Kyle is Famous – Free Interactive Fiction

“Why not seize the pleasure at once? How often is happiness destroyed by preparation, foolish preparation! – Jane Austen

Overview

Kyle is Famous is a short, text-based, choose your own adventure game. The player takes on the role of Kyle as he prepares to interview another famous guest on his show, of course, that’s not as easy as it sounds. Distractions and unforeseen circumstances hinder the preparation and affect the course of the interview in some truly unusual ways!

Gameplay

Kyle gets 30 hours in which to prepare, this can include things the player might expect such as making interview notes or getting dressed to much more far fetched activities like gathering bedroom bugs as an impromptu snack! Time dwindles as various activities are carried out and eventually the player is forced to host the interview, at which point decisions and collected items come into play to disrupt the course of events.

The game utilises simple point-and-click style mechanics and can be played entirely with just a mouse or touch screen, depending on the device. A single playthrough can take as little as just a few minutes, however, there is plenty of replayability, provided via the 21 different endings and various other tangents and narrative tidbits available to explore.

Narrative and Styling

Being a text adventure, Kyle is Famous has a very basic overall aesthetic. The black, white and red UI is clean, clear and easy to read. The stark contrast of the colour palette and the visual simplicity provides an interesting juxtaposition with the often ridiculous narrative and dark but silly humour.

The game does include some sound effects and these are used well, especially in the more dramatic moments of the story, as is the music. The soundtrack is comprised largely of guitar and piano and mostly just provides a pleasant audio backdrop for the game without being overly noteworthy.

Summary

Kyle is Famous is a short but fun experience with a unique and quirky sense of humour. It can provide over an hour of entertainment in total but is also a great way to pass five minutes. I’d highly recommend it to fans of interactive fiction and text-based adventure games, but also, since it’s free, to anyone with a few moments spare – what is there to lose?

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