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Rec.arts.int-fiction Frequently-Asked Questions Update 951001
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Topics covered in this FAQ:
Sections:
(0) New since last update (950906b) and news flashes.
(1) What is the purpose of this news group?
(2) What topics are appropriate here?
(3) Can I download IF-related material? Where from?
(4) What authoring systems are available for writing text adventures?
(5) Where can I get references and papers on interactive fiction?
(6) What happened to that great publisher of adventures, Infocom?
(7) Where can I get hints/solutions/walkthroughs for specific games?
(8) What is IF anyway? What *are* you people talking about?
Appendices:
(A) Recent discussions on rec.arts.int-fiction.
(B) The on-going development of IF.
(C) Acknowledgements and credits.
You are recommended to retain a copy of this file for future reference,
rather than post a frequently-asked question.
This file is posted once at the beginning, and once during the second or
third week of each month to:
rec.arts.int-fiction
It will also be posted only at the beginning of each month to:
rec.games.int-fiction rec.games.programmer
comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.adventure comp.sys.mac.games.adventure
comp.answers rec.answers news.answers (awaiting moderation)
The latest update is available via anonymous FTP from a number of sources.
You can be sure to find it as
<ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/rec.arts.int-fiction/FAQ>
<ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/int-fiction/authoring-FAQ>
<ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/rec.arts.int-fiction/authoring-FAQ>
This file can also be requested by e-mail. Send an e-mail to
<mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu>, containing `send
usenet/news.answers/int-fiction/authoring-FAQ' in the body of the message.
An HTMLified version is available from
<http://speedracer.nmsu.edu/~jholder>
I shall update the FAQ at least once a month, and possibly more often if
circumstances allow and warrant doing so.
--- oOo ---
(0) New since last update (950906b) and news flashes.
Well, the FAQ has been elongated by about 350 lines so their are many
changes. It has been split into sections (referenced by number) and
appendices (referenced by letter). The sections correspond with the most
frequently-asked questions on this group, while the appendices detail a few
things which might clarify what is currently going on in our little
electronic world. A wholly new appendix, (B), has been added.
The content of the FAQ has been considerably enhanced by including the
suggestions made by various people on rec.arts.int-fiction. One subject
which generated a lot of interest was how I should write section (4). I
won't detail the new method (you can read it yourself below), but basically
each of the various systems are allocated to one of three categories based
solely on current popularity. I have tried to be as objective as possible in
my descriptions of the various systems, but I'm happy to hear your criticism.
To any authors who took the time to answer my questionnaire but whose
information I have not used, apologies, but them's the breaks.
--- oOo ---
(1) What is the purpose of this news group?
Rec.arts.int-fiction is a reasonably low volume, high signal-to-noise news
group for the discussion of interactive fiction (IF; see section (8) for a
description of what IF is). Discussion of IF implementation languages is
certainly appropriate in this group, and there are many pleas of a "how do I
do this...?" nature with reference to the nuts'n'bolts of particular
authoring systems (very nearly 1000f which are answered). Ideas on
applying popular technologies (such as object oriented programming) to
problems in interactive fiction development (environment representation,
parsing, natural language generation, for example) are also welcomed. We do
talk about existing adventure games here, but the discussions are from the
viewpoint of `the advancement of interactive fiction' -- with emphasis on the
development of IF as a literary genre and/or a form of computer-based
art/entertainment. Many threads are relevant to, and can be followed by,
programmers and non-programmers alike.
Remember, rec.arts.int-fiction is a discussion group, and will only function
if people contribute to it. So, while you ought to just read for a week or
two and get a taste of the flavour of the group before spicing things up with
your first post don't lurk too long. We do want to hear from you...
--- oOo ---
(2) What topics are appropriate here?
(See also appendix (A) for examples of recent discussions).
Topics related to interactive fiction design, theory, and implementation are
appropriate. If you are asking for help with a particular authoring system
it often helps if you post a short code example. Please do not post very
long or irrelevant pieces of code. Try to keep your examples succinct and
relevant. Sometimes people post `giftware', clever pieces of code which
solve a particular problem. These, too, should be kept as concise as
possible. `Giftware' has been placed in the public domain.
Please don't post questions about specific adventure game puzzles to this
news group, as it was set up only for discussion of interactive fiction from
the point of view of the *author*, not the *player*. Please post these
queries to the newsgroup rec.games.int-fiction, not here.
Discussions of MUDs (multi-user dungeons) belong on rec.games.mud.misc,
although discussion of multi-player IF theory is certainly appropriate here.
Information on LARPs (live-action role playing games) and FRPs (fantasy role
playing games) can be found in rec.games.frp.misc. Questions about games
such as NETHACK, ANGBAND, etc. should be posted to rec.games.roguelike.misc.
This is not a newsgroup for the discussion of traditional `static' fiction.
Literary magazines, advertisements for writers, and other general fiction
topics should be posted to the appropriate newsgroup (alt.prose,
misc.writing, rec.arts.books, rec.arts.poems, rec.arts.prose).
