Well, I got a call from Trip to come over and visit him and Grace, and as it happens, it was the tenth anniversary of their meeting. And boy, did I ever know it would come to this. That bitch stole him from right under my nose–I introduced them and the poor schmuck fell pretty deep for the sophistication act. He’s been trying ever since to measure up, and tonight it just all fell apart. They had this big argument, and this time, I did the maneuvering and guess what…Grace walked out!
And, I’ll be moving in tomorrow.
In playing Facade after so long, I immediately recognize the frustrations that soon overcame the awe. Once you get over the incredible programming work that has gone into projects such as this, it gets down to this: Is it entertaining?
When you use what’s out there in gaming, Facade is primitive in graphics in comparison. But the purpose of the piece is that it is a step closer to real interactive play. Unfortunately, while the concept is there and working, the slowness of reactions–on the player’s part because you can’t always type fast enough to give clear responses that are readable by the program. Many times I was misinterpreted by Grace or Trip during the conversations, or my responses were lost in the timed, scripted dialogue to minimize "downtime" and to make it a more realistic visit. However, Trip never did give me my drink; instead, carrying two glasses around with him for half the visit. Grace seemed more antagonistic right from the beginning, perhaps because I hugged Trip, but I did hug her first, and attempted to comfort her as she built up her anger at Trip. It was a fun trip to go through again, almost a year after my first introduction to this couple, but I suppose since I had played it so many times for several weeks back then, I was not disposed to keep at this time. But there is a lot to learn from Facade, and it will always be a vital step in the direction taken towards the future of new media.
I do need to check the site and find out if they’ve made any changes and upgrades to the program, or come up with something new since.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology