tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-104781682011-04-21T23:57:10.491ZMy expedition into Interactive Fiction.Glenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02263950094907355576noreply@blogger.comBlogger81100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10478168.post-1111948350160263762005-03-27T18:13:00.000Z2005-03-28T01:38:14.650Z<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Meteor, the Stone and a Long Glass of Sherbet </span>(<a href="http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1126998">home</a>)<br />by Graham Nelson, 1996 (Inform)<br />First Place, IF Comp 1996<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Summary:</span><br />An early puzzler and tribute to Zork, marred by patchy descriptions and clunky parser mechanics.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What worked:</span><br /><ul> <li>A comprehensive hint system -- helpful if only for matching up your intentions with a formulation that the parser will accept.<br /></li><li>The story elements (although strictly secondary) make for good reading.<br /> </li> </ul> <span style="font-weight: bold;">What didn't work:</span><br /><ul> <li>Consistently difficult parser, perhaps typical of an early inform game.<br /></li> <ul> <li>You can't look under <span style="font-style: italic;">something</span>, but you can move it to the same effect. You cant pour <span style="font-style: italic;">a liquid </span>on <span style="font-style: italic;">something</span>, but you can throw it at the same target.</li><li>Working out the proper syntax for tying and untying a rope to various objects is a chore.</li> <li>Look at arrow: "Do you mean the arrow or the arrow?"<br /> </li> </ul><li>Exposed inform mechanics:<br /> </li> <ul> <li>Want to stand on something? You learn you can't "enter" it.<br /> </li> <li>Trying to interact with a particular animal -- say showing it or giving it something -- yields the message that it's not "animate."<br /> </li> <li>Trying to cast an unmemorized spell yields the unhelpful message: "You can't see any such thing."</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Is something giving off light? You'll have to pick it up and check your inventory to know for sure.</li> </ul> <li>Many bits of scenery do not offer themselves up for further examination or interactions. Even gimmes like a chair: "sit on chair" -> "That's not something you need to refer to in the course of the game."</li> </ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Spoiler notes: </span> <span style="font-style: italic;">(highlight to read)</span><br /><ul style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);"> <li>The egg-hatching puzzle provides perhaps the most frustrating round of guess-the-verb, since the "burrow" or "hole" does not exist to the parser, and you end up having to push the egg "north". How unlike the ladder, which cannot be put "down" from the tree, but has to be put on the "floor" (and not the "ground").</li> <li>The calibrated swivel mounting, which has no description, but which you are required to attach a scroll to in order to win the game -- is infuriating. Until I peeked at the hints, I assumed it was mounting the anvil.</li> </ul> <ul style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);"> </ul><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10478168-111194835016026376?l=storydriven.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Glenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02263950094907355576noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10478168.post-1110275286778299162005-03-08T09:35:00.000Z2005-03-08T09:48:06.783Z<span style="font-weight: bold;">Spider and Web </span>(<a href="http://www.eblong.com/zarf/if.html#tangle">home</a>)<br />by Andrew Plotkin, 1998 (Inform)<br />Best Game/Best Puzzles, XYZZY 1998<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Summary:</span><br />A twisted masterpiece<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What worked:</span><br /><ul> <li>Lively story, and an excellent NPC.</li><li>Difficult, innovative puzzles.<br /> </li> <li>A "use of medium" worthy of Infocom's finest hours.<br /> </li> </ul> <span style="font-weight: bold;">What didn't work:</span><br /><ul> <li>Occasional parser pain: Trying to look inside a desk yields the unhelpful message that there is nothing on the desk. Trying to repair a broken device yields a missing verb, and trying to fix it yields a synonym: What would you like to attach it to? There were a few other cases like these.