iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 07/05/2026

I used to love finite groups, but it really wasn’t what my grad department did, so I got sidetracked into geometry, which wasn’t my thing.

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 30/03/2026

I’ve added the ability to type mapping commands directly into the game prompt! fweep.xyz #interactivefiction #if

A screenshot of the interactive fiction mapping software fweep.

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 22/03/2026

In a first for humankind, fweep now integrates Parchment, so you can play and map in the same browser tab! Wow!

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 14/03/2026

I made a text adventure/parser IF map creator at fweep.xyz. Please try it out and let me know what's good and what's bad! It works primarily through typing, just like a text adventure! #IF #textadventure #adventure #zork #interactivefiction

fweep.xyz

fweep

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 13/03/2026

Help test my new map creator, fweep! rileypb.github.io/fweep/

rileypb.github.io

fweep

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 01/09/2025

IFComp has started, and my game, Phobos: A Galaxy Jones Story is part of it! Check out all the games at IFComp.org!

Cover art for Phobos: A Galaxy Jones Story. Shows the planet Mars and its moon Phobos.

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 28/08/2025

Spotted in Harrisonburg, VA: two unmarked black pickups pulling someone over. Couldn't get a good look at the driver of any of the three vehicles. A minute or so later, a black helicopter flew overhead. What's going on here?

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 08/08/2025

I found the most obscure bug in the world. The version of Leather Goddesses of Phobos packaged in the Infocom Sampler refers to Tiffany as "him". I'll be mailing them a bug report as soon as I find an envelope and a stamp.

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 07/08/2025

If you see this, quote this post with a title screen that’s iconic to you.

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 05/08/2025

This is a few days late, but I've posted my entry for ifcomp.org: Phobos: A Galaxy Jones Story. Can't wait for September 1!

ifcomp.org

The Interactive Fiction Competition

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 05/08/2025

Finished The Lurking Horror with just one tiny tiny hint. Best Infocom maze ever. Just a good game all-around.

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 04/08/2025

Sooo close I can feel it. Definitely an endgame feel now. I don't usually finish Infocom games without hints (read: never), so I'm excited I'm this close now.

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 03/08/2025

And then I ran smack into those dreaded words (why, Infocom, why?):

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 02/08/2025

Postponing Bureaucracy in favor of The Lurking Horror for now. A good way into it, and it’s pretty fun, if somewhat easy. ifdb.org/viewgame?id=...

ifdb.org

The Lurking Horror

A winter night at the G.U.E. tech campus with most students away on vacation serves as the backdrop for this tale of Lovecraftian horror.

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 30/07/2025

On to Bureaucracy. Just a little ways into it, and frankly it's kind of boring. There's only one joke, and it's kind of tired. But I *will get through it*. ifdb.org/viewgame?id=...

ifdb.org

Bureaucracy

IMPORTANT! Our records show that you do not have a license to operate this software. Normally, you would be required to complete a License Application Form and mail it (with proof of purchase) to our ...

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 28/07/2025

I got bored and went to the Invisiclues. Two of the puzzles were reasonable, one was IMHO not. The ending is kind of silly. All in all, it was *fine*, but there's something distinctly unsatisfying about a treasure hunt where the treasures aren't useful for anything.

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 28/07/2025

In distressing news, I'm at 7/10 treasures in Hollywood Hijinx with no idea what to do next. Time is running out! Doesn't everyone love a good timer?

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 19/05/2025

Played through as much Moonmist as I could stand. The game is really poorly structured, and it's unclear even what the objective is. Which is too bad, because the setting and background are so promising. ifdb.org/viewgame?id=...

ifdb.org

Moonmist

More ghosts haunt the misty sea-coast and stone ramparts of Cornwall than anyplace else on earth. One such soul roams Tresyllian Castle: a pale phantom with flaxen hair and a luminous, flowing gown. I...

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 12/05/2025

Just completed Leather Goddesses of Phobos. I gotta say, I’m not as enamored of the absurdist games like LGOP and HHGG as some people are. Still a good game. ifdb.org/viewgame?id=...

ifdb.org

Leather Goddesses of Phobos

And now... the next exciting episode of humanoids in space! How did you, a regular at Joe's Bar in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, end up on a Martian moon? Can you prevent the hideous space creature from abd...