Posting to more than one group is not a good idea. Select the appropriate
news group and post only to that one. Just as you would not post questions
about how to solve a specific game in this group, please refrain from posting
questions on IF design and implementation in rec.games.int-fiction. The two
groups, rec.arts.int-fiction and rec.games.int-fiction, as you might imagine,
complement each other rather nicely. They are however distinct from one
another and you should bear in mind their particular charter before sending a
post (see section (1) for the purpose of rec.arts.int-fiction).
Controversial viewpoints are sometimes posted here and indeed are to be
encouraged; when you post a dissenting view, remember to attack the idea, not
the person. Let us debate, not battle.
--- oOo ---
(3) Can I download IF-related material? Where from?
By far the most extensive and up-to-date collection of authoring systems,
articles, games, interpreters, solutions and other IF-related software on the
Internet is at the FTP site ftp.gmd.de, the German National Research Center
for Information Technology in Sankt Augustin, Germany, Europe. This can be
reached via anonymous FTP as
<ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/>
This site is mentioned (almost exclusively) throughout this FAQ and is
oftentimes referred to in posts to rec.arts.int-fiction simply as `gmd' or
the `if-archive'. If you are looking for a particular piece of IF-related
material you can do no better than to look here first. To aid your
navigation of the directory hierarchy you should download the files
`Master-Index', `ls-lR' and `directory-tree' (these are updated on a daily
basis).
Uploads of new material are encouraged; they should be put in
<ftp://ftp.gmd.de/incoming/if-archive/>
Please send a covering e-mail to the maintainer of the archive, Volker
Blasius <blasius@gmd.de>, describing the purpose of your upload and what
machines it works on.
The site is mirrored at
<ftp://wuarchive.wustl.edu/doc/misc/if-archive/> (updated daily)
<ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/misc/if-archive/> (updated weekly)
The Infocom games are still under copyright. They are commercial software
and must be bought. They are not legally available on the Internet.
--- oOo ---
(4) What authoring systems are available for writing text adventures?
There are several. Below I have listed all the currently publicly available
systems. The systems have been categorized according to their current
popularity. There are three categories, (i), (ii) and (iii). The actual
systems within each category are listed in alphabetical order only, and no
comparisons are made between systems, except in terms of current popularity.
All these systems are available via anonymous FTP from
<ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/programming/>
Programming examples for several systems are found, in the if-archive, in the
`examples' sub-directory of a particular system's `programming' directory.
For instance, TADS examples are available via anonymous FTP from
<ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/programming/tads/examples/>
The source code for a number of full-size game is found in a particular
system's sub-directory in the directory structure `games/source'. For
instance, AGT source codes are available via anonymous FTP from
<ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/games/source/agt/>
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| Category (i) | The most popular, these are currently used by a large
|______________| number of people; many posts to rec.arts.int-fiction
concern these systems and their use; several new games
have recently been produced with these systems; games produced with these
systems are guaranteed a large audience.
INFORM (compiler of Infocom-format story-files)
Release:
Inform 5.5 (v1502). Library 5/11.
Name/e-mail address of author:
Graham Nelson <nelson@vax.ox.ac.uk>.
Platforms:
Acorn Archimedes, Macintosh, Atari ST, Amiga, IBM PC (including
pre-386), Linux, OS/2, UNIX, VMS (for DEC VAX or Alpha).
Author/popular support:
The author fixes library bugs whenever they are reported, and issues
updates at least every three months. The compiler is updated
approximately twice a year, and new documentation should be
available by the time you read this. Feedback from users is welcomed.
There are currently a large number of posts to rec.arts.int-fiction
which concern INFORM, including frequent `giftware' examples.
Programming knowledge required:
Compiles an object oriented C-like language. A quite sophisticated
parser is supplied, which can be entirely invisible to the designer but
is highly programmable if need be. The library is itself written in
INFORM and is relatively easy to modify.
Licensing details and availability:
Freeware. The author retains copyright in order to prevent commercial
exploitation, but (subject only to mild restrictions) is even prepared
to let people sell games produced by INFORM. All source code (in
portable ANSI C) is publicly available.
Documentation and game sources:
The main manual is the "Designer's Manual"; the "Technical Manual"
documents very dry internals; the "Specification of the Z-Machine"
defines the run-time format fully. A much expanded "Designer's Manual"
is now in proof. A handful of game sources are available. Another
source of information is the Inform Home Page. This includes a
beginner's tutorial and can be found on the WWW at
<http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/gdr11/inform/>
Features and limitations:
Produces files in the `Z-machine' format, as used by Infocom. Thus
games can be played on any of the many publicly available Infocom
interpreters. A standard library is supplied; it is possible to
replace library routines. The run-time format does not permit dynamic
memory allocation or object creation. Low-level programming is
provided for, including a full assembler. At present there is no
linking of precompiled modules, but the author intends to introduce
this with Inform 6.
Debugging features:
Can print tracing information for calls to routines and a suite of
debugging verbs is included in the library: these monitor timers,
daemons, actions, the object tree, the parser's internal workings and
the like, and give the tester supernatural powers to travel and move
things around. The library can also record and play back scripts of
commands. Tools such as TXD (a disassembler) and INFODUMP (an
inspector of objects, dictionary and grammar) are publicly available.
