App Detail » The Warbler's Nest

Published by: Jason MCINTOSH

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

Price: $0.99
Current Version: 1.5
Released: June 21, 2012

What's New

• Added iOS 7 savviness.

• Added full-screen support for iPhone 5.

• Fixed a couple of minor bugs in the story.

App Description

THE WARBLER'S NEST is an award-winning and critically acclaimed short work of interactive horror fiction by Jason McIntosh. Enter the world of a certain troubled soul, searching for answers among the reeds.

Originally written for the 2010 Interactive Fiction Competition, The Warbler's Nest would go on to win that year’s XYZZY Award for Best Story.

Some kind words from critics:

“An interactive fiction about perception ... The Warbler’s Nest uses the textual nature of the medium to full advantage.”
— Emily Short (author of “Galatea”), PlayThisThing.com review

"A lyrical, haunting interactive fiction game. Highly recommended."
— Chris Dahlen (writer and narrative designer, "Mark of the Ninja")

“The Warbler's Nest is short, sharp, and disturbing. Try this one.”
— Andrew Plotkin (author of “Shade”)

"A perfect fit for iOS."
— Seth Boyer, 148apps.com review

“Experience the truly creepy and realistic dark side of a story you may have idly passed over in your Brothers Grimm collection.”
— Joye, JayIsGames.com review

This new iOS edition of the game uses the beautiful and fluid text-adventure interface developed by Andrew Plotkin for his own work, “The Dreamhold”. Its many interface features, including a popup palette of common commands and full VoiceOver support, make exploring the game's textual world a pleasure on any iOS device.

The Warbler’s Nest is short -- you can traverse it completely one play session, perhaps in a single lunch break or commute. But it might very well stay with you for far longer than that.

WHAT IS INTERACTIVE FICTION?

Interactive fiction, also known as IF or text adventures, describes a style of story-driven gameplay where the central medium is text. The player types out short commands for the game's protagonist to follow in plain English, and the computer describes what happens as a result. Graphics of any sort are rare, if they appear at all.

While it hasn't had much mainstream attention since the 1980s (when text-adventure games like “Zork” and “Deadline” dominated the field of computer entertainment), IF has continued to develop as an artform through the efforts of dedicated hobbyist creators and players. The Warbler’s Nest represents one of many fine story-games emerging from this tradition, and its author is pleased to make it one of the first available in the iOS App Store.

Those new to interactive fiction may also wish to download Andrew Plotkin’s “The Dreamhold”, available for free from the App Store. It is a longer adventure with an integrated tutorial, designed specifically as an introduction to this particular game style.