.. epigraph::
- | *A was an archer, who shot at a frog;*
- | *B was a butcher, who had a great dog.*
+ | |CENTER| *A was an archer, who shot at a frog;*
+ | |CENTER| *B was a butcher, who had a great dog.*
.. only:: html
.. image:: /images/picB.png
:align: left
-.. raw:: latex
-
- \dropcap{b}
-
-efore we start learning to use the Inform system, it's probably sensible
-to consider briefly how IF, which has many narrative elements, differs from
-regular storytelling. Before we do *that*, though, let's look at an example
-of a familiar folk tale.
+|B|\efore we start learning to use the Inform system, it's probably
+sensible to consider briefly how IF, which has many narrative elements,
+differs from regular storytelling. Before we do *that*, though, let's look
+at an example of a familiar folk tale.
"There was once a man called Wilhelm Tell, from high in the Swiss Alps
near the town of Altdorf. A hunter and a guide, a proud mountaineer,
And now an extract from the same tale, this time in the form of a tiny text
adventure game. If you're new to interaction with text adventures you'll
-find some general instructions in "How to play an IF game" on page 209, and
-you can see a complete transcript of the game in the "William Tell" story
-on page 219::
+find some general instructions in :doc:`/appendices/a`, and you can see a
+complete transcript of the game in :doc:`/appendices/c`. ::
A street in Altdorf
The narrow street runs north towards the town square. Local folk are
* How do I work this thing?
Whereas the presence of Helga is an elaboration of the folk tale, the
- shooting of the arrow (it's in the transcript in "William Tell" story
- on page 219, not in the extract above) illustrates the opposite
- principle: simplification. The tale builds dramatic tension by
- describing each step as Wilhelm prepares to shoot the apple. That's
- OK; he's been an archer all his life, and knows how to do it. You, on
- the other hand, probably know little about archery, and shouldn't be
- expected to guess at the process and vocabulary. Let's hope you know
- that you need to shoot at the apple -- and that's all it takes. The
- game explains what was involved, but doesn't force you through each
- mundane step.
+ shooting of the arrow (it's in the transcript in :doc:`/appendices/c`,
+ not in the extract above) illustrates the opposite principle:
+ simplification. The tale builds dramatic tension by describing each
+ step as Wilhelm prepares to shoot the apple. That's OK; he's been an
+ archer all his life, and knows how to do it. You, on the other hand,
+ probably know little about archery, and shouldn't be expected to guess
+ at the process and vocabulary. Let's hope you know that you need to
+ shoot at the apple -- and that's all it takes. The game explains what
+ was involved, but doesn't force you through each mundane step.
Of course, all of these are generalisations, not universal truths; you
could find fine works of IF which contradict each observation. However,