Earth and Sky
interactive fiction trilogy by Paul O'Brian
Earth and Sky is an interactive fiction trilogy written and produced by American author Paul O'Brian about the adventures of a brother and sister who gain superpowers while searching for their lost parents. Games in the series have won awards in the annual Interactive Fiction Competition and received an XYZZY Award.
Earth and Sky
The first game begins a month after the disappearance of two scientists at the local university, Clair and Scott Colborn. After exploring their parents' lab, the playable character, Emily Colborn, and her brother Austin find that their parents had been developing suits that grant sky-themed and earth-themed superpowers. Using the suits, Emily gains the ability to fly, generate fog and shoot electric blasts. Adopting the superhero names 'Earth' and 'Sky', the siblings decide to search for their parents themselves and defend the campus from an accidentally mutated monster.
The game is entirely text based and players type commands to move through the story. The story file can be downloaded for free online and though O'Brian recommended using Frotz, Earth and Sky is compatible with several interpreter programs which are available as freeware. The game is also available for online play through O'Brian's web page.
Reception
The game received mixed reviews; it was commended for having entertaining, humorous and descriptive narratives but also criticized for its short length and use of a menu system in dialogue.
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