Varicella (computer Game)
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{{Infobox video game , title= Varicella , image =Varicella computer game screenshot.png , developer=
Adam Cadre Adam Cadre (born February 5, 1974, in Silver Spring, Maryland) is an American writer active in a number of forms—novels, screenplays, webcomics, essays—but best known for his work in interactive fiction. Biography Cadre's 1998 piece '' Photo ...
, publisher=Self published , designer=
Adam Cadre Adam Cadre (born February 5, 1974, in Silver Spring, Maryland) is an American writer active in a number of forms—novels, screenplays, webcomics, essays—but best known for his work in interactive fiction. Biography Cadre's 1998 piece '' Photo ...
, engine=
Z-machine The Z-machine is a virtual machine that was developed by Joel Berez and Marc Blank in 1979 and used by Infocom for its text adventure games. Infocom compiled game code to files containing Z-machine instructions (called story files or Z-code ...
, released= 1999 , genre=
Interactive fiction Interactive fiction (IF) is software simulating environments in which players use text Command (computing), commands to control Player character, characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narrati ...
, platforms=
Z-machine The Z-machine is a virtual machine that was developed by Joel Berez and Marc Blank in 1979 and used by Infocom for its text adventure games. Infocom compiled game code to files containing Z-machine instructions (called story files or Z-code ...
, modes=
Single player A single-player video game is a video game where input from only one player is expected throughout the gameplay. Video games in general can feature several game modes, including single-player modes designed to be played by a single player in addi ...
Varicella is a 1999 work of
interactive fiction Interactive fiction (IF) is software simulating environments in which players use text Command (computing), commands to control Player character, characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narrati ...
by
Adam Cadre Adam Cadre (born February 5, 1974, in Silver Spring, Maryland) is an American writer active in a number of forms—novels, screenplays, webcomics, essays—but best known for his work in interactive fiction. Biography Cadre's 1998 piece '' Photo ...
, distributed in z-code format as
freeware Freeware is software, 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 the free ...
. It is set in an
alternate history Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As ...
which features roughly modern technology mixed with
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
-style principalities and court politics. The characters of Varicella use contemporary language from their home in a Renaissance castle, continuing the contrast between old and new. The
player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional Character (arts), character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters tha ...
is Primo Varicella, palace minister in
Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...
, who has to get rid of several rivals for the regency following the death of the king. He was inspired by the Machiavellian protagonist of
Profit Profit may refer to: Business and law * Profit (accounting), the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market * Profit (economics), normal profit and economic profit * Profit (real property), a nonpossessory inter ...
, but given even more despicable antagonists (just as
variola Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WH ...
is more virulent than varicella), thus making players willing to go along with his schemes.Adam Cadre: why chickenpox?
/ref> The international situation in the game is described in passing: Piedmont is part of a loose confederation of kingdoms that make up a
Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...
League and is engaged in a war against the
Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...
. It won four XYZZY Awards in 1999 including the
XYZZY Award for Best Game The XYZZY Awards are the annual awards given to works of interactive fiction, serving a similar role to the Academy Awards for film. The awards were inaugurated in 1997 by Eileen Mullin, the editor of ''XYZZYnews''. Any game released during the y ...
, and was nominated for another four.Baf's Guide game entry
/ref> The game was discussed academically by
Nick Montfort Nick Montfort is an American computer scientist and poet who is a professor of digital media at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he directs a lab called The Trope Tank. He also holds a part-time position at the University of Bergen whe ...
and
Stuart Moulthrop Stuart Moulthrop (born 1957 in Baltimore, Maryland, United States) is an innovator of electronic literature and hypertext fiction, both as a theoretician and as a writer. He is author of the hypertext fiction works '' Victory Garden'' (1991), whic ...
in their 2003 paper ''Face It, Tiger, You Just Hit the Jackpot: Reading and Playing Cadre's Varicella'',Fine Art Online: Vol. 17 No. 8
/ref> and by Dr. Wendy Morgan in her 2003 paper ''Touching (on) Character: New Engagements in New Media Narratives''. English in Australia: Issue 139
/ref> Cadre himself claimed in a January 2002 interview that it was the best game he had written up to that point: :"''
Photopia ''Photopia'' is a piece of literature by Adam Cadre rendered in the form of interactive fiction, and written in Inform. It has received both praise and criticism for its heavy focus on fiction rather than on interactivity. It won first place in ...
'' has made more of a mark, I suppose, but ''Photopia'' is a short story; ''Varicella'' is a world. There are so many things to see and do… it's definitely the game of mine that I'm hoping that future pieces I might create will most resemble, in structure if not in content."Avventure Testuali interview with Adam Cadre, January 2002
/ref>


Characters

* The main character ''Primo Varicella'', the Palace Minister at the Palazzo del Piemonte. (Varicella is the technical name for
chicken pox Chickenpox, also known as varicella ( ), is a highly contagious disease caused by varicella zoster virus (VZV), a member of the herpesvirus family. The disease results in a characteristic skin rash that forms small, itchy blisters, which ...
, while "Primo" means cousin as he is the eldest brother) * War Minister ''Klaus Wehrkeit'' is one of Varicella's rivals hiding in Piedmont, had recently been fighting the Venetians. If the player does nothing in the interactive fiction, Wehrkeit will arrive around 3 o'clock and kill Varicella. ("Wehrkeit" might be translated from German as "defenseness") * Another rival, Christ Minister ''Pierre Bonfleche'', is the tutor of the young ''Prince Charles''. He is planning an invasion of Piedmont by the Avignese forces. * Interior Minister ''Variola Modo'' is the scientist of the palace working with green slime in an underground lab. ("Variola" is the technical term for smallpox) * Coffers Minister ''Argento Rico'' is another of Varicella's rivals, but does not appear that prominently in the storyline. He still needs to be killed. ("Argento" is Italian for "silver", while "Rico" means "rich") * Your fifth rival is ''Prince Louis'', an alcoholic who is found passed out on the garden bench. * ''Sierra'' is the informant of the palace. If Varicella has money, some extra information can be gained from her. * A character discovered later is ''Princess Charlotte'', who is locked away within the palace due to her perceived insanity. She has been hidden away since the death of her fiancé, Varicella's youngest brother ''Terzio'' (from the Italian "terzo", meaning third). * Marco Pulisci, the ambassador to
Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...
, is deemed a non-threat by Varicella due to
Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...
's distance from Piedmont.


References


External links


Adam Cadre Interactive Fiction
- download page 1990s interactive fiction 1999 video games Alternate history video games Single-player video games Video games developed in the United States