1 ===================================
2 Just what is interactive fiction?
3 ===================================
5 .. highlight:: transcript
9 | *A was an archer, who shot at a frog;*
10 | *B was a butcher, who had a great dog.*
14 .. image:: /images/picB.png
21 efore we start learning to use the Inform system, it's probably sensible
22 to consider briefly how IF, which has many narrative elements, differs from
23 regular storytelling. Before we do *that*, though, let's look at an example
24 of a familiar folk tale.
26 "There was once a man called Wilhelm Tell, from high in the Swiss Alps
27 near the town of Altdorf. A hunter and a guide, a proud mountaineer,
28 he lived by his skills in tracking and archery. It happened one day
29 that Wilhelm visited the town to buy provisions, and he took his son
32 The region was at the time governed by Hermann Gessler (a vain and
33 petty man appointed as vogt by the Austrian emperor), who attempted a
34 show of power over his subjects by placing his hat on a pole in the
35 town square, for everyone to salute. Reluctant citizens were
36 "encouraged" by a troop of the vogt's soldiers, who made sure that
37 their bows were sufficiently respectful.
39 Wilhelm knew of the hat, and of the humiliating exercise in obeisance.
40 So far he had managed to avoid the town's square, sure that -- given
41 his open dislike for the vogt -- his refusal to bend the knee would
42 cause trouble. Today, however, he needed to pass near the pole to
43 reach Johansson's tannery.
45 If Wilhelm had hoped for a lucky break, we'll never know. The square
46 was filled with market-day crowds; the soldiers were especially keen in
47 their salute- enforcing duties, challenging everyone with loud shouts
48 and the occasional coarse expletive. Wilhelm threw a protective arm
49 over his son's shoulder and walked determinedly without looking at the
52 A soldier called to him; Wilhelm took no notice. Other guards focused
53 their attention on the archer. "Salute the vogt's hat," he was told.
54 A tense silence followed. Wilhelm tried to keep going, but by now he
55 was surrounded. The men knew of him; one counselled Wilhelm to give a
56 cursory nod towards the hat and be done. Everybody in the vicinity was
57 watching, so the disrespect could not be ignored. There was a long
58 pause. Wilhelm refused.
60 Word was sent to Gessler, who rushed to the square with reinforcements.
61 The little man was delighted at the chance of making an example of the
62 trouble-maker. He mockingly recounted the many skills of Herr Tell,
63 speculating that such mastery maybe accounted for the pride that
64 prevented acknowledgement of the Emperor's authority. The vogt
65 understood all that, and would give him a fair chance. If Wilhelm were
66 able to shoot true at an apple from fifty paces, Gessler would be
67 inclined to show mercy; however, to make things interesting, the apple
68 was to be balanced on Walter's head.
70 Everything was set up. Wilhelm selected and mounted an arrow and
71 slowly raised the bow, conscious of the motionless and brave stance
72 that Walter was displaying. He pulled, feeling the tension mount on
73 the string and his fingers, through his hands, into his arms. He'd
74 made much more difficult shots in the past, at fleeting deer, at
75 soaring birds; but this was the life of his son... he could not fail,
78 Wilhelm let loose. The arrow flew straight and true, violently pinning
79 the apple to the tree behind the boy. The crowd exploded in a roar of
80 relief and admiration, and Gessler, disappointed, had no option but to
83 Years later, Wilhelm led an uprising against the vogt... but that's
86 And now an extract from the same tale, this time in the form of a tiny text
87 adventure game. If you're new to interaction with text adventures you'll
88 find some general instructions in "How to play an IF game" on page 209, and
89 you can see a complete transcript of the game in the "William Tell" story
93 The narrow street runs north towards the town square. Local folk are
94 pouring into the town through the gate to the south, shouting
95 greetings, offering produce for sale, exchanging news, enquiring with
96 exaggerated disbelief about the prices of the goods displayed by
97 merchants whose stalls make progress even more difficult.
99 "Stay close to me, son," you say, "or you'll get lost among all these
104 Further along the street
105 People are still pushing and shoving their way from the southern gate
106 towards the town square, just a little further north. You recognise
107 the owner of a fruit and vegetable stall.
109 Helga pauses from sorting potatoes to give you a cheery wave.
111 "Hello, Wilhelm, it's a fine day for trade! Is this young Walter?
