Jonathan Coulton is at it again. One of tech/gaming/geek music's champions, and singer/songwriter of "Still Alive" (Portal) and "Want You Gone" (Portal 2), Coulton ginned up a text adventure for his new video, "All This Time."
It's a heartfelt story, traveling from the mundane to the aspirational, from the conveyor belt to the stars. The stuff the player types into the keyboard is spot on, capturing the "What do I even do now?" head scratching that came with text adventures—and now comes with Life in general.
I'm not sure it's a timeless tune in and of itself, but if you read the Zork-like adventure text as Coulton's hopped-up rhythm slides forward, then I think you'll find a surprisingly sweet tale, punctuated with frustration, desperation, and a little bit of hope. Really good.
