Interactive Fiction (hear me out)
by Tom Kidd · in General Discussion · 06/20/2001 (8:52 am) · 2 replies
Okay, so I know like 90% or more of eventual GG titles will be based on the V12 engine. I also know that it's possible to create and publish games on GG.com not based on V12, but for the most part like 99% of all games on GG.com will be based on some sort of 3D engine.
Interactive Fiction is the name Infocom game to "text adventures" - the games which mostly consisted of text on the screen. Initially a neccessity of the times (as graphics were either sub-par or nonexistent), these games grew to near artistic masterpieces on par with fine literature. After they went away in the late 80's some people in the early 90's wanted to play them on more modern machines, so that they wouldn't be lost in the sands of time.
The way Infocom in particular arranged their game was such that the story file (data file) was arranged in a single fashion, and an interpreter (engine) was then fashioned on each platform of the day. This meant that the game was written and compiled once and then could be paired off with an interpreter and released simultaneously for the C64, Apple ][, etc. In a way, this was one of the earliest implementations of the "Virtual Machine" concept Java has been trying to push on us for years (Infocom called it the Z-Machine).
A group of hackers successfully reverse-engineered the Infocom format and released the code and specifications to create interpreters for modern platforms (like Windows or Linux). A man named Graham Nelson then went the next step and created a new programming langrage called Inform, which allowed for the creation of new adventures. Eight years and six major revisions later, it has produced thousands of text adventures and created a renaissance of sorts in Interactive Fiction.
The last attempt at commercial IF was 1998's Once and Future, which was sold through Cascade Publishing, a now-defunct online publisher with the foresight to attempt to publish e-books electronically but still insisted on selling the two IF games it had through snail mail (it can be downloaded for free here.) Now, perhaps if they had tried to sell it through e-channels, they would have made some money.
Perhaps GG should consider accepting/selling some IF games on its site. I know I'll be working on some in my spare time for kicks. Interpreters exist (for free) on PalmOS, Windows, *nix, Mac, even the Gameboy (though that last one is clearly for shits and giggles only). Soon there will be ports to cell phones, plus there's always Java (irony: a virtual machine running a z-machine running a game). IF would have to be sold for a rather paltry sum (nothing even close to $50), but the market which has no problem forgoing things like packaging and solid state media might eat this idea up.
As a side note, EA is looking to make a killing on Majestic, their game consisting of nothing but web pages and harrasing phone calls. Perhaps this isn't as crazy an idea after all.
For more info on Inform, go to the Inform home page:
http://www.gnelson.demon.co.uk/inform/
And be sure to read the new and improved (and unlinked, apparently) Designer's Manual, 4th Edition (the Bible of Inform):
http://www.gnelson.demon.co.uk/inform/DM4.pdf
Which will tell you everything there is to know, including how to program in Inform (which is pretty C-like), how to create good games and puzzles, and a history of the IF genre.
Schnapple
Interactive Fiction is the name Infocom game to "text adventures" - the games which mostly consisted of text on the screen. Initially a neccessity of the times (as graphics were either sub-par or nonexistent), these games grew to near artistic masterpieces on par with fine literature. After they went away in the late 80's some people in the early 90's wanted to play them on more modern machines, so that they wouldn't be lost in the sands of time.
The way Infocom in particular arranged their game was such that the story file (data file) was arranged in a single fashion, and an interpreter (engine) was then fashioned on each platform of the day. This meant that the game was written and compiled once and then could be paired off with an interpreter and released simultaneously for the C64, Apple ][, etc. In a way, this was one of the earliest implementations of the "Virtual Machine" concept Java has been trying to push on us for years (Infocom called it the Z-Machine).
A group of hackers successfully reverse-engineered the Infocom format and released the code and specifications to create interpreters for modern platforms (like Windows or Linux). A man named Graham Nelson then went the next step and created a new programming langrage called Inform, which allowed for the creation of new adventures. Eight years and six major revisions later, it has produced thousands of text adventures and created a renaissance of sorts in Interactive Fiction.
The last attempt at commercial IF was 1998's Once and Future, which was sold through Cascade Publishing, a now-defunct online publisher with the foresight to attempt to publish e-books electronically but still insisted on selling the two IF games it had through snail mail (it can be downloaded for free here.) Now, perhaps if they had tried to sell it through e-channels, they would have made some money.
Perhaps GG should consider accepting/selling some IF games on its site. I know I'll be working on some in my spare time for kicks. Interpreters exist (for free) on PalmOS, Windows, *nix, Mac, even the Gameboy (though that last one is clearly for shits and giggles only). Soon there will be ports to cell phones, plus there's always Java (irony: a virtual machine running a z-machine running a game). IF would have to be sold for a rather paltry sum (nothing even close to $50), but the market which has no problem forgoing things like packaging and solid state media might eat this idea up.
As a side note, EA is looking to make a killing on Majestic, their game consisting of nothing but web pages and harrasing phone calls. Perhaps this isn't as crazy an idea after all.
For more info on Inform, go to the Inform home page:
http://www.gnelson.demon.co.uk/inform/
And be sure to read the new and improved (and unlinked, apparently) Designer's Manual, 4th Edition (the Bible of Inform):
http://www.gnelson.demon.co.uk/inform/DM4.pdf
Which will tell you everything there is to know, including how to program in Inform (which is pretty C-like), how to create good games and puzzles, and a history of the IF genre.
Schnapple
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Torque 3D Owner Eric Forhan