Get In to IF

By Chris on Jun 23, 2008 in Featured, Games, Interactive Fiction, Writing

Often called a dead genre, interactive fiction continues to flourish long after reaching the end of its commercial lifespan. In the decades since whiz-bang graphics drew away the attention of the masses, hundreds of games have continued to evolve the genre — to the point where it can be a little intimidating to approach cold. If you’ve never experienced interactive fiction, or haven’t returned to it since its commercial decline, maybe we can offer a little direction. Here are five of our favorite titles from the last decade to ease you into things.

from Top 5 Introductory Interactive Fiction Games from 1UP.com

I’ve been a fan of Interactive Fiction since playing Zork on my Commodore 64. It was the main reason I got into playing on MUSHes, which lead to meeting some incredible folks, many of which I’m still friends with to this day. I’m been having a great time since rediscovering the genre.

Additionally, I’m participating in a project to write a collaborative IF game. Started by the folks at the Guardian UK’s Gamesblog, we’re desigining the game Spaceship! on a wiki. Come in and see how the sausage is being made.

If you enjoy reading, you need to be playing interactive fiction.

If you enjoy writing, you should sit down, play, then try your hand at writing one. It’s a fabulous exercise in dealing with point of view, puzzles, and planning.

Here are some great links to get you started:

The Interactive Fiction Database - find all sorts of free games here
Planet-IF - A river view of many of the top blogs/sites on Interactive Fiction.
The IF Reviews at PlayThisThing.com
Inform - one of the languages available for creating your own games.
IF-wiki - A wiki for learning, playing, and improving interactive fiction

And some of my favorite games. You’ll need an interpretor to play these:

Anchorhead - Anchorhead takes place in a New England town by the same name that bears a resemblance to Innsmouth, Arkham, and other fictional towns created by H.P. Lovecraft.
Lost Pig
- Grunk stuck. Grunk must find lost pig. Grunk none too bright. Very funny game.
Infocom: The Zork Archive - download the original Zork games for free
Babel - You wake up with amnesia in an abandoned research station in the Arctic. As you explore, psychometric visions give you glimpses of the lives of four scientists and the tragedy that befell them. Before you can escape, you’ll have to learn your own history.

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7 Comment(s)

Neat post, but you’ve overlooked the Choose Your Own Adventure books.

CarrieP | Jun 23, 2008 | Reply
inventory

You are carrying: iPod (20GB), wallet, cell phone, key card
examine iPod.
It is a 4th generation iPod, the model just before they introduced the color screen. You probably should have waited two months, but no, you had to be Mr. Instant Gratification.

press play
(on the iPod)

You push the touchwheel assertively with your thumb and the iPod comes to life. It might be playing music, but you’d need to be wearing headphones to know for certain.

wear headphones

I don’t see that here.
Just kidding. They were around your neck the whole time. You put the headphones on and immediately hear Robert Smith singing about cold, dark emptiness and death. It’s a good thing you’re not carrying any razor blades.

Kris Johnson | Jun 23, 2008 | Reply
Well, that didn’t work at all as I hoped it would. D’oh!

Kris Johnson | Jun 23, 2008 | Reply
I fixed it for you, Kris. Nicely done.

Chris | Jun 23, 2008 | Reply
That’s true. I did, Carrie. I’ll add it in.

Chris | Jun 23, 2008 | Reply
Thanks for fixing that, Chris.

Hmm. Now I’ve a mind to try a little experiment.

Kris Johnson | Jun 23, 2008 | Reply
I have no less than 2 of these games plotted out in my mind. Both I have tried to write in both Inform and TADS, and neither language (or, more specifically, my skill in neither language) has been up to the task to do what I want.

But you are correct, these games are far more fun than you’d think. Stick to the ones highly rated though, or the ones that win contests, because like anything free and public-created, most of them are… let’s say… less than ideal.

Don’t let a couple bad ones dissuade you, is what I’m trying to say.

Wesley | Jun 30, 2008 | Reply