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'{{VG Adventure}} '''Interactive fiction''', often abbreviated '''IF''', describes [[Computer software|software]] simulating environments in which players use text [[Command (computing)|commands]] to control [[Player character|characters]] and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary [[narratives]] and as [[video game]]s.<ref>Montfort, Nick & Urbano, Paulo (Tr.). ''[http://nickm.com/if/fourth_era.html A quarta Era da Ficção Interactiva]''. Nada, Volume 8. October 2006.</ref> In common usage, the term refers to '''text adventures''', a type of [[adventure game]] where the entire interface can be "[[Text mode|text-only]]".<ref name="fundamentals">{{Cite book|last= Rollings |first= Andrew |coauthors= Ernest Adams |title= Fundamentals of Game Design |publisher= Prentice Hall |year= 2006 |location= |url= http://wps.prenhall.com/bp_gamedev_1/54/14053/3597646.cw/index.html }}</ref> Graphical text adventure games, where the text is accompanied by graphics (still images, animations or video) still fall under the text adventure category if the main way to interact with the game is text. It can also be used to distinguish the more modern style of such works, focusing on narrative and not necessarily falling into the adventure game [[Computer and video game genres|genre]] at all, from the more traditional focus on [[puzzle]]s. More expansive definitions of interactive fiction may refer to all adventure games, including wholly [[graphical adventure games|graphical adventures]] such as ''[[Myst]]''. As a commercial product, interactive fiction reached its peak in popularity from 1979–1986,<ref>{{cite web|title=''Interactive fiction, from birth through precocious adolescence: a conversation with Jimmy Maher'' |publisher=Adventure Classic Gaming |date=2009-07-16 |accessdate=2009-08-23 |url=http://www.adventureclassicgaming.com/index.php/site/features/503/}}</ref> as a dominant software product marketed for [[home computer]]s. Because their text-only nature sidestepped the problem of writing for the widely divergent graphics architectures of the day, interactive fiction games were easily ported across all the popular platforms, even those such as [[CP/M]] not known for gaming or strong graphics capabilities. Today, a steady stream of new works is produced by an online interactive fiction community, using freely available development systems. Most of these games can be downloaded for free from the [http://ifarchive.ifreviews.org/indexes/if-archive.html Interactive Fiction Archive]. The term "interactive fiction" is also occasionally used to refer to ''[[addventure]]<!-- correct spelling has 2 d's --> games'',<ref>Soultanis, Greg. Mullin, Eileen, ed. ''[http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/docs/interactive-fiction/magazines/XYZZYnews/XYZZY4.PDF XYZZY News - The Magazine for Interactive Fiction Enthusiasts]''. Issue #4. July/August 1995.</ref> which are also called [[hypertext fiction]], [[collaborative fiction]], or even participatory novels, according to the ''New York Times''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.malinche.net/welcome.html |title=Fiction Books : Fiction eBooks : Interactive Fiction : Text Adventure Games |publisher=Malinche.net |date= |accessdate=2011-02-01}}</ref> It is also used to refer to literary works that are not read in a linear fashion, but rather the reader is given choices at different points in the text; the reader's choice determines the flow and outcome of the story. The most famous example of this form of interactive fiction is the ''[[Choose Your Own Adventure]]'' book series. For others, see [[gamebooks]]. Interactive fiction is sometimes used as a synonym for [[visual novel]], a popular style of PC game in [[Japan]].<ref name=ANN/> ==Medium== [[Image:Zork I computer game.png|thumb|256px|''[[Zork I]]'' is one of the first interactive fiction games, as well as being one of the first commercially sold. It is one of the most famous interactive fiction games. Here it is portrayed running on Gargoyle, a modern [[interpreter (computing)|interpreter]].]]<!-- FAIR USE: Illustrates: 1. IF games in general. 2. One of the first IF games. 3. One of the most famous IF games. 