X-Git-Url: https://jxself.org/git/?p=ibg.git;a=blobdiff_plain;f=chapters%2F01.rst;h=8f6914b279bbd59b259761b358f9e29eb9e329ea;hp=119904c9b303bc16c158d99726076e86b35c1451;hb=95b5702817b987123d71d432f81eeb0c7101b59c;hpb=9e9feffd79cc1c4aa9c387afe98e16c7fbfae78d diff --git a/chapters/01.rst b/chapters/01.rst index 119904c..8f6914b 100644 --- a/chapters/01.rst +++ b/chapters/01.rst @@ -6,22 +6,18 @@ .. 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, @@ -85,9 +81,8 @@ of a familiar folk tale. 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 @@ -218,16 +213,15 @@ Some of the more obvious differences are highlighted by these questions: * 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,