Interactive Fiction (IF) is a wonderful blend of story making, gaming and computer programming. It requires a combination of the creativity of a storyteller, the knowledge of computer programming and an ability to create an engaging game. The first step is to come up with a dynamic story that allows for many possible outcomes and scenarios. Once a story idea is established, the next step is to find an authoring system that will assist in teaching the computer terms that it should recognize. Finally, an interpreter is required to translate your story file so that it can be played on any computer system.
Interactive Fiction vs. The Standard Novel
The story creation for IFcan be similar to that of a novel. The story needs an established setting, dynamic characters, an interesting plot that will keep readers interested, the foreshadowing of events and an ending that will provide some closure for the reader. However, IF has several different qualities that make it unique from a novel. First of all, the reader becomes the main character of the story. The reader ---also called the player --- controls the destiny of the main character as they make decisions as to what to do in each situation. Unlike creative novels such as the "Choose Your Own Adventure" Series in which the reader is provided specific options to choose from, the reader is allowed to type commands that the computer can read and provide a response to. This way, the reader is almost synonymous with the main character, controlling their every move. Since the reader controls the main character's actions, the author does not need to design a strict sequence of events, but rather should focus more on setting, foreshadowing, and the development of other characters, often referred to as NPC's (Non-Player Characters).
Setting is important because it provides the reader a sense of where they are and also gives them a chance to assess what actions they can do within the space they occupy. Foreshadowing becomes important in guiding the reader along the path that the author intends. Like a novel, IF stories often have a specific goal for the ending in mind. Although the reader has the ability to alter this goal, the author can provide clues that will propel the reader in the right direction. The development of other characters are often benefical in that they can offer further obstacles or assistance to the reader and add a chance for dialogue.
Furthermore, the author of an IF story is not required to establish a set sequence of events since the reader chooses the order and, to some extent, the events that occur within the story. The author needs to supply a setting with multiple outcomes that can be acted out in several different scenarios. The following graph demonstrates the path of an IF narrative:
The circled dot on the left represents where the story begins. From that point, there are several decisions the player can make and each decision takes the player to a new situation. Each situation can offer multiple outcomes as well. Some outcomes may be the same in different situations, thus leading to the same point. This allows for multiple variations in arriving at the same conclusion. Some conclusions may lead to a dead end which requires tracing back to a previous situation. Ultimately, the player should be able to reach the end of the story or game, represented by the circled dot on the right. A player should be able to go through the game again reaching the same endpoint through a different sequence of events. For this to happen, the author must provide several different scenarios that could happen from several points in the game.
Although IF has a story to tell and can be read like a book, the reader's ability to interact with the setting, characters and the motivation to reach the author's intended ending presents the IF genre more as a game.
Authoring Systems
After the story is established, the author has the option to find an authoring system that will help them create their story in the IF format. An authoring system is a "collection of programming tools that describes the ideal (default) behavior of objects in a simulated universe" (ifwiki.org). There are several parts to an authoring system:
*awhich analyzes the characters to recognize grammatical units. There are three types: a two-word parser that looks at the first characters of each word to determine what is being said; an infocom-type parser that understands longer words and is continuing to slowly evolve to understand more comlex phrases; and the homebrew parser which is created by the author using a pre-existing format that they can tailor to their specific needs.
awhich adds functionality to a game, helps to make better simulation and can establish the reactions to different actions.
a that transforms the source code into a story file that can by played using an interpreter.
theis the final product that contains the interactive fiction that will be loaded onto an interpreter program.
Basically, an authoring system makes it so that the author can easily design the responses to commands that are made by the player to the computer. Since the computer does not understand English, it is required to "teach" the computer how to understand and respond to certain words. Before the authoring system, IF authors would have to create an elaborate code in order to have the computer recognize basic English commands and each proper response to that command. This tedious process not only took an immense amount of time to invent, but oftentimes, programmers could forget to add the multiple meanings of one word or provide all the words for one meaning. Authoring systems provide a way to avoid this confusion.
The Final Product
Once the story file is completed, an interpreter program is needed to translate the story into an IF that can be played on different computer systems. Some common interpreters are: Z-Machine, Glulx, TADS and Hugo. Once the story file has been set up with an interpreter, it is ready to be downloaded by consumers and played!
The author's responsiblility involves creating a story that will keep the reader/player interested. This section outlines the specific elements of the story that the author should pay close attention to when writing their story.
The Narrational Voice
The voice of the narrator appears as ordinary prose. The voice is static and explains to the reader what happens. The narrator not only explains the setting and the situation, but describes the reader's senses and body placement. For example, the narrator might explain that the reader can smell smoke coming from a door to the reader's right. Detailed descriptions are essential because the reader needs to be able to decide what course of action to take based on these descriptions. The more detailed the description, the more information the reader has to work with that will influence what decision they will make. If the author desires the reader to make a specific decision, the narrator could emphasize certain aspects of the current situation that would influence the reader to make a decision in the direction the author intends. For example, if the reader has a candle and no matches, informing the reader that they smell smoke coming from the door to their right might influence them to enter through that door to find the source of the smoke and possibly light their candle, if that is what the author intends. The narrator is a very important part of the IF story and requires a very descriptive type of storytelling.
Key to Successful IF Stories
According to G. Kevin Wilson, there are several aspects of an IF story that need to be included in order to entertain the reader/player and keep them interested in the story. Since IF can be viewed as a story and a game, there are several elements from both genre's that need to be included. This is just a basic outline of the key elements outlined in Wilson's "Whizzard's Guide to Text Adventure Authorship." For a more detailed explanation of how succesful IF stories are created, you can read the full version of his text at Authorship Guide.
The Beginning
1. establish a setting: it is important to pick a specific type of setting and stick to it. Since the narrator must describe everything it is imperative to have a vivid image and a detailed layout drawn that can be referred to so as to avoid contradictions that could confuse the reader.
2. grab the players attention: have an intriguing beginning without letting the introduction run too long. Most readers think of themselves more as the player and are anxious to get on with the game.
3. create a purpose for the character: the reader should be motivated to continue further into the story.
The Middle
1. should be complex, but not too difficult to figure out: if the obstacles within the story are too difficult to get past to continue on through the rest of the story, the reader/player will give up.
2. includes a series of sub-goals: the player should have several obstacles to overcome on their journey to the main goal.
3. foreshadow the ending: providing hints and clues to the reader/player propels them toward the ending the author intends.
The End
1. close up all loose ends
2. includes a final challenge:the final challenge provides the reader with triumphant closure. The final challenge should not be too difficult to complete and should give the reader a rewarding feeling.
This list contains a set of "rules" that authors keep in mind when creating a piece of interactive fiction. These are basic hints as to how to keep the reader/player interested in the story and motivated to continue to play the game not just a first time, but over and over again. This is only a basic list. A more complete, descriptive list can be found at Craft of Adventure Bill of Rights.
"The Ten Commandments"
According to Graham Nelson, author of "The Craft of Adventure", these rules should never be strayed from:
.
(Graham Nelson, sec. #3)
Links
This is a list of the sites I found useful in my research:
The Craft of Adventure
IF Wiki: Authoring Systems
Brasslantern
Jerz Index
Whizzard's Guide to Text Adventure Authorship
Here is a game for beginner's that I enjoyed:
Page By: Jenna Taylor