Parser as Prototype: why choice-based games are more interesting (2013)

They’re not parser games – they use choices – but in terms of design, they’ve ended up being closer to parser games than anything else. I’ve argued in the past that for parser games to be penetrable to newcomers, we need to improve the input loop and ensure, at the very least that (a) the player cannot type anything the game simply won’t understand, due to incorrect verbs, or typos, or whatever; and (b) any error, clarification or other null-content messages the player invokes should not hang around a moment longer than they are useful. Harder, perhaps, but you can still have a long choice of verbs… and if the solution isn’t the first the player tries, they’ll still have a moment of  delight when it works…

So, at the very least, a choice-game can start to approximate a parser game, to a less or greater extent.

Source: threeedgedsword.wordpress.com