Late summer mysteries: blog.zarfhome.com
","summary":"Three mysteries... or games which are mystery-shaped, at least. Plus one which doesn't fit the theme but does fit the symmetry group. The Mermaid Mask This Bed We Made Cognition Method He Who Watches The Mermaid Mask by SFB Games -- game ...","url":"https://blog.zarfhome.com/2026/09/late-summer-mysteries","date_published":"2026-09-15T01:53:13+00:00","author":{"name":"Andrew Plotkin","url":"http://eblong.com/zarf/home.html","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fzarf%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"zarf"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-15 01:53","date_timestamp":1789437193,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"97564238","content_html":"Hugo Award stats, 2026: blog.zarfhome.com
","summary":"Back in April I took a look at the Hugo Award finalists, with an eye to seeing how the votes might divide up. I did this because the 2025 Best Game voting showed an interesting split between "indie" and "big company" voters (in some sense of ...","url":"https://blog.zarfhome.com/2026/09/hugo-award-stats-2026","date_published":"2026-09-04T00:21:40+00:00","author":{"name":"Andrew Plotkin","url":"http://eblong.com/zarf/home.html","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fzarf%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"zarf"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-04 00:21","date_timestamp":1788481300,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"97564237","content_html":"The Visible Witness is now available to all: blog.zarfhome.com
","summary":"September is upon us, and with it that least regarded of the early Infocom games: The Witness. As usual, the source code repository is also live, licensed with the open-source MIT license. In addition, I've posted high-resolution scans of ...","url":"https://blog.zarfhome.com/2026/09/visible-witness","date_published":"2026-09-01T04:10:39+00:00","author":{"name":"Andrew Plotkin","url":"http://eblong.com/zarf/home.html","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fzarf%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"zarf"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-01 04:10","date_timestamp":1788235839,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"97564236","content_html":"Rusty Lake and Hidden Town: blog.zarfhome.com
","summary":"I am always happy to see another Rusty Lake game. It's not a high-velocity studio, but they're reliably high-quality and enjoy experimenting with their chosen form. (Co-op gameplay! Short film!) I am also always happy to see another Rusty Lake ...","url":"https://blog.zarfhome.com/2026/08/rusty-lake-and-hidden-town","date_published":"2026-08-22T00:14:41+00:00","author":{"name":"Andrew Plotkin","url":"http://eblong.com/zarf/home.html","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fzarf%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"zarf"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-08-22 00:14","date_timestamp":1787357681,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"97564235","content_html":"Visible Zorker search feature: blog.zarfhome.com
","summary":"Apparently today is the worst possible day to post about Zork the text adventure? See articles about Duskbloods if you don't follow FromSoftware news, which, to be clear, I don't. Spoiler: everybody's hot for a playable goon named "Zork". But ...","url":"https://blog.zarfhome.com/2026/08/visible-zorker-search","date_published":"2026-08-20T23:22:36+00:00","author":{"name":"Andrew Plotkin","url":"http://eblong.com/zarf/home.html","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fzarf%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"zarf"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-08-20 23:22","date_timestamp":1787268156,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"97564234","content_html":"GDC status updates: blog.zarfhome.com
","summary":"Back in March I made a lot of hay about the decline of GDC. I didn't confidently predict that GDC'27 would be cancelled, but cancellation wouldn't have surprised me. Well, GDC'27 isn't cancelled. Which we knew. They would have had to announce ...","url":"https://blog.zarfhome.com/2026/08/gdc-updates","date_published":"2026-08-20T02:12:50+00:00","author":{"name":"Andrew Plotkin","url":"http://eblong.com/zarf/home.html","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fzarf%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"zarf"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-08-20 02:12","date_timestamp":1787191970,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"97564233","content_html":"More details on Cyan's Project Anglerfish: blog.zarfhome.com
","summary":"Two articles have popped up in the wake of Cyan's fandom-rattling pitch reel for Anglerfish. To recap from last week: Anglerfish was the Myst-universe project that Cyan started prototyping in 2024. They teased it as "PREFALL" because it was ...","url":"https://blog.zarfhome.com/2026/08/more-on-cyans-anglerfish","date_published":"2026-08-09T16:54:16+00:00","author":{"name":"Andrew Plotkin","url":"http://eblong.com/zarf/home.html","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fzarf%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"zarf"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-08-09 16:54","date_timestamp":1786294456,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"97564232","content_html":"Visible Suspended is now available to all: blog.zarfhome.com
