Savoir-Faire

Creative Work

Author:: Emily Short
Year:: 2002
Appears in:: Electronic Literature Collection, Volume One
Publisher:: Electronic Literature Organization
Archive URL:: Interactive Fiction Archive
URL:: Savior-Faire (Nick Montfort); Savior-Faire (ELC, vol. 1)
Language:: English
Venue:: Published on disc, CD, or DVD; Published on the Web (individual site); Published on the Web (online journal)
Platform/Software:: Z-machine
Record Status:: Approved record
Electronic Literature Directory:: Electronic Literature Directory
NT2 Entry:: NT2 Entry
Technical Notes:: <p>To Begin ... Mac: Download and install Spatterlight if you do not already have a z-machine interpreter. Download Savoir.zip and open the resulting file Savoir.z8 in your interpreter. Windows: Download and install Gargoyle if you do not already have a z-machine interpreter. Download an unzip Savoir.zip and open the resulting file Savoir.z8 in your interpreter. Instructions: Type commands to the main character at the ">" prompt and press enter. Input can take the form of imperatives such as "look," "examine the pedestal," or "touch" followed by some object. Typing the names of directions, such as "north", "east," and "south," can move the character. Other possible verbs include "remember" followed by a topic to remember and "link" which links one object to a similar object. This last ability, the "link" command, reflects a magic power of the character and, as Savoir-Faire unfolds, more is revealed about how to use this power to solve puzzles and overcome problems in the piece. There are many other possibilities for interaction. Type "help" to learn more.</p>

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Description (in English):

One of the strengths of interactive fiction is that it is able to simulate a rich world, even one that has unusual physical and magical laws. In Savoir-Faire, the (usually cliché) elements of a treasure-hunt and a world suffused by magic are situated, unusually, in 18th-century France; a young man has come back to his childhood home to ask for a loan and has found it oddly abandoned. The special workings of Savoir-Faire's world open memories and unlock relationships between things, adding resonance to this intricate, difficult play of puzzles.

(Source: Electronic Literature Collection, Vol. 1).

Research Collection that references this work:

Title
International Electronic Literature by Women Authors 1986-2024
Electronic Literature, Chapter 4: Interactive Fiction and Other Gamelike Forms
EL-games
Interactive Fiction 2019

Screen shots:

The permanent URL of this page:: https://elmcip.net/node/1419
Record posted by:: Emily Short