TADS (Text Adventure Development System)
Release:
Version 2.2.0.5.
Name/e-mail address of author:
Michael J Roberts <73737.417@compuserve.com>.
Platforms:
AmigaDOS, Atari ST/TT/Falcon, DECStation, Linux, Macintosh, MS-DOS,
NeXT, OS/2, SGI Iris/Indigo, SunOS & Sun 3.
Author/popular support:
Posts to rec.arts.int-fiction dealing with all manner of TADS queries
are not uncommon, and there are many third-party programming examples
and utilities, including David Baggett's <dmb@lf.ai.mit.edu>
"WorldClass", a complete replacement class library.
Programming knowledge required:
Uses a high-level, largely object-oriented language very reminiscent of
Pascal or C.
Licensing details and availability:
Shareware ($40). Source code is not publicly available.
Documentation and game source:
The "Overview Documentation" is available via anonymous FTP. Upon
registration the user is sent a printed version of the full 200 page
"TADS Author's Manual". Included with the overview is the source for a
medium-sized game. Other source for a few games is publicly available.
Features and limitations:
Supports full class inheritance. Included is a large library of
standard object definitions. External functions written in another
language (such as C) can be used with a TADS game.
Debugging features:
TDB (supplied upon registration) is a full-featured source-level
debugger. It allows single-stepping through your source, the setting
of breakpoints at specific lines, and the examination and alteration of
variables in your program.
_______________
| |
| Category (ii) | Intermediate popularity and new systems, these do not
|_______________| appeal to quite as large an audience as those in
category (i) or are new systems (less than one year old)
and have not yet had sufficient time to prove their appeal; there are
infrequent posts to rec.arts.int-fiction dealing with these systems and
their use; occasionally games are produced using these systems.
AGT (Adventure Game Toolkit)
Release:
Version 1.83.
Names/e-mail addresses of authors:
David R Malmberg <73435.1277@compuserve.com>
Mark J Welch.
Platforms:
Amiga, Atari ST, Macintosh, MS-DOS, Windows. There seem to be many
different versions for different platforms.
Author/popular support:
No longer supported by the authors. Posts to rec.arts.int-fiction are
now few and far between.
Programming knowledge required:
Uses a meta-language similar to English. Standard Level games can be
created with no prior programming knowledge.
Licensing details and availability:
Public domain (was shareware until 1994). Turbo Pascal 4.0/5.0/5.5/6.0
source code is available. Games produced with AGT are freely
distributable in whatever manner you choose. Both "standard" and
"master" editions are available.
Documentation and game sources:
The documentation available on the Internet is out-of-date in regard to
author support (which no longer applies) and licensing details (AGT is
now public domain). Included is the source for a small game, CRUSADE.
Other source for some two dozen games is publicly available.
Features and limitations:
Creates Standard Level games ("require no programming experience
(honestly!), only a fertile imagination") or Professional Level games.
There are limitations on the number of locations (200) and
animate/inanimate objects (100 each) in a game. As AGT is no longer
supported by the authors there will be no future upgrades/bug-fixes.
Debugging features:
A few basic debugging commands (such as MOVEPLAYER and LISTROOMS) to be
used at run-time.
ALAN (Adventure LANguage System)
Release:
Version 2.5(n) (n=correction levels (1), (2) or (3); varies between
platforms; level (3) is currently Macintosh only).
Names/e-mail addresses of authors:
Thomas Nilsson <thoni@softlab.se>
Gran Forslund <gorfo@ida.liu.se>.
Platforms:
Amiga, Macintosh, MS-DOS, OS/2, sun4 (Solaris1, SunOS 4.1), sun4
(Solaris2, SunOS 5.x), HP-UX, VAX/VMS.
Author/popular support:
As a non-profit making project user support may vary, although the
authors will endeavour to act on error reports sent by e-mail.
Programming knowledge required:
Uses a very high-level language. With an easy-to-learn syntax and
semantics, ALAN takes a descriptive view of the concepts of adventure
authoring. There are no variables, subroutines or other traditional
programming constructs. A general statement which describes the ALAN
philosophy is that a game's author should not need to program, only
describe, what the player will see.
Licensing details and availability:
Freeware although the source is unavailable (except for porting).
Documentation and the interpreter are available via anonymous FTP, and
the interpreter may be freely distributed with compiled games for
commercial purposes (ie, no fee or royalties are required if you start
to sell games). The compiler is only available from the authors; a
mail server is set up for this purpose, <alan-request@softlab.se>. Each
distribution of the compiler package is registered to the requestor in
order to make contact possible (updates, asking for feedback or
solutions to problems).
Documentation and game sources:
The manual, available separately in PostScript or ASCII format or as
part of the interpreter package, contains a lot of detail on all
aspects of IF authorship from a beginner's level upwards. A very few
examples of ALAN source are available, but no full-game source.
