Each character must navigate his own personal hell, deciphering psychological enigmas AM has eviscerated from the darkest corners of their minds to use as implements of cruelty. Tackling concepts like rape, torture, genocide, racism, insanity and survival in a surreal, nightmarish ethical vacuum has seldom, if ever, been attempted in a computer game, and a succinct feeling of guilt actually begins to permeate any gamer hooked on point scoring. The issues addressed were far too profound to be reduced to a high score table.
The horrific journeys, beautifully rendered for a DOS-based system, demand choices neither right nor wrong, but they still question the player's personal morality. If the player is of a flexible moral disposition, rediscovering the ethical heart of each character would be nigh on impossible. But through the tormented expedition, each character has one weapon with which to defeat the vindictive contraption: redemption.
The underlying subtext of Ellison's game is one of moral salvation - something which humanity is capable of but the sick machine it invented can never achieve. To torture a character after he's made peace with his personal demons would be purely superficial, and AM would be essentially disarmed. The only physical release for our heroes is death, but a game well played will see them set free.
The development process also granted a sideways insight into how Ellison might view himself in the scheme of the five poor souls' perverse adventures. Scripting entirely from his mechanical typewriter throughout the game's development, Ellison made the sudden switch to taking an active hand, voicing the malevolent computer for the game's superb audio accompaniment with such alacrity that his favorite personality from this dark vision of the future was undoubtedly revealed as AM - the Allied Mastercomputer, the Adaptive Manipulator, the Aggressive Menace.
Pre-Apocalyptic Holocaust
I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream naturally tore the critics in two; the fans as well. Escapism it most certainly wasn't, but as a valuable experiment in the true representation of life after an apocalypse, there is no finer example. A game without any hope of winning, where personal salvation is as much as anyone can hope for (what more is there?), where principles and moral fortitude are the only weapons.
Not intended to enjoy, but to shine a spotlight on humanity, Ellison's game achieved much that a player might not want to put himself through, but in the interests of rediscovering humanity, I urge everyone to take the terrible journey and test your personal character.
Spanner has written articles for several publications, including Retro Gamer. He is a self-proclaimed horror junkie, with a deep appreciation for all things Romero.
