Francesco Bova's recently released Jewel of Knowledge does not pose these questions, technically, but playing through it does bring to mind some issues at the very core of IF--because, in its essense, Jewel of Knowledge is a puzzle-fest dungeon crawl in the tradition of Colossal Cave, Zork, and other foundational works of IF. To be sure, it gives the player considerably more backstory than most of the seminal dungeon-crawl works, and your motivations are considerably more developed. But what really works here is what made the canonical dungeon crawls work, namely good puzzles and a well-described setting; the moments where the author tries to question the assumptions of those traditional dungeon crawls are far less effective.

Let me be clear, though: there are many intriguing innovations in Jewel of Knowledge that may well catch a Zork veteran off guard. Particularly notable is the opening sequence, which makes the backstory/prologue of the game interactive and forces the player to pay attention to the story rather than ignoring it and blithely jumping into the puzzles. While the plot does not at first glance appear novel--defeat three dragons, obtain the McGuffin of the title--the story follows a rather different path than the fantasy-game aficionado might expect. Other mild surprises include a maze that isn't what it appears to be and a false puzzle of sorts, an obstacle that cannot be passed in the expected way. These are effective in the context of the game because they keep the player guessing.

Moreover, many of the puzzles are genuinely creative. Particularly notable is a cloak into which the player can insert other objects (the exact physical process here is left vague); the cloak then assumes the properties of those objects. The game doesn't do as much as it might with the implications of this power--some of the stranger and more interesting results are left sadly underdescribed. Still, it's an interesting idea that gives rise to some unusual puzzles. The maze mentioned above is clever as well and accommodates different solutions, in a sense, and other puzzles turn on recognizing relationships between objects in ways that reward careful reading.

It is obvious to anyone who has finished Jewel of Knowledge, however, that the author had more on his mind when writing the game than coding original puzzles and arranging them in a satisfying sequence. There are Weighty Issues Afoot; progressively stronger hints develop them throughout the game, such that the finale is a surprise only for the player who hasn't been paying much attention at all. But while the game does a nice job of developing the PC's character and fitting him into the story, the author overdoes his theme--and what was presumably supposed to be a surprise ending becomes painfully obvious. The loudly moralistic ending is exacerbated by a guess-what-the-author's-thinking game for the optimal ending; even if the player recognizes the action that would lead to the suboptimal ending, she's likely to try it just to get a clue toward what the author _really_ wants her to do. The trouble is partly that the point isn't all that novel--Zork III made it much more subtly--and the alternatives presented at the end are painted in such stark colors that it doesn't actually say much to us. (Admittedly, it may be asking a lot to expect a fantasy game to say anything of note, but a more nuanced set of options might have helped.)

There are similar problems with the writing. Parts of Jewel of Knowledge are impressively well-written: the scenes, by and large, are set vividly and economically, and the cave setting comes alive even for players who have already seen thousands of cave settings. There is plenty of geological detail (shades of Colossal Cave) that reduces the feeling that the cave is just a generic setting for the author's House o' Puzzles. (The geology even plays a part in some of the puzzles.) Other descriptions give the setting some atmosphere, though on the whole there isn't much of that. But there are also many awkwardly phrased moments, and, unsurprisingly, many of them come along when the author is reminding us of his Themes. This passage, from a conversation with your companion, is not entirely atypical:

"Of course, returning the Jewel to Amylya will provide us with a lifestyle
we could have only dreamed of," continues Jacob, "and the omniscience that
the Jewel brings would tempt any person."

Oh, the horror! Lying face down on the cold granite ledge is your former
colleague Ariana! Looking up through the shaft, you deduce that this must
have been the air pocket she fell through a few layers up.

You feel a lump in your throat as you realise that your nimble friend
won't be around to experience the joy of your triumph as you bring home the
Jewel.

Likewise, from a technical standpoint, Jewel of Knowledge is mostly successful despite some rough spots. Some puzzles take more experimenting with verbs and syntax than seems strictly necessary, and others take more manipulation and searching of apparently insignificant scenery than one would expect from the average player. (At one point, moreover, the author seems to have unintentionally created a puzzle involving your escape from a dream or reverie, since the required action is rather obscure.) But there are very few bugs, and the design flaws don't significantly impede the player's progress. There are well-done little bits here and there, such as a warning system when the player is about to render the game unwinnable, and a "practice" puzzle reminiscent of Edifice.

Jewel of Knowledge is, in fact, well-crafted enough that the forced ending is all the more disappointing--and yet it does manage to say something, even if unwittingly, about the state of IF. It is not exactly a secret that generic cave crawls focused entirely on gathering treasure are no longer in fashion, but Jewel of Knowledge, it may fairly be said, goes out of its way to avoid that label just a bit too much. No doubt this is the product of envelope-pushing IF that have left the traditional fantasy quests looking unimaginative, but it should still be possible to combine the traditional fantasy game with a modicum of irony; that was, after all, Zork III's approach. Perhaps more importantly, the split in personality between the "game" side of Jewel of Knowledge, which is by and large well done, and the "fiction" side, which is a worthy effort but needs some help, leaves the whole thing feeling a bit schizophrenic.

My point, if I have one, is that not all IF needs to be dedicated to pushing envelopes, erasing boundaries, overturning tropes. Certainly, it's fun and a good idea to send up familiar settings or introduce fourth-wall humor to show the player that you're hip to the latest trends. (Jewel of Knowledge does do this in a few spots, and quite well at that.) But IF can be perfectly serviceable as _entertainment_, hardly an illegitimate goal, without beating the player over the head with a message about the limitations or assumptions of the genre. Jewel of Knowledge feels like it wants, in its heart of hearts, to be a Spider and Web, a Losing Your Grip, a Photopia, and it just isn't up to the job.

There is plenty to like about Jewel of Knowledge; in most respects, it's a worthy heir to the tradition of fantasy quests, and while it has some problems, they don't detract from the game aspect much. Unfortunately, as interactive fiction, the overall effect is best described as uneven.