An interactive fiction guy. https://zarfhome.com, https://blog.zarfhome.com, https://eblong.com/zarf/home.htmlhttps://bsky.app/profile/eblong.comhttps://bsky.app/profile/eblong.com/post/3mkeoronpck2fTrying to come up with a Neat Layout for the Starcross map is turning grouchy. (I'm not using this one.)26 Apr 2026 04:10 +0000at://did:plc:lin5yw3b64f6l7cdwp6tupzt/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkeoronpck2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/eblong.com/post/3mkb7huilks2eI wasn't really aware of this _7th Guest_ remake. (Because it shipped as a VR game a couple of years ago, and I don't pay attention to VR!) But it's heading for regular PC, and the trailer looks good. the7thguestremake.com https://the7thguestremake.com24 Apr 2026 18:59 +0000at://did:plc:lin5yw3b64f6l7cdwp6tupzt/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkb7huilks2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/eblong.com/post/3mk4y6waets2nHugo finalists are up! My thoughts, including (loose) predictions about the Best Game category: https://blog.zarfhome.com/2026/04/2026-hugo-finalists23 Apr 2026 02:38 +0000at://did:plc:lin5yw3b64f6l7cdwp6tupzt/app.bsky.feed.post/3mk4y6waets2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/eblong.com/post/3mjrkjykgsc2uVisible Zorker status: Deadline is now available to Patreon supporters, and I have started Starcross. I'll do a full blog post at the beginning of May; that's when Visible Zork 3 goes live in public (eblong.com/infocom/visi/). I'll stick to beginning-of-the-month status reports from here on out. https://eblong.com/infocom/visi/18 Apr 2026 13:34 +0000at://did:plc:lin5yw3b64f6l7cdwp6tupzt/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjrkjykgsc2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/eblong.com/post/3mjrjyhnnhs2uI'm behind on game reviews. Here's a bunch: - The Séance of Blake Manor - Intelligence - The Artisan of Glimmith - Blippo+ - Kevin's Playing in Berlin - Planet of Lana 2 - Legacy of Kain: Ascendance https://blog.zarfhome.com/2026/04/games-with-nothing-in-common18 Apr 2026 13:24 +0000at://did:plc:lin5yw3b64f6l7cdwp6tupzt/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjrjyhnnhs2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/eblong.com/post/3mj6xheia5s2gSneak preview for Visible Starcross, which I haven't started yet except for this image. I couldn't find a really high-resolution scan of the Starcross mass detector chart. So I redrew it myself.11 Apr 2026 04:05 +0000at://did:plc:lin5yw3b64f6l7cdwp6tupzt/app.bsky.feed.post/3mj6xheia5s2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/eblong.com/post/3mj3u6znmfc2yAt this point I just assume that a new sunset visitor game will arrive with its razor blades already inside my heart, and playing the game will be the process of tearing them out. https://store.steampowered.com/app/4533950/Prove_Youre_Human/09 Apr 2026 22:28 +0000at://did:plc:lin5yw3b64f6l7cdwp6tupzt/app.bsky.feed.post/3mj3u6znmfc2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/eblong.com/post/3mitswjvon22yListening to the NASA stream, I realized that I'm hearing a lightspeed lag with the crew Q&A. About 2.5 sec round trip. I have never heard a real lightspeed delay before in my life. (I was two years old during Apollo 17. I might have heard astronaut voices on the radio but not so I could remember.)06 Apr 2026 17:44 +0000at://did:plc:lin5yw3b64f6l7cdwp6tupzt/app.bsky.feed.post/3mitswjvon22yhttps://bsky.app/profile/eblong.com/post/3mir6nqxu222iThis week, Tara McGrew released an open-source interpreter for Infocom's Cornerstone VM. (Yes, on April Fool's Day, but the interpreter *works*. Correct joke management.) https://blog.zarfhome.com/2026/04/cornerstone-and-the-mu-machine https://github.com/taradinoc/linchpin05 Apr 2026 16:36 +0000at://did:plc:lin5yw3b64f6l7cdwp6tupzt/app.bsky.feed.post/3mir6nqxu222ihttps://bsky.app/profile/eblong.com/post/3mimb2hvfok2nEvery time I see the Artemis 2 Earth-Moon orbit graphic I hear the Outer Wilds “oh no” music in my head Sorry03 Apr 2026 17:36 +0000at://did:plc:lin5yw3b64f6l7cdwp6tupzt/app.bsky.feed.post/3mimb2hvfok2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/eblong.com/post/3mikmp6emec2dA brief excursion on adverbs in IF and why we don't use them, except that Deadline *does* use them. https://blog.zarfhome.com/2026/04/curse-of-the-forgotten-adverbs03 Apr 2026 01:59 +0000at://did:plc:lin5yw3b64f6l7cdwp6tupzt/app.bsky.feed.post/3mikmp6emec2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/eblong.com/post/3mi5rzjzkc22lI'm in another game-studies collection: Ludic Narrans, Stories of/by/for the Field of Play: Drew Davidson, Emily Matheny, et al. https://blog.zarfhome.com/2026/03/ludic-narrans playstorypress.org/ludic-narrans/28 Mar 2026 23:29 +0000at://did:plc:lin5yw3b64f6l7cdwp6tupzt/app.bsky.feed.post/3mi5rzjzkc22lhttps://bsky.app/profile/eblong.com/post/3mhqnbuz4q22kI grabbed a Blue Prince Basement Key from the iam8bit table at GDC. (I suspect they sold out of those fast.) Now it's hanging in my hallway and I am genuinely happy to see it every day, you know? Not often that a game object hits exactly that sweet spot of *thing*-ness.23 Mar 2026 18:00 +0000at://did:plc:lin5yw3b64f6l7cdwp6tupzt/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhqnbuz4q22khttps://bsky.app/profile/eblong.com/post/3mhmjsnluek2pRandom image from GDC week: "The Point Is", a lecture by Brian Moriarty, given at CGDC 1996. The Proceedings had a typographical version which went on for several pages in this Discordian/Brunner-esque style. (From the MADE game history collection.)22 Mar 2026 02:47 +0000at://did:plc:lin5yw3b64f6l7cdwp6tupzt/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhmjsnluek2p