Features and limitations:
Actors may be scripted and rules are evaluated between each actors turn
which can trigger actions. Events can be triggered by objects, actors
or locations. Expansion of the parser syntax is simple. ALAN lacks
actor interaction and inheritance (although a prototype of v3.0
supports this). General verbs can be overridden both for locations and
objects on which they are invoked. Parser syntax is simple to expand
upon, and their is support for multinational character input.
Debugging features:
The debugger currently supports viewing (but not altering) of most
data, tracing of significant parts of the execution and single-stepping
though compiled code.
ARCHETYPE
Release:
Version 1.01 (1.02 coming soon).
Name/e-mail address of author:
Derek T Jones <dtj@rincon.primenet.com>.
Platforms:
IBM PCs (8088 and above, DOS 3.3 or later).
Author/popular support:
The author will gladly answer any e-mails, and even letters through the
regular mail. He works on ARCHETYPE in his spare time, a few hours a
week. Consequently updates may be infrequent, but hopefully at least
once a year (and bug-fixes as necessary). If a quick patch would solve
a problem, he will (e-)mail this to individual users.
Programming knowledge required:
Something of an experiment in language design: could a language be
this simple and still be useful enough to create games? Consequently
it is a very simple language; it is small and object oriented, with
some features that support the writing of adventure games.
Licensing details and availability:
Freeware. Source code (in Turbo Pascal 5.0) is also freeware.
Documentation and game sources:
The documents "How To Quickly Write An Adventure Game" and "The
Archetype Language Reference Manual", which are archived with the
ARCHETYPE distribution, between them fully describe the language and
its use. Also, there is the source for two full games, and a much
smaller bare-bones demonstration.
Features and limitations:
Supports dynamic instantiation of objects, and can store the state of
every object, including dynamic objects, to a save-state. There is a
system object which supports operations such as string sorting and
context-dependent parsing. There is no type-checking, but almost no
run-time errors either. It only supports single inheritance, integer
math, and messages cannot have any arguments except the sender. There
are no lists or arrays or local variables.
Debugging features:
Statement, expression, and message tracing only. No interactive
debugging (cannot modify variables, etc. at run-time), but you can
compile a program with symbolic information so that the trace messages
are in terms of your original source code.
HUGO
Release:
Version 1.2 (1.3 very soon).
Name/e-mail address of author:
Kent Tessman <as400477@orion.yorku.ca>.
Platforms:
PC only (although other ports are soon to follow).
Author/popular support:
The authors intends to continue supporting HUGO indefinitely, and is
developing further releases of the compiler/engine package. He will
take e-mail and respond to posts. In his own words, he will
contribute "anything I can offer" to the product. Otherwise, HUGO is
relatively new, and as yet there have been few posts to
rec.arts.int-fiction conerning the system.
Programming knowledge required:
Owes its origins to INFORM, C, and BASIC, is thus object-oriented and
easily programmable. Much low-level (assembly) programming is done
within the system itself.
Licensing details and availability:
Freeware, so long as it is distributed in an unmodified manner. The C
source code is readily available. Games produced by a user are the
property of that author, and may be freely distributed. Only if the
game (including any included libraries from HUGO) or the HUGO engine
is intended for distribution in any commercial manner (shareware or
otherwise) must Kent Tessman be contacted for permission.
Documentation and game sources:
The supplied documentation, while comprehensive, is devoid of examples.
The author has asked for suggestions for the user manual on
rec.arts.int-fiction so a new edition may be in the offing. Currently
the only available game source code is that supplied with the
distribution, including a port of ADVENTURE, a small sample game, and a
shell-game to build on.
Features and limitations:
The compiler is quite fast. Features such as global events,
object-linked events, and object/character scripts are intended to make
story-oriented programming easier. HUGO supports hierarchical
inheritance and the ability to use objects as classes. HUGO allows the
programmer to fully manipulate the interpretation of the input line
prior to engine parsing.
Debugging features:
The HUGOFIX library, which is a suite of debugging routines allowing
the user to monitor, set, and check almost every aspect of a game at
run-time. HUGOFIX calls a number of engine-based functions as well as
employing routines written entirely in the HUGO language.
________________
| |
| Category (iii) | Little current popularity, these are not generally
|________________| popular; they often cater to only a small number of
platforms (usually only PCs) and may be less advanced
or more specialised (such as handling graphics-based games) than systems
in the other categories; games are rarely produced with these systems.
ADL ADVENT ADVENTURA ADVSYS AGIFG AVENTURO
DROOL FIGMENT GAGS GAMESCAPE LADS OASYS QUESTMAKER
A NOTE ON AUTHOR SUPPORT: While most authors are happy to accept e-mail
concerning their system please remember that reading and responding to e-mail
does take time. While bug reports, requests/suggestions for new features,
etc. should be sent to the author directly, questions on how to implement a
particular feature or operate a particular function should go to
rec.arts.int-fiction, where time is not an issue.
A NOTE ON LICENSING: Games written with some authoring systems, notably
HUGO, may not be distributed for money (shareware or commercial) without the
system author's express consent. You should always read and abide by any and
all licensing details relating to the system which you choose. If you do not
like the licensing arrangements, use a different system.