<br /></li> </ul> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Spoiler notes: </span> <span style="font-style: italic;">(highlight to read)</span><br /><ul style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);"> <li>This game applies the concept of the "unreliable narrator" in an altogther new way.<br /></li> </ul><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10478168-111027528677829916?l=storydriven.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Glenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02263950094907355576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10478168.post-1110176745991994242005-03-07T05:30:00.000Z2005-03-08T06:35:39.223Z<span style="font-weight: bold;">I-0 (Interstate Zero) </span>(<a href="http://adamcadre.ac/if.html#I-0">home</a>)<br />by Adam Cadre, 1997 (Inform)<br />Best Game/Best Individual PC, XYZZY 1997<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Summary:</span><br />"Oh, there's a lot of opportunities, if you know when to take them..."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What worked:</span><br /><ul> <li>The entire game is structured for multiple solutions.<br /></li><li>A colorful player character.<br /></li> </ul> <span style="font-weight: bold;">What didn't work:</span><br /><ul> <li>It's so small.</li> <li>The puzzles were simple and rigid -- your efforts either resolved the matter, or were ignored. They seemed to exist mostly to differentiate one branch of the plot tree from another.<br /></li> </ul> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Spoiler notes: </span> <span style="font-style: italic;">(highlight to read)</span><br /><ul style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);"> <li>The trunk and glove compartments of the vehicles in the game were not explicitly noted in the room descriptions -- but rummaging through them proved worthwhile.<br /></li> </ul><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10478168-111017674599199424?l=storydriven.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Glenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02263950094907355576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10478168.post-1107583680853336302005-02-01T10:04:00.000Z2005-02-05T06:08:00.853Z<span style="font-weight: bold;">Metamorphoses </span> (<a href="http://emshort.home.mindspring.com/metamorph.htm">home</a>) <br />by Emily Short, 2000 (Inform) <br />Second place, IF Comp 2000; Best Writing, XYZZY 2000 <br /> <br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Summary:</span> <br />Small, puzzle-driven, experimental <br /> <br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What worked:</span> <br /><ul> <li>Toys! There are a number of devices in the game that take multiple inputs for a combinatorial explosion of results. It's good fun working these out. <br /></li><li>Many puzzles permit multiple solutions. Together with the "toys", this yields a game where I always had something more to try. <br /></li><li>Tight, vivid prose and a pleasing (though secondary) story. <br /></li> </ul> <span style="font-weight: bold;">What didn't work:</span> <ul> <li>Too often I stumbled into holes in the parser, e.g.: <br /></li><ul><li>A game with a lock should understand the verb "pick". (Particularly if the character is equipped with an item that has been compared to a hairpin!) <br /> </li><li>Shouldn't "earth" be a synonym for "ground" in an elemental-themed game? <br /> </li><li>If I can see "frogs" (plural), shouldn't the parser understand what a a "frog" (singular) is?</li><li>An item described as a sponge should be provided with some verb to allow it to soak up water.</li></ul> </ul> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Spoiler notes: </span> <span style="font-style: italic;">(highlight to read)</span> <br /><ul style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);"> <li>A "reluctance" puzzle: Overcoming your resistance to entering the dark crawlspace requires repeating a (refused) instruction several times.</li> </ul><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10478168-110758368085333630?l=storydriven.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Glenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02263950094907355576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10478168.post-1107504187877556112005-01-31T22:22:00.000Z2005-03-28T01:39:23.463ZIn the late 80s, just as the companies that introduced Interactive Fiction fell on hard times, non-professional communities of creators and fans began to coalesce around electronic forums on private, dial-up BBSes and large subscription services such as Compuserve. With the growth of the Internet, the disparate subculture consolidated around the Usenet news groups <a href="http://groups-beta.google.com/group/rec.arts.int-fiction"><span style="font-style: italic;">rec.arts.int-fiction </span></a>and <a href="http://groups-beta.google.com/group/rec.games.int-fiction"><span style="font-style: italic;">rec.games.int-fiction</span></a>. Commercial offerings dwindled, but new authoring tools were brought to market and refined. By 1995, Interactive Fiction belonged to the amateurs.