Photopia by Adam Cadre

1st Place, 1998 Interactive Fiction Competition
Voted best interactive fiction of all time (2015 intfiction.org poll)

"This is a work so hugely influential to IF development that anyone interested in the history of the form should try it." —Emily Short

"Photopia is important to video games as a whole, to the advancement of our understanding of the interactive medium." —necessarygames.com

"I don't think any other work of art has ever affected me to the extent that Photopia has." —playthisthing.com

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Information in this game listing is copyright yandexx, Adam Cadre, Eriorg, David Welbourn, Emily Short, Paul O'Brian, Jordan Magnuson, Dannii, Dave Chapeskie, Edward Lacey, is taken from IFDB, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.

Review Elanna76

11 May 2026

A masterpiece!

Review DHRunner2642

29 Dec 2022

Amazing. Really fun to play.

Review Elson Sellon

12 Oct 2022

Chapters of a young child's vivid science-fantasy are intercut with scenes from a few ordinary people's lives. Sweet and depressing, and complex enough that you might need to read it twice to fully comprehend how all the pieces fit together. Very story-driven, with dialogue based on menu options and almost no puzzle content. My only complaint is that it isn't very interactive; in fact, you're practically driven through it on tracks, and any actions you don't take often become unnecessary. However, the story is captivating, well-written, and moving enough that this seems like a minor issue. I think this is the best example I've seen of interactive fiction that serves fiction rather than the other way around.
This game was created with colored text in mind, according to the author. Despite the fact that I generally detest such things, I concur that it is appropriate here. For those who prefer it in monochrome, a version is also offered.

Review broadwaydude

09 Nov 2021

One of the best IFs there are. If consistently type in, "Who am I", you're going to get a lot of juicy information that better help keep track of the story. I'm saying this because I naturally did this and knew that a lot of people wouldn't.
It hooks you in the begging and it hooks you again. And again. And again.
The way that it's played makes your choices feel original despite the fact that the path the author planned on their audience to take is set in stone.
Dang guys, when I saw that abundance of green lights, I was like, NOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Also, you get out of the garage by typing "Get out".

5/5

Comment audriannajohnson

22 Mar 2021

this game sucks, it wont let me play it just says i dont under stand. its so dumb

Review Savio

06 Jul 2020

Beautifully written

Review FantasyLand

16 Dec 2018

I keep playing this game, even though it rips my heart out every time.

The use of colors, the story, the dialogue, everything about this game is just so perfect. My favorite thing is probably the ending... It feels, somehow, fitting.

Good job for ruining my day, Mr. Cadre. You should be proud of yourself.

Comment cobradragon

16 Jan 2018

I'm stuck at the part where I'm in the garage to tell Alley to come in. What am I supposed to do to get the scene to advance?

Review rhett78

21 Sep 2017

I love how it's cryptic and straight-forward all at once. My assumptions about who I was were wonderfully different from the "reality." Not too long, Not too short. Just right, in so many different ways.

Review Jfulls002

28 Aug 2017

F**k you. Just F**k you. You literally ripped out my heart and trampled it. I am now dead. This was utterly fantastic with just the right amount of suspense, everything coming together eventually in one beautiful montage, just to have the world come crashing down in flames. Seriously F**k you. This was amazing.
-Jfulls

Comment Lilac

12 May 2017

Remember what it described when you went into the labyrinth?

(answer)

Your wings.

Review VerdantVerbiage

25 Apr 2017

An excellent game with just the right balance of knowledge and mystery.

Comment memegod420

21 Apr 2017

i am too retarded for this but is good

Comment Minipup

17 Apr 2017

wow. thats all i can say. wow.

Review MeNotYou

30 Mar 2017

REALLY GOOD, thought provoking and deep. PLAY IT!

Review Cyeborg

21 Mar 2017

There needs to be more games like this. Sequels are needed. 5/5, Great game. A little too short for my liking, but sequels will solve that. I NEED SEQUELS!!!

Review LemonGrabJuice

11 Feb 2017

OHHHHHH

I love it.

