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