This was a fantastic Let's Play that actually inspired me to play through the game. Also, that soundtrack.
I remember years ago reading through
an issue of computer gaming world magazine, and it had a section of "the 15 worst back stories of all time" in video games. They listed DreamWeb under this, saying:
So, finding that issue of CGW again made me interested in finding out more about Donald Wandrei's story. The first problem is that its title is "The Lunatic Plague", not "A Plague of Lunacy". The second problem was that the story had only ever been published in an old magazine from the 30's.
BUT! Through the magic of internet searching I found out that the story had been collected in an out-of-print anthology of pulp detective fiction, easily obtainable by buying second hand.
So I bought the book and read through Donald Wandrei's story in an afternoon...
and I realized that
it has absolutely nothing to do with the plot of DreamWeb.
The premise of Wandrei's story (which is silly, features a Gary Stu protagonist named I.V. Frost, and requires that you suspend belief because I.V. figures out everything without a hint of trouble) is that there are a handful of people who have been committing strange acts (ex. an old guy was pushing a peanut up a sidewalk with his nose), refusing to stop, and when they're questioned by the police, they don't reveal anything. The "epidemic" is referred to by the protagonist as "a plague of lunacy". It has nothing to do with DreamWeb.
Well, I don't know why I thought other people would find that interesting, but there you go. Myth dispelled. Thanks again for the LP, ghostdog. May I ask how you made the title image?
The DreamWeb logo is as perfect as it could have been. Did you scan the box, or something?