The Elysium Enigma

The Elysium Enigma
Game
Main links	Play onlineDownload IFDB IF Archive
Published	30 September 2006
Credits
Author	Eric Eve
Reception
Events	IFComp 2006 3rd of 43 XYZZY Awards 2006 Winner: Best Game, Best Individual NPC XYZZY Awards 2006 Finalist: Best Puzzles, Best Story
IFDB rating	4 out of 5 (79 ratings)
Gameplay
Interaction style	Parser
Literary genre	Science fiction
Location	Outer space
Language	English
Cruelty scale	Polite
Accessibility	Colour: none. Graphics: none. Sound: none.
Technical details
Authoring system	TADS 3
Format	TADS 3
License	Freeware
IFID	81702977-39AB-348D-B914-E4422DDDFD83
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Notable features

• It's possible to win the game with only 13 points (out of 30), or even 12 on a second or subsequent playthrough, but you will miss much of the plot and puzzles. The game was presumably designed this way to be longer than the average IF Comp game, but still be winnable within two hours.
• NPCs are important in the game, especially the conversation, which uses the ASK/TELL method and a TOPICS command that lists which topics are currently available.

Versions

Competition version (Version 1.3 (2006-09-09))

Date: 30 September 2006

• The Elysium Enigma (Eric Eve; 30-Sep-2006; TADS 3).
  • Beta-testing by Greg Boettcher, Astrid Beulink, Michael Everson, Katzy, Chris Mullans, Michel Nizette, Andreas Sewe, and Marc Simpson.
  • IFID: 81702977-39AB-348D-B914-E4422DDDFD83
    IFID links: IFDB, IFDB cover
  • IF Comp 2006: 3rd place of 43 games.
  • Download Elysium.t3 from the IF Archive.

Post-Comp release (Version 2.01)

Date: November 2006 (uncertain)

• The Elysium Enigma (Eric Eve; c. Nov-2006; TADS 3).
  • See RGIF thread for details about this version.
  • IFID: 81702977-39AB-348D-B914-E4422DDDFD83
    IFID links: IFDB, IFDB cover
  • XYZZY Awards 2006: Winner of Best Game and Best Individual NPC (Leela). Also finalist for Best Story and Best Puzzles.
  • Download Elysium.zip from the IF Archive.

Links

N.B. Many IF Archive games are temporarily unavailable in the UK.

• The Elysium Enigma (archived) - at Baf's Guide.
• The Elysium Enigma - at IFDB.

Reviews

• The Elysium Enigma - at IFReviews.org.
• Review by Stephen Bond.
• Review by Matthew Carey.
• Review by J. D. Clemens.
• Review by Riff Conner (Rifflesby).
• Review by crowheart.
• Review by Jason Devlin.
• Review by David Fletcher.
• Review by Federico Gobbo.
• Review by James Hall (Yuki).
• Review by A. P. Hill.
• Review by Joshua Houk.
• Review by Christopher Huang (Miseri).
• Review by Robin Johnson.
• Review by Admiral Jota.
• Review and review package / rant by Valentine Kopteltsev.
• Review and The Elysium Enigma - at SPAG, by Jimmy Maher.
• Review by Michael Martin.
• Exploring the 'Best Games': The Elysium Enigma, by Eric Eve - by Mathbrush.
• IF Comp 2006: General observations by Maureen.
• Review by Rob Menke.
• Review by James Mitchelhill.
• Review by Justin Morgan.
• Review by Niz.
• Review by Andre Phillips.
• Review by quickfur.
• Review by Reiko.
• Review by Dan Shiovitz.
• Review: 1 and 2 by Emily Short.
• Review by Mike Snyder.
• Review by Mark J. Tilford (ralphmerridew).
• Review by Jerome C West.
• Review by David Whyld.
• Review by Anonymous (by request).

Spoilers

• Walkthrough - by the author.
• SPAG #48 - Contains a SPAG Specifics analysis by Valentine Kopteltsev.
• ClubFloyd transcript.

Note: To refer to this game from another page, you can type {{game citation|The Elysium Enigma}}. This will display as The Elysium Enigma (Eric Eve; 2006; TADS 3).

Date: 30 September 2006

Date: November 2006 (uncertain)