If you could touch the alien sand
and hear the cries of strange birds,
and watch them wheel in another sky -
would that satisfy you?
Interactive fiction... What is interactive fiction (or IF for short)? No one really knows, or atleast (and more accurately) noone can precisely define - though many have tried; it's a discussion occasionally repeated in the newsgroups of rec.arts.int-fiction and rec.games.int-fiction. A definition I once gave for it was:
Interactive fiction is above all else a narrative (hence the 'fiction') which not only influences (by being read/played) but is also influenced by the 'player' (hence the 'interactive').
But others may disagree. Suffice to say that it grew of the "text adventures" of the 80s and 90s, nowadays becoming a new experimental art form with great potential and great writers.
A Dino's Night Out:
The first interactive fiction game I ever finished writing, written within the confines of the "dino-comp" of 1 April 2000. A small game meant as parody of the well-known works of Interactive Fiction "A Bear's Night Out" and to a lesser extent "Tapestry". But you may like it.
| Commentary by: | Bryan B. (external link) |
| Download the: | Z-code file. |
| Glulx file. | |
| DOS executable. |
Notes: first release 1-Apr-2000 | posted here 14-May-2000) | glulx version added 21-May-2000
Voices:
Nominated for Best Story, XyzzyAwards 2001
The year is Anno Domini 1424. And in the small town of Domremy certain voices start speaking to a young girl named Jhennette...
Written for the SmoochieComp 2001 (follow the link for the rest of the entries), the romance-themed mini-comp organised by Emily Short, "Voices" is my second work of Interactive Fiction and so far my favourite.
The 2nd release is available for download below.
| Commentary by: | Kathleen Fischer |
| Duncan Stevens | |
| J. Robinson Wheeler | |
| Emily Short | |
| Jonathan Rosebaugh (external) | |
| Adrian Chung (external) |
| Download the: | Z-code file. |
| DOS executable. |
Notes: 1st release finished 3-Feb-2000 | released 14-Feb-2000 | posted here 28-Feb-2000 | 2nd release posted 4-May-2001
Compulsion
(Prologue):
5th place out of 23 entries in the PrologueComp
This is my entry to the PrologueComp -- the contest's premise to create the prologue/first screen/intro text for a hypothetical Interactive Fiction game. Be sure to visit the comp's page and read all the rest of the entries as well.
| Commentary by: | Digby McWiggle | Robb Sherwin |
| Nick Montfort | Paul O'Brian | |
| David Myers | Dennis Jerz | |
| Neil Cerutti |
Notes: submitted 28-May-2001 | released 10-Jun-2001 | posted here 21-Jun-2001
These are a collection (a very short one so far!) of the reviews I occasionally posted in the Usenet newsgroups of rec.arts.int-fiction and rec.games.int-fiction concerning works of interactive fiction. WARNING! In all of the reviews below there will be SPOILERS for the work in question...
Email me at: katsaris@gmail.com
Last updated: 03 Apr 2002
