Gold Machine (Drew Cook)

writing if. writing about if

[golmac]

A NEW PINNED POST 🐈‍⬛

I'm Drew Cook (aka kamineko or biting cat)! I make content about narrative games. Some bullet points:

making stuff ✨

talking about making stuff ✨

IF is for everyone, games are for everyone 💫

In terms of raw numbers, I think I might be best known for some of my game criticism, but I love making games more than anything. Click on for some links and stuff!

I'm the author of Repeat the Ending, an Inform 7 (parser) game that has gotten some nice reviews. It is a "critical edition" of a 1990s IF, so it includes footnotes, essays, and other memorabilia. You can learn more about it (and read some reviews) here:

Repeat the Ending

Explore an all-new "critical edition" of a 1996 Inform 5 game about mental illness, magic, and the second law of thermodynamics. When D, a

I write game criticism and Inform 7 tutorials here:

top expert

a biting cat website

I write about 1980s parser games here, focusing on a publisher called "Infocom:"

Gold Machine : Games as text, text as games

Gold Machine : Literary readings of interactive texts.

I sometimes podcast about older games (link, but it's on other platforms, too).

Gold Microphone: Stories and Games • A podcast on Spotify for Podcasters

Drew Cook (and sometimes cohost Callie Smith) discusses narrative games past and present with a humanities and craft writing emphasis.

You don't need a special invitation to send me an ask. Feel free to ask me anything, anytime! If you are new to IF, that's cool, everybody was new once. I still feel new, tbh.

Let's make IF 💫

[golmac]

The second post in my series on Infocom's Hollywood Hijinx is up! I'm glad I had a second look, as I drew some new conclusions.

Postcards from the Hedge

Second in a series on Infocom's Hollywood Hijinx focusing on the text of the game.

[golmac]

The Review-a-Thon is coming! Play less-exposed IF games and write some reviews about them!

IF Review-a-thon 2026: coming soon!

Now that it’s June, the third annual IF Review-a-thon is just a month away! When July 1, 2026 to August 15, 2026 What The IF Review-a-thon

[golmac]

The last in a two-part series about creating new conditional phrases and adjectives in Inform 10

adjectival advantages

Creating or specifying custom adjectives.

[golmac]

New Inform stuff: using phrases to define new conditions

conditional love

ifs, ands, and otherwises

[golmac]

Getting off to a slow start with Infocom's Hollywood Hijinx.

Infocom's Hollywood Hijinx is perfectly fine

Taking stock of critical avenues before taking stock of Hollywood Hijinx

[golmac]

I made a Cloak of Darkness port using Inform 10 and the Bisquixe interpreter. Check it out here!

Proof-of-concept hyperlink demo

[golmac]

Did you know? The Spring Thing Festival of IF started a few days ago! Play some games here:

The 2026 Spring Thing Festival of Interactive Fiction

Spring Thing is an annual online festival celebrating new interactive fiction from all kinds of people.

[golmac]

It's time for more Moonmist. Most contemporary players resent the paratext. Why is that?

Paratext in Infocom's Moonmist

A review of Paratext in Infocom's Moonmist when viewed within the context of other games of the period.

[golmac]

Did you know? Tomorrow is the last day you can submit intent for Spring Thing 2026.

Spring Thing is my favorite IF event. It's unranked and has great vibes. If you've got a cool project going, consider entering!

The 2026 Spring Thing Festival of Interactive Fiction

Spring Thing is an annual online festival celebrating new interactive fiction from all kinds of people.

[golmac]

My Inform poetry project, "Portrait with Wolf," recently won the Interactive Fiction Short Games Showcase. Have a look!

Portrait with Wolf by Drew Cook

a rendering

[golmac]

ICYMI: I’ve started a 3-part series on Infocom’s Moonmist (1986).

Infocom's Moonmist Part 1

A critical introduction to Infocom's Moonmist.

[golmac]

Can you believe it? Spring Thing 2026 is just six months away! - A fun, unranked event with ribbons and prizes - Two divisions, main festival and back garden

***No LLM-generated content permitted*** I hope to see everyone there! It's never too soon to start. Please pass it on <3

[golmac]

Ectocomp submissions close in 17 hours. That means that if you start RIGHT NOW, you could make 4 La Petite Mort entries! Let's gooooo

ECTOCOMP 2025

A game jam from 2025-10-01 to 2025-12-01 hosted by rubereaglenest, alyshkalia & Passerine. There's a full moon rising Let's go dancing in th

[golmac]

I plan to stream some BG3 with a new bladesinger Drow character. I'm going to be evil for the first time.

The server I'm using is mostly empty, but feel free to use the channels (for intended purposes) 8pm CST

Check out the a good flying bird community on Discord - hang out with 7 other members and enjoy free voice and text chat.

[golmac]

I'm going to stream the heroes of might and magic demo for maybe an hour. feel free to stop by https://discord.gg/gffNRyT6

[golmac]

have you completed the IF Comp post-competition survey?

what a mouthful that is!

please complete the IF Comp post-competition survey

2025 IFComp Post-Competition Survey

Hello! Thanks for taking this survey. It's a bit longer this year as we seek detailed information about future approaches to the UK Online S