<br /><br />Its far too early -- or at least I'm far too ignorant -- to seriously propose a "canon" for Second Wave games. However, you have to start somewhere, and these seemed like good bets. I'll check my math as I work through the list.<br /><br />Essential authors are more readily identifiable; those who have won the most awards and followers include <a href="http://home.pacbell.net/mjr_/">Michael J. Roberts</a>, <a href="http://inform-fiction.org/">Graham Nelson</a>, <a href="http://www.eblong.com/zarf/home.html">Andrew Plotkin</a>, <a href="http://adamcadre.ac/">Adam Cadre</a>, Ian Finley, <a href="http://www.ingold.fsnet.co.uk/default.htm">Jon Ingold</a>, <a href="http://emshort.home.mindspring.com/">Emily Short</a>, <a href="http://ucsu.colorado.edu/%7Eobrian/">Paul O'Brian</a>, <a href="http://www.joltcountry.com/">Robb Sherwin</a>.<br /><br />I have been wary to include titles for systems other than Inform/Glulx, TADS and Hugo. My impression (admittedly second-hand) is that the earlier authoring languages were parser-poor, and that most "homebrew parsers" have been found wanting. If you know of exceptions I have overlooked, please let me know.<br /><br />Z-machine productions are slightly overrepresented here. This isn't intended as a judgment against the other authoring systems; rather, I have decided to focus my own (eventual) effort on Inform, so I am most interested to see what others have done with it.<br /><br />And now, the envelope please...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1988</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Michael J. Roberts introduces TADS</span><br />Deep Space Drifter (TADS) by Steve McAdams and Michael J. Roberts<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1990</span><br />Ditch Day Drifter (TADS) by Michael J. Roberts<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><br /></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1991</span><br />t-zero (Shareware) by Dennis Cunningham<br />Cosmoserve (AGT) by Judith Pintar<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1992 </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Volker Blasius opens IF archive</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1993<br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Graham Nelson releases Inform as open source software</span><br />Curses! (Inform) by Graham Nelson<br />Perdition's Flames (TADS) by Michael J. Roberts<br />The Horror of Rylvania (TADS) by D.A. Leary<br />The Sound of One Hand Clapping (AdvSys) by Erica Badun<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1994<br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">G. Kevin Wilson founds SPAG</span><br />The Underoos that Ate New York (Inform) by G. Kevin Wilson<br />The Legend Lives! (TADS) by David Baggett<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1995 </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">First Annual IF Comp</span>etition<br />A Change in the Weather (Inform, IFC pick) by Andrew Plotkin<br />Uncle Zebulon's Will (TADS, IFC pick) by Magnus Olsson<br />The Mind Electric (Inform, IFC pick) by Jason Dyer<br />Christminster (Inform) by Gareth Rees<br />Theatre (Inform) by Brendan Wyber<br />Jigsaw (Inform) by Graham Nelson<br />Lethe Flow Phoenix (TADS) by Dan Shiovitz<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1996<br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">"Crimes Against Mimesis" by Roger Giner-Sorolla; TADS is open-sourced</span><br />So Far (Inform, XYZZY pick) by Andrew Plotkin<br /><a href="http://storydriven.blogspot.com/2005/03/review-meteor-stone-and-long-glass-of.html">The Meteor, The Stone, and a Long Glass of Sherbet</a> (Inform, IFC pick) by Graham Nelson<br />Tapestry (Inform, IFC pick) by Dan Ravipinto<br />Delusions (Inform, IFC pick) by C.E. Forman<br />Small World (Inform) by Andrew D. Pontious<br />Lost New York (TADS) by Neil DeMause<br />Kissing the Buddha's Feet (TADS) by Leon Lin<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1997<br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Liza Daly opens IFmud</span><br /><a href="http://storydriven.blogspot.com/2005/03/review-i-0-interstate-zero.html">I-O</a> (Inform, XYZZY