The Z-Machine Matter is my current work-in-progress game. It's a murder mystery story set in southern California during the coldwar 1950s. It's written in Inform7 as an homage to Infocom's classic murder mystery stories like Deadline, The Witness and Suspect, complete with built-in hints, Infocom-style packaging, manual and feelies.
I submitted version 0.28 to IntroComp 2011 and have been updating it since then based on feedback. If you'd like to test the game or find out more, contact me via email at ZUrlocker hotmail. Unfortunately, progress is very limited these days.
Current status:
-Version 0.33 01-03-2013
-83055 words long
-44 rooms, 210 things
-6 NPCs
-2 murders
Manual:
-Updated to include new commands 12/01/2011
-PDF available for download
Recent Updates:
01/03/2013 ver 0.33
-More work on the writing and story
-New SUMMON command done, not yet doc'd, e.g. SUMMON DUFFY
-Upgraded Player Experience Upgrade to V2
-Various bug fixes
02/28/2012 ver 0.31
-Added some more items in the den
-More improvements in the dialog
12/01/2011 ver 0.30
-Added CLUES command and * on status line to indicate items remain to be found
-You can also turn CLUES ON or CLUES OFF or use the Help Settings menu
-Added wireless set as a clue in basement
-Lots of work on the writing!
-Incorporated many suggestions from IntroComp
06/01/2011 ver 0.28
-Added a map to the manual. (What? There's a manual?)
-Added a cliffhanger scene to end the Alpha release.
-Added commands WAIT 10, WAIT UNTIL 10:30 PM
-Many new commands understood based on alpha tester feedback.
-New commands: CONFRONT, TOPICS, SUSPECTS, ABOUT, CREDITS, HINT.