4. One of the most influential IF games. It is so important to the history of IF, that this is clearly more fair use than, say, the many images in [[First-person shooter]] or the stills in [[Western_movie]]. --> Text adventures are one of the oldest types of [[video game|computer game]]s and form a subset of the [[adventure game|adventure]] genre. The player uses text input to control the game, and the game state is relayed to the player via text output. Input is usually provided by the player in the form of simple [[Sentence (linguistics)|sentence]]s such as "get key" or "go east", which are interpreted by a [[text parser]]. Parsers may vary in sophistication; the first text adventure parsers could only handle two-word sentences in the form of verb-noun pairs. Later parsers, such as those built on Infocom's ZIL ([[Zork Implementation Language]]), could understand complete sentences.<ref name="DeMaria">DeMaria, Rusel and Wilson, Johnny L. (2002) ''High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games'' McGraw-Hill/Osborne, Berkeley, Calif., p. 52, ISBN 0-07-222428-2</ref> Later parsers could handle increasing levels of complexity parsing sentences such as "open the red box with the green key then go north". This level of complexity is the standard for works of interactive fiction today. Despite their lack of graphics, text adventures include a physical dimension where players move between rooms. Many text adventure games boasted their total number of rooms to indicate how much gameplay they offered.<ref name="fundamentals"/> These games are unique in that they may create an illogical space, where going north from area A takes you to area B, but going south from area B did not take you back to area A. This can create mazes that do not behave as players expect, and thus players must maintain their own map. These illogical spaces are much more rare in today's era of 3D gaming,<ref name="fundamentals"/> and the Interactive Fiction community in general decries the use of mazes entirely, claiming that mazes have become arbitrary 'puzzles for the sake of puzzles' and that they can, in the hands of inexperienced programmers, become immensely frustrating for players to navigate. Interactive fiction shares much in common with [[MUD|Multi-User Dungeons]] ('MUDs'). MUDs, which became popular in the mid-1980s, rely on a textual exchange and accept similar commands from players as do works of IF; however, since interactive fiction is single player, and MUDs, by definition, have multiple players, they differ enormously in gameplay styles. MUDs often focus gameplay on activities that involve communities of players, simulated political systems, in-game trading, and other gameplay mechanics that aren't possible in a single player environment.Huge FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT Interactive fiction usually relies on [[reading (activity)|reading]] from a screen and on [[typing]] input, although text-to-speech synthesizers allow blind and visually impaired users to play interactive fiction titles as [[audio game]]s.<ref name="fundamentals"/> ===Writing style=== Interactive fiction features two distinct modes of writing: the player input and the game output. As described above, player input is expected to be in simple command form ([[Sentence (linguistics)#Classification by purpose|imperative sentences]]). A typical command may be: <blockquote>pull lever</blockquote> The responses from the game are usually written from a [[Second-person narrative|second-person]] [[point of view (literature)|point of view]], in [[present tense]]. This is because, unlike in most works of fiction, the main character is closely associated with the player, and the events are seen to be happening as the player plays. While older text adventures often identified the protagonist with the player directly, newer games tend to have specific, well-defined protagonists with separate identities from the player. The classic essay "Crimes Against Mimesis"<ref name=crimes>{{cite web | url = http://www.geocities.com/aetus_kane/writing/cam.html | title = Crimes Against Mimesis | accessdate = 2006-12-17 | last = Giner-Sorolla | first = Roger | year = 2006 | month = 4 | archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20050619081931/http://www.geocities.com/aetus_kane/writing/cam.html | archivedate = 2005-06-19 }} This is a reformatted version of a set of articles originally posted to Usenet: {{cite web | url = http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.int-fiction/msg/a11e304d16463816?dmode=source | title = Crimes Against Mimesis, Part 1 | accessdate = 2006-12-17 | last = Giner-Sorolla | first = Roger | date= 2006-04-11 }} {{cite web | url = http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.int-fiction/msg/6ac868aff97a3afb?dmode=source | title = Crimes Against Mimesis, Part 2 | accessdate = 2006-12-17 | last = Giner-Sorolla | first = Roger | date= 2006-04-18 }} {{cite web | url = http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.int-fiction/msg/66f04d5ba816f0fa?dmode=source | title = Crimes Against Mimesis, Part 3 | accessdate = 2006-12-17 | last = Giner-Sorolla | first = Roger | date= 2006-04-25 }} {{cite web | url = http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.int-fiction/msg/f21986cae9320282?dmode=source | title = Crimes Against Mimesis, Part 4 | accessdate = 2006-12-17 | last = Giner-Sorolla | first = Roger | date= 2006-04-29 }} </ref> discusses, among other IF issues, the nature of "You" in interactive fiction. A typical response might look something like this, the response to "look in teachest" at the start of [[Curses (computer game)|Curses]]: <blockquote>That was the first place you tried, hours and hours ago now, and there's nothing there but that boring old book. You pick it up anyway, bored as you are.<ref name="cursesplay">[[Graham Nelson|Nelson, Graham]] ''[[Curses (computer game)|Curses]]'', 1993.</ref></blockquote> <!-- Taken from Curses, in response to "look in teachest" from the first prompt --> Many text adventures, particularly those designed for humour (such as ''[[Zork]]'', ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (computer game)|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'', and ''[[Leather Goddesses of Phobos]]''), address the player with an informal tone, sometimes including sarcastic remarks (see the transcript from ''[[Curses (computer game)|Curses]]'', above, for an example). The late Douglas Adams, in designing the IF version of his 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', created a unique solution to the final puzzle of the game: the game requires the one solitary item that the player ''didn't'' choose at the outset of play. Some IF works dispense with second-person narrative entirely, opting for a first-person perspective ('I') or even placing the player in the position of an observer, rather than a direct participant. In some 'experimental' IF, the concept of self-identification is eliminated entirely, and the player instead takes the role of an inanimate object, a force of nature, or an abstract concept; experimental IF usually pushes the limits of the concept and challenges many assumptions about the medium. ==History== ===''Adventure''=== Around 1975, [[Will Crowther]], a programmer and an amateur caver, wrote the first text adventure game, ''[[Colossal Cave Adventure|Adventure]]'' (originally called ''ADVENT'' because a filename could only be six characters long in its [[operating system]], and later named ''Colossal Cave'').<ref name="jerz">{{cite web| author = Jerz, Dennis G. | date= 2004-02-17 | url = http://jerz.setonhill.edu/if/canon/Adventure.htm | title = Colossal Cave Adventure (c. 1975) | work = | publisher = Dennis G. Jerz, [[Seton Hill University]] | accessdate = 2006-10-20 }}</ref> Having just gone through a divorce, he was looking for a way to connect with his two young children. Over the course of a few weekends he slapped together a text based cave exploration game that featured a sort of guide/narrator who talked in full sentences and who understood simple two word commands that came close to natural English. Adventure was programmed in [[Fortran programming language|Fortran]] for the [[PDP-10]]. Stanford University graduate student [[Don Woods]] discovered ''Adventure'' while working at the [[Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory]], and in 1977 obtained and expanded Crowther's source code (with Crowther's permission). Crowther's original version was an accurate [[simulation]] of the real [[Mammoth Cave National Park|Colossal Cave]], but also included fantasy elements (such as axe-wielding dwarves and a magic bridge); Woods's changes were reminiscent of the writings of [[J.R.R. Tolkien]], and included a troll, elves, and a volcano some claim is based on [[Mount Doom]], but Woods says was not.<ref>"Even the description of the volcano, which some writers have claimed was modelled after Mount Doom, was written with no particular vision in mind." {{cite web | url = http://www.avventuretestuali.com/interviste/woods-eng | title = Interactive Fiction? I prefer Adventure | accessdate = 2007-05-22 | year = 2001 | month = 06 | work = L’avventura è l’avventura }} </ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://jerz.setonhill.edu/if/adams/intro.html |title=Jerz's Introduction (Storytelling and Computer Games; UWEC Panel, May 2001) |publisher=Jerz.setonhill.edu |date= |accessdate=2011-02-01}}</ref> In early 1977, Adventure spread across [[ARPAnet]],<ref>"In early 1977, Adventure swept the ARPAnet." {{Cite news | last = Anderson | first = Tim | date = December 1985 | title = The History of Zork -- First in a Series | periodical = The New Zork Times | publication-date = Anderson | volume = 4 | issue = 1 | url = http://www.csd.uwo.ca/Infocom/Articles/NZT/zorkhist.html | postscript = <!