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 19/04/2025

Nah, just feed the COBOL into Grok and then have it turn it into whatever language is popular at the moment.

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 03/04/2025

Working with the Inform codebase can be frustrating, as it sometimes seems to purposely flout existing convention. Or maybe Graham Nelson doesn’t know/care? #inform7 #interactivefiction

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 01/04/2025

Yay! Also I made the source code for Bureau of Strange Happenings public on GitHub: github.com/rileypb/BOSH

github.com

GitHub - rileypb/BOSH

Contribute to rileypb/BOSH development by creating an account on GitHub.

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 20/03/2025

I’m free to beta test if you need anyone.

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 20/03/2025

That’s new. Any plans to publish soon?

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 20/03/2025

A hollow voice says ‘ugh’.

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 20/03/2025

It occurs to me that all three of my published games feature a screwdriver. I pledge to you: no more screwdrivers!

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 19/03/2025

Finished Trinity. So good in so many ways, but it suffers from what so many Infocom games suffer from -- the need to perform certain actions in a certain order that can't readily be inferred beforehand.

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 17/03/2025

I am currently playing an IF in which I cannot find a screwdriver. Karma. #interactivefiction #IF

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Reposted by Phil Riley

Birds Are Dinosaurs @birdsaredinosaurs.bsky.social · 15/03/2025

Yes, Sauron needs only this Ring to cover all the lands of a second darkness. He is seeking it, seeking it—all his thought is bent on it We could fight Sauron, keep the Ring from him, destroy it Or—hear me out—we give the Ring to Sauron and watch his approval rating tank. Much easier. Less walking

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 14/03/2025

Amy Schumer would do a better job as Senator from NY.

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 14/03/2025

Someone I know thought Madness was saying “the Naziest sound around”.

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 14/03/2025

Which generation of ska?

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 12/03/2025

Oh sure. Just bring *magic* into what was a legitimate avenue of scientific inquiry.

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Reposted by Phil Riley

Jonathan Edward Durham @thisone0verhere.bsky.social · 12/03/2025

Everybody has a plan until a cat falls asleep in their lap

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 12/03/2025

I have so many questions about atmospheric pressure and infinite bags of holding.

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 11/03/2025

If Canada became the 51st state (more than likely multiple states), the Democrats would never lose another Presidential election.

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 11/03/2025

Sort of playing both Ballyhoo and Trinity right now. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity... But both of those have taken a backseat to writing “Galaxy Jones Reborn”. It’s going to be so much better than the original.

en.m.wikipedia.org

Trinity (video game) - Wikipedia

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Reposted by Phil Riley

Andrea Junker @strandjunker.com · 07/03/2025

Did you know? By replacing your coffee with green tea, you can lose up to 92% of what little joy you still have left in your life.

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 27/02/2025

'course I can't do it right now because of this DAMN GRADING.

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 26/02/2025

As a text adventure aficionado and author, I am excited to try this out, whenever I actually get some time!

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 26/02/2025

I generally only show up for cats.

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 26/02/2025

Finally getting a bit of work done on my WIP -- a reworking of Galaxy Jones (ifdb.org/viewgame?id=...). Once I hoped to have it done for Spring Thing, but that ship has long since sailed. Since it won't be eligible for ParserComp or IFComp, I guess I'll just launch it alone when it's done. 😭

ifdb.org

Galaxy Jones

The Solar System’s greatest hero, Galaxy Jones, against the evil Admiral Thallium!

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Reposted by Phil Riley

mathgrrl @mathgrrl.com · 26/02/2025

My son just asked who “Rundy MC” is 😩

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Phil Riley @rileypb.com · 26/02/2025

This guy’s in aerospace?

X poster Ryan Peterson posts a map showing a plane going from San Francisco to Houston. It is following a curved flight path. Ryan says “why is this plane not flying in a straight line?” Elon Musk answers, “It should be.”

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