pick) by Adam Cadre<br />The Edifice (Inform, IFC pick) by Lucian P. Smith<br />Babel (TADS, IFC pick) by Ian Finley<br />Glowgrass (TADS, IFC pick) by Nate Cull<br />She's Got a Thing for Spring (Inform) by Brent VanFossen<br />A Bear's Night Out (Inform) by David Dyte<br />The Tempest (Inform) by Graham Nelson<br />The Lost Spellmaker (Inform) by Neil Brown<br />Sunset Over Savannah (TADS) by Ivan Cockrum<br />Shades of Grey (DOS) by Mark Baker et al<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">1998</span><br /><a href="http://storydriven.blogspot.com/2005/03/review-spider-and-web.html">Spider and Web</a> (Inform, XYZZY pick) by Andrew Plotkin<br />Photopia (Inform, IFC pick) by Adam Cadre<br />Muse: An Autumn Romance (Inform, IFC pick) by Christopher Huang<br />The Plant (TADS, IFC pick) by Michael J. Roberts<br />Little Blue Men (Inform) by Michael Gentry<br />Anchorhead (Inform) by Michael Gentry<br />Losing Your Grip (TADS) by Stephen Granade<br />Bad Machine (TADS) by Dan Shiovitz<br />Once and Future (Commercial/Cascade Mountain Publishing) by G. Kevin Wilson<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1999</span><br />Varicella (Inform, XYZZY pick) by Adam Cadre<br />Winter Wonderland (Inform, IFC pick) by Laura A. Knauth<br />For A Change (Inform, IFC pick) by Dan Schmidt<br />6 Stories (TADS, IFC pick) by N.K. Guy<br />Hunter, In Darkness (Inform) by Andrew Plotkin<br />9:05 (Inform) by Adam Cadre<br />Aisle (Inform) by Sam Barlow<br />The Mulldoon Legacy (Inform) by Jon Ingold<br />Exhibition (TADS) by Ian Finley<br />Worlds Apart (TADS) by Suzanne Britton<br />Non Sarà Un'Avventura (Inform/Italian, IT pick) by Roberto Barabino<br />Cosmic Adventure (Inform/Italian) by Davide Orlandi<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />2000</span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span>Kaged (TADS, IFC pick) by Ian Finley<br /><a href="http://storydriven.blogspot.com/2005/02/review-metamorphoses.html">Metamorphoses</a> (Inform, IFC pick) by Emily Short<br /><a href="http://twistylittlepassages.blogspot.com/2005/02/review-metamorphoses-by-emily-short.html"> </a>Being Andrew Plotkin (Inform, XYZZY/IFC pick) by J. Robinson Wheeler<br />Ad Verbum (Inform, IFC pick) by Nick Montfort<br />Rameses (Inform) by Stephen Bond<br />Shade (Inform) by Andrew Plotkin<br />Shrapnel (Inform) by Adam Cadre<br />The Best Man (Inform) by Rob Menke<br />The Djinni Chronicles (Inform) by J.D. Berry<br />Galatea (Inform) by Emily Short<br />Dangerous Curves (Inform) by Irene Callaci<br />Heroine's Mantle (Inform) by Andy Phillips<br />My Angel (Inform) by Jon Ingold<br />Rematch (TADS) by Andrew D. Pontious<br />Uno Zombie a Deadville (Inform/Italian, IT pick) Tommaso Caldarola<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2001</span><br />All Roads (Inform, XYZZY/IFC pick) by Jon Ingold<br />Moments Out of Time (Inform, IFC pick) by L. Ross Raszewski<br />Heroes (Inform, IFC pick) by Sean Barrett<br />Vicious Cycles (Inform) by Simon Mark<br />The Gostak (Inform) by Carl Muckenhoupt<br />Pytho's Mask (Inform) by Emily Short<br />Textfire Golf (Inform) by Adam Cadre<br />Degeneracy (Inform) by Leonard Richardson<br />Best of Three (GLULX) by Emily Short<br />The Beetmonger's Journal (TADS) by Scott Starkey<br />First Things First (TADS) by J. Robinson Wheeler<br />No Time to Squeal (TADS) by Robb Sherwin and Mike Sousa<br />Fallacy of Dawn (HUGO) by Robb Sherwin<br />Enigma (Inform/Italian, IT pick) by Marco Vallarino<br />Flamel (Inform/Italian) by Francesco Cordella<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2002</span><br />Savoir Faire (Inform, XYZZY pick) by Emily Short<br />Another Earth, Another Sky (GLULX, IFC pick) by Paul O'Brian<br />Till Death Makes A Monk-Fish Out of Me! (TADS, IFC pick) by Jon Ingold and Mike Sousa<br />Photograph (Inform, IFC pick) by Steve Evans<br />Janitor (Inform) by Kevin Lynn and Pete Seebach<br />The Moonlit Tower (Inform) by Yoon Ha Lee<br />Constraints (Inform) by Martin Bays<br />When Help Collides (Inform) by J.D. Berry<br />Lock & Key (GLULX) by Adam Cadre<br />1893: A World's Fair Mystery (TADS) by Peter Nepstad<br />The PK Girl (Adrift) by Robert Goodwin<br />La Pietra della Luna (Inform/Italian, IT pick) by Paolo Lucchesi<br />Timewarp (Italian) by Marco Saccone<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2003</span><br />Slouching Toward Bedlam (Inform, XYZZY/IFC pick) by Daniel Ravipinto and Star Foster<br />Risorgimento Represso (Inform, IFC pick) by Michael J. Coyne<br />Scavenger (TADS, IFC pick) by Quintin Stone<br />Gourmet (Inform) by Aaron Reed<br />City of Secrets (GLULX) by