For a more detailed description of several authoring systems, plus advice on
writing your own game, see Nathan Torkington's <Nathan.Torkington@vuw.ac.nz>
"Adventure Authoring Systems FAQ" (November 23rd, 1994), which is available
via anonymous FTP as
<ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/info/authoring-systems.FAQ>
Limited information on a large number of authoring systems (commercial,
shareware and freeware, past and present) can be found in Hans Persson's
<unicorn@lysator.liu.se> two documents, "Information about interactive
fiction games" and "Adventure Game Creators". These are both available via
anonymous FTP as
<ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/info/adventure-game-history.txt>
<ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/info/adventure-game-systems.txt>
A hypertext version of Hans' former document can be found on his web page, at
<http://www.lysator.liu.se/~unicorn/adv/agh-index.html>
The `market leaders', as it were, are undoubtedly INFORM and TADS. Bob
Newell <bnewell@delphi.com> has written a useful document, the "Which is
better TADS or INFORM FAQ". Edition 1.1 (April 12th, 1995) is available via
anonymous FTP as
<ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/info/TADS-vs-Inform.FAQ>.
--- oOo ---
(5) Where can I get references and papers on interactive fiction?
Several papers on IF design and theory are available via anonymous FTP from
<ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/info/>
These include:
ART COM (electronic) Magazine #43 and #44 (Nov & Dec '90). These two issues
were devoted to interactive fiction. These are the files `ArtCom.43' and
`ArtCom.44'.
David Graves <dag@cup.hp.com> has published three papers. They are:
"Second Generation Adventure Games" (which focuses on the physical world
model, parsing, text generation, and simple agent planning), "Bringing
Characters to Life" (which summarizes the progress in Artificial
Personality over the last two decades), and "Plot Automation" based on
his presentation at the Computer Game Developer's Conference in '91.
These are the files `Graves.1', `Graves.2' and `Graves.3' respectively.
Paul Munn's senior project paper "The Application of Directed Acyclic
Graphs to First Generation Interactive Fiction" contains ideas on the use
of DAGs in IF and a TADS implementation of this, as well as information
on the evolution of IF, past and future. The paper, in ascii format and
as a WordPerfect document (with footnotes), and the TADS examples are
available as a zipped archive, `plotdag.zip'.
Graham Nelson's treatise on writing a work of IF, "The Craft of Adventure",
is highly recommended. This is currently in its 2nd edition and is
available either as plain text or in a TeX version. Get either the file
`Craft.Of.Adventure.txt' or `Craft.Of.Adventure.tex'.
Gerry Kevin Wilson <whizzard@uclink.berkeley.edu> has thoughtfully
published his views on designing and writing IF in "Whizzard's Guide to
Text Adventure Authorship". This is the file `authorship-guide.txt'. Be
sure, also, to get the updates to this file (there are currently two,
`authorship-guide.sup1' and `authorship-guide.sup2'.)
Two regular IF magazines are available on the Internet, via anonymous FTP
from
<ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/magazines/>
SPAG (the Society for the Preservation of Adventure Games) carries many
independent reviews of IF games, as well as the occasional article and a
small number of letters to the editor. It is currently in its seventh
issue. To subscribe (issues received as e-mail) just send an e-mail to
spag-request@df.lth.se with the line `subscribe <your e-mail address
here>'. The six issues and the SPAG FAQ are available as ascii files
only. The editor of SPAG is Gerry Kevin Wilson.
XYZZYnews carries a smaller number of reviews (but usually quite in-depth).
Each issue usually contains two or three articles on IF design, as well
as spoilers and hints for specific games, and perhaps an interview with
one of the leading lights in the IF world. It is currentlt in its fourth
issue. Subscription details (for the printed version and/or the
XYZZYnews companion disk) are available in each issue of the magazine.
The four issues are available either in ascii format or as PDF files.
The editor of XYZZYnews is Eileen Mullin <eileen@interport.net>.
Both magazines are free of charge in their electronic versions (there is a
small p&p fee for the print version/companion disk of XYZZYnews). Both rely
on reader input (reviews and articles) to keep going. So, read the back
issues and then contribute to future issues!
Some reading related to interactive fiction includes:
Buckles, Mary Ann. "Interactive Fiction: the Computer Storygame
`Adventure'" (University of California at San Diego, 1985). Focuses only
on the original adventure game. Limited in scope, but a fun read for any
hard-core fan of interactive fiction theory.
Laurel, Brenda. "Towards the Design of a Computer-based Interactive
Fantasy System" (Ohio State University 1986). See also her "Computers as
Theatre" (Addison-Wesley Publishing Co, 1991, ISBN 0-201-51048-0, new
edition in 1993, ISBN 0-201-55060-1). This book extends the work that
Laurel began in her PhD dissertation, which addresses the problems in
automating plots which integrate the player's actions.
Meehan, James. "The Metanovel: Writing Stories by Computer" (Yale 1976).
Meehan used the natural language technology of Roger Schank's Yale group
to construct some primitive Aesop's fables.
Sloane, Sarah. "Interactive Fiction, Virtual Realities, and the
Reading-Writing Relationship" (Ohio State University 1991). Sloane
presents her views on narrative theory, as well as analyizing IF R&D in
progress at CMU (led by Joe Bates) and at Interactive Fantasies (Brengle
and Graves).
