"Thanking is an action applying to one visible thing." --Thanking.i7x, from the Counterfeit Monkey Source Code by Emily Short
there's something beautiful about an entire file whose sole purpose is patiently explaining the concept of "thanking" to the z-machine
Obviously I think of Counterfeit Monkey as a work of art. I've been singing its praises for years and revisiting it often and it remains not only my favourite piece of interactive fiction but also one of my favourite video games in general. I'm not sure if author Emily Short considers it her magnum opus, but possibly she should.
Not only is the game itself art, but the concept behind it is, in a way too. And beyond that, so is its source code, as blackle observes. It is - perhaps a little accidentally - an examination of the very idea of what it means for a thing to mean something: the source code is... a treatise on the philosophy of identity and nomenclature!
If the Ship of Theseus causes you headaches, imagine what it'd be like if it were just a whim away from becoming the Shop of Theseus (fresh beef for sale; get your Minotaur steaks here!), then the hop of Theseus (a playground game like hopscotch, but with the squares laid out in the shape of a labyrinth).
Anyway: I'm with blackle on this one. And if somehow you still haven't played Counterfeit Monkey, maybe it's time?
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