--None--> }}</ref> and has survived on the [[Internet]] to this day. The game has since been ported to many other [[operating system]]s, and was included with the floppy-disk distribution of Microsoft's MS-DOS 5.0 OS. ''Adventure'' is a cornerstone of the online IF community; there currently exist dozens of different independently-programmed versions, with additional elements, such as new rooms or puzzles, and various scoring systems. The popularity of ''Adventure'' led to the wide success of interactive fiction during the late 1970s and the 1980s, when home computers had little, if any, graphics capability. Many elements of the original game have survived into the present, such as the command '[[xyzzy]]', which is now included as an [[Easter egg (media)|Easter Egg]] in games such as Minesweeper. Adventure was also directly responsible for the founding of Sierra Online (later [[Sierra Entertainment]]); Ken and Roberta Williams played the game when it first appeared, and when unable to find any other games of similar quality, decided to design one of their own.<ref name="jerz"/> ===Commercial era=== ====Adventure International==== [[Adventure International]] was founded by [[Scott Adams (game designer)|Scott Adams]] (not to be confused with the creator of [[Dilbert]]). In 1978, Adams wrote ''[[Adventureland (computer game)|Adventureland]]'', which was loosely patterned after the original Advent. He took out a small ad in a computer magazine in order to promote and sell ''Adventureland'', thus creating the first commercial adventure game. In 1979 he founded Adventure International, the first commercial publisher of interactive fiction. The company went bankrupt in 1985. ====Infocom==== The largest company producing works of interactive fiction was [[Infocom]],<ref name="dm4-46">{{cite web| author = Graham Nelson | year = 2001 | month = July | url = http://www.inform-fiction.org/manual/html/s46.html | title = A short history of interactive fiction | work = The Inform Designer's Manual | accessdate = 2006-11-01 }}</ref> which created the ''[[Zork]]'' series and many other titles, among them ''[[Trinity (computer game)|Trinity]]'', ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (computer game)|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'' and ''[[A Mind Forever Voyaging]]''. In June 1977, [[Marc Blank]], [[Bruce K. Daniels]], [[Tim Anderson (Zork)|Tim Anderson]], and [[Dave Lebling]] began writing the mainframe version of ''[[Zork]]'' (also known as ''Dungeon''), at the [[MIT Laboratory for Computer Science]]. The game was programmed in a computer language called [[MDL programming language|MDL]], a variant of [[LISP programming language|LISP]]. In early 1979, the game was completed. Ten members of the [[MIT Dynamics Modelling Group]] went on to join Infocom when it was incorporated later that year. In order to make its games as portable as possible, Infocom developed the [[Z-machine (interpreter)|Z-machine]], a custom [[virtual machine]] which could be implemented on a large number of platforms, and which took standardized "story files" as input. The Infocom [[parser]] was widely regarded as the best of its era. It accepted complex, complete sentence commands like "put the blue book on the writing desk" at a time when most of its competitors parsers were restricted to simple two word verb-noun combinations such as "put book". The parser was actively upgraded with new features like undo and error correction, and later games would 'understand' multiple sentence input: 'pick up the gem and put it in my bag. take the newspaper clipping out of my bag then burn it with the book of matches'. In a non-technical sense, Infocom was responsible for developing the interactive style that would be emulated by many later interpreters. The company was bought by [[Activision]] in 1986 after the failure of ''[[Cornerstone (software)|Cornerstone]]'', Infocom's database software program, and stopped producing text adventures a few years later. In 1991 and 1992, Activision released volumes one and two of ''[[The Lost Treasures of Infocom]]'', a collection containing most of Infocom's games, followed in 1996 by ''[[Classic Text Adventure