Roamer's Zone

The short movie Interactive made by Jim Munroe was actually better than I expected it to be. It was not what I had predicted. Interactive, the title referred to Interactive Fiction (IF), one of my least favorite type of game. One issue that is raised by this short film deals with the trial and error principle that surrounds Interactive Fiction, which is part of what I dislike. One wrong move and then you are dead and have to start over again in the game. The key to correcting your mistake is to realize where it was in the game that you went wrong. In this case when he removed the brain cap from his lover she stabbed him in the eye with a scalpel. Thats no fun for anyone. You notice that when they play the game again he takes a different approach, but still fails. The third time he comes closest to achieving his goal of liberating the girl. Interactive Fiction games deal a lot with the human ability to learn and correct. I thought about what Falken said in war games about a computer that learns to learn from it's mistakes...the only computer that can truly do that is the human brain. This is perfectly exemplified through IF. But note, IF requires a lot of trial and error and isn't for those short of patience (like me).