The Parser at the threshold: Lovecraftian horror in Interactive Fiction
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I haven't read any Lovecraft stories yet (but will do shortly!) but I was
familiar with this style of horror, so read this article with interest.
Although it's compact it covers a lot of ground and contains much that is
of interest and use to IF authors/readers in general, not just those
crafting Lovecraftian IF.
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Particularly good were the analogies that were drawn between this form of
horror and IF, i.e. why IF is particularly well suited to implement it,
e.g. uncovering a hidden story, a single protaganist, comparatively few
NPCs to deal with, etc. This makes the reader reflect on what typically
makes up an IF game today, not just the specific requirements of this genre.
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However, on the subject of NPCs:
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"Since non-player characters are one of the most difficult elements in an
IF game to craft well, it is convenient that Lovecraftian settings
typically have so few of them. ...
Someone always writes it down. The written record is the protagonist's primary
link to what is really going on, and it is the most important segment of the
Lovecraftian quest. Diaries, letters, police reports, newspaper clippings,
carved hieroglyphs (which must be translated, of course), patient files,
genealogical records, even the ****spoken testimony of a broken old man****
who knows too much -- all pieces of a puzzle told in words. Here is where
the actual player and the fictional protagonist are in perfect
synchronicity: the goal of both is to unlock as much text as possible."
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Although NPCs may be rare in this genre I'd still expect the investigator
to have to encounter people, to interview them, or to seek their help.
Unless that just involves going to them and the interaction happens
effortlessly then NPCs must be dealt with and coded somehow. I may be
wrong, but generally in this genre I'm not so convinced that NPCs are as
easily avoided as this article suggests. That was the one weak point as I
read through this, but otherwise it's very good, very tightly written,
well-structured, and of a wider interest than just Lovecraftian Horror
(although that would be enough for me on its own!).