Ender's Game: The Interactive Fiction Game Every Sci-Fi Fan Has Been Waiting For!

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I'm sure most of you have at least heard of Orson Scott Card, and perhaps many of you have even read one or another of his works, but in my opinion he is undoubtely one of the top three authors of all time. Because of this, I have decided to attempt to creat an interactive fiction based largely on one of his more popular novels, Ender's Game. Truthfully, this could have already been done, and I would have no idea since I'm far too lazy to bother looking it up, or even do a Google search.

Also, I doubt that I can legally create this game without getting permission from either Card himself, or the publishers of the book, but regardless of all that I intend to make a go of it anyway. Besides, I'm relatively sure that this game will never become popular enough to attract the attention of a world renowned author...and if it does, well that's why God made the "delete" key.

Anyway, I plan on having my game skip the majority of introduction to the book (which encompasses much of the main characters home life and alot of backstory for those who haven't read it), and pretty much skipping right to the action: Ender's arrival at Battle School.

If you've never read the book, you may as well just stop reading right here, because although you will still be able to play the game, I really don't feel like summarizing the entire plot for you. Just go read it, it's amazing.

The interactive fiction will focus primarily on Ender's time at battle school, and the decisions he makes in order to reach the point in his education where he is ready to command the human fleet against the bugger homeworlds (without his ever knowing he's doing it, of course.)

Hopefully, by the time i've finished, there will be a variety of different endings, ranging in rank from around 1-10, with one being the worst and ten being the best. This way, while there is only one paramount ending, the others are not necessarily dead ends, but can rather be considered alternate endings to Card's book. Unfortunately, I'm thinking that only the top three endings don't involve earth eventually getting destroyed. Hey, you win some you lose some, right?

Check out the extended entry for a bit of transcript from the start of the game.

You have just fell away from the belly of the earth in a crowded space shuttle surrounded by seven and eight year old kids, all of whom are unfortunately still older than you. Weightlessness is new to you, and since you're so small you aren't strapped in quite as tight as the other kids, giving you a little room to expiriment and manuver. you immediately realize that the old up and down orientation isn't going to cut it in zero-g, and reorient yourself so that first the ceiling is the floor, and then the wall to your left. This isn't hard, because every wall is carpeted and equipped with handholds for obvious use in space. Looking around, you see that not all the kids have found it this easy to cope with the transition into weightlessness, and simultaneously understand why you were forbidden to eat for 48 hours before launch: many of your fellow students are wrenching horribly, and cleaning up vomit in zero-g would not be fun.

A man climbs down a ladder in front of you, oriented so that his feet are towards what had been the ceiling and his head near what had been the floor. This causes more wrenching from the seats around you. The man glibly pushes off the ladder, grabbing a handhold on the left wall, and orienting himself so that in normal gravity he would be standing on a wall. You immediately make the mental adjustment that where he stands is the floor, and see yourself as sitting on the side of a wall. The man begins to speak, asking a question which you realize, with a sinking feeling, can only lead back to you.

"You boys are the best of the best, and you are no doubt used to being number one in everything you've ever done without ever having to try. Well all of that's about to change. Look around kiddie's, every one of the boys sitting next to you scored as well as you on every test, probably better. In fact, one of you scored the best in almost every test we administered. You think it might be you? Don't be shy kiddie's, come on...how many of you think you might have gotten the best test score?"

Hands go up all around you. What should you do?

2 Comments

That sounds great! Ender's Game is an excellent book. Oh yeah, and your entry about the guy buying a $7000 TV was fantastic. ;c)

Remember, the enemy gate is down.

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This page contains a single entry by PaulCrossman published on November 8, 2006 1:59 AM.

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