Soundtrack for “According to Cain” now on Spotify

Cover image for "According to Cain" by Jim Nelson

My interactive fiction According to Cain includes a soundtrack, twelve songs tailored to play at key times as the game’s story unfolds. Unfortunately, the only way to hear that music is to play it using an appropriate interpreter (in this case, QTads).

I’ve been putting it off for a year now, but have now made the score available outside of game play. The According to Cain soundtrack on Spotify now allows you to hear all the music incorporated in the original interactive fiction. I’ve constructed the playlist to correspond roughly with the progression of the story line.

The soundtrack comprises music from two brilliant artists: Serge Quadrado, whose Arabia-inspired pieces provide much authenticity in terms of instrumentation and fidelity to sources, and Kevin MacLeod, the “Internet’s composer” who has given us a tremendous amount of Creative Commons music usable by just about anyone who needs it.

Enjoy!

According to Cain in the 2022 XYZZY Awards

Cover image for "According to Cain" by Jim Nelson

Yesterday, the 2022 XYZZY final awards were announced.

If you don’t know, the XYZZY Awards are given yearly for interactive fiction. They’re sometimes called the Academy Awards for interactive fiction.

I was blown away to learn that According to Cain won Best Game and Best Implementation for 2022. Cain was also nominated for Best Writing, Best Story, and Best Puzzles.

This caps off a big year for Cain, which placed sixth in the Interactive Fiction Competition, won Outstanding Game of the Year (Player’s Choice) and Outstanding Game Over Two Hours in the IFDB Awards, and was selected for the 2023 Interactive Fiction Top 50.

I’m floored. In 1999, when I first became aware of the interactive fiction community, I wondered if I could write a title that could win the IF Comp or the XYZZY Award.

To place sixth in the IF Comp was more than I could have asked for. (I was happy to make the top twenty.) To win Best Game for the XYZZY Award is, in some ways, a fulfillment of a twenty-four year personal goal.

A Man Named Baskerville now on NetGalley

If you’re a NetGalley member, my Sherlock Holmes-inspired novel A Man Named Baskerville is now available for download and review.

Baskerville is my take on the Arthur Conan Doyle classic. Told as a journal penned by the original’s villain, it relates his life story from a pauper’s childhood in the Empire of Brazil to life on the run in Panama and Costa Rica. He lands in England determined to confront his family and claim his place at Baskerville Hall. All the while, he lays out his plan to settle a score with Holmes and Watson, whom have taken him for dead after their confrontation on the bogs of Dartmoor.

A review copy of the novel is available to NetGalley members upon request. Please note, I’m currently seeking NetGalley members who actively review and crosspost to other sites (Goodreads, Amazon, book blogs, etc.)

For more information, go to the A Man Named Baskerville page on NetGalley.

Availability on NetGalley ends February 6th. Of course, A Man Named Baskerville is always available on Amazon.

Ten years of blogging

The Bridge Daughter Cycle covers

True story: I started blogging before the word “blog” was coined. In 1995, I created a web site known as Ad Nauseam, where I sporadically vented about the software industry, Silicon Valley, and the rise of the World Wide Web. Like most blogging efforts, I ran out of steam after a few years, and set it aside.

In 2014, I returned to blogging. I told myself this new blog would be different. I wanted a web site to showcase my books, sure, but I also wanted to blog with a focus on writing, literature, and film. I also strove for a softer, more positive tone. No ranting, no finger-pointing (although I do get my hackles up now and then). I’d rather write on things I’m passionate and positive about, under the assumption that there are others out there with similar passions.

Over the next year, I will feature one or two blog posts a month from the past decade that I think shine a little brighter than the rest. The first look back will come in January.

I won’t say this blog has been a smashing success, but after ten years of chugging away at it, it’s in a good place. I’ve put out over two hundred blog posts, with over 100,000 views since I began tracking them in 2015. I’ll discuss more milestones and notable high points (and low points) as the year progresses.

Looking forward to seeing you in 2024. Happy holidays.

“According to Cain” makes the 2023 Interactive Fiction Top 50

Cover image for "According to Cain" by Jim Nelson

This morning I learned that my interactive fiction game According to Cain was selected for the 2023 Interactive Fiction Top 50. This is a poll run by Victor Gijsbers every four years since 2011, and generally attracts interactive fiction enthusiasts and authors (most of whom gather now at intfiction.org). The goal of the poll is to determine the fifty (or so) best interactive fiction games of all time. According to Cain placed 21st in the latest incarnation of the list, which is posted on The Rosebush, a new online journal dedicated to criticism of interactive fiction.

It’s been a good year for Cain—it placed 6th at the 2022 Interactive Fiction Competition (taking first for the Miss Congeniality contest, which is the best game chosen from the votes of all entrants), won Outstanding Game of the Year (Player’s Choice) and Outstanding Game Over Two Hours in the 2022 IFDB Awards, and now this.

Cain started as a short story I began drafting in 2010 (or so). It was the kind of short story that I could never quite figure out, just a collection of scenes with no beginning or straight-ahead story line. (About the only thing I knew was that, when you’re telling a story about Cain and Abel, a murder would have take place at some point.) There was even a time when I toyed with turning it into a novella. I abandoned and returned to the project several times over the course of ten years until, in the midst of the lockdowns, I wondered if I could make it an interactive fiction parser game.

And it worked out. As I said in the Fediverse, if you’re creating something and truly believe, stick with it, even if you have to walk away from it for a while. If you’re committed to the concept, you might be surprised where it takes you.

More information about Cain is available at its home page.

NarraScope 2023: According to Cain

I’m speaking at the upcoming NarraScope conference in Pittsburgh. My talk is titled “According to Cain: From Concept to Completion.” I’ll discuss writing my latest interactive fiction, from its meager origins as a rough idea for a short story, to its final form as a video game about an alchemist determined to solve one of the oldest literary mysteries.

According to Cain placed sixth in the 2022 Interactive Fiction Competition, and won Outstanding Game of the Year (Player’s Choice) and Outstanding Game Over Two Hours in the 2022 IFDB Awards.

NarraScope 2023 offers a wide variety of talks and seminars on all manner of interactive storytelling. It runs from June 9th to June 12th. Check out its schedule for more information (table version). You can register to attend in person or attend virtually by streaming video. All talks will be recorded and available online after the conclusion of the conference. It’s designed for both authors and devotees of interactive storytelling in all forms.

If you’re in Pittsburgh during the conference, let me know! It would be great to meet up.

According to Cain: From Concept to Completion
1:30pm – 2:30pm (Eastern)
Sunday, June 11th
Room 548, William Pitt Union
University of Pittsburgh

According to Cain at the 2022 IFDB Awards

The 2022 Interactive Fiction Database (IFDB) Awards polling has completed, and According to Cain did well! It won Outstanding Game of the Year (Player’s Choice) and Outstanding Game Over Two Hours (both Player’s and Author’s Choice).

It placed second for the Outstanding Game of the Year (Author’s Choice), missing a tie by a single vote, and second for Outstanding Game in an Uncommon System (both Player’s and Author’s Choice).

You can view the full results at the IFDB. The announcement thread on the Interactive Fiction Community Forum has more details. There’s a feedback thread as well.

It felt pretty good to wake up this morning and hear all this news. As I made my coffee, I thought back on those times when I was writing Cain and despairing no one would want to play it. These awards, as well as its solid placement in the Interactive Fiction Competition, are truly gratifying.

If you’ve not played According to Cain, you can read more at its home page, which includes links for downloading it or playing it in your browser.