mountain Publishing, 1998)
(Break-In).  The genre twist is a descendent perhaps of the
reality-to-fantasy transition of "Adventure" (1976) and "Zork" and many
works since, including "Curses!" (Nelson, 1994) and "The Mulldoon Legacy"
(Ingold, 1999).
<P>
Some genres have been overdone, to be sure: the cave crawl, stock fantasy,
collegiate and apartment settings (the latter two often in order to render
the author's environment in the modelled world; the result often drives
home Baggett's point that much of real life is not fun).  But other genres,
some strongly suited to IF according to our discussion so far, have been
neglected: historical and pseudo-historical settings, those from specific
cultural traditions, literary adaptations, the thriller and the western,
cyberpunk and super-hero milieus.
<P>
The last, the super-hero, comic-book genre, is a good example.  The author
can yield to the urge to make the PC an action hero; the super-hero powers
and escapades give rise readily to organic puzzles; the comic-book
circumstances provide authorial freedom; the potential for comedy (or
satire) is inherent.  Here, concurring, is O'Brian, who would go on to
write "Earth and Sky" (2001): "if it's a great power fantasy to watch some
comicbook character shoot fire out of his hands, how much greater to
actually play the character that does it!" (Frenetic).  Genre, in the broad
sense, has as big an impact on IF as it ever has done.
<P>

CASE STUDY: BABEL
<P>
Ian Finley entered "Babel" into the Third Interactive Fiction Competition.
The year, 1997, saw some excellent works (first place was Smith's "The
Edifice").  Finley's tale of experimentation gone awry in an Antarctic 
research lab combines science fiction and horror; and it was
placed highly, and deservedly so.
<P>
...
<P>

CONCLUSION
<P>
When crafting interactive fiction, the genre is crucial.  It influences how
amenable the narrative will be to the medium, how easily organic puzzles
will arise, and how much freedom the author will enjoy.  "If the chosen
genre [and milieu] isn't fresh and relatively new, then the game had better
be very good.  It's a fateful decision: the only irreversible one" (Nelson,
Craft par.4).  We have examined some outstanding examples across different
genres, seeing commonality in puzzles integrated into both setting and
plot.
<P>
Some genres are more popular than others.  We have looked at why fantasy
and science fiction are so frequent choices and highlighted other genres
crying out for more attention.  As it has matured, IF has given rise to
genres distinctively its own (`TableSaw` identifies "Zarfian" works); some,
like word-play -- "Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of It" (Jeff
O'Neill, Infocom, 1987), "Ad Verbum" (Montfort, 2000) -- would struggle in
another medium.  Indeed, the genre is still going strong.
<P>

<P>
FOOTNOTES
<P>
[1] The present author sits writing not five minutes distant from the
park.  He can vouch for the strict absence of magic, despite the statue of
Peter Pan.
<P>
[2] Not entirely, of course: there is the extended duet in "Jigsaw" (where,
interestingly, the PC and NPC 'Black' are carefully gender-neutral); and
Short's "Pytho's Mask" (2001) -- her entry in her own SmoochieComp --
was nominated for Best Individual Puzzle.
<P>
[3] He continued, "Even the description of the volcano, which some writers
have claimed was modelled after Mount Doom, was written with no particular
vision in mind".
<P>
[4] It follows that we contend against Montfort when he writes
"[classification] does have just about nothing to do with the craft of IF"
(Classification): the evidence presented in this essay suggests just the
opposite.
<P>

<P>
WORKS CITED
<P>
Aarseth, Espen.  Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature.  Baltimore,
Maryland: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 1997.
<P>
Arnold, Julian.  "Gumshoe (review)".  SPAG 9 (1996). 2 May 2002
<http://sparkynet.com/spag/backissues/SPAG9>.
<P>
Baggett, David.  "Re: Simulations (was Re: Choosing your IF setting /
genre).  27 May 1994.  rec.arts.int-fiction.  <Message-ID:
2s5is7INN5k9@life.ai.mit.edu>.
<P>
---.  "Re: Choosing your IF setting / genre".  30 May 1994.
rec.arts.int-fiction.  <Message-ID: 2sbdakINNbh1@life.ai.mit.edu>.
<P>
Baum, Michael.  The Z-Files Catalogue.  22 Jul 1999.  2 May 2002
<http://www.la.utexas.edu/~pdl/zmach/ZCatalogNF.htm>.
<P>
Britton, Suzanne.  The Best of Interactive Fiction.  2002.  2 May 2002
<http://www.igs.net/~tril/if/best/index.html>.
<P>
Buckles, Mary Ann.  "Interactive Fiction: The Computer Storygame
'Adventure'".  Ph.D. Thesis.  U. Cal at San Diego, 1985.
<P>
Cadre, Adam.  "Adam's Comp01 reviews".  15 Nov 2001.
rec.games.int-fiction.  <Message-ID: 9t26oa$hqg$1@drizzle.com>.
<P>
Chung, Adrian.  "Spider and Web (Specifics)".  SPAG 22 (2000).  2 May 2002
<http://sparkynet.com/spag/backissues/SPAG22>. 
<P>
Coleman, Douglas W.  "Language Learning Through Computer Adventure Games"
Simulation & Gaming 21 (1990): 433, 8p.
<P>
Cree, Graham.  The Upgraded, Consolidated, Infocom Bugs List.  Undated.
XYZZYnews.  2 May 2002 <http://www.xyzzynews.com/infocombugs.html>.
<P>
Cull, Nate.  Interview.  SPAG 13 (1998).  2 May 2002
<http://sparkynet.com/spag/backissues/SPAG13>.
<P>
deMause, Neil.  "IF Roundtable: The Art of the Puzzle".  XYZZYnews 14
(1998): 12-28.  Available online <http://www.xyzzynews.com/xyzzy.14g.html>.
<P>
Douglas, Y. and A.B. Hargadon.  "The Pleasure Principle: Immersion,
Engagement, and Flow".  ACM Hypertext 2000 Conference
Proceedings: San Antonio, TX (2000).
<P>
Dyer, Richard.  "Masters of the Game".  The Boston Globe Magazine 6 May
1984.  Available online <http://www.csd.uwo.ca/Infocom/Articles/globe84.html>.
<P>
Forman, C.E.  "Interview with a Player Extraordinaire".  XYZZYnews 13
(1997): 5-10.  Available online <http://www.xyzzynews.com/xyzzy.13d.html>.
<P>
Gentry, Michael.  "IF and the Horror Genre".  IFTB.
<P>
Greenlee, Steven.  "Where Are They Now?".  Computer Game Review Apr
1996: 82-88.  Available online
<http://www.csd.uwo.ca/Infocom/Articles/where.html>.
<P>
Greenwood, Bruce.  "Re: What is a good puzzle?".  22 Aug 1998.  
rec.arts.int-fiction.  <Message-ID: 35deb4be.2762660@news.ozemail.com.au>.
<P>
Hochberg, Burt.  "They Take The High-Tech Road to Adventure".  GAMES
Magazine, Aug/Sep 1987.  Available online
<http://www.csd.uwo.ca/Infocom/Articles/games87.html>.
<P>
Jerz, Dennis G.  Interactive Fiction -- Puzzles.  2 May 2000.  2 May 2002
<http://www.uwec.edu/jerzdg/orr/articles/IF/Puzzles.htm>.
<P>
---.  Exposition in Interactive Fiction.  15 Jul 2001.  2 May 2002
<http://www.uwec.edu/jerzdg/orr/articles/IF/online/exposition.htm>.
<P>
Lebling, Dave.  "They're Never Satisfied".  The New Zork Times 3.4 (1984):
2.  Available online
<http://www.csd.uwo.ca/Infocom/Articles/NZT/Nztfal84.html>.
<P>
Lenssen, Phillip.  "CYOA".  IFTB
<P>
Meretzky, Steve.  Interview.  May 2001.  Happy Adventuring.  2 May 2002
<http://www.avventuretestuali.com/Interviste/Original/steve_meretzky.htm>.
<P>
Montfort, Nick.  "Re: A classification exercise".  17 Mar 2000.
rec.arts.int-fiction.  <Message-ID: ?>.
<P>
---.  "Toward a Theory of Interactive Fiction".  IFTB
<P>
Muckenhoupt, Carl.  Baf's Guide to the Interactive Fiction Archive.
2 May 2002.  2 May 2002 <http://www.wurb.com/if/>.
<P>
Nelson, Graham.  "On Jigsaw and 'I'".  XYZZYnews 6 (1995): 5-10. 
Available online <http://www.xyzzynews.com/xyzzy.6e.html>.
<P>
---.  "The Craft of Adventure: Five Articles on the Design of
Adventure Games", 2nd ed.  19 Jan 1995.  2 May 2002
<http://www.ifarchive.org/if-archive/info/Craft.Of.Adventure.txt>.
