Interactive Fiction
"No matter how small an Adventure you write, it will take far, far more time and effort than you thought it would."--Peter Killworth
Newcomers to Interactive Fiction (IF) may want to check some of the Interactive Fiction links for more extensive material elsewhere on the web.
I am no longer up to date on IF (in particular, Inform 7 is out now), but those interested in playing Inform/Z-Code games in Windows should download and unzip this file; the interpreter is called WinFrotz and you should find it in the Bin\Frotz subdirectory. For Classic Mac OS, you can download and unstuff this file. Mac OS X users (that would be me) can use Zoom, or find frotz on Versiontracker and run it from the Terminal, e.g. "frotz Moonlit.z5" (assuming you're in the directory where the story-file lives). These recommendations are mostly taken from Firth & Kesserich's excellent Inform Beginner's Guide. Note that the IBG covers Inform 6, if you'd like to use that. As the site warns, Inform 7 is something else entirely.
- What Is IF? - A bare-bones introduction to the genre and a sample transcript of play from The Moonlit Tower. This is adapted from the introductory material in same.
- Mac OS X Quickstart - On playing and authoring Inform 6 (Z-Code) games on Mac OS X. This is dated, but perhaps it will still be of use to some of you.
- Recommended IFs - Ones I've tried and enjoyed.
- IFComp 2002 Impressions - Impressions, quasi-reviews, thoughts, annoyances. Not too spoilery. And 'grats to all the other authors!
- IFComp 2003 Impressions - As above, and un-spoilery. I missed voting due to a combination of computer failure and being out of the country with no internet access, but here they are. 'Grats to the authors!
- The Moonlit Tower - My first work of IF, which you're welcome to try. It was my entry in IFComp 2002, placing 4th, and winning the "best writing" category in the 2002 XYZZY Awards. Source code for the post-comp release is also available. All hail the beta-testers, and thanks to those who provided feedback and commentary.
- Ghostroad - Work in progress.
- Swanglass - An entry in the 2004 IF Art Show.
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