Forth: The Best Programming Language for the End of the World? A Case Study on A.D. 2044 (1991) - Roland Pantoła’s Interactive Fiction
Year: 2025
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: The article examines A.D. 2044 or Sexmission, an Interactive Fiction and Polish text-based graphical adventure game developed by Roland Pantoła and released by LK Avalon in 1991. This game marks a significant milestone in the early history of Polish game development. The study aims to reconstruct the game’s operating mechanisms and explore how Pantoła navigated the limitations of the 8-bit Atari computer and personal environmental challenges, as a substitute for the technological crises that may come for humanity. It focuses on extending the rare Forth programming language and Pantoła’s proprietary engine. Using a media archaeology perspective, the research references the original floppy disks containing tools and source code. Furthermore, it interprets the game as a political satire reflecting on late-communist Poland’s realities. The work is organized into three main subjects: the tool (Chapter 1), the programmer (Chapter 2), and the creation itself (Chapters 3). This study contributes to the interdisciplinary understanding of computer games’ history and cultural context in Poland.
Institution: Jagiellonian University
Language: English
Topic: Digital Games and Media
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4413630315