Emily Short<br />The Recruit (TADS) by Mike Sousa<br />Shadows on the Mirror (TADS) by Chrysoula Tzavelas<br />Filaments (French, IT pick) by J.B. Ferrant<br />Warmage (Italian) by Giancarlo Niccolai<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2004</span><br />Luminous Horizons (GLULX, IFC pick) by Paul O'Brian<br />Blue Chairs (Inform, IFC pick) by Chris Klimas<br />All Things Devours (Inform, IFC pick) by Toby Ord<br />Sting of the Wasp (Inform) by Jason Devlin<br />Gamlet (Inform) by Tomasz Pudlo<br />Dreamhold (Inform) by Andrew Plotkin<br />Return to Ditch Day (TADS) by Michael J. Roberts<br />Trading Punches (HUGO) by Mike Snyder<br />Necrotic Drift (HUGO) by Robb Sherwin<br />Dead Reckoning (Inform) by Andrés Viedma Peláez (trans. Nick Montfort)<br />La mort pour seul destin (French) by J.B. Ferrant<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10478168-110750418787755611?l=storydriven.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Glenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02263950094907355576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10478168.post-1107501179575565632005-01-31T22:21:00.000Z2005-02-09T16:47:37.886ZBased on the reading I have done so far, I have collected a list of what seem to be the most esteemed and influential games. I will present the list in two parts (i.e. according the the First and Second "Wave" of IF) with a few historical notes where it seems worthwhile. <br /> <br />The First Wave of IF was characterized by a number of companies, so I have tried find representative works from each of them for this timeline. <br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> <br />1982</span> <br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span>Zork III (Commercial/Infocom) by Marc Blank and Dave Lebling <br />Starcross (Commercial/Infocom) by Dave Lebling <br />Deadline (Commercial/Infocom) by Marc Blank <br /> <br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1983</span> <br />Suspended (Commercial/Infocom) by Mike Berlyn <br />Enchanter (Commercial/Infocom) by Marc Blank and Dave Lebling <br />Snowball (Commercial/Level 9) by Mike/Nick/Pete Austin <br />Planetfall (Commercial/Infocom) by Steve Meretzky <br /> <br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1984 </span> <br />Mindwheel (Commercial/Synapse) by Robert Pinsky, Steve Hales and William Mataga <br />The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Commercial/Infocom) by Douglas Adams and Steve Meretzky <br />Sorceror (Commercial/Infocom) by Steve Meretzky <br />Suspect (Commercial/Infocom) by Dave Lebling <br />Return to Eden (Commercial/Level 9) by Mike/Nick/Pete Austin <br /> <br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1985</span> <br />A Mind Forever Voyaging (Commercial/Infocom) by Steve Meretzky <br />Spellbreaker (Commercial/Infocom) by Dave Lebling <br />The Worm in Paradise (Commercial/Level 9) by Mike/Nick/Pete Austin <br />Transylvania (Commercial/Penguin-Polarware, "Comprehend" edition) by Antonio Antiochia <br />Breakers (Commercial/Synapse) by Rod Smith and William Mataga <br /> <br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1986 <br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Activision purchases Infocom</span> <br />Trinity (Commercial/Infocom) by Brian Moriarty <br /> Leather Goddess of Phobos (Commercial/Infocom) by Steve Meretzky <br /> The Pawn (Commercial/Magnetic Scrolls) by Rob Steggles, Hugh Steers and Ken Gordon <br /> Amnesia (Commercial/Electronic Arts) by Thomas M. Disch <br /> Portal (Commercia/Activision) by Rob Swigart <br /> Perry Mason: Case of the Mandarin (Commercial/Telarium) by Erle Gardner <br /> Oo-Topos (Commercial/Penguin-Polarware) by Michael Berlyn <br /> <br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1987 <br /></span>Bureaucracy (Commercial/Infocom) by Douglas Adams <br />Border Zone (Commercial/Infocom) by Marc Blank <br />Stationfall (Commercial/Infocom) by Steve Meretzky <br />The Lurking Horror (Commercial/Infocom) by Dave Lebling <br />The Knight Orc (Commercial/Level 9) by Pete Austin <br />Guild of Thieves (Commercial/Magnetic Scrolls) by Rob Steggles <br />Jinxter (Commercial/Magnetic Scrolls) by Georgina Sinclair and Michael Bywater <br /> <br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1988 <br /></span>Mindfighter (Commercial/Abstract Concepts) by Anne Popkess and Fergus McNeill <br /> <br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1989 <br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Collapse of Infocom</span> <br /> Scapeghost (Commercial/Level 9) by Pete Austin <br /> Myth (Commercial/Magnetic Scrolls) by Paul