Blasting Requires Dynamite

Interactive fiction overview 2: Community and Writing

I omitted several key items in my last post. One is the online community for IF, which includes self-regulated competitions, and the other is the rather massive topic of how to start writing your own IF.

Community

I think the most heavily populated community area has to be the Usenet newsgroups: rec.arts.int-fiction and rec.games.int-fiction, both of which are archived by Google Groups, so you don’t need a newsreader or access to Usenet. (I vastly prefer the newsreader option, however – I use Xnews on Windows and Pan on Linux – and have free access to text-only Usenet through eternal-september.org). I’ve had very quick, helpful replies to my questions when I’ve posted, and the archives of the group are fascinating reading.

Other congregation points include, but are not limited to:

• Intfiction.org, a forum
• The ifMUD, which also conducts live playthroughs on Saturdays (3pm EST/8pm GMT)
• The IFWiki, which is, unsurprisingly, a wiki for IF topics and news. It’s pretty exhaustive.

Competitions

Competitions seem to drive a lot of IF releases, and there are several each year. Browsing the results lists is a good way to find the best games. Notable among them are:

• Annual IF Competition Started in 1995 with the aim of encouraging new, short works of IF. Games should be playable in two hours or less. (List of results by year)
• Spring Thing is for longer and higher quality works of IF, and is scheduled at the opposite time of year to the Annual IF Comp. There is a small entry fee. (List of results by year)
• XYZZY Awards – an awards ceremony for IF games, with awards such as “Best Game”, “Best Setting” and “Best Puzzle”. Games published in the previous year are eligible for nomination. (List of results by year)

There is a full list of competitions at the IFWiki.

Writing

The first question a potential IF author must answer is: which authoring system to use? Inform 7 and TADS 3 are possibly the most popular – or at least the most talked-about on raif – but there are many others. The most obvious difference between I7 and other systems is that it’s natural language. Compare these two pieces of code:

Inform 7:

Deep in the Forest is a room. "Through the deep foliage you glimpse a building to the west. A track leads to the northeast."

Clearing is northeast of Deep in the Forest. "A tall sycamore tree stands in the middle of this clearing. One path winds to the southwest, and another to the north."

Instead of going north in Clearing, say "You decide against going that way right now."

A tree is in Clearing. "Standing proud in the middle of the clearing, the stout tree looks like it should be easy to climb." Understand "tall" and "sycamore" as the tree.

At the top of the tree is above Clearing. "You cling precariously to the trunk, next to a firm, narrow branch."

TADS 3:

forest : OutdoorRoom 'Deep in the Forest'
   "Through the deep foliage you glimpse a building to the west. A track leads to the northeast. "
    northeast = clearing
;

clearing : OutdoorRoom 'Clearing'
   "A tall sycamore tree stands in the middle of this clearing. One path winds to the southwest, and another to the north. "
    southwest = forest
    up = topOfTree
    north : FakeConnector {"You decide against going that way right now. "}
;

+ tree : Fixture 'tall sycamore tree' 'tree'
    "Standing proud in the middle of the clearing, the stout tree looks like it should be easy to climb. "
;

topOfTree : OutdoorRoom 'At the top of the tree'
   "You cling precariously to the trunk, next to a firm, narrow branch. "
    down = clearing
; 

These produce more or less the same result, but in very different ways. Of course, the example given here is simple, and both systems become a little more difficult when you want to perform more complex actions. There’s a better comparison over at Brass Lantern.

Both are extremely well documented – TADS 3 comes with the ‘bookshelf’, also viewable online, and Inform 7’s manuals are Writing With Inform and The Recipe Book, the latter of which contains many annotated and often amusing examples (one of my favourites is The Facts Were These, a nod to Pushing Daisies). There’s also a cool introductory screencast, and the Inform 7 handbook is a useful addition to the documentation, taking you gently through the process of writing your first game.

When it comes to doing the actual writing, you could do no better than to refer to Emily Short’s blog – she has a wonderful selection of articles (start with Writing IF and work your way down the sidebar). In addition:

• The IFWiki has a lengthy selection of notable past topics on raif, many of which discuss writing and design.
• Back issues of XYZZYnews
• Back issues of SPAG
• Brass Lantern’s writers page
• Chapter 8 of the Inform Designer’s manual, by Graham Nelson

Interactive fiction: an overview

This is by no means a complete collection of all things IF, but it contains the sites and resources that I’ve found most useful.

Getting started

• Brass Lantern’s extensive Beginner Resources page. Includes an introduction, how to play guides, and more.
• SPAG’s play instructions

History

• A short history of interactive fiction from Chapter 8 of the Inform Designer’s Manual, by Graham Nelson. (The majority of the book is about the Inform 6 programming language, but chapter 8 deals more in generalities and is well worth a read if you plan to write your own work of IF.)
• Brass Lantern’s history page
• Let’s Tell a Story Together: A History of Interactive Fiction by Jimmy Maher
• Wikipedia entry for Interactive fiction

Interpreters

Interpreters are the pieces of software that are required to play IF games. Because there are many different programs for writing IF, there are many different interpreters, which is why this list is a little intimidating. It should, however, cover most types of game files and operating systems.

• Gargoyle plays ADRIFT, AdvSys, AGT, Alan, Glulx, Hugo, JACL, Level 9, Magnetic, TADS 2, TADS 3, and Z-code (except version 6) game files. (Windows, Unix)
• Git plays Z-code and Glulx game files. (Windows)
• Spatterlight plays ADRIFT, AdvSys, AGT, Alan, Glulx, Hugo, Level 9, Magnetic, TADS 2, TADS 3, and Z-code (except version 6) game files. (Mac OSX)
• Zoom plays Z-code and Glulx game files. (Mac OSX, Unix.)

Finding games to play

• The Interactive fiction database is probably the best place to find games. It’s searchable, and if you create an account you can keep track of games you’ve played or intend to play. You can also review/rate games, and view or create recommended lists.
• Parchment is an online interpreter with a long list of playable games.

Games for beginners

While most (if not all) games have a list of commands in the help menu, some have been made especially for newcomers to the genre.

• Bronze – has a tutorial mode, and is one of my favourite works of IF.
• Dreamhold – has a tutorial mode.
• Mrs. Pepper’s Nasty Secret – has a tutorial mode.
• Suveh Nux – a short but well-implemented one-room puzzle game. Optional built-in hints.
• Theatre – not specifically for beginners, but a classic of the genre and a good way to really familiarise yourself with modern IF. Built-in hints.