<P>
---.  The Inform Designer's Manual, 4th ed. (release 4/2).  St.
Charles, Illinois: The Interactive Fiction Library, 2001.  Available
online <www.inform-fiction.org/manual/DM4.pdf>.
<P>
Newell, Bob.  "Re: Choosing your IF setting / genre".  20 May 1994.
rec.arts.int-fiction.  <Message-ID:
9405192133592.bnewell.DLITE@delphi.com>.
<P>
O'Brian, Paul.  "The Frenetic Five vs. Sturm Und Drang (review)".  SPAG 13
(1998).  2 May 2002 <http://sparkynet.com/spag/backissues/SPAG13>.
<P>
---.  "A classification exercise".  16 Mar 2000.  rec.arts.int-fiction.
<Message-ID: ?>.
<P>
Persson, Hans and Stefan Meier.  Adventureland.  Dec 2001.  2 May 2002
<http://www.if-legends.org/~adventure/>.
<P>
Peterson, Dale.  Genesis II: Creation and Recreation with Computers.
Reston, Va: Prentice Hall, 1983.
<P>
Plotkin, Andrew.  Interview.  Aug 2001.  Happy Adventuring.  2 May 2002
<http://www.avventuretestuali.com/Interviste/Original/andrew_plotkin.htm>.
<P>
Randall, Neill.  "Determining Literariness in Interactive Fiction".
Computers and the Humanities 22.3 (1988): 183-191.
<P>
Rees, Gareth.  "Distinguishing Between Game Design and Analysis".
XYZZYnews 6 (1995): 22-26. Available online
<http://www.xyzzynews.com/xyzzy.6g.html>.
<P>
---.  "Undertow (review)".  SPAG 8 (1996). 2 May 2002
<http://sparkynet.com/spag/backissues/SPAG8>.
<P>
---.  "Jigsaw (review)".  SPAG 9 (1996). 2 May 2002
<http://sparkynet.com/spag/backissues/SPAG9>.
<P>
Rigby, Paul.  "From Here to Trinity...and Back Again".  Adventure Probe,
5.5 (1991): 15-19.  Available online
<http://www.csd.uwo.ca/Infocom/Articles/moriarty.html>.
<P>
Rothstein, Edward.  "Reading and Writing: Participatory Novels".  The New
York Times BOOK REVIEW 8 May 1983.  Available online
<http://www.csd.uwo.ca/Infocom/Articles/nyt83.html>.
<P>
Schmidl, Gunther.  "Re: A classification exercise".  16 Mar 2000.
rec.arts.int-fiction.  <Message-ID: ?>.
<P>
Short, Emily.  IF Literacy: Recommended Playing List.  22 Dec 2001.  2 May
2002 <http://emshort.home.mindspring.com/literacy.htm>.
<P>
---.  "Re: Abstract for IF theory book".  Email to the author.  30 Jan 2002.
<P>
---.  "What's IF?".  29 Nov 2001.  2 May
2002 <http://emshort.home.mindspring.com/whatsif.html>.
<P>
Stevens, Duncan.  "A Good Breakfast (review)".  3 Jul 2000.  Baf's Guide.  
2 May 2002 <http://www.wurb.com/if/game/329>.
<P>
---.  "Break-In (review)".  SPAG 21 (2000). 2 May 2002
<http://sparkynet.com/spag/backissues/SPAG21>.
<P>
---.  "Hunter, in Darkness (review)".  17 Jul 2000.  Baf's Guide.  
2 May 2002 <http://www.wurb.com/if/game/483>.
<P>
---.  "Nevermore (review)".  SPAG 23 (2000). 2 May 2002
<http://sparkynet.com/spag/backissues/SPAG23>.
<P>
`TableSaw`.  "Re: classification again (was Meta-Puzzle)".  18 Mar 2000.
rec.arts.int-fiction.  <Message-ID: 8aulmj$e84$1@nnrp1.deja.com>.
<P>
Thornton, Adam J.  "Jigsaw (review)".  SPAG 8 (1996). 2 May 2002
<http://sparkynet.com/spag/backissues/SPAG8>.
<P>
Weinstein, Jacob Solomon.  "Re: Is IF art? (was Re: Gareth's competition
comments)". 18 Oct 1995. rec.arts.int-fiction.  <Message-ID:
463d09$8ms@castor.usc.edu>.
<P>
Woods, Don.  Interview.  Jun 2001.  Happy Adventuring.  2 May 2002
<http://www.avventuretestuali.com/Interviste/Original/don_woods.htm>.