Andrew Plotkins' Interactive Fiction narrative, Shade, offers the story of an anonymous character who is suffering from insomnia as he prepares to leave for a trip to a Californian desert. The introduction reads, “Odd, how the light just makes your apartment gloomier. Pre-dawn darkness pools in the corners and around the tops of walls. Your desk lamp glares yellow, but the shadows only draw your eyes and deepen. On the desk are your to-do list and a travel book.” First-time players are thrown into an obscure setting described by Plotkins’ in a mysterious, almost nebulous way. Not only do players have minimal information about what the point of the game is, but they are also unaware of the specific language that must be used in order to invoke a reaction from characters. Frustration is a common emotional response when interacting with characters, as commands which stray from the established language of the narrative fail to be recognized by the system. Phrases are often times rejected. Besides difficulty  finding wording recognized by the system, it is nearly impossible to get the character to do what you want once players have configured a way to get him there to begin with. A simple task such as “drink water” becomes extremely complex and somewhat counterintuitive, as the system implies that drinking water is necessary to advance in the story—yet ensures that such an indulgence is the last thing the character does, regardless of command. The new user guide descriptions states, “SHADE mostly uses the standard vocabulary of interactive fiction. You may find the command "find..." (or "where is...") convenient, though not critically important.” Although players are given hints as to the appropriate vocabulary required to interact with the story, it’s still impossible to truly acquire what you desire of this unknown character based on appropriate command articulation alone. 

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