Findley <br /> James Clavell's Shogun (Commercial/Infocom) by Dave Lebling <br /> <br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">1990 <br /></span>Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur (Commercial/Infocom) by Bob Bates <br /> Time Quest (Commercial/Legend Entertainment) by Bob Bates <br /> <br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1991 <br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Activision releases "The Lost Treasures of Infocom" compilation</span> <br />Spellcasting 101: Sorceror Gets All The Girls (Commercial/Legend Entertainment) by Steve Meretzky <br /> <br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1992 </span> <br />Frederick Pohl's Gateway (Commercial/Legend Entertainment) by Mike Verdu and Glen Dahlgren <br />Wonderland (Commercial/Magnetic Scrolls) by David Bishop <br />Spellcasting 201: Sorceror's Apprentice (Commercial/Legend Entertainment) by Steve Meretzky <br /> <br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1993 <br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Legend Entertainment releases the last widely-distributed, commercial parser-driven game</span>s <br /> Gateway II: Homeworld (Commercial/Legend Entertainment) by Mike Verdu and Glen Dahlgren <br /> Eric the Unready (Commercial/Legend Entertainment) by Bob Bates <br /> Spellcasting 301: Spring Break (Commercial/Legend Entertainment) by Steve Meretzky <br /> <br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10478168-110750117957556563?l=storydriven.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Glenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02263950094907355576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10478168.post-1107498371869080572005-01-30T20:32:00.000Z2005-02-04T21:37:54.036ZIn order to become "literate" in Interactive Fiction, I will be selecting and reviewing works (such as those by <a href="http://infocom-if.org/">Infocom </a>and <a href="http://www.if-legends.org/%7El9memorial/html/home.html">Level 9</a>), winners of the annual <a href="http://ifcomp.org/">Interactive Fiction Competition</a> and <a href="http://xyzzynews.com/">XYZZY Awards</a>, and other titles recommended by resources such as <a href="http://sparkynet.com/spag">SPAG </a>and <a href="http://the-underdogs.org/">Home of the Underdogs</a>. <br /> <br />I will attempt to discriminate between Interactive Fiction and "Adventure Games" -- a related genre, but one that places less emphasis on the literary element. There's no litmus test, just a judgment call. <br /> <br />I group the titles into two categories: <span style="font-weight: bold;">"First Wave"</span> encompassing everything from the birth of Interactive Fiction to its demise as a commercial format, and <span style="font-weight: bold;">"Second Wave"</span>, marked by the introduction of IF authoring languages and the revival of the form.<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> <br /> <br /></span></span>The <span style="font-weight: bold;">First Wave</span> looks to have begun in <span style="font-weight: bold;">1982</span>: This is the year that Infocom moved beyond Zork to introduce "Deadline" and "Starcross": Story and character began to rival mapping and puzzle-solving. 1982 is also the year that the Austin brothers formed Level 9 on the other side of the Atlantic. <br /> <br />The <span style="font-weight: bold;">Second Wave</span> begins, depending on how you reckon it, in <span style="font-weight: bold;">1988</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">1993</span>, or <span style="font-weight: bold;">1995</span>. <br /> <br />In <span style="font-weight: bold;">1988</span>, Michael J. Roberts' introduced the TADS authoring system and "Deep Space Drifter". There were earlier authoring systems -- notably AdvSys and AGT -- but TADS was the first to facilitate the creation of works comparable to those established by the First Wave companies. For the next five years, commercial productions would continue to dominate the medium -- even the productions of the past, as exemplified by Activition's 1991's release of "Lost Treasures of Infocom"-- but by<span style="font-weight: bold;"> 1993</span>, Legend Entertainment (powered by Infocom alumni) had released its last text parser driven games, and so passed the First Wave. That same year Graham Nelson introduced the Inform compiler (with "Curses!"), which made use of Infocom's reverse-engineered virtual machine. <br /> <br />By <span style="font-weight: bold;">1995</span>, the rise of the Internet facilitated the creation of SPAG, XYZZY news and the first annual IF Competition; from that time to the present