Emily Short
Emily Short | |
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Emily Short in 2010. | |
Residence | UK |
Known for | Counterfeit Monkey |
Website |
emshort |
Emily Short is an interactive fiction (IF) writer, perhaps best known for her debut game Galatea[1] and her use of psychologically complex NPCs, or non-player game characters.[2] She has been called "a visionary in the world of text-based games for years",[3] and is the author of over thirty-five works of IF[4] in addition to being chief editor of the IF Theory Book. She writes a regular column on IF for Rock, Paper, Shotgun.[5]
Work as an Interactive Fiction Author
A number of Short's works have won acclaim at the XYZZY Awards, an annual popular-choice award for interactive fiction.[6][7] Her work has been described by reviewers in terms that range from "mesmerizing" to "frustrating". Her 2003 work, City of Secrets, was originally commissioned by a San Francisco synth pop band, but later left the project, which she completed on her own.[8]
While many of Short's early games were written in Inform, she later experimented with a variety of formats. One such format was Versu, an engine for plot-heavy and story-rich interactive fiction that Short helped developed, and which was later scrapped by Linden Labs, the company owning the engine.[9] Other formats include Varytale, for which she developed the game Bee,[10] and a custom engine by Liza Daly (with help from the company inkle) for the game FIrst Draft of the Revolution.[11] Both formats use an interactive fiction engine based on weblinks.
Inform 7
Short has played a major role in the development of Graham Nelson's radical new interactive fiction development system, Inform 7.[12] Her more conspicuous contributions include writing most of the 300+ programming examples in the documentation, and creating two full-length demo games for release with the Inform 7 beta.
Selected IF works
- Galatea (2000; winner of the 2000 XYZZY Award for Best Individual NPC[13][14] and Best of Show in the 2000 IF Art Show[15])
- Metamorphoses (2000; 2nd place at the 2000 Interactive Fiction Competition,[16] Best Writing in the 2000 XYZZY Awards[13])
- Savoir-Faire (2002; winner of XYZZY Awards for Best Game, Best Puzzles, Best Story, Best Individual PC[6])
- City of Secrets (2003; winner of the XYZZY Award for Best NPCs;[17] Runner-up for Games' Best RPG/Adventure 2004[18])
- Floatpoint (2006, winner of the 2006 Interactive Fiction Competition,[19] winner of 2006 XYZZY Awards for Best Settings and Best NPCs)[7]
- Counterfeit Monkey (2012, winner of XYZZY Award for Best Game, Best Setting, Best Puzzles, Best Individual PC and Best Implementation)[20]
See also
References
- ↑ Ryan, Marie-Laure. (2006). Avatars of story. U of Minnesota Press.
- ↑ Stuart, Keith (Jun 5, 2015). "Lonely planet: the solitude of open-world games when the story is over". The Guardian.
- ↑ Alderman, Naomi (Sep 22, 2014). "The magic of words opens a whole new world of fun". The Guardian.
- ↑ "Emily Short Member Profile". Interactive Fiction Database.
- ↑ Short, Emily (June 15, 2016). "Text Adventures For People Who Hate Guessing The Verb". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 2016-09-06.
- 1 2 "XYZZY Awards: Winning Games of 2002". XYZZY news. XYZZY news. 2002. Archived from the original on January 19, 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
- 1 2 "XYZZY Awards: Winning Games of 2006". Retrieved 2007-05-12.
- ↑ "City of Secrets".
- ↑ Nutt, Christian (Mar 14, 2014). "The end of Versu:Emily Short Looks Back". Gamasutra.
- ↑ "Bee". Dan Q.
- ↑ Hamilton, Kirk (Sep 24, 2012). "Write (And Re-Write) Letters Of Intrigue In This Fantastic Free Game". Kotaku.
- ↑ Smith, Graham (May 9, 2014). "Informing You: Text Adventure Tool Inform 7 Has Updated". Rock, Paper, Shotgun.
- 1 2 Mullin, Eileen (2000). "XYZZY Awards: Winning Games of 2000". XYZZY news. Eileen Mullin. Archived from the original on January 19, 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
- ↑ "Emily Short: Galatea". Electronic Literature Collection Volume One. Electronic Literature Organization. Archived from the original on January 19, 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
- ↑ Parker, Marnie. "2000 IF Art Show". IF Art Show. Marnie Parker. Archived from the original on June 6, 2007. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
- ↑ Musante, Mark J. (2000). "6th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition Voting Results". Interactive Fiction Competition. Interactive Fiction Competition. Archived from the original on January 19, 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
- ↑ "XYZZY Awards: Winning Games of 2003". XYZZY news. XYZZY news. 2003. Archived from the original on January 19, 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
- ↑ McDonald, Thomas L. and Bennett, Dan. The Electronic Games 100. Games. Issue 196 (Vol. 27, No. 10). Pg.58. December 2003.
- ↑ "12th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition". 2006. Retrieved 2007-05-12.
- ↑ "XYZZY Awards Historical Results". 2013. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
External links
- Emily Short's interactive fiction blog
- Collection of Emily Short's work
- Short's entry in the Interactive Fiction Wiki
- Interaction is better than plastic explosive: an interview with Emily Short.