{{Infobox video game , title= Varicella , image =Varicella computer game screenshot.png , developer=

Adam Cadre Adam Cadre (born February 5, 1974, in Silver Spring, Maryland) is an American writer active in a number of forms—novels, screenplays, webcomics, essays—but best known for his work in interactive fiction. Biography Cadre's 1998 piece ''Photopi ...

, publisher=Self published , designer=

, engine=

Z-machine The Z-machine is a virtual machine that was developed by Joel Berez and Marc Blank in 1979 and used by Infocom for its text adventure games. Infocom compiled game code to files containing Z-machine instructions (called story files or Z-code ...

, released= 1999 , genre=

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 ...

, platforms=

, modes=

Single player A single-player video game is a video game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session. A single-player game is usually a game that can only be played by one person, while "single-player mode" is usuall ...

Varicella is a 1999 work of

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 ...

, distributed in z-code format as

freeware Freeware is software, most often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for the f ...

. It is set in an

alternate history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, altern ...

which features roughly modern technology mixed with

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

-style principalities and court politics. The characters of Varicella use contemporary language from their home in a Renaissance castle, continuing the contrast between old and new. The

player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...

is Primo Varicella, palace minister in

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, who has to get rid of several rivals for the regency following the death of the king. He was inspired by the Machiavellian protagonist of

Profit Profit may refer to: Business and law * Profit (accounting), the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market * Profit (economics), normal profit and economic profit * Profit (real property), a nonpossessory intere ...

, but given even more despicable antagonists (just as

variola Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) cer ...

is more virulent than varicella), thus making players willing to go along with his schemes.Adam Cadre: why chickenpox?
/ref> The international situation in the game is described in passing: Piedmont is part of a loose confederation of kingdoms that make up a

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...

League and is engaged in a war against the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

. It won four

XYZZY Awards 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 ...

in 1999 including the

XYZZY Award for Best Game 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 yea ...

, and was nominated for another four.Baf's Guide game entry
/ref> The game was discussed academically by

Nick Montfort Nick Montfort is a poet and professor of digital media at MIT, where he directs a lab called The Trope Tank. He also holds a part-time position at the University of Bergen where he leads a node on computational narrative systems at the Center for ...

and

Stuart Moulthrop Stuart Moulthrop (born 1957 in Baltimore, Maryland, United States) is an innovator of electronic literature and hypertext fiction, both as a theoretician and as a writer. He is author of the hypertext fiction works ''Victory Garden'' (1992), whic ...

in their 2003 paper ''Face It, Tiger, You Just Hit the Jackpot: Reading and Playing Cadre's Varicella'',Fine Art Online: Vol. 17 No. 8
/ref> and by Dr. Wendy Morgan in her 2003 paper ''Touching (on) Character: New Engagements in New Media Narratives''. English in Australia: Issue 139
/ref> Cadre himself claimed in a January 2002 interview that it was the best game he had written up to that point: :"''

Photopia ''Photopia'' is a piece of literature by Adam Cadre rendered in the form of interactive fiction, and written in Inform. It has received both praise and criticism for its heavy focus on fiction rather than on interactivity. It won first place in ...

'' has made more of a mark, I suppose, but ''Photopia'' is a short story; ''Varicella'' is a world. There are so many things to see and do… it's definitely the game of mine that I'm hoping that future pieces I might create will most resemble, in structure if not in content."Avventure Testuali interview with Adam Cadre, January 2002
/ref>

Characters

* The main character ''Primo Varicella'', the Palace Minister at the Palazzo del Piemonte. (Varicella is the technical name for

chicken pox Chickenpox, also known as varicella, is a highly contagious disease caused by the initial infection with varicella zoster virus (VZV). The disease results in a characteristic skin rash that forms small, itchy blisters, which eventually scab ...

, while "Primo" means cousin as he is the eldest brother) * War Minister ''Klaus Wehrkeit'' is one of Varicella's rivals hiding in Piedmont, had recently been fighting the Venetians. If the player does nothing in the interactive fiction, Wehrkeit will arrive around 3 o'clock and kill Varicella. ("Wehrkeit" might be translated from German as "defenseness") * Another rival, Christ Minister ''Pierre Bonfleche'', is the tutor of the young ''Prince Charles''. He is planning an invasion of Piedmont by the Avignese forces. * Interior Minister ''Variola Modo'' is the scientist of the palace working with green slime in an underground lab. ("Variola" is the technical term for smallpox) * Coffers Minister ''Argento Rico'' is another of Varicella's rivals, but does not appear that prominently in the storyline. He still needs to be killed. ("Argento" is Italian for "silver", while "Rico" means "rich") * Your fifth rival is ''Prince Louis'', an alcoholic who is found passed out on the garden bench. * ''Sierra'' is the informant of the palace. If Varicella has money, some extra information can be gained from her. * A character discovered later is ''Princess Charlotte'', who is locked away within the palace due to her perceived insanity. She has been hidden away since the death of her fiancé, Varicella's youngest brother ''Terzio'' (from the Italian "terzo", meaning third). * Marco Pulisci, the ambassador to

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

, is deemed a non-threat by Varicella due to

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...

's distance from Piedmont.

References

External links

Adam Cadre Interactive Fiction
- download page 1999 video games Alternate history video games 1990s interactive fiction Video games developed in the United States