Sacred to the memory of Alison Dawson 19?? - 1998 "She got hit by a truck." :( By the way, I always though Alison was a British name, not a Canadian one. :) Welcome to MYOPIA! Myopia, An Interactive Roadkill, is the second AGT release by Quentin.D.Thompson - yours truly (ahem). Though this game was specifically written for the Roadkill Adventure Competition (courtesy JamJar Software), this author's opinion is that it is a game for all seasons - or rather a drug for all conditions. So, without any further ado, let's proceed to the package insert: Product Summary: --------------- MYOPIA is a MAGX/AGiLity Text Adventure game. It is the third game of the PHOTOPIA family, which is characterised by its linear structure, absence of side-chains, and low puzzle index. MYOPIA, like PHOTOPIA, was developed as therapy for the JIF (Jaded Interactive Fiction) syndrome. This is Release 1/990320. Further releases will be made as and when the product is updated. a. History of MYOPIA: ----------------- - by Quentin.D.Thompson, Research Director (Apologies to Charles Dickens and the Eagles for the following paragraph.) The genesis of Myopia was around the beginning of February 1999, or was it the end of January? Anyway, it was the best of times and the worst of times; the time when I got my first taste of both 'Photopia' and 'Cattus Attrox' (how's that for extremes?). There was a game with a plain exterior and a lot of stuff inside on the XYZZY throne(1); and there was a game with a pretty exterior and a lot of stuff inside on the rec.arts.int-fiction throne(2). The optimists said IF was looking as good as ever; the pessimists said that VR would kick the hell out of it before you could say 'Lagach'. Out of this turbulent period in the history of Text Adventures, this dark desert highway, came a shimmering light : Myopia. b. Chemistry and Development of MYOPIA: ----------------------------------- MYOPIA is the third text adventure with a 'Photopia-like' structure, consisting of * a linear chain of events * a low puzzle index * few branches in the chain Other notable structural features include * multiple-choice substitutions on the TELL, ASK and SAY components * switches between reality and fantasy The parent compound, PHOTOPIA, was developed by the noted IF developer, Adam Cadre, in 1998. It was an extremely potent therapy for the JIF syndrome, with few adverse effects (a double-blind placebo study showed an incidence of adverse reactions - including lethargy and boredom - and failure to respond in only one out of every 1000 players). PHOTOPIA was soon shown to work as an agonist at the Atypical Games site, which was the main mechanism of its action. Later in 1998, Brendon Van Eyck proposed a variant structure meant as a supplement to PHOTOPIA therapy. The new compound, called PHOTOMANIA, antagonised PHOTOPIA's action at the Atypical Games site. Though extremely potent, it had a wide spectrum of adverse effects including nausea, abdominal pain, behavioural irritation, restlessness, anger and epileptiform discharges. PHOTOMANIA was never synthesized or marketed, and research on the idea has (apparently) been discontinued. In 1999, the Theatre Of The Sensible's Research Director, Quentin.D.Thompson, reported the possibility of a compound that acted as a "partial agonist", or "mixed agonist-antagonist", at the Atypical Games receptor, thus avoiding PHOTOMANIA's toxicities while obviating the need for adjunctive therapy to supplement the effects of PHOTOMANIA. The new compound, called MYOPIA, had a similar linear structure to the preceding two compounds, but had little emotional content or irritant activity, rendering it safe for use in all players. MYOPIA was developed using the MAGX/AGiliTy synthetic technique for optimum results. This game has not been approved by r.g.i-f or r.a.i-f. c. Clinical Uses: ------------- MYOPIA is recommended for all IF players who are wondering when the next MST3K game is coming out. Though PHOTOPIA is not strictly an MST3K agonist, it has a similar mimetic profile, and should appeal to the same audience. d. Adverse Effects: --------------- Groaning, moaning, diaphragmatic sprains from laughter, nausea and vomiting (rare), mental disturbances (very rare) and acute psychotic breaks (only if player has absolutely *no* sense of humour). e. Copyright Stuff: --------------- The quote at the beginning of the game is from "N.F.B.", Anthrax, off the album "Attack of the Killer B's". Great song. The quote at the end of the game is from William Shakespeare (serious!), "Cymbeline". I'm not quite sure if he's public domain. I have never read "Cymbeline", and am not a literary type. I came across the quote in Agatha Christie's "Appointment with Death". The idea of including these two quotes was to have quotes that actually fitted in with the game. A recent IF game had a quote at the beginning that promised - well - enchantment, but all it delivered was Prozac. There are references to the following games in MYOPIA (Authors, please flame me as much as you want..if it makes you feel better) "Spider And Web", Andrew Plotkin. "Muse, An Autumn Romance", Chris Huang. "Enemies", Andy Philips (sort of) "The Lost Spellmaker", Neil James Brown. "Jigsaw" and "Curses", Graham Nelson (inevitably..) "I-0", Adam Cadre. "New England Gothic", Simba. There is BLATANT PLAGIARISM from the following game: "Photopia", Adam Cadre. "Channelled Whelk" is a chapter from Anne Morrow Lindbergh's book, "Gift From The Sea". For all you Anne Lindbergh fans out there, the scene with the channelled whelk was not meant to be offensive. "Sildenafil", aka Viagra, is an overhyped drug marketed by Pfizer Ltd. The author refuses to countenance apologies to Viagra fans for the sildenafil crack in this game, as he thinks the drug is sillier than Stiffy Makane. That's all. We hope you enjoyed this product! :-) The Theatre Of The Sensible E-mail : philip@giasmda.vsnl.net.in IF E-mail : Stupid_Q@my-dejanews.com