An Introduction to Interactive Fiction
A work of interactive fiction (IF, a.k.a. text adventure) is a puzzle game with
· nonlinear storytelling with user-directed actions driving story,
· text-based interaction (e.g. “go north”, “unlock door with skeleton key”), and
· text description of locations and objects.
The story environment changes with user interactions. Puzzles are often solved by finding hidden objects or discovering creative uses for non-hidden objects (e.g. swamp gas + wine bladder + flint + steel + brick wall = loose bricks + new passage).
Beginner Tutorials and Information:
· Introductory Presentation Slides (http://cs.gettysburg.edu/~tneller/games/if/ifintro.pdf)
· PR-IF Reference Card (http://pr-if.org/doc/play-if-card/)
· Emily Short Intro (http://inform-fiction.org/I7Downloads/Examples/dm/IntroductionToIF.pdf)
· IF Wiki FAQ (http://www.ifwiki.org/index.php/FAQ)
· Brass Lantern Guide (http://www.brasslantern.org/beginners/beginnersguide.html)
IF playable online:
· Infocom adventures online: http://pot.home.xs4all.nl/infocom/
Though lacking the graphical glitz of modern graphic adventure games, IF as a text-based medium is alive and well, just as books persist alongside video storytelling.
Two main competitions where you can find the best representative modern work:
· XYZZY Awards (http://www.ifwiki.org/index.php/Xyzzy_Awards)
· Annual IF Competition (http://www.ifwiki.org/index.php/The_Annual_IF_Competition)
· IF Community favorites (http://ifdb.tads.org/viewcomp?id=oymvom4wrawhd4hr)
Resources:
· IF Wiki (http://www.ifwiki.org) – up-to-date information concerning games, competitions, authoring systems, etc.
· IF Archive (http://www.ifarchive.org/) – where you can find the latest interpreter software, games, authoring tools, etc.
· Interactive Fiction Database (IFDB; http://ifdb.tads.org/)
Enjoy!
Todd W. Neller (http://cs.gettysburg.edu/~tneller)