Floatpoint

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Floatpoint
Floatpoint being played in a modern interpreter.
Developer(s)	Emily Short
Publisher(s)	Self published
Designer(s)	Emily Short
Engine	Glulx
Platform(s)	Glulx
Release date	2006
Genre(s)	Interactive Fiction, Adventure
Mode(s)	Single player
Media	download
Input methods	Keyboard

Floatpoint is a 2006 work of interactive fiction written by Emily Short about a diplomat sent to an endangered colony to discuss evacuation options and terms of cohabitation. It is written in Inform 7 and won the 2006 annual Interactive Fiction Competition.^[1] As of 2006, it is the highest average scoring game in the competition's history, with an average score of 8.41.^[1] Floatpoint also won 2006 XYZZY Awards for Best Settings and Best NPCs.^[2] The game was generally praised for its use of multiple endings.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Plot

Through the course of play, the background to the current situation becomes clear. The colonists of Aleheart were originally exiled from Earth for engaging in prohibited genetic engineering. The colonists heavily engineer plant and animal life. The colony features plants engineered for artistic purpose. The colonists themselves are heavily genetically engineered. However, Aleheart is entering an ice age, which will likely make the planet uninhabitable within a few years.

After colonists left Earth, a plague caused massive depopulation on Earth. To help with recovery, the government of Earth wants the colonists to return.

The protagonist arrives on Aleheart expecting to be an assistant to the previous ambassador, but learns upon arrival that the previous ambassador has been dismissed and that the protagonist has been given the role. Officially the protagonist's goal is to convince the Aleheart colonists to return to Earth. This is to be done by making a formal gift to the colony's representative. Additional motivations including the colonists desire to not return, and the reluctance of some Earth citizens to accept them give the protagonist difficult choices to make.