[NateG]

I cut my teeth on games like Zork when I was a kid and never looked back. Text based games have always captured my interest and I often tell my friends that there is no better graphics engine than your imagination. Many of the games I made in my spare time were text based in nature like old school professional wrestling sims, adventures games, etc and there is a surprisingly high number of people in the world who still enjoy them (young and old) as is evidenced by this article and my latest game (shameless plug in 3, 2, 1: Pit of War [1]). I don't believe I've ever spent money on a mobile game because its awesome 3D graphics, but I have spent money on a mostly text based game with an awesome story, or something like Gemini Rue with its retro style graphics and intriguing story and will happily do so again. Story is key for these types of games and I believe they leave a much longer lasting impression, at least for me anyway. My game that I mentioned above is more of a strategy pvp arena fighting game so there isn't the story element there yet (it is planned for 2015), however, I often get emails from my players telling me how much they enjoy the fact it is text based and they're happy to support continued development. Don't be afraid to try this genre out if you are small team or just one person. You won't get fawned over by the press but you'll have the ability to create a rich, fun and detailed world and with some creatively placed still images and an engaging story or game mechanics many people out there will pay you for your efforts if that is one of your goals. Be attentive to your player base, be good to them and they will reward you in spades for keeping one of their favorite genres alive that the mainstream have all but called dead and buried many times over.

[1] http://www.pitofwar.com