Wings out of Shadow

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Wings out of Shadow

Wings out of Shadow, based on Saberhagen's short story of the same name (March/April 1974 If), was games in which simulated World War One fighter pilots battle Berserker ships in interstellar space. The game adapts the story, giving the player a more active role than that of the protagonist of the original piece. Interestingly, this new version of the work includes some branches in its plot, making it an early example of multilinear Interactive Narrative in a Videogame.

The narrative is presented as text, with frequent detours into embedded games which represent the more action-oriented parts of the design. Thus, one of the included works is a simple real-time combat game which takes place in the player character's subconscious, while another is a turn-based tactical Computer Wargame set in deep space. Unfortunately, these disparate elements do not come together to form an especially harmonious whole. Regardless, Wings out of Shadow is almost unknown today not because of any inherent failings but as a result of the disastrous nature of the arrangements made to distribute it.

This game – and all of the other products developed by Baen Software and Berserker Works – were intended to be sold into bookshops by the sales force of Simon and Schuster, a book publisher. Regrettably, the sales team, the bookshop owners and ultimately the potential customers all proved to be uninterested in this idea, and as a result very few copies of the games were ever sold.