Category Archives: Interactive Fiction

Game Changes

Posted on May 20, 2023 by midiguru

Last year I participated in the Interactive Fiction Competition (IFComp). There are prizes for the top entries, and people are asked to donate to the prize pool. I knew I would likely win some prize money (and I did), so … Continue reading →

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That Handbook Thing

Posted on February 26, 2023 by midiguru

I’ve written a couple of books on music technology. Got paid, even; these were not self-published projects. In recent years, though, the market for that type of book seems to have imploded. New software is released, but the publishers are … Continue reading →

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The Vorple Blade

Posted on February 26, 2023 by midiguru

I have a long and somewhat contentious relationship with the Inform language for programming text adventure games. I’ve written a couple of games using it. I’ve written a book-length tutorial about how to use it. But I don’t actually like … Continue reading →

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The Act in Interactive

Posted on November 20, 2022 by midiguru

Yesterday this year’s Interactive Fiction Competition (IFComp) drew to a close. Seventy games were entered. My entry (“The Only Possible Prom Dress”) finished at #8. Privately I had been betting on #10, so I have nothing to complain about. Anybody … Continue reading →

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You Have Been Eaten by a Grue

Posted on October 8, 2022 by midiguru

Having entered my new text adventure game (“The Only Possible Prom Dress”) in this year’s Interactive Fiction Competition (IFComp), I figured I really ought to check out some of the other 70 entries and rate them as a judge. Authors … Continue reading →

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Testing, 1, 2, 3…

Posted on July 17, 2022 by midiguru

This week I’ve had three intrepid beta-testers thrashing their way through my latest text adventure game, The Only Possible Prom Dress. The way this works is, I send them a version of the game and they start a playing session … Continue reading →

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Hidden Assumptions

Posted on July 4, 2022 by midiguru

Last month I decided it’s time to finish an interactive story (a text adventure game) that I started more than ten years ago. I’ve stopped working on it several times, the main reason being that it’s just too darn large. … Continue reading →

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From Inform 7 to TADS 3

Posted on June 16, 2022 by midiguru

From time to time, an author who has been writing interactive fiction in Inform 7 gets curious about how easy or difficult it would be to switch to TADS. Eric Eve (who has used both systems) wrote a good comparison … Continue reading →

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No, It’s Not Easy

Posted on June 10, 2022 by midiguru

Writing text adventure games is not easy. It’s a craft that combines conventional writing with both computer programming and game design. It’s kind of a niche art form, but people are still actively engaged in it. I’m one of them. … Continue reading →

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Any Port Is a Storm

Posted on June 2, 2022 by midiguru

The long-awaited open-source version of Inform 7 has now been released. (Yay, I guess.) For those who don’t know what this means, Inform is a specialized programming language designed for writing text adventure games, a medium that is often dignified … Continue reading →

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