Lost Pig

{{Short description|2007 video game}} {{Infobox video game |title= Lost Pig |image=Lost Pig video game.png |caption= ''Lost Pig'' being played in a modern interpreter. |developer=Admiral Jota |publisher=Self published |designer=Admiral Jota |engine=Z-machine |released= 2007 |genre= Interactive Fiction, Adventure |platforms= |modes=Single player }}

'''''Lost Pig''''' is a comedic work of interactive fiction about an orc retrieving an escaped pig. It was created by Admiral Jota and released as freeware.<ref name="officialsite">{{cite web | url = http://www.grunk.org/lostpig/ | title = Lost Pig (And Place Under Ground) | accessdate = 2009-01-17 | author = Admiral Jota | work = grunk.org | publisher = Admiral Jota | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20090122051650/http://www.grunk.org/lostpig/ | url-status = live | archivedate = 2009-01-22 }} </ref> It took first place in the 2007 Interactive Fiction Competition with an average score of 8.27.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.ifcomp.org/comp07/results.html | title = Results of the 13th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition | accessdate = 2009-01-16 | publisher = Stephen Granade | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20090203025706/http://ifcomp.org/comp07/results.html | url-status = live | archivedate = 2009-02-03 }}</ref> ''Lost Pig'' won best game, best writing, best individual non-player character, and best individual player character in the 2007 XYZZY Awards.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.xyzzynews.com/ | title = XYZZYnews Home Page | accessdate = 2009-01-16 | date = 2008-03-09 | author = Eileen | publisher = XYZZYnews | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20090210023336/http://xyzzynews.com/ | url-status = live | archivedate = 2009-02-10 }}</ref> ''Lost Pig'' finished with 18.7% of the votes for the Audience Award in the interactive fiction category in the 2008 Jay Is Games Best of Casual Gameplay awards, placing it second after ''Violet''.<ref name="jayaward">{{cite web | url = http://jayisgames.com/best-of/2008/interactive-fiction-results/ | title = Best of Casual Gameplay 2008 - Interactive Fiction Results | accessdate = 2009-02-03 | work = Jay Is Games | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20090204020626/http://jayisgames.com/best-of/2008/interactive-fiction-results/ | url-status = live | archivedate = 2009-02-04 }} </ref>

The game has been described as "hilarious" by reviewers for ''The Onion'' ''A.V. Club''<ref name="avclub">{{cite web | url = http://www.avclub.com/content/games/lost_pig | title = Lost Pig | accessdate = 2009-01-16 | date = 2008-02-11 | last = Dahlen | first = Chris | work = The A. V. Club | publisher = Onion Inc. | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20081015075608/http://www.avclub.com/content/games/lost_pig | url-status = dead | archivedate = 2008-10-15 }}</ref> and Jay Is Games.<ref name="jayisgames">{{cite web | url = http://jayisgames.com/archives/2008/04/lost_pig.php | title = Lost Pig | accessdate = 2009-01-16 | date = 2008-04-07 | author = Scramble125 | work = Jay Is Games | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20090201004207/http://jayisgames.com/archives/2008/04/lost_pig.php | url-status = live | archivedate = 2009-02-01 }}</ref> Emily Short described it as "superbly crafted," "insanely responsive," and recommended it to new players of interactive fiction, noting, "The polish is so thorough that it avoids the sorts of parser frustrations that usually catch novice players off-guard...."<ref name="playthisthing">{{cite web | url = http://playthisthing.com/lost-pig-and-place-under-ground | title = Lost Pig And Place Under Ground | accessdate = 2009-01-16 | date = 2008-06-13 | last = Short | first = Emily | authorlink = Emily Short | work = Play This Thing | publisher = Manifesto Games | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20090226004314/http://playthisthing.com/lost-pig-and-place-under-ground | url-status = live | archivedate = 2009-02-26 }} </ref> A GameSetWatch review noted that "After only a few minutes of play, however, it becomes pleasingly obvious how much effort has gone into creating Grunk’s world."<ref name="gamesetwatch">{{cite web | url = http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2007/11/ifcomp_results_out_lost_pig_wi.php | title = Lost Pig (And Place Under Ground) | accessdate = 2009-01-17 | date = 2007-11-17 | last = Carless | first = Simon | authorlink = Simon Carless | work = GameSetWatch | publisher = Think Services | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20090502010811/http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2007/11/ifcomp_results_out_lost_pig_wi.php | url-status = dead | archivedate = 2009-05-02 }}</ref> The reviewer for Jay Is Games called ''Lost Pig'' "...stuffed to the rafters with personality."<ref name="jayisgames" />

The game's protagonist is Grunk, an orc who works at a farm.<ref name="officialsite" /> A pig under his care has escaped, and the game begins with Grunk looking for the pig.<ref name="officialsite" /> Chasing the pig, Grunk soon falls into an underground complex. To win the game, the player must get Grunk to capture the pig and find a way out of the complex.

As interactive fiction, the player types English commands into the game and the game responds in English. However, the protagonist, Grunk, speaks broken English.<ref name="avclub" /> This means that the game's responses are frequently in broken English. A reviewer for ''The Onion A.V. Club'' notes that the broken English is "clever but never too cute" and that "[Grunk's] observations make a certain sense—and his matter-of-fact reporting has an awesome clarity...."<ref name="avclub" />

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [http://www.grunk.org/lostpig/ Official site] * ''[http://ifdb.tads.org/viewgame?id=mohwfk47yjzii14w Lost Pig]'' at the Interactive Fiction Database * Play ''[https://pr-if.org/play/lostpig/ Lost Pig]'' online at The People's Republic of Interactive Fiction * [http://ifwiki.org/index.php/Admiral_Jota Admiral Jota] at IFWiki

Category:2000s interactive fiction Category:2007 video games Category:Fantasy video games Category:Single-player video games Category:Video games about orcs Category:Video games about pigs