''System's Twilight: An Abstract Fairy Tale'' is a graphical

interactive fiction '' Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, is 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, either in the ...

computer game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedbac ...

created by

Andrew Plotkin Andrew Plotkin (born May 15, 1970), also known as Zarf, is a central figure in the modern interactive fiction (IF) community. Having both written a number of award-winning games and developed a range of new file formats, interpreters, and other u ...

and released in 1994.

Summary

The game is a combination of puzzle and story, combining several different kinds of logic puzzles and word puzzles. The puzzles include variations of Set,

Black Box In science, computing, and engineering, a black box is a system which can be viewed in terms of its inputs and outputs (or transfer characteristics), without any knowledge of its internal workings. Its implementation is "opaque" (black). The te ...

, and

Sokoban is a puzzle video game in which the player pushes boxes around in a warehouse, trying to get them to storage locations. The game was designed in 1981 by Hiroyuki Imabayashi, and first published in December 1982. Gameplay The game is played on a ...

, as well as many others. The overarching story is an allegory in which the player and other characters are programs in a broken, dysfunctional computer environment. Originally, Plotkin released System's Twilight as

shareware Shareware is a type of proprietary software that is initially shared by the owner for trial use at little or no cost. Often the software has limited functionality or incomplete documentation until the user sends payment to the software developer ...

. Since 2000, it has been re-released as binary-only

freeware Freeware is software, most often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for t ...

. It runs only on the Mac OS Classic environment, but can be run in emulation on other platforms.

Reception

MacAddict ''MacLife'' (stylized as ''Mac, Life'') is an American monthly magazine published by Future US. It focuses on the Macintosh personal computer and related products, including the iPad and iPhone. It’s sold as a print product on newsstands, and ...

'' commented that ''System's Twilight'' felt similar to '' 3 in Three'', with hard puzzles, quality sound and graphics, and a witty storyline. ''

Inside Mac Games ''Inside Mac Games'' (''IMG'') started in 1993 as an electronic magazine about Apple Macintosh computer gaming distributed by floppy disk, eventually becoming a website. History In 1992, Tuncer Deniz, who was unemployed, decided to create a mag ...

'' rated the game four out of five, and also noted the game's similarity to ''3 in Three'', saying it took "the genre of Cliff Johnson game ..to new heights." ''Inside Mac Games'' called the game "very well crafted in all aspects": the story is involved and complex and the puzzles are clever and original. The review also praised the interface, graphics, and sound. ''

Adventure Gamers ''Adventure Gamers'' is a computer game website created by Marek Bronstring in March 1998 dedicated to the genre of adventure games. It publishes reviews and previews of adventure games, as well as opinion articles and interviews with game desi ...

'' felt that ''System's Twilight'' improved on "Cliff Johnson’s

metapuzzle A metapuzzle, also known as a meta-puzzle or meta, is a puzzle that uses the solutions to a set of puzzles to create or provide data for a final puzzle. Overview Game designer Cliff Johnson defines a meta-puzzle as "a collection of puzzles that, ...

adventures" by adding "some much-needed nonlinearity as well as a stronger narrative." The game "synthesizes abstract puzzle-solving into an adventure game to great effect", with an ending that is rewarding "in terms of both adventuring and puzzle-solving."

AllGame RhythmOne , previously known as Blinkx, and also known as RhythmOne Group, is an American digital advertising technology company that owns and operates the web properties AllMusic, AllMovie, and SideReel. Blinkx was founded in 2004, went publ ...

rated ''System's Twilight'' three and a half out of five stars, calling it "a very unusual game" with an ending that was "something of a letdown", and suggesting that it would appeal to people who like hard puzzles. For the AllGame reviewer, the graphics were average while the weird and amusing sounds complemented the gameplay.

References

{{Reflist

External links

System's Twilight

System's Twilight Hint Guide
by

Wei-Hwa Huang Wei-Hwa Huang (born 1975 in Eugene, Oregon) is an American puzzler, member of the US Team for the World Puzzle Championship, and game designer. Huang was a member of the United States International Math Olympiad team in 1992 and 1993, where he w ...

1994 video games 1990s interactive fiction Classic Mac OS-only games Video games developed in the United States Classic Mac OS games