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2 Just what is interactive fiction?
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5 .. highlight:: transcript
9 | |CENTER| *A was an archer, who shot at a frog;*
10 | |CENTER| *B was a butcher, who had a great dog.*
14 .. image:: /images/picB.png
17 |B|\efore we start learning to use the Inform system, it's probably
18 sensible to consider briefly how IF, which has many narrative elements,
19 differs from regular storytelling. Before we do *that*, though, let's look
20 at an example of a familiar folk tale.
22 "There was once a man called Wilhelm Tell, from high in the Swiss Alps
23 near the town of Altdorf. A hunter and a guide, a proud mountaineer,
24 he lived by his skills in tracking and archery. It happened one day
25 that Wilhelm visited the town to buy provisions, and he took his son
28 The region was at the time governed by Hermann Gessler (a vain and
29 petty man appointed as vogt by the Austrian emperor), who attempted a
30 show of power over his subjects by placing his hat on a pole in the
31 town square, for everyone to salute. Reluctant citizens were
32 "encouraged" by a troop of the vogt's soldiers, who made sure that
33 their bows were sufficiently respectful.
35 Wilhelm knew of the hat, and of the humiliating exercise in obeisance.
36 So far he had managed to avoid the town's square, sure that -- given
37 his open dislike for the vogt -- his refusal to bend the knee would
38 cause trouble. Today, however, he needed to pass near the pole to
39 reach Johansson's tannery.
41 If Wilhelm had hoped for a lucky break, we'll never know. The square
42 was filled with market-day crowds; the soldiers were especially keen in
43 their salute- enforcing duties, challenging everyone with loud shouts
44 and the occasional coarse expletive. Wilhelm threw a protective arm
45 over his son's shoulder and walked determinedly without looking at the
48 A soldier called to him; Wilhelm took no notice. Other guards focused
49 their attention on the archer. "Salute the vogt's hat," he was told.
50 A tense silence followed. Wilhelm tried to keep going, but by now he
51 was surrounded. The men knew of him; one counselled Wilhelm to give a
52 cursory nod towards the hat and be done. Everybody in the vicinity was
53 watching, so the disrespect could not be ignored. There was a long
54 pause. Wilhelm refused.
56 Word was sent to Gessler, who rushed to the square with reinforcements.
57 The little man was delighted at the chance of making an example of the
58 trouble-maker. He mockingly recounted the many skills of Herr Tell,
59 speculating that such mastery maybe accounted for the pride that
60 prevented acknowledgement of the Emperor's authority. The vogt
61 understood all that, and would give him a fair chance. If Wilhelm were
62 able to shoot true at an apple from fifty paces, Gessler would be
63 inclined to show mercy; however, to make things interesting, the apple
64 was to be balanced on Walter's head.
66 Everything was set up. Wilhelm selected and mounted an arrow and
67 slowly raised the bow, conscious of the motionless and brave stance
68 that Walter was displaying. He pulled, feeling the tension mount on
69 the string and his fingers, through his hands, into his arms. He'd
70 made much more difficult shots in the past, at fleeting deer, at
71 soaring birds; but this was the life of his son... he could not fail,
74 Wilhelm let loose. The arrow flew straight and true, violently pinning
75 the apple to the tree behind the boy. The crowd exploded in a roar of
76 relief and admiration, and Gessler, disappointed, had no option but to
79 Years later, Wilhelm led an uprising against the vogt... but that's
82 And now an extract from the same tale, this time in the form of a tiny text
83 adventure game. If you're new to interaction with text adventures you'll
84 find some general instructions in :doc:`/appendices/a`, and you can see a
85 complete transcript of the game in :doc:`/appendices/c`. ::
88 The narrow street runs north towards the town square. Local folk are
89 pouring into the town through the gate to the south, shouting
90 greetings, offering produce for sale, exchanging news, enquiring with
91 exaggerated disbelief about the prices of the goods displayed by
92 merchants whose stalls make progress even more difficult.
94 "Stay close to me, son," you say, "or you'll get lost among all these
99 Further along the street
100 People are still pushing and shoving their way from the southern gate
101 towards the town square, just a little further north. You recognise
102 the owner of a fruit and vegetable stall.
104 Helga pauses from sorting potatoes to give you a cheery wave.
106 "Hello, Wilhelm, it's a fine day for trade! Is this young Walter?