day there has been a steady production of quality games and the gradual maturation of a body of theory. <br /> <br />Although IF began in the anglophone world, it hasn't languished there. Second Wave IF seems to have made progress throughout Western Europe: I'll follow it where I can. <br /> <br />Italy has a vibrant community (e.g. <a href="http://www.ifitalia.info/">IF Italia</a>, <a href="http://www.vece.net/if/main.html">IF Corner</a>, <a href="http://www.avventuretestuali.com/index.html">L'avventura è l'avventura</a>, <a href="http://groups-beta.google.com/group/it.comp.giochi.avventure.testuali">it.comp.giochi.avventure.testuali</a>) including a translation of the Inform libraries (<a href="http://www.inform-italia.org/">InformIt</a>) and an IF authoring language of their own (<a href="http://www.paololucchesi.it/mac/">MAC</a>). France's stake in IF is yet modest, but not unknown: witness <a href="http://ifiction.free.fr/">Fiction-FR</a>, <a href="http://anamnese.online.fr/if/if.html">Amamnèse</a>, <a href="http://jlpo.free.fr/">Inform en Français</a> and <a href="http://anamnese.online.fr/if/livrant.html">Livrant</a>, a Java-based French-only authoring language. A french game by <a href="http://ginko968.free.fr/indexd.htm">J.B. Ferrant</a> (translated) won first place in the italian <a href="http://www.composizioni.net/avventura2003/">2003 Premio Avventura</a> competition. <br /> <br />The hispanophone world has two well-organized competitions (sponsored by <a href="http://usuarios.lycos.es/SPAC/index.html">SPAC</a> and <a href="http://caad.mine.nu/">CAAD</a>), and the award-winning <a href="http://terra.es/personal/a_viedma/olvido.htm">Olvido Mortal</a> by Andrés Viedma Peláez has been <a href="http://nickm.com/if/dead.html">translated into English</a> by none other than Nick Montfort -- author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0262134365">"Twisty Little Passages"</a>. The German and Swedish speaking worlds also have a presence, as do the Greeks, though I am not linguistically equipped to probe further. <br /> <br />(A sidenote on the propagation of non-english IF: Italian and French IF seem to follow an open-source model, with the source code available for many of the best received games. This is unusual -- <a href="http://www.ifarchive.org/if-archive/games/source/inform/shade-src.tar.Z">though not completely unheard of</a> in the english-speaking IF world.) <br /> <br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10478168-110749837186908057?l=storydriven.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Glenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02263950094907355576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10478168.post-1107497400240381982005-01-29T08:52:00.001Z2005-02-04T08:10:52.420ZAs the most indulgent New Year's Resolution ever, I pledged to immerse myself in Interactive Fiction. My rediscovery of the medium owes something to the publication of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0262134365">"Twisty Little Passages" by Nick Montfort</a>. <br /> <br />But my roots go back to the age of 10, when my father purchased Infocom's "Starcross" for the Atari 800. I was charmed if not downright possessed. <br /> <br />Over time, I drifted away -- even once I had the means to procure "The Lost Treasures of Infocom" and experience all the games I never had a chance to sample. Even once Graham Nelson and his ilk revived the Interactive Fiction subculture with tools like <a href="http://inform-fiction.org/">Inform</a> and events like the annual <a href="http://ifcomp.org/">Interactive Fiction Competition</a>. At last, here was a chance to follow in the footsteps of my Infocom idols... <br /> <br />So what's taken me so long? <br /> <br />I've been a snob. I nursed grand literary conceits for most of my 20s. I didn't want to be diverted into something as obscure as IF. <br /> <br />These days I'm coming to the conclusion that the best way -- perhaps the <span style="font-style: italic;">only</span> way -- to recover my latent creativity is to come to terms with myself. And deep in my heart, I have a warm spot for Interactive Fiction. <br /> <br />I'd like to write something. Eventually. That would be the fruition of a childhood dream. <br /> <br />That's worth something, isn't it? <br /> <br />First, though, I better get to know the territory. I'll record my progress here. <br /> <br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10478168-110749740024038198?l=storydriven.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Glenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02263950094907355576noreply@blogger.com0