Worlds Apart
| Worlds Apart | |
|---|---|
| Game | |
 | |
| Main links | |
| Published | 1999 |
| Credits | |
| Author | Suzanne Britton |
| Reception | |
| Events |  Finalist: Best Game, Best Individual NPC, Best NPCs, Best Puzzles, Best Setting, Best Use of Medium, Best Writing |
| IFDB rating | 4.5 out of 5 (92 ratings) |
| Gameplay | |
| Interaction style |  Parser |
| Literary genres |  Drama  Science fiction |
| Location |  Outer space |
| Language | English |
| Cruelty scale | Polite |
| IFDB play time | 13 hours 30 minutes |
| Accessibility | Colour: none. Graphics: none. Sound: none. |
| Technical details | |
| Authoring system | TADS 2 |
| Format | TADS 2 |
| License | Freeware |
| IFID | TADS2-A509366AFF98D36257822BFD42302F90, TADS2-A6433F0484ACC53329296C7E41358BFF, TADS2-378CDF30424E1289BEFF36DBE4B02B38, TADS2-D4F2C670824FCD4236E0D6A3037082E9 |
| Browse the games database • Edit this page | |
How it begins
Prologue. Something is lost. Your gills strain for oxygen as not-water encloses you, solid as rock. From the ocean floor, your normally adequate senses fail, but then a child's clear voice pulls you upwards through the not-water, through a roaring vortex. Losing consciousness, you waken on the ocean shore. You see sand and sea, but little else. Grey mist enshroudes this patch of land which saps your strength. Your hand grips a silver locket; was that there before? Your eyes can see a glow inside it, and you remember that you must wear the locket before you can open it.
As you struggle to do so, a black-robed figure approaches. It is Dyrana in form, but distorted and skeletal, more like the raptor-illusions the warriors use than human. It is silent. When you stand, it seems an unseen hand aids you. You wear the locket, then open it with a mental nudge. The light within coalesces into the image of a beautiful hasidja woman with an expanding glow in her own hand. The robed figure, disgusted, fades. Your strength fades with it, and you fall back onto the shore.
"Part I: Remembrance" begins with a passage from "The Book of Thel" by William Blake.
You awaken, again prone on the shore, wearing the silver locket and a tunic. Dyr's mother sun, Areilya, is low on the western horizon. When you stand up, you can also see a large rock here and a stream to the south.
You don't remember who or where you are; you have amnesia. A stab of pain shoots through your forehead. You should tend to your injuries and find out who you are.
Versions
Release
Date: 1999
- Worlds Apart (Suzanne Britton; 1999; TADS 2).
- XYZZY Awards 1999: Winner of Best Story. Finalist for Best Game, Best Individual NPC (Lyric/Echo), Best NPCs, Best Puzzles, Best Setting, Best Use of Medium, Best Writing.
Release 2.1
Date: Date unknown
- Worlds Apart (Suzanne Britton; Mac OS).
- IFID: TADS2-A509366AFF98D36257822BFD42302F90
IFID links: IFDB. - Download worlds-apart-21.hqx from the IF Archive.
- IFID: TADS2-A509366AFF98D36257822BFD42302F90
Release 2.2
Date: Date unknown
- Worlds Apart (Suzanne Britton; TADS 2 and MS Windows).
- IFID: TADS2-A6433F0484ACC53329296C7E41358BFF
IFID links: IFDB. - Download or view contents of worlds-v22.zip, at the IF Archive. The story file is worlds.gam.
- Or Download worlds-v22.exe from the IF Archive, a Windows executable version.
- IFID: TADS2-A6433F0484ACC53329296C7E41358BFF
Release 3.0
Date: 2022
- Worlds Apart (Suzanne Britton; TADS 2 and MS Windows).
- IFID: TADS2-378CDF30424E1289BEFF36DBE4B02B38
IFID links: IFDB (2022 version). - IFID: TADS2-D4F2C670824FCD4236E0D6A3037082E9
IFID links: IFDB (2024 version, with updated contact info). - Download or view contents of worlds.zip, at the IF Archive. The story file is worlds.gam.
- Or Download worlds.exe from the IF Archive, a Windows executable version.
- IFID: TADS2-378CDF30424E1289BEFF36DBE4B02B38
Links
N.B. Many IF Archive games are temporarily unavailable in the UK.
General info
- Worlds Apart homepage.
- Worlds Apart (archived) - at Baf's Guide.
- Worlds Apart - at IFDB.
Reviews
- Worlds Apart - at IF Ratings.
- Review (archive) by Emily Short - at Play This Thing!
Date: 1999
Date: Date unknown
Date: Date unknown
Date: 2022