''The Space Under the Window'' is a 1997

interactive fiction '' Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, is software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives, either in the ...

game by

Andrew Plotkin Andrew Plotkin (born May 15, 1970), also known as Zarf, is a central figure in the modern interactive fiction (IF) community. Having both written a number of award-winning games and developed a range of new file formats, interpreters, and other ...

. The game is part of a collaborative art piece, also entitled
The Space Under the Window
, by Kristin Looney (of

Looney Labs Looney Labs, Inc. is a small game company based in College Park, Maryland, United States. It is named after its founders, Andrew Looney and Kristin Looney, and is best known for creating the Fluxx line of card games. The company has three U.S. pat ...

) – each piece had to have this title, but was otherwise unconstrained. This game uses an entirely different structure than that of traditional IF, veering away from score-based puzzles and one set goal. At the beginning, a short descriptive scene is displayed. Instead of entering commands, the player selects one of the words from the text, and the scene is altered - often subtly, for example, an addition of a few words or a shift in atmosphere. There are multiple paths along the narrative, and several endings ranging in mood. ''The Space Under the Window'' was a finalist in the 1997

XYZZY Award The XYZZY Awards are the annual awards given to works of interactive fiction, serving a similar role to the Academy Awards for film. The awards were inaugurated in 1997 by Eileen Mullin, the editor of ''XYZZYnews''. Any game released during the year ...

s for Best Use of Medium and Best Writing. It has inspired

parodies A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

such as ''The Chicken Under The Window'' by Lucian P. Smith, a
ChickenComp 1998

External links

Play game in Javascript

an Electronic Book, created by Kristin Looney
Baf's Guide review of The Space Under the Window
– SPAG review by Duncan Stevens {{DEFAULTSORT:Space Under the Window, The 1997 video games 1990s interactive fiction Video games with alternate endings