Human Parser is situated in the rich landscape of video games, interactive and electronic fiction and nonlinear texts. Being a text-adventure game, it is informed by text-based classic games (e.g. Colossal Cave Adventure, 1976, ZORK, 1977), illustrated ones (e.g. The Hobbit, 1982) and reflection on these games (e.g. Get Lamp, 2010).
This genre is approached from the lens of nonlinearity in literary theory, a text-adventure as (in)determinate cybertext (Aarseth, 2003). As an exploration of literary theory, it draws inspiration from e.g. the Oulipo.
Additionally, contemporary games are considered, especially those that build on the CYOA tradition (e.g. Heaven's Vault, 2019), or that relate to the theme (e.g. Adventures with Anxiety, 2019). It finds kinship in game poems (e.g. Dys4ia, 2012) and critical studies of this field (e.g. Magnuson, 2023).