107 My, how he's grown. Here's an apple for him -- tell him to mind that
108 scabby part, but the rest's good enough. How's Frau Tell? Give her
114 a quiver (being worn)
119 You warmly thank Helga for the apple.
121 >GIVE THE APPLE TO WALTER
126 South side of the square
127 The narrow street to the south has opened onto the town square, and
128 resumes at the far side of this cobbled meeting place. To continue
129 along the street towards your destination -- Johansson's tannery --
130 you must walk north across the square, in the middle of which you see
131 Gessler's hat set on that loathsome pole. If you go on, there's no
132 way you can avoid passing it. Imperial soldiers jostle rudely through
133 the throng, pushing, kicking and swearing loudly.
137 Some of the more obvious differences are highlighted by these questions:
139 * Who is the protagonist?
141 Our example of narrative prose is written in the third person; it
142 refers to the hero as "Wilhelm" and "he" and "him", watching and
143 reporting on his activities from afar. In this sample IF game,
144 *you* are the hero, seeing everything through Wilhelm's eyes.
148 The regular narrative is intended to be read once, straight through
149 from beginning to end. Unless you didn't pay attention the first time,
150 or you're planning to critique the story, there's generally no need to
151 go back and read a sentence twice; if you do, you'll find exactly the
152 same text. The author leads the way and sets the pace; you, as the
153 reader, just go along for the ride. In IF, that's usually much less
154 true. The author has created a landscape and populated it with
155 characters, but you choose how and when to explore it. The game
156 evolves, at least superficially, under your control; perhaps you
157 explore the street first and then the square, perhaps the other way
158 round. There usually are multiple paths to be found and followed --
159 and you can be pretty certain that you won't discover them all, at
160 least on first acquaintance.
162 * How does it all turn out?
164 You can tell when you've come to the end of a regular narrative -- you
165 read the last sentence, and you know there's no more. In IF, it's
166 clear enough when you reach *an* end; what's much less apparent is
167 whether that's the only conclusion. In the transcript from the example
168 game, you win by shooting the apple from Walter's head. But what if
169 you miss? What if you hit him by mistake? Or fire instead at the
170 hated vogt? Or even stand the tale on its head by bowing obsequiously
171 to the governor's hat and then going about your business? All of these
172 are possible ways in which the game could come to an end. The phrase
173 "what if" is the key to writing successfully, and should always be in
174 the forefront of an IF designer's mind.
176 * Where did Helga come from?
178 You'll notice that Helga and her stall don't appear in the regular
179 narrative; she's a distraction from the tale's momentum. But in the IF
180 game, she fulfils a number of useful functions: mentioning the names
181 "Wilhelm", "Walter" and "Frau Tell" (so that you know who the tale's
182 about), introducing the all-important apple in a natural manner and,
183 above all, providing an opportunity for the "I" in IF -- some
184 interactivity. Without that -- the chance to interact with the tale's
185 environment -- the game is little different from a conventional piece
188 * That item looks interesting; can you tell me more about it?
190 In the regular narrative, what you see is what you get; if you want to
191 know more about alpine life in the fourteenth century, you'll need to
192 consult another source. IF, on the other hand, offers at least the
193 possibility of delving deeper, of investigating in greater detail an
194 item which has been casually mentioned. For example, you could have
195 explored Helga's stall::
197 " ... How's Frau Tell? Give her my best wishes."
200 It's really only a small table, with a big heap of potatoes,
201 some carrots and turnips, and a few apples.
204 Fine locally grown produce.
206 You see those descriptions only if you seek them; nothing you find
207 there is unexpected, and if you don't examine the stall, you've not
208 missed anything important. Nevertheless, you've enhanced the illusion
209 that you're visiting a real place. Such details would rapidly grow
210 tedious if the stall and its contents were described in full each time
213 * How do I work this thing?
215 Whereas the presence of Helga is an elaboration of the folk tale, the
216 shooting of the arrow (it's in the transcript in :doc:`/appendices/c`,
217 not in the extract above) illustrates the opposite principle:
218 simplification. The tale builds dramatic tension by describing each
219 step as Wilhelm prepares to shoot the apple. That's OK; he's been an
220 archer all his life, and knows how to do it. You, on the other hand,
221 probably know little about archery, and shouldn't be expected to guess
222 at the process and vocabulary. Let's hope you know that you need to
223 shoot at the apple -- and that's all it takes. The game explains what
224 was involved, but doesn't force you through each mundane step.
226 Of course, all of these are generalisations, not universal truths; you
227 could find fine works of IF which contradict each observation. However,
228 for our purposes as beginners in the craft of IF design, they represent
229 useful distinctions between IF and conventional fiction.
231 We'll come back to the "William Tell" tale in a later chapter, but before
232 then we'll work through an even simpler example. And before either of
233 those, we need to download the necessary files which will enable us to