Hors Catégorie is an interactive fiction by Chris Calabro and David Benin developed in 2007.

It is possible to play it on almost every system, even on Smartphone.

The used Software is a z-machine Interpreter, which is a game’s requirement as the player needs it in order to emulate an Infocom machine.

It takes place entirely in a single hotel room, with several subrooms. Unlike many adventure-like interactive fictions, location, possessions, and strength are not the main obstacles of this game, but rather player knowledge and moral choices. The point is to explore the inner conflict of the protagonist and shape his character. This is why the typical presence of interactive fictions’ obstacles makes Hors Catégorie innovative and different because here they are the player moral choices.

The title of the game comes from the 'out of category' classification of difficult climbs in the Tour de France, where the game is set. The protagonist is a rider in the Tour, just waking, getting ready to take on the day's current stage.

How to play:

Like most interactive fiction, the game is played in rounds, each consisting of typing an English-language command at a prompt and getting a response, telling you how the state of the world has changed. Only commands that the parser allows cause game time to pass. By the way, not all the commands are accepted by the parser. There are two reasons why: the command has not been understood or it cannot be allowed by the rules of the game. It is up to the reader to figure out what is allowed or not. The use of imagination is a mandatory requirement.

The game ends when the protagonist's charater is sufficiently determined and so his behavior and attitude has reached a high level of determination.

(Source: Author's description)

Hors Catégorie

Details

External Links

Other Works

Their Angelic Understanding

The Pub and the People: A Worktown Study