Good humour takes proper setup and precise timing: Leading up to and delivering a punchline is an art form of its own which is harder to master than most people tend to believe. Yet it is one of the most important skills that separates the amateur jokester from the true comedian. Of course this is also what makes or brakes any video game that tries to make its audience laugh and it is especially the adventure game genre that has a tradition of delivering prime examples to both the best and the worst in comedy. One of the former is Alias 'The Magpie', a piece of interactive fiction telling the story of a hilarious art heist in a masterful way.
In May 2021, the winner of a small competition for self-created text adventures was voted. The PunyJam participants had the task of starting the game in a room called Broom Closet. The description of the room was also precisely specified. The rest of the game was left to the imagination and creativity of the author. This resulted in 8 different text adventures which were evaluated by a jury. The decision was very close. The difference between first place and second place was only a tenth of a point.
There are some themes which will always belong to the staples of fiction. Exploring a haunted house is one of such mainstays. Look around on this very website and you'll find numerous examples, ranging from good to bad. Today, I will discuss Transparent, a game whose protagonist arrives at such a house as part of a film crew, ready to take some preparatory photos. I guess – player motivation and backstory are largely absent, but this is really not much of an issue as you'll be drawn in soon enough and natural curiosity takes over.