Review of:
Under the Cognomen of Edgar Allan Poe by Jim Nelson
(IFDB)
If you’d like to see the other games reviewed this year, or understand my approach, head to the main page.
Full disclosure: I was a beta-tester for this game. I got Jim’s okay to write my review.
In idle moments I’ve wondered what you’d need to write if your goal was to win IF Comp. Do you go high-brow and write that one great piece of interactive fiction, emotionally resonant and philosophically poignant enough to bring your standard forum reviewer to rapturous tears? Or do you go the so-called low-road of the entertainer and the comic, making something light but universally enjoyable?
The protagonist of Under the Cognomen of Edgar Allan Poe is challenged with much the same question, and takes both roads. The devil, bastard that he is, has given you a diabolical offer of giving you either Fame or Respect. While you take one road, your doppleganger takes the other. This very same deal was rumoured to be behind Edgar Allan Poe’s success, and he perhaps was not the first.
Three different twinned fates intertwine in this game. From its description the game seems incredibly complicated, but it is actually fairly light throughout. There’s a good balance of conversations, explorations and puzzles, light and dark. It’s a TADS 3 game (yay!) but not your traditional kind - there’s a lot of menus to cut down some of the busy work, and you’re never trying to open a door with everything in your inventory. The hint system was well-done and the map felt expansive yet not too laborious to move around in.
I was really impressed with a game interested in exploring the dichotomy of popularity versus depth, that somehow manages to find the middle way itself. And, in the midst of this balancing act, pays a layered homage to Edgar Allan Poe’s works! My favourite bit is the clever trick that allows one twin to escape its Faustian deal, pivotting on a peculiar historical quirk.
So Jim has cut the Gordian Knot. How do you do well in IF Comp? Write something meditative or for the masses? Well, you be a thoroughly, solidly skilled writer and just do both! Easy!
…
I have to admit I’m a little jealous at how easy he’s made it look. I must invite him around to discuss his technique over a bottle of amontillado.