Anchorhead

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Description

Anchorhead is a horror-themed interactive fiction game set in a Lovecraftian dilapidated fishing village. After a gruesome death ends the Verlac family line, a young couple, from a distant branch of the family, inherit the ancestral mansion. The player takes on the role of the wife in this horror-themed interactive fiction game, exploring the mansion and the town, talking to its denizens, and uncovering the mystery that hangs like a miasma over the town.

The plot is divided into three days, but - save for a few time-critical puzzles - the player need not hurry, as time only progresses after puzzles are solved.

Screenshots

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Alternate Titles

• "Anchorhead: An Interactive Tale of Lovecraftian Horror" -- Tag-lined title
• "Anchorhead: An Interactive Gothic" -- Tag-lined title

Part of the Following Groups

• Glulx games
• Inspiration: Author - H. P. Lovecraft
• Protagonist: Female
• Z-Code

User Reviews

After slogging through pale Lovecraft imitations, someone finally gets it right.	Z-machine	Terrence Bosky (5463)
Captivating; very well-developed story and excellent attention to detail	Z-machine	Mirrorshades2k (282)

Critic Reviews

SPAG	Z-machine	Sep 15, 1999	8.7 out of 10	87
The Good Old Days (Staff Reviews only)	Z-machine	Aug 08, 2009	5 out of 6	83

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Trivia

Director's Cut

In 2006 Michael Gentry announced an updated Director's Cut edition of Anchorhead in November 2007, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the game. This new edition was supposed to be a complete rewrite of the code in version 7 of the Inform programming language (the current release version was written in version 6 of Inform).

Awards

• XYZZY Awards
  • 1998 - Best Setting
  • 1998 - Nominee Best Game
  • 1998 - Nominee Best Writing
  • 1998 - Nominee Best Story
  • 1998 - Nominee Best Puzzles
  • 1998 - Nominee Best Individual NPC (for Michael

Information also contributed by Mirrorshades2k

Related Web Sites

• Anchorhead @ ifiction.org (Play the game online.)
• Download this game from the Interactive Fiction Archive (Anchorhead is freely distributed by the author through the Interactive Fiction Archive at ifarchive.org- Click this link to download it directly!)
• Game Couch Interview (2006 interview with Michael Gentry on Game Couch about Anchorhead and the planned remake (English))
• Michael Gentry's Anchorhead Page (Author's page dedicated to the 10th anniversary re-release of Anchorhead.)