112 My, how he's grown. Here's an apple for him -- tell him to mind that
113 scabby part, but the rest's good enough. How's Frau Tell? Give her
119 a quiver (being worn)
124 You warmly thank Helga for the apple.
126 >GIVE THE APPLE TO WALTER
131 South side of the square
132 The narrow street to the south has opened onto the town square, and
133 resumes at the far side of this cobbled meeting place. To continue
134 along the street towards your destination -- Johansson's tannery --
135 you must walk north across the square, in the middle of which you see
136 Gessler's hat set on that loathsome pole. If you go on, there's no
137 way you can avoid passing it. Imperial soldiers jostle rudely through
138 the throng, pushing, kicking and swearing loudly.
142 Some of the more obvious differences are highlighted by these questions:
144 * Who is the protagonist?
146 Our example of narrative prose is written in the third person; it
147 refers to the hero as "Wilhelm" and "he" and "him", watching and
148 reporting on his activities from afar. In this sample IF game, you are
149 the hero, seeing everything through Wilhelm's eyes.
153 The regular narrative is intended to be read once, straight through
154 from beginning to end. Unless you didn't pay attention the first time,
155 or you're planning to critique the story, there's generally no need to
156 go back and read a sentence twice; if you do, you'll find exactly the
157 same text. The author leads the way and sets the pace; you, as the
158 reader, just go along for the ride. In IF, that's usually much less
159 true. The author has created a landscape and populated it with
160 characters, but you choose how and when to explore it. The game
161 evolves, at least superficially, under your control; perhaps you
162 explore the street first and then the square, perhaps the other way
163 round. There usually are multiple paths to be found and followed --
164 and you can be pretty certain that you won't discover them all, at
165 least on first acquaintance.
167 * How does it all turn out?
169 You can tell when you've come to the end of a regular narrative -- you
170 read the last sentence, and you know there's no more. In IF, it's
171 clear enough when you reach an end; what's much less apparent is
172 whether that's the only conclusion. In the transcript from the example
173 game, you win by shooting the apple from Walter's head. But what if
174 you miss? What if you hit him by mistake? Or fire instead at the
175 hated vogt? Or even stand the tale on its head by bowing obsequiously
176 to the governor's hat and then going about your business? All of these
177 are possible ways in which the game could come to an end. The phrase
178 "what if" is the key to writing successfully, and should always be in
179 the forefront of an IF designer's mind.
181 * Where did Helga come from?
183 You'll notice that Helga and her stall don't appear in the regular
184 narrative; she's a distraction from the tale's momentum. But in the IF
185 game, she fulfils a number of useful functions: mentioning the names
186 "Wilhelm", "Walter" and "Frau Tell" (so that you know who the tale's
187 about), introducing the all-important apple in a natural manner and,
188 above all, providing an opportunity for the "I" in IF -- some
189 interactivity. Without that -- the chance to interact with the tale's
190 environment -- the game is little different from a conventional piece
193 * That item looks interesting; can you tell me more about it?
195 In the regular narrative, what you see is what you get; if you want to
196 know more about alpine life in the fourteenth century, you'll need to
197 consult another source. IF, on the other hand, offers at least the
198 possibility of delving deeper, of investigating in greater detail an
199 item which has been casually mentioned. For example, you could have
200 explored Helga's stall::
202 " ... How's Frau Tell? Give her my best wishes."
205 It's really only a small table, with a big heap of potatoes,
206 some carrots and turnips, and a few apples.
209 Fine locally grown produce.
211 You see those descriptions only if you seek them; nothing you find
212 there is unexpected, and if you don't examine the stall, you've not
213 missed anything important. Nevertheless, you've enhanced the illusion
214 that you're visiting a real place. Such details would rapidly grow
215 tedious if the stall and its contents were described in full each time
218 * How do I work this thing?
220 Whereas the presence of Helga is an elaboration of the folk tale, the
221 shooting of the arrow (it's in the transcript in "William Tell" story
222 on page 219, not in the extract above) illustrates the opposite
223 principle: simplification. The tale builds dramatic tension by
224 describing each step as Wilhelm prepares to shoot the apple. That's
225 OK; he's been an archer all his life, and knows how to do it. You, on
226 the other hand, probably know little about archery, and shouldn't be
227 expected to guess at the process and vocabulary. Let's hope you know
228 that you need to shoot at the apple -- and that's all it takes. The
229 game explains what was involved, but doesn't force you through each
232 Of course, all of these are generalisations, not universal truths; you
233 could find fine works of IF which contradict each observation. However,
234 for our purposes as beginners in the craft of IF design, they represent
235 useful distinctions between IF and conventional fiction.
237 We'll come back to the "William Tell" tale in a later chapter, but before
238 then we'll work through an even simpler example. And before either of
239 those, we need to download the necessary files which will enable us to