IF: Mac OS X Quickstart
"No matter how small an Adventure you write, it will take far, far more time and effort than you thought it would."--Peter Killworth
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OBLIGATORY DISCLAIMER: This is an outdated page based on experiences with Mac OS 10.2 and 10.3. That being said, I am leaving it up in case it's of use to someone (I have one computer still on 10.3.9). It's intended to help the Mac OS X user get up-and-running playing and/or author Inform/Z-Code (Inform 7 is not covered), and playing TADS 2 interactive fiction (IF) games. It is not meant to imply the superiority of Inform/Z-Code and/or TADS 2 games; I simply happen to play both and I've written IF in Inform 6. Also, I focus on OS X-native solution, as Classic (which expands your options) is covered elsewhere. If you seek assistance with IF on another OS or in another language, you may find other resources in the IF links I've collected, or on rec.arts.int-fiction or rec.games.int-fiction.
If you're having trouble downloading, e.g. your browser doesn't begin a download when you click on a link, try control-click (for one-button mouse userse) or right-click (two-or-more-button mouse users).
Inform/Z-Code
Getting an Interpreter
DISCLAIMER: I suspect I haven't used the most recent versions of these programs, so check them out for yourself.
In order to play Inform/Z-Code games (which are distinguished by the suffix .z5 or .z8), you need an interpreter. I am currently aware of three options for OS X:
Zoom for Mac OS X is beautifully implemented, and the online manual details its features. You can, for instance, customize its fonts and colors. When you open Zoom, it will prompt you to choose a gamefile; quitting the game quits Zoom as well.
MacFrotz, a front-end for the venerable interpreter frotz. It offers a few neat features, such as a palette with the cardinal directions and history and locations you've visited. However, I did note that it had some display difficulties with the HELP menus in The Moonlit Tower and For a Change (based on the menu system that Graham Nelson details in the DM4). At one point it had white text on a black background that I was unable to change, and which was difficult on my eyes, but the more recent screenshot shows either that the color scheme has changed or that there's a way to change that.
frotz 2.41 (on VersionTracker Mac OS X) runs via Terminal, and comes with instructions for installation and use. If you're uncomfortable with the command-line, you may want to try one of the other two options. I have, however, found this convenient because I can compile and test games through Terminal.
If your system is like mine, you may need to adjust your $path variable so your system knows where to find the "frotz" command. You can accomplish this in Terminal with:
set path = (/usr/local/bin $path )
Essentially, this takes whatever you had in $path before and adds /usr/local/bin. If you're curious about what's in $path, "echo $path" will tell you. For some reason I had to do this every time I opened Terminal.
Playing Games
To start up a game, you'll need to use one of the options above to open up a .z5 or .z8 file. Zoom prompts you for a gamefile when you load it up; MacFrotz will wait for a file-open; frotz 2.41 requires Terminal, e.g. "frotz Moonlit.z5" (assuming you're in the directory where the file lives.
Getting a Compiler
You need a compiler for Inform if you want to author your own Z-Code games. You can get an Inform 6 compiler for Mac OS X (as of this writing it appears to be 6.30 for Mac OS X). The uncompressed folder includes instructions for installation. You will need to run this from Terminal.
There is also an older Inform development environment, Yonk, but if you're just getting started you may be better off going straight to the latest version of Inform, Inform 7, which is radically different in philosophy.
TADS 2
Getting an Interpreter/Compiler
MaxTADS by Andrew Plotkin is an interpreter available in Carbonized form from Ben Hines. [Setting filetypes for use with this?]
Another option is TADS Runtime [download], which functions as both interpreter and compiler. This runs via Terminal and you'll need to install this with an administrator password. I've included instructions below because the helpfile is terse, and may puzzle those uncomfortable with the command-line.
First, unstuff the archive if it hasn't done so already; chances are that all you need to do is double-click on the .tar.gz file to trigger this. Open Terminal and navigate to tads255-darwin. On my system, I accomplished this by:
cd /Applications/Games/IF/tads255-darwin/
but this will depend on where you put the folder. (As you can tell, I like to keep my IF files semi-organized.)
Next, tell Terminal:
sudo ./install.sh
which will prompt you for an administrator password, then run in a couple seconds. It will install all the necessary files in /usr/local/bin.
To run a game from Terminal, navigate to the directory in which the game lives, then type:
tadsr [game's filename]
and TADS will start up. Note that TADS files have the extension .gam. Here's an example from my system:
cd /Applications/Games/IF/if-games/
tadsr granite.gam
If your installation had no problems but you receive a message telling you that the tadsr command isn't recognized, you probably need to adjust your $path variable so your system knows where to find tadsr. You can do this with the following command:
set path = (/usr/local/bin $path )
(Essentially, this takes whatever you had in $path before and adds /usr/local/bin. If you're curious about what's in $path, "echo $path" will tell you.)
Caveat: I am not a TADS programmer, so I can't help you with authoring/compiling TADS games.