These four PhD dissertations are available for ~$50 each from University
Microfilms, (800) 521-0600. (Half price for students).
Here are references on `rules' for story generation:
Aristotle. "The Poetics". Translated by Ingram Bywater. In "Rhetoric and
Poetics of Aristotle". New York: The Modern Library, 1954. Aristotle
defines the basic elements used to construct stories and drama, although
his model is frequently attacked by modern narrative-theory researchers.
Campbell, Joseph. "Hero with a Thousand Faces" (1949). New Jersey:
Princeton University Press. Campbell defines the elements which are
common to heroic folktales in all cultures, forming a single template,
which is called `the monomyth'.
Polti, Georges. "The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations" (1916). Boston: The
Writer, Inc. (617) 423-3157. ~$10. (First published in 1895 as "Les
trente-six situations dramatiques"). See also "Whizzard's Guide to Text
Adventure Authorship" for a more IF-centric update on Polti's ideas.
Propp, Vladimir. "Morphology of the Folk Tale" (1968). University of
Texas Press, Austin. This analysis of the structure of Russian folktales
was first published in 1928 as "Morfologija skazki".
Frequent articles relating to interactive fiction can be found in:
"Interactive Entertainment Design" (formerly the "Journal of Computer Game
Design"). Subscriptions are $36 per year (it is a non-profit
publication) for six issues. Write to 5251 Sierra Road, San Jose,
California, 95132. The editor (Chris Crawford) welcomes articles from
the readership; contributors receive a free one-year extension on their
subscription.
The Oz Project, directed by Joseph Bates at the Carnegie-Mellon School of
Computer Science, is developing technology for high quality Interactive
Fiction. Their goal is to provide users with the experience of living in
a dramatically interesting simulated world that includes simulated people.
Their focus is on the simulations behind the interface, which they call
the deep structure of virtual reality.
You can order technical papers by mail. Fees include copying and postage.
Within the US and Canada send $2 per paper, outside of US and Canada send $5
per paper. Cheques must be payable to a US bank (made out to "Carnegie
Mellon University"). Cash (US$) is also accepted (carefully wrapped), or
money order. Include your return address!
Computer Science Documentation
School of Computer Science
Carnegie Mellon University
5000 Forbes Avenue info request: reports@cs.cmu.edu
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3891 phone: (412) 268-2596
Title of CMU Computer Science paper: CMU-CS#
----------------------------------------------------------------- ------
Towards a Theory of Narrative for Interactive Fiction. 89-121
Glinda: Natural Language Text Generation in the Oz IF Project. 90-158
HAP: A Reactive, Adaptive Architecture for Agents. 91-147
Integrated Natural Langurage Generation Systems. 92-107
Integrating Reactivity, Goals, and Emotion in a Broad Agent. 92-142
Building Emotional Agents. 92-143
An Architecture for Action, Emotion, and Social Behavior. 92-144
Dramatic Presence. 92-195
The Nature of Character in Interactive Worlds and the Oz Project. 92-200
Integrating Reactive and Deliberative Planning for Agents. 93-155
The Role of Emotion in Believable Agents. 94-136
Many of these papers are available as postscript files via anonymous FTP from
<ftp://reports.adm.cs.cmu.edu/>
You can use a web browser to access Oz papers, images, and project
information using the address
<http://www.cs.cmu.edu:8001/afs/cs.cmu.edu/project/oz/web/oz.html>
Stephen Granade's <sgranade@scratchy.phy.duke.edu> more expansive
"Interactive Fiction Bibliography" is available via anonymous FTP as
<ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/info/if-bibliography.txt>
--- oOo ---
(6) What happened to that great publisher of adventures, Infocom?
Around 1986/87 Infocom was having serious financial trouble. Their database
product, CORNERSTONE, was expensive to develop but was not selling.
Activision then bought Infocom. Infocom was relocated to Mountain View,
California, but most of the staff were laid off. Infocom became a label, and
Activision went through a radical reorganization. Finally, Mediagenic was
formed as the parent company of Activision and Infocom. You may see new
products come out under the Infocom label, but the original writers have
moved on. Mediagenic went nearly bankrupt, and merged with The Disc Company,
which continues to hold the copyright (and is still selling) the old Infocom
games.
For further information on the rise and fall of Infocom, as well as currently
available anthologies of their games, the reader is referred to Paul David
Doherty's <h0142kdd@rz.hu-berlin.de> "Infocom Fact Sheet". Release 4.8
(September 3rd, 1995) is available via anonymous FTP as
<ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/infocom/info/fact-sheet.txt>
As an alternative take a look at the rec.games.int-fiction FAQ maintained by
Stephen van Egmond <svanegmo@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca>. This is
periodically posted to rec.games.int-fiction, and is also available via
anonymous FTP as
<ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/rec.games.int-fiction/FAQ>
--- oOo ---
(7) Where can I get hints/solutions/walkthroughs for specific games?
