X-Git-Url: https://jxself.org/git/?a=blobdiff_plain;f=about.rst;h=0a95ff3145b21b863530d70aa4a3e0f82b85d50b;hb=refs%2Fheads%2Fmaster;hp=ae816b9e731f76c6ae2b40182efc26fb9f97ced1;hpb=d102cdffefa7d68901d9f6e7d564656270bd0280;p=ibg.git diff --git a/about.rst b/about.rst index ae816b9..0a95ff3 100644 --- a/about.rst +++ b/about.rst @@ -6,8 +6,8 @@ .. epigraph:: - | *If they asked me, I could write a book;* - | *About the way you TALK, and LISTEN; And LOOK.* + | |CENTER| *If they asked me, I could write a book;* + | |CENTER| *About the way you TALK, and LISTEN; And LOOK.* -- with apologies to Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. @@ -16,19 +16,20 @@ .. image:: /images/picT.png :align: left -.. raw:: latex - - \dropcap{t} - -ext adventures, otherwise known collectively as interactive fiction (IF), -were highly popular computer games during the 1980s. As technology evolved -they faded from the market, unable to compete with increasingly -sophisticated graphical games; however, IF was far from dead. The Internet -grew, and Usenet discussion forums offered a focal point for fans of the -genre. By developing IF programming tools and systems, organising contests -and writing tutorials and reviews, these enthusiasts have led a revival -responsible for many notable works, including some whose quality arguably -surpasses that of the best commercial titles of the 1980s. +|T|\ext adventures, otherwise known collectively as interactive fiction +(IF), were highly popular computer games during the 1980s. As +technology evolved they faded from the market, unable to compete with +increasingly sophisticated graphical games; however, IF was far from +dead. The Internet grew, and Usenet discussion forums offered a focal +point for fans of the genre. By developing IF programming tools and +systems, organising contests and writing tutorials and reviews, these +enthusiasts have led a revival responsible for many notable works, +including some whose quality arguably surpasses that of the best +commercial titles of the 1980s. + +.. Generated by autoindex +.. index:: + single: TADS Nowadays, IF is a hobby; almost everything that you need to begin writing your own text adventures is available, for free, on the Internet. While @@ -58,13 +59,13 @@ Scope and approach Because this is only an introduction to Inform, many features are treated rather superficially, or ignored altogether. The definitive text is Graham -Nelson's Inform *Designer's Manual* (Fourth Edition, July 2001), commonly -known as the DM4; you cannot hope to use Inform successfully without having -this splendid book by your side. Our guide should be seen merely as a -supplement to the DM4, offering step-by-step descriptions of those aspects -of Inform which are most important on first acquaintance. In any matter -where we seem at odds with what Graham has written, you should assume that -he is right and that we are, well, confused. +Nelson's |DM4| (Fourth Edition, July 2001), commonly known as the DM4; you +cannot hope to use Inform successfully without having this splendid book by +your side. Our guide should be seen merely as a supplement to the DM4, +offering step-by-step descriptions of those aspects of Inform which are +most important on first acquaintance. In any matter where we seem at odds +with what Graham has written, you should assume that he is right and that +we are, well, confused. As a tutorial, this guide is intended to be printed out and then read sequentially; it isn't meant for online usage or designed as a reference @@ -111,7 +112,11 @@ Inform statement: as meaning "display on the player's screen the arbitrary character or characters which are represented here by the placeholder *string*". -Examples might include:: +Examples might include: + +.. include:: /config/typethis.rst + +:: print "Hello world!"; print "Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on @@ -119,14 +124,7 @@ Examples might include:: the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth."; -We place the "TYPE" symbol alongside game fragments which you can type in -as a part of our working examples. This differentiates them from other -code snippets whose only purpose is to illustrate some particular feature. - -.. todo:: - - The "TYPE" symbol doesn't really work here. Think of a better way to - indicate typed-in fragments. +.. include:: /config/typeinfo.rst Useful Internet resources ========================= @@ -141,11 +139,15 @@ locations: * http://www.inform-fiction.org/ The Inform home page, maintained by Graham Nelson and a small team of - helpers. Most important, this is where you can find the *Inform - Designer's Manual* in PDF format. + helpers. Most important, this is where you can find the |DM4| in PDF + format. * http://mirror.ifarchive.org/ + .. Generated by autoindex + .. index:: + single: IF Archive + The IF Archive (or actually a high-speed mirror copy of it), from which you can download almost anything that's free and in the public domain. For a clickable map of Inform-related parts of the Archive, see @@ -170,6 +172,10 @@ locations: * :newsgroup:`rec.arts.int-fiction` + .. Generated by autoindex + .. index:: + single: RAIF + The Usenet newsgroup for authors of IF, commonly known by the abbreviation RAIF. Here you'll find discussion on IF technology, criticism and game design issues, and fast, friendly and knowledgeable @@ -178,6 +184,10 @@ locations: * :newsgroup:`rec.games.int-fiction` + .. Generated by autoindex + .. index:: + single: RGIF + The complementary newsgroup for IF *players*, often known as RGIF. .. todo:: @@ -222,13 +232,13 @@ for devising it all, thereby giving us the opportunity -- first independently and later in enjoyable collaboration -- of using, and eventually of presenting, the Inform text adventure development system. -| *Roger Firth* -| *Wallingford, England* +| |FILL| *Roger Firth* +| |FILL| *Wallingford, England* -| *Sonja Kesserich* -| *Madrid, Spain* +| |FILL| *Sonja Kesserich* +| |FILL| *Madrid, Spain* -| *August 2004* +| |FILL| *August 2004* .. rubric:: Footnotes