Floatpoint
Encyclopedia
Floatpoint is a 2006 work of interactive fiction
written by Emily Short
about a diplomat
sent to an endangered colony to discuss evacuation options and terms of cohabitation. It is written in Inform 7 and won the 2006 annual Interactive Fiction Competition
.
Floatpoint also won 2006 XYZZY Award
s for Best Settings and Best NPC
s.
The game was generally praised for its use of multiple endings.
for engaging in prohibited genetic engineering
. The colonists heavily engineer plant and animal life. The colony features plants engineered for artistic purpose. The colonists themselves are heavily genetically engineered. However, Aleheart is entering an ice age, which will likely make the planet uninhabitable within a few years.
After colonists left Earth, a plague caused massive depopulation on Earth. To help with recovery, the government of Earth wants the colonists to return.
The protagonist arrives on Aleheart expecting to be an assistant to the previous ambassador, but learns upon arrival that the previous ambassador has been dismissed and that the protagonist has been given the role. Officially the protagonist's goal is to convince the Aleheart colonists to return to Earth. This is to be done by making a formal gift to the colony's representative. Additional motivations including the colonists' desire to not return, and the reluctance of some Earth citizens to accept them give the protagonist difficult choices to make.
That score is the highest of any Interactive Fiction Competition entry from 1999 through 2007.
That score was topped in 2008 by Violets score of 8.53.
A reviewer at Jay Is Games
described Floatpoint as "a surprisingly detailed world ... with exquisite storytelling" The reviewer also described it as "well-paced" that that it "never feels stale."
Interactive fiction
Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, describes software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives and as video games. In common usage, the term refers to text...
written by Emily Short
Emily Short
Emily Short is the pseudonym of an interactive fiction writer, perhaps best known for her debut game Galatea and her use of psychologically complex NPCs, or non-player game characters...
about a diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
sent to an endangered colony to discuss evacuation options and terms of cohabitation. It is written in Inform 7 and won the 2006 annual Interactive Fiction Competition
Interactive Fiction Competition
The Interactive Fiction Competition is one of the best known of several annual competitions for works of interactive fiction. It has been held since 1995. It is intended for fairly short games, as judges are only allowed to spend two hours playing a game before deciding how many points to award it...
.
Floatpoint also won 2006 XYZZY Award
XYZZY Award
The XYZZY Awards are an event to recognize extraordinary interactive fiction, serving a similar role to the Academy Awards or Grammy Awards but for a far smaller community. The XYZZY Awards have been presented yearly in the early spring since 1996 by Eileen Mullin, the editor of XYZZYnews...
s for Best Settings and Best NPC
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
s.
The game was generally praised for its use of multiple endings.
Plot
Through the course of play, the background to the current situation becomes clear. The colonists of Aleheart were originally exiled from EarthEarth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
for engaging in prohibited genetic engineering
Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification, is the direct human manipulation of an organism's genome using modern DNA technology. It involves the introduction of foreign DNA or synthetic genes into the organism of interest...
. The colonists heavily engineer plant and animal life. The colony features plants engineered for artistic purpose. The colonists themselves are heavily genetically engineered. However, Aleheart is entering an ice age, which will likely make the planet uninhabitable within a few years.
After colonists left Earth, a plague caused massive depopulation on Earth. To help with recovery, the government of Earth wants the colonists to return.
The protagonist arrives on Aleheart expecting to be an assistant to the previous ambassador, but learns upon arrival that the previous ambassador has been dismissed and that the protagonist has been given the role. Officially the protagonist's goal is to convince the Aleheart colonists to return to Earth. This is to be done by making a formal gift to the colony's representative. Additional motivations including the colonists' desire to not return, and the reluctance of some Earth citizens to accept them give the protagonist difficult choices to make.
Reception
In the 2006 Interactive Fiction Competition, Floatpoint had an average score of 8.4.That score is the highest of any Interactive Fiction Competition entry from 1999 through 2007.
That score was topped in 2008 by Violets score of 8.53.
A reviewer at Jay Is Games
Jay Is Games
Jay Is Games is a game review website that features daily updates and links to casual games, browser games and flash games of wide interest to casual gamers...
described Floatpoint as "a surprisingly detailed world ... with exquisite storytelling" The reviewer also described it as "well-paced" that that it "never feels stale."