The Dallas Quest

When a game is faithful to the poor writing and wildly implausible plot conventions of a soap opera, does that make it a bad game or an effective adaptation of its source material? In any case, this game situates you as a private investigator hired by Sue Ellen to find a map to hidden oil fields, in hopes to accumulate enough wealth to escape the sinister influence of J.R. You snoop around the grounds of the South Fork Ranch, superficially interacting with much-loved characters from the TV show and an assortment of extras from the animal kingdom. So far, so good. Your travels ultimately lead you to the jungles around Playa Peligro, in South America, where you overcome a series of obstacles by using various techniques, but mostly by doping a friendly monkey with tobacco -- a firm reminder that we're descending beneath even soap opera plot conflicts and sitting squarely in an early-'80s text adventure game, with all of the internal logic-twisting that entails.

Beyond Zork: The Coconut of Quendor is an interactive fiction computer game written by Brian Moriarty and released by Infocom in 1987. It was one of the last games in Infocom's Zork series It signified a notable departure from the standard format of Infocom's earlier games which relied purely on text and puzzle-solving: among other features, Beyond Zork incorporated an on-screen map, the use of character statistics and levels, and RPG combat elements. The game, Infocom's twenty-ninth, was available on the Amiga (512kb), Apple (128kb), Atari ST, Commodore 128, and IBM (192kb), and the Macintosh (512kb) computers The player explores the Southlands of Quendor somewhat aimlessly at first. Soon, however, a task is bestowed by the Implementors, a group of godlike creatures jokingly based on Infocom's game designers. The Coconut of Quendor, an incredibly powerful artifact that embodies the whole of Magic, has fallen into the claws of an unspeakably foul beast: an Ur-grue. Rumoured to be the spirits of fallen Implementors, Ur-Grues can surround themselves in a sphere of darkness that only sunlight can pierce. The player must recover the Coconut from this monster's grasp or face the unthinkable consequences.

First-person dungeon crawler video game adaption of the role-playing UK TV show.

The time is not too long from now. The place is New York City. Yet it is a setting few of us would ever recognize. For this is a world where simply owning a book is dangerously illegal. Where Firemen come not to save houses, but to burn them for the books inside. And where you, once a dedicated Fireman, are now a rebel with a passion for books --- and the most wanted fugitive in the country. An Interactive Fiction game based on the book with the same name. Set as a sequel to the book, taking place after the novel ends.

As an extension of one of the most long-running television series of all time, The X-Files, play through the eyes of Special Agent Craig Willmore, a new FBI field investigator brought in to locate missing agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully whose last location was the Everett, Washington, area. In this "movie quality" video production, characters are played by the actors and actresses from the show, including Gillian Anderson (Scully) and David Duchovny (Mulder).

You and your friend find yourselves trapped in two magical clockworlds where you have to solve puzzles to escape. Neither of you have the whole picture so the only way to get out is to communicate what you see to the other player. Play on two devices, local or remotely, all you need is a voice connection.

An interactive mystery, playable in a web browser, about utopian ideals and bookish delights.

Duskwood is a modern detective game in which you’re trying to crack a mysterious kidnapping case. With the help of a messenger and other multimedia content, such as voice messages, pictures and video chats, you’re on a quest to find the kidnapper. Be careful who to trust…

The only survival crafting game set in the Fourth Age of Middle-earth, the iconic fantasy world created by J.R.R. Tolkien.

A 16th-century narrative adventure set in Upper Bavaria, following Andreas Maler, a journeyman artist working in the bygone scriptorium of Kiersau Abbey during a time of great social unrest. While finishing his masterpiece, Andreas inadvertently becomes entangled in a series of murders that take place over 25 years. Peasants, thieves, craftsmen, monks, nuns, nobles, and even saints must be investigated and interrogated to expose the truth.

If I had to, like, identify some part of this that expresses the theme of "Minimalism," it'd probably be the plot. Yeah.