","summary":"August brings us Suspended, Michael Berlyn's cryogenic nightmare. As usual, the source code repository is also live, licensed with the open-source MIT license. Suspended surely had the most inspired package concept of Infocom's early ...","url":"https://blog.zarfhome.com/2026/08/visible-suspended","date_published":"2026-08-01T04:01:00+00:00","author":{"name":"Andrew Plotkin","url":"http://eblong.com/zarf/home.html","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fzarf%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"zarf"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-08-01 04:01","date_timestamp":1785556860,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"97564231","content_html":"Mysterium 2026: The Cyan-adjacent news: blog.zarfhome.com
","summary":"The rest of my 2026 Mysterium report. (See part 1 for the Cyan news.) All the videos are currently available on Mysterium's Twitch channel. They will be archived on their Youtube channel pretty soon. Documentary Update Philip Shane gave his ...","url":"https://blog.zarfhome.com/2026/07/mysterium-2026-adjacent-news","date_published":"2026-07-28T15:41:11+00:00","author":{"name":"Andrew Plotkin","url":"http://eblong.com/zarf/home.html","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fzarf%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"zarf"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-28 15:41","date_timestamp":1785253271,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"97564230","content_html":"Mysterium 2026: The news from Cyan: blog.zarfhome.com
","summary":"Another Mysterium has arrived and then faded silently away. Or, I suppose, faded away with its characteristic reverb-y "vrrrwww-WONK-wonk-wonk" noise. This year's event was in Portland, Oregon. I did not attend in person; cross-country travel ...","url":"https://blog.zarfhome.com/2026/07/mysterium-2026-news-from-cyan","date_published":"2026-07-28T01:47:04+00:00","author":{"name":"Andrew Plotkin","url":"http://eblong.com/zarf/home.html","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fzarf%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"zarf"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-28 01:47","date_timestamp":1785203224,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"97564229","content_html":"Good luck, everybody: blog.zarfhome.com
","summary":"I'm embarrassed about this one. The Witness will be September's release for the Visible Zorker project, but it's already done for Patreon supporters. So I've scanned my Witness feelies for the app already. (You can see the high-res scans here ...","url":"https://blog.zarfhome.com/2026/07/good-luck-everybody","date_published":"2026-07-25T01:31:56+00:00","author":{"name":"Andrew Plotkin","url":"http://eblong.com/zarf/home.html","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fzarf%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"zarf"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-25 01:31","date_timestamp":1784943116,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"97564228","content_html":"The Fool and his Money returns: blog.zarfhome.com
","summary":"Here's an interesting bit of game-historic preservation: someone has posted a browser-playable version of Cliff Johnson's epic (and epically-slow-to-release) 2012 puzzle game, The Fool and his Money. Here's the new web site: www.the-fool-and-his-money.com. ...","url":"https://blog.zarfhome.com/2026/07/the-fool-and-his-money-returns","date_published":"2026-07-20T00:48:12+00:00","author":{"name":"Andrew Plotkin","url":"http://eblong.com/zarf/home.html","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fzarf%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"zarf"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-20 00:48","date_timestamp":1784508492,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"94007498","content_html":"Games which I have been seriously waiting for: blog.zarfhome.com
","summary":"","url":"https://blog.zarfhome.com/2026/07/games-ive-been-waiting-for","date_published":"2026-07-14T00:52:18+00:00","author":{"name":"Andrew Plotkin","url":"http://eblong.com/zarf/home.html","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fzarf%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"zarf"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-14 00:52","date_timestamp":1783990338,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"93893088","content_html":"On ZIL indentation: blog.zarfhome.com
","summary":"","url":"https://blog.zarfhome.com/2026/07/the-power-of-indentation","date_published":"2026-07-12T17:28:45+00:00","author":{"name":"Andrew Plotkin","url":"http://eblong.com/zarf/home.html","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fzarf%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"zarf"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-12 17:28","date_timestamp":1783877325,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"93483388","content_html":"The Red Pearls of Borneo: design ruminations: blog.zarfhome.com
","summary":"","url":"https://blog.zarfhome.com/2026/07/the-red-pearls-of-borneo","date_published":"2026-07-05T01:59:39+00:00","author":{"name":"Andrew Plotkin","url":"http://eblong.com/zarf/home.html","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fzarf%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"zarf"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-05 01:59","date_timestamp":1783216779,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"93255881","content_html":"Visible Starcross is now available to all: blog.zarfhome.com
