Galatea (video game)
| Galatea | |
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| Developer(s) | Emily Short |
| Publisher(s) | Self published |
| Designer(s) | Emily Short |
| Engine | Z-machine |
| Platform(s) | Z-machine |
| Release | 2000 |
| Genre(s) | Interactive fiction |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Galatea is an interactive fiction video game by Emily Short featuring a modern rendition of the Greek myth of Galatea, the sculpture of a woman which gained life. It took "Best of Show" in the 2000 IF Art Show and won a XYZZY Award for Best Non-Player Character. The game displays an unusual rich approach to non-player character dialog and diverts from the typical puzzle-solving in interactive fiction: the whole gameplay is based on the interaction with a single character in a single room.
The game Galatea is licensed under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 US license.
Galatea alters the typical interactive fiction game mechanics by concentrating instead on the player's interactions with a single non-player character (NPC), the eponymous Galatea. Much of the interest of the piece derives from the ambiguous nature of the player-NPC dialogue: the form of the conversation, and indeed the nature of Galatea herself, shifts depending on the focus the player places on certain aspects of the character's personality. Numerous endings are possible. The main gameplay centers around the developing dialogue between Galatea and the player when asking about topics in the previous conversation. Two commands "think about" and "recap" are provided to keep track of what has already been said; the former is also used to advance the storyline, as the Player Character draws conclusions about the story as unfolded to that point. As a way to enhance immersion, the game also encourages using sensory commands (touch, sounds, looks) adding a physical feeling to the experience.
Galatea is loosely based around the myth of Pygmalion who carved the sculpture of a woman. In the myth he falls in love with the statue, named Galatea or Elise in different versions, and the goddess Venus brings her to life.
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