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