","summary":"","url":"https://blog.zarfhome.com/2026/07/visible-starcross","date_published":"2026-07-01T05:37:36+00:00","author":{"name":"Andrew Plotkin","url":"http://eblong.com/zarf/home.html","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fzarf%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"zarf"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-01 05:37","date_timestamp":1782884256,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"92708214","content_html":"I am a person who will look at the Steam Machine and cry: blog.zarfhome.com
","summary":"","url":"https://blog.zarfhome.com/2026/06/steam-machine-oh-no","date_published":"2026-06-23T03:22:14+00:00","author":{"name":"Andrew Plotkin","url":"http://eblong.com/zarf/home.html","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fzarf%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"zarf"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-23 03:22","date_timestamp":1782184934,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"92632344","content_html":"Aeonic Nebular Character Generator: blog.zarfhome.com
","summary":"","url":"https://blog.zarfhome.com/2026/06/aeonic-nebular","date_published":"2026-06-21T14:58:58+00:00","author":{"name":"Andrew Plotkin","url":"http://eblong.com/zarf/home.html","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fzarf%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"zarf"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-21 14:58","date_timestamp":1782053938,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"91878957","content_html":"Spring surprise games: blog.zarfhome.com
","summary":"","url":"https://blog.zarfhome.com/2026/06/spring-surprise-games","date_published":"2026-06-10T02:36:20+00:00","author":{"name":"Andrew Plotkin","url":"http://eblong.com/zarf/home.html","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fzarf%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"zarf"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-10 02:36","date_timestamp":1781058980,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"91510120","content_html":"Effinger replies to me: blog.zarfhome.com
","summary":"","url":"https://blog.zarfhome.com/2026/06/effinger-replies","date_published":"2026-06-04T00:38:41+00:00","author":{"name":"Andrew Plotkin","url":"http://eblong.com/zarf/home.html","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fzarf%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"zarf"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-04 00:38","date_timestamp":1780533521,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"91304271","content_html":"Visible Deadline is now available to all: blog.zarfhome.com
","summary":"","url":"https://blog.zarfhome.com/2026/06/visible-deadline","date_published":"2026-06-01T04:29:01+00:00","author":{"name":"Andrew Plotkin","url":"http://eblong.com/zarf/home.html","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fzarf%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"zarf"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-01 04:29","date_timestamp":1780288141,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"91294976","content_html":"Some games that happen to be all about music: blog.zarfhome.com
","summary":"","url":"https://blog.zarfhome.com/2026/05/games-about-music","date_published":"2026-05-31T23:35:21+00:00","author":{"name":"Andrew Plotkin","url":"http://eblong.com/zarf/home.html","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fzarf%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"zarf"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-31 23:35","date_timestamp":1780270521,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"90748083","content_html":"A brief digression into Infocom tie-in novels: blog.zarfhome.com
","summary":"","url":"https://blog.zarfhome.com/2026/05/infocom-tie-ins","date_published":"2026-05-23T02:21:44+00:00","author":{"name":"Andrew Plotkin","url":"http://eblong.com/zarf/home.html","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fzarf%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"zarf"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-23 02:21","date_timestamp":1779502904,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"90530672","content_html":"Titanium Court: blog.zarfhome.com
","summary":"","url":"https://blog.zarfhome.com/2026/05/titanium-court","date_published":"2026-05-20T01:29:06+00:00","author":{"name":"Andrew Plotkin","url":"http://eblong.com/zarf/home.html","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fzarf%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"zarf"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-20 01:29","date_timestamp":1779240546,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"89998385","content_html":"That firefighting game I played in Toronto: blog.zarfhome.com
","summary":"","url":"https://blog.zarfhome.com/2026/05/firefighting","date_published":"2026-05-10T01:57:06+00:00","author":{"name":"Andrew Plotkin","url":"http://eblong.com/zarf/home.html","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2Fzarf%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"zarf"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-10 01:57","date_timestamp":1778378226,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}}]}