The if-archive has numerous files of this ilk. These are available via
anonymous FTP from
<ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/solutions/>
Remember, if you have questions on how to solve a particular puzzle or
particular game, post to rec.games.int-fiction, not to rec.arts.int-fiction.
--- oOo ---
(8) What is IF anyway? What *are* you people talking about?
Here are some definitions related to IF:
Browse Around: The player wanders and explores a simulated environment.
Character Modeling: The system simulates characters with whom the player
may interact. Characters may generate goals, actions, and emotions.
Character modeling may be broken down into intelligence modeling and
emotion modeling.
Computer Adapted Story Telling: A presentation of different but consistent
experiences of the same story. Could be achieved through point of view
shift, browse around, or plot branching.
Dramatic Modeling: The system has a representation for dramatic elements
(plot fragments) and a `plot calculus' (a set of rules for manipulating
the symbols representing plot fragments). This allows the system to do
plot generation on the fly, while still taking into account the actions
of the player character.
Emotion Modeling: Representation of emotions as data, and rules for
processing that data to derive behaviours consistent with a character's
perceived personality. Emotion modeling is typically focused on the
feelings associated with interpersonal interaction.
Intelligence Modeling: Rules for simulating intelligent behaviour by
characters. This may include setting goals and making plans to achieve
them. Since intelligence modeling is typically focused on problems of
logistics, it is tightly coupled with physical modeling.
Interactive Fantasy: A first person dramatic experience. Achieved through
a combination of physical modeling, character modeling, and dramatic
modeling. (Consider the Star Trek Holodeck as a vision of a future
Interactive Fantasy platform).
Interactive Fiction: Narrative based experiences that tend to be either
puzzle solving or plot branching. This term is usually applied to the
`first generation' Adventure games -- those developed in the last decade.
The second generation of IF is moving towards the development of
Interactive Fantasy as a new genre.
Physical Modeling: The system simulates a physical universe with which the
player may interact.
Plot Branching: A tree or network of fixed content.
Point of View Shift: The first-person viewpoint moves between characters.
Progressive Disclosure: Content is fixed, but exposure to the content
varies.
User Paced Sequence: A linear sequence of fixed content.
Interactive fiction is difficult to define concretely since, as an artistic
form, it is still in its infancy. The first work of computer-based IF was a
story-game called ADVENTURE, written circa 1977. To this day, games of this
type are called adventure games, named after the original instance.
There are many forms of interactive fiction, but the one thing they have in
common is that the reader is allowed some degree of interaction with the
story. When we talk about IF in this news group, we are talking about
computer-based works of fiction. A traditional book is not interactive --
you just read it from front to back, and read the same text every time.
Pick-a-path books, however, are interactive; this is probably the lowest form
of IF. One goal of IF developers is to take advantage of the flexibility of
the computer to facilitate the creation of new forms of entertainment.
Adventure games are an early form of computer-based IF. They are
*subjective* IF, that is, the player has an influence on the plot of the
story. The reader can influence events via his choices about what to do
next, the ordering of his actions, etc. In *objective* IF, the reader has
some influence on the presentation of the story, but not the content.
Consider a hypertext-based story, where you can ask for more information on a
given person or plot event, but you cannot influence the flow of events.
Infocomics are an example of objective interactive fiction.
IF offers great potential, but since its appearance about fifteen years ago,
its growth has been plagued by two problems: how to develop the computer
technology required to support a work of interactive fiction, and how to
develop stories that exploit this new genre.
Interactive fiction differs from traditional fiction in that the author gives
up much of the control of the flow of the story. This is because the reader
(or player) is allowed to participate to some degree in the shaping of the
plot through his role as a character in the action. Since the
player/protagonist will be making decisions about what he will do next, the
author must allow for multiple paths through a set of plot potentials. The
most primitive way of doing this is through plot branching: presenting the
reader with a small set of fixed choices, each set corresponding to a branch
in a fixed set of potential plot paths. Unfortunately, this technique is
intrinsically limited and has historically resulted in relatively
uninteresting games.
A more interesting approach would be to create a rich set of plot fragments
and character behaviors which may be assembled by the computer to allow the
creation of new stories each time the program is used. In the finished
product, the individual elements of the story can combine in new and
wonderful ways not anticipated by the author or programmer.
In this news group, we discuss the technical and artistic aspects of the
interactive fiction genre. While we occasionally do mention `off-the-shelf'
IF products, it is typically in the context of comparing and contrasting
their structure or artistic merit.
--- oOo ---
(A) Recent discussions on rec.arts.int-fiction.
This appendix is intended to give the new reader more of an insight to what
sort of topics we discuss on this newsgroup. Over the past month
rec.arts.int-fiction has carried discussions based on the following topics:
New versions of, or just plain new, compilers, interpreters and games.
Enhanced portrayal of NPCs (active vs. reactive NPCs).
Superfluous locations vs. increased realism.
Various opinions on the content of this FAQ. 8) Thanks everyone.
Questions and answers (several programming examples and giftware) on the
INFORM authoring system.
Plot DAGs (Directed Acyclic Graphs).
Dialectal aberrations and their use in IF (particularly American vs.
British vocabularies).
