Exhibition
From IFWiki
| Exhibition | |
|---|---|
| Game | |
 | |
| Main links | |
| Published | 1999 |
| Credits | |
| Author | Ian Finley |
| Reception | |
| Events | |
| IFDB rating | 4 out of 5 (25 ratings) |
| Gameplay | |
| Interaction style |  Parser |
| Literary genres |  Drama  Slice of life |
| Location |  Building |
| Language | English |
| Cruelty scale | Merciful |
| Accessibility | Colour: none. Graphics: optional. Sound: optional. |
| Technical details | |
| Authoring system | TADS 2 |
| Format | TADS 2 |
| License | Shareware |
| Browse the games database • Edit this page | |
How it begins
In the foyer of a NYC museum, four people are caught within its mirrors: A) the wife, B) the critic, C) the boy, and D) the student. Who do you wish to listen to?
You are your choice of PC, carrying nothing. You are here to view twelve paintings by the late Anatoly Domokov. The rest of the museum is to the northeast.
Notable features
- Multiple PCs. There are four possible PCs: the boy, the critic, the student, and the wife. The player can choose any of the four to play as, and may change to another choice at any time with the CHARACTER command. Characters not used as the PC act as NPCs.
- Puzzleless, at least in the usual sense of a puzzle. Objects are rarely manipulated physically. However, there is, in some sense, a backstory puzzle, presented as a "web" of observations. The player will gradually learn more about the absent artist as the PCs examine and interpret the artist's paintings.
- Optional graphics: the title card image, plus one portrait of each of the PCs. Notably, the artist's paintings themselves are not represented with graphics.
- Optional background music (from Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition).
- Easter egg: Each painting contains a reference to one of the twelve zodiac signs, and the magic word ZODIAC provides a hint to the author's identity.
Trivia and Comments
- This was the first of two games Ian Finley entered in IF Comp 1999. The other was the joke CYOA game Life on Beal Street, which was entered anonymously and took 26th place.
Versions
Version 2 (Competition entry)
Date: 1999
- Exhibition (Ian Finley as "Anatoly Domokov"; 1999; TADS 2).
- IF Comp 1999: 5th place of 37 entries.
- XYZZY Awards 1999: Finalist for Best Individual NPC (Anatoly Domokov), Best Individual PC (the wife), and Best Writing.
- Download exhibit.gam from the IF Archive - The story file.
- Download readem.txt from the IF Archive - Note from the author on how to use the optional sound files.
- Download boy.mp3 from the IF Archive - The boy's background music.
- Download critic.mp3 from the IF Archive - The critic's background music.
- Download student.mp3 from the IF Archive - The student's background music.
- Download wife.mp3 from the IF Archive - The wife's background music.
Version 2.1 (Post-comp release)
Date: Date unknown
- Exhibition (Ian Finley; date TBD; TADS 2).
- Download exhibit21.gam from the IF Archive - The story file, now bundled with sound resources.
- Download exhibit.exe from the IF Archive - Windows executable version, also contains sounds.
Links
N.B. Many IF Archive games are temporarily unavailable in the UK.
General info
- Exhibition (archived) - at Baf's Guide.
- Exhibition - at IFDB.
- Exhibition - at ifwizz interactive fiction (in German).
- Feelies for Exhibition - at feelies.org. Note: The file domokov's companion.html is particularly informative for background information and additional insight into this work. Note 2: Link is a Wayback Machine copy; the original feelies.org site disappeared in early 2008.
Reviews
- Exhibition - at SPAG.
- Exhibition - at IF Ratings.
- Review - by Paul O'Brian.
- Review - by Dan Shiovitz.
- Review (archive) - by Duncan Stevens.
Date: 1999
Date: Date unknown