Attic of the Underdogs

Galatea

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Review by Underdogs:
Galatea is, in short, one of the most amazing games I?ve ever played, in any genre. If you think adventure games in general cannot be non-linear, Galatea will change your views forever. The game is based on a story from Greek mythology about Pygmalion, a sculptor who falls in love with Galatea, a sculpture he creates. As to what the game actually is, let me quote the author?s own words:

"Galatea has what I call a multilinear plot: unlike traditional IF, it has no single path to victory. Instead there are a large number of endings, some more satisfactory than others, of which many could be considered "win" states. It takes only a few minutes of play to arrive at an ending, but considerably longer to find all of them.

The game also takes an ambitious approach to NPC (non-player character) conversation, both in terms of volume (Galatea has many hundreds of things to say) and complexity (she keeps track of the state of conversation and reacts differently according to what has already been said and done.)"

I can think of no superlatives, no praise for the game to truly reflect what it deserves: a permanent place on everyone?s hard disk. Suffice to say that this is the best non-player character I?ve ever seen, and Galatea?s dozens (yes, dozens) of possible endings will amaze you to no end. If you?re an IF fan, this is simply a must-have. If you are not, chances are you?ll never like the genre if you don?t enjoy Galatea. Interactive fiction?let alone multilinear ones?doesn?t get better than this, folks.

Average Rating:8.47 [61 votes]
Genre:Interactive Fiction
Designer:Emily Short
Developer:Freeware
Publisher:Freeware
Year:2000
Software Copyright:Emily Short
Theme:Unique, Freelance, Myth & Legend
Multiplayer:
Related Links:
More Info:Mobygames | The Web
System Requirements:Inform
If you like this game, try:Tapestry, Photopia, Metamorphoses
Thanks to... 
Technical Notes: