I played the game and I definitelly recognized ELIZA's influence. In some responses more than in others, but it's there.
There is an interesting discussion about differences and similarities between parser IF and chatbots in Jeremy Douglass' disertation "Command Lines: Aesthetics and Technique in Interactive Fiction and New Media". It's from 2007. Interestingly, Jeremy also proposed a term 'command line literature' that might include parser IF, MUDs, chatbots and 'other command line textual systems'.