I don't want to write a review, though.

Screw that.

Review KangarooAwesome

10 Feb 2017

Amazing story! Very creative and original! Would recommend.

Comment KangarooAwesome

10 Feb 2017

Okay sorry I got it now.

Comment KangarooAwesome

10 Feb 2017

Okay now I'm actually stuck. It wont let me do anything in Alley's room. I can't leave, talk, or look at the different modes of the Photopia. What do I do?

Comment KangarooAwesome

10 Feb 2017

Never mind, I just got it...

Comment KangarooAwesome

10 Feb 2017

I can't find my way out of the labyrinth help! XD

Comment selentte

30 Jan 2017

I like how the conversations were. Is it possible you can say how you did them? I'm trying to do conversation like it but am failing.

Review stormfirej

03 Jan 2017

This was amazingly sad. Well written. Immersive. Love.

Review sandman42

11 Dec 2016

Very well written, also very sad... I like the slice of life and how its told out of order in such a way everything comes together. I liked the changing colors. I felt myself completely sucked into the world and immersed in the story. Not the most interactive but it is more focused on the story itself buy puts you in each part...
again very SAD :(

Comment Laufeia

21 Jul 2016

First time going through. Actually quite fascinating and well-written.

Review Laufeia

21 Jul 2016

How do you exit garage?

Review DavyB

15 Jun 2016

As a text adventure winning first place in the 1998 Interactive Fiction Competition, this deserves attention! It is surprising, therefore, that there aren't more reviews/comments posted so far? This is perhaps because it is more literature than an adventure, and has very few puzzles, and can't easily be classified as a game, as it is mostly linear with a single outcome. Although my personal preference is for puzzle-oriented adventures, this adventure is very well written, uses some interesting techniques and is competently constructed. On that basis, it gets five stars from me!

Comment KyuJones

31 Mar 2016

Very intriguing story and style.
I'm not sure if I missed things I should've caught on to, but the story wasn't complete to me..... It either has holes, or if you choose just the right decisions you don't see the full thing and are left with questions.

I'm going to play again to see.

Review greatbo12

25 Feb 2016

This is awesome! I am not usually very good at text adventure games, but there are plenty of hints in the game. It's really well put together and obviously the author has thought of everything!

Review SakuraJDJ

08 Dec 2015

I really loved this. At first I was confused at why it kept switching, but when they all came together it kinda broke my heart. It was like reading a story piece at a time, but out of order. Its beautiful and amazing and your coding of it was excellent!

Review coolalexia123

07 Dec 2015

Absolutely amazing!

Review MisterG

04 Dec 2015

Love it! It is written really well, and really comes together nicely. Great, engaging and original story.

Comment Tacogirl75

18 Nov 2015

Love it, but, I am on the labyrinth for like hours and can't get past it. Is there even a way?

Review JC-R

17 Oct 2015

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Review the_ringmaster

01 Aug 2015

Awesome, engaging, and original. I love how everything is interwoven and related. Great storytelling, excellent writing.

I wish more people played this.

Review Chalupa96

20 Jul 2015

Great game, excellent use of dreams and storytelling. Highly recommend to anyone who enjoys a nice fairly short story

Comment Luciacanaii

11 Mar 2015

I don't know why more people haven't played this, I thoroughly enjoyed it myself. It was definitely worth my time.

Comment 3mptied

25 Feb 2015

Definitely worth reading/playing!

Review 3mptied

25 Feb 2015

Wow! This was FANTASTIC! I really enjoyed playing it! I love how the story is told, and how everything comes together. Great work! Thanks!

Review onyxsunrise

18 Jan 2014

I don't know why this doesn't have more plays - it's fantastic. Everything ties together, and I love that we examine one character through the lens of everyone but her. The prose is beautiful, truly a well written piece of work. The disjointed feel is great and I like that we are told outcomes before we are told the situations, for the most part. Very though-provoking and a pleasure to play. The attention to detail is amazing. I was annoyed by all the aside (That means...)s, but in the end it all makes sense. Bravo.