The Life
  (and Deaths)
    of Doctor M

Interactive Fiction by Michael D. Hilborn

Cover art.

The Life (and Deaths) of Doctor M is an interactive fiction game. In the narrative tradition of Infocom text adventures, Doctor M weaves the surrealistic tale of you, a dying soul, who is uncertain of where to go in the afterlife... because you are uncertain of where you went in life.

Angel or demon, mercy or murder, or, perhaps, that mysterious man looking for his hat... these are just a few of the decisions you must ponder--a few of the puzzles that you will unravel--as you explore The Life (and Deaths) of Doctor M.

> Play the Game

To fully experience The Life (and Deaths) of Doctor M, please follow these steps:

  1. Download the game archive (zip format);
  2. Unzip the archive in your games directory;
  3. Peruse the various files within the archive, including the sample transcript and the newspaper clipping;
  4. Launch the DoctorM.gblorb file with an interactive fiction interpreter (see below).

If you are new to interactive fiction, please type ABOUT at the first command prompt. You may also want to read the sample transcript to give you an idea of how interactive fiction (and this particular game) works. Finally, you may want to consult the Beginner's Guide to IF, and keep a handy reference card by your side.

> Find an Interactive Fiction Interpreter

In order to play The Life (and Deaths) of Doctor M, you must download an interactive fiction interpreter. A full list (and explanation) of interactive fiction interpreters is available at the Inform 7 web site. Recommended interpreters for Doctor M include:

> Learn More About Doctor M

The Life (and Deaths) of Doctor M was a submission to the 17th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition under the pseudonym of Edmund Wells. Out of 38 entries, the game placed 6th overall, tied for 3rd in the Miss Congeniality contest, and won the Golden Banana of Discord (and currently holds the honor of being the highest-rated game ever to earn the Banana). It has been nominated for Best Story and, along with its co-conspirators, Best Individual Puzzle in the 2011 XYZZY Awards, IF's equivalent of the Oscars.

Although a stand-alone game, Doctor M was initially conceived as part of a meta-conspiracy, a puzzle that could only be solved by playing four games. Andrew Plotkin recounts the conspiracy (and links to the solution) on the Gameshelf.

If you have any questions, comments, praise, criticisms, or jokes you would like to share with the author, feel free to email me--my contact information is in the "README" file included in the game package.