So You Want to Write Interactive Fiction?

That's source code? Wow.

That's quite a bit different from how things looked when I wrote a game in TADS 2 which was state-of-the-art about 1993.

Apparently Inform 7 starts with a load of default assumptions about your game world, so a single sentence about a place or person will compile into a playable "game", albeit one where you can't really go anywhere or do anything other than look around. Programming is largely about adding information and overriding the defaults as needed.

I used to love these games; I wrote a few for the old ZX Spectrum when I was a kid, but they were all lost (in retrospect they were pretty rubbish, but then I was only 13).

I have often thought that they could be a fantastic teaching tool, and history/archaeology would provide a very useful setting. Most of the "ancient" or "fantasy" genre are a bit silly (everyone trying to do a Hitch Hikers' Guide and generally failing). But imagine what you could do with a fairly good representation of an Egyptian temple, or the city of Nineveh, or medieval London! If done well (yes, Curses is great), they can be extremely atmospheric, and you can feel like you know the place, simply by the power of your imagination. Then when you're presented with the real thing, you at least have a background map to work from.

I did once start trying to put together the City of Amarna, but didn't get very far. On Inform 7 this sounds like a more realisable prospect.

Martin, why don't you set up a competition for the best "real" archaeological IF? No silly jokes, no magic, but something gritty & believable?

Just a thought :-)

-A

I'd be thrilled to look at whatever IF you guys come up with!

I have an idea. I can tell it to you everybody, because I know that I have not the time to do it myself, otherwise I would keep it as a secret ;-)

Tacitus...one could make oneself as a person traveling around to the many german tribes he describes. Yee, when one comes to meet the aestonian tribes, and there they are living on the islands on the southern coast of Baltic see, there are even maps over those islands. Suiones, suitones, Venet(d?)i... Many...more...
One could show all the habits they are described to have...

The interesting thing is that those "memory experts" tell you that in order to remember intricate things, a useful technique is to imagine the rooms of a house, and populate those rooms with bits of information, then imagine a walk-through. This is almost exactly analogous to I.F., which is one reason why I think it could be an excellent learning tool for science, medicine, history, etc. I tried Inform 7 last night, and it really looks as if it could make the job of creating such "modules" very easy. How students will take to them is another problem; would they tough out the puzzles? Or would they just jack it in, and head down to the pub?

I imagine it would be a fairly easy job to put z-code-based games such as those produced by Inform on-line with the aid of a universal interpreter written as a browser script. Less hassle when you want to try the games out, easier for new people to get hooked.

Anyone with enough intellectual stamina to plough through a 300-page novel should be able to enjoy IF as well.

Martin, I'm glad to know my article has given you the incentive to check out IF again.

There is already a Java-based Z-machine interpreter.

http://ifwiki.org/index.php/Zplet

I've aslo seen a JavaScript and php interpreter.

I do use IF in some of my classes. I'm convinced that some students simply don't have the IF gene. Few students seem to enjoy puzzles, though a good storyline and rich setting will definitely hold their attention.

Adam Cadre's 9:05 and Photopia are good examples of games that are complex enough to be interesting, but the puzzles don't get in the way of the story.

Graham Nelson's Jigsaw is a massive epic that includes brief visits to various sites throughout the 20th century. One segment involves manipulating a slightly-simplified enigma machine. The separate segments are all tied together with some elegant framing material that gives the player a sense of overall progress.

If you're looking for models, try the XYZZY Award winnders. There are awards for best setting, best puzzles, best writing, etc.

http://wurb.com/if/award/3#527

There's also a company that's planning to market educational IF games to middle-schools... Here's a good overview.

http://grandtextauto.gatech.edu/2007/07/06/textfyre-an-interactive-fict…

Evidence of early manioc cultivation in El Salvador
Preserved by volcanic ash, dates to ~ 600 CE

Manioc field
You are in an ancient El Salvadorian manioc field. Volcanic ash lies all around - it smells recent. There is a huge smouldering caldera to the south and a path leading west. To the east you can hear the sound of running water.
On the ground there is a dessicated manioc pod.

>

TAKE POD. W. GIVE POD TO GIRL. KISS GIRL. XYZZY.

Aaaargh! The girl ate the manioc pod, which was carrying enormously high levels of mercury. Kissing her transferred the mercury to your bloodstream, and now you have autism, as well as infarcted amygdala (See Respectful Insolence for details - be aware there is a queue). No longer able to appreciate your personal safety, you stumble into the caldera of the volcano, and get frazzled to a crisp.

You have died.

Would you like to RESTORE a saved game, RESTART, or QUIT?

>

Err... Hello sailor?

Sorry Martin - too many beers - I couldn't help myself. I'll go and have a lie down now...

Hello there!!
That all must depend on that you might be a paredro...?