Comments on the First IF Competition, and suggestions for the second.
The not-quite-complete but unabridged archives of all the posts to
rec.arts.int-fiction are stored, and are available for public scrutiny via
anonymous FTP, at
<ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/rec.arts.int-fiction/>
--- oOo ---
(B) The on-going development of IF.
Interactive fiction is a developing field. While we have not quite entered
another `Golden Age of IF' (a term applied to the early- to mid-1980s) the
past three years have seen a significant up-turn in both the quantity and
quality of IF. Games such as CURSES and the UNNKULIAN series rekindled many
people's interest in the field, and more recently others, such as THE LEGEND
LIVES!, have pioneered exploration in new directions. Authoring systems,
too, have increased in number, complexity and power, with TADS and INFORM
paving the way for others, HUGO for instance. Here are some examples of
what's been happening this past month:
IF Competition: Votes were taken throughout September on the twelve games
in the First Annual IF Competition. Lessons were taught and lessons were
learnt on IF design and creation. Thanks and Congratulations to all the
entrants, to Whizzard and Volker for their behind-the-scenes work, and to
the several people who provided prizes. I'm sure we're all already
looking forward to next year. Although voting has now closed, all the
competition games (in INFORM and TADS categories) are still available via
anonymous FTP from
<ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/competition/>
IF Literature: Two other IF-related documents are being updated/rewritten
at the moment. These are Bob Newell's "Which is better TADS or INFORM
FAQ" (a major rewrite to include all available authoring systems;
available early 1996) and Stephen Granade's "IF Bibliography" (more
references, especially Internet ones; available October).
Snack: Although still very much in an alpha state SNACK is a new IF
compiler/interpreter. The released version will feature precompiled
libraries (in fact, the libs will be precompiled out of the box; library
source code will be available for a small fee) and the ability to
precompile your own files, and some degree of character scripting.
Source code will be freely available, with binaries first available for
Linux. The system will be freeware. The author is Jesse McGrew
<jessem@comtch.iea.com>.
VuPov: The "Virtual Universe - Points of View" project uses Derek Jones'
ARCHETYPE to create an `author as you play' game. This is achieved by
creating a `virtual universe' (VU) in which the player/author can take
either a passive or an active role. At any time the player can enter
`author mode' and may then dynamically alter or expand the game-world.
At the same time other players/authors could participate in the same
manner through multiple `points of view' (POV) onto the VU. Emphasis
will be put on defining plausible characters who develop in response to
the evolution of the virtual world. Planned features include dynamic
creation and deletion of objects and classes, modelling real and virtual
time and simulating parallel processes. VUPOV is being undertaken by
Nick Burroughs <nickb@dial.pipex.com> who welcomes your input.
--- oOo ---
(C) Acknowledgements and credits.
This file of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) is maintained by Julian Arnold
<jools@arnod.demon.co.uk>. Although I have included a great deal of
information provided by other people, and have retained much of what the
previous maintainer wrote, the FAQ is public domain. As such it may be
archived and distributed freely. I would ask though that you do not alter
the contents and then redistribute it as the rec.arts.int-fiction FAQ, as
this will only confuse and confound those people it is meant to help. If you
quote from it then please, as a matter of courtesy if nothing else,
acknowledge this source.
"I say now, what you gonna do...? Gonna brown nose! Gonna brown nose!"
-- "Do the Brown Nose", The Dead Milkmen
This document owes much to the style in which I found it, namely that of the
previous maintainer David A Graves <dag@cup.hp.com>. Many thanks to him for
doing such an excellent job.
Suggestions have been made and help given by many people. I ought to pay
especial reverence to Volker Blasius, Null Dogmas, Paul David Doherty,
Stephen van Egmond, Thomas Nilsson, Robert A Pelak and Gareth Rees. Many
thanks to them. If you don't see your name above and you think it ought to
be don't despair. Just write me some hate-mail and I'll add your name to the
list (... in capitals if you like).
Anyone who's product has been mentioned in this FAQ can pat themselves on the
back, and may request a kiss from their favourite person. You've helped
considerably so thank-you. The authors of the authoring systems described in
section (4) who took the time to answer my questions have been particularly
helpful, and may thus give a kiss to their favourite person as well.
Finally, a great big thank-you goes to everyone at rec.arts.int-fiction, for
without them there wouldn't be a lot of point in this FAQ, would there?
--- oOo ---
As this document is supplied gratis, with no demand or request for payment or
other recompense, the author is hereby pleased to announce that in no event
whatsoever will he be held liable in any way for any loss of data, loss of
earnings, loss of savings, general disappointment or other unhappiness
resulting from the use of or abuse of or inability to use any and all
information or misinformation within or indeed without this document, or from
any admission or omission therein or thereof which either directly or
indirectly causes any one, or any combination of two or more, of the
aforementioned unpleasantries. On the other hand, feel free to attribute any
good things which happen to you or those around you to this document in
general, and to me in particular.
E-mail to <jools@arnod.demon.co.uk> concerning this FAQ is welcomed.
--- oOo ---
-- Jools Arnold jools@arnod.demon.co.uk