Masterpieces of Infocom]]''. ====Legend Entertainment==== [[Legend Entertainment]] was founded by [[Bob Bates]] and Mike Verdu in 1989. It started out from the ashes of Infocom. The text adventures produced by Legend used (high-resolution) graphics as well as sound. Some of their titles include ''[[Eric the Unready]]'', the ''[[Spellcasting (series)|Spellcasting]]'' series and ''[[Gateway (computer game)|Gateway]]'' (based on [[Frederik Pohl]]'s novels). The last text adventure created by Legend was ''[[Gateway (computer game)|Gateway II]]'', while the last game ever was ''[[Unreal 2]]'' (the well-known [[first-person shooter]] action game). Legend was acquired in 2004 by [[Atari]]. ====Other companies==== Probably the first commercial work of interactive fiction produced outside the U.S. was the [[dungeon crawl]] game of ''[[Acheton]]'', produced in Cambridge, England, and first commercially released by [[Acornsoft]] (later expanded and reissued by [[Topologika]]). Other leading companies in the [[United Kingdom|U.K.]] were [[Magnetic Scrolls]] and [[Level 9 Computing]]. Also worthy of mention are [[Delta 4]], [[Melbourne House]], and the homebrew company [[Zenobi]]. In the early 1980s [[Edu-Ware]] also produced interactive fiction for the [[Apple II]] as designated by the "if" graphic that was displayed on startup. Their titles included the [[The Prisoner (video game)|''Prisoner'']] and ''Empire'' series (''Empire I: World Builders'', ''Empire II: Interstellar Sharks'', ''Empire III: Armageddon''). In Italy, interactive fiction games were mainly published and distributed through various magazines in included tapes. The largest number of games were published in the two magazines Viking and Explorer,<ref name="fm-18">{{cite web| author = | year = | url = http://ready64.it/articoli/leggi/idart/55/le-collane-avventurose-in-italia-parte-i-arscom-e-le-altre-realt%c3%a0 | title = Le collane avventurose in Italia (Adventure game series in Italy) | language = Italian | work = Ready64 | publisher = Roberto Nicoletti | accessdate = 2008-03-06 }}</ref> with versions for the main 8-bit home computers ([[Sinclair ZX Spectrum]], [[Commodore 64]] and [[MSX]]). The software house producing those games was Brainstorm Enterprise, and the most prolific IF author was [[Bonaventura Di Bello]],<ref name="fm-19">{{cite web| author = | year = | url = http://www.ifwiki.org/index.php/Bonaventura_di_Bello | title = Bonaventura Di Bello | work = IFWiki | publisher = David Cornelson | accessdate = 2008-03-06 }}</ref> who produced 70 games in the Italian language. The wave of interactive fiction in Italy lasted for a couple of years thanks to the various magazines promoting the genre, then faded and remains still today a topic of interest for a small group of fans and less known developers, celebrated on Web sites and in related newsgroups. In Spain, interactive fiction was considered a minority genre, and was not very much successful. The first Spanish interactive fiction commercially released was [[Yenght]] in 1983, by Dinamic Software, for the [[ZX Spectrum]]. Later on, it was in 1987, when the same company produced an interactive fiction about ''Don Quijote''. After several other attempts, a company emerged from Dinamic, called [[Aventuras AD]] which was the main interactive fiction publisher in Spain, including titles like a Spanish adaptation of Colossal Cave Adventure, an adaptation of the Spanish comic ''El Jabato'', and mainly the ''Ci-U-Than'' trilogy, composed by ''[[La diosa de Cozumel]]'' (1990), ''[[Los templos sagrados]]'' (1991) and ''[[Chichen-Itzá (videogame)|Chichen-Itzá]]'' (1992). During this period, the [[Club de Aventuras AD|Club de Aventuras AD (CAAD)]], the main Spanish speaking community around interactive fiction in the world, was founded, and after the end of Aventuras AD in 1992, the CAAD continued on its own, first with their own magazine, and then with the advent of Internet, with the launch of an active internet community that still produces interactive non commercial fiction nowadays.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.caad.es/ |title=Club de Aventuras AD |publisher=Caad.es |date=2010-11-13 |accessdate=2011-02-01}}</ref> ===Modern era=== After the decline of the commercial interactive fiction market in the 1990s, an online community eventually formed around the medium. In 1987, the [[Usenet]] newsgroup <tt>rec.arts.int-fiction</tt> was created, and was soon followed by <tt>rec.games.int-fiction</tt>. By custom, the topic of <tt>rec.arts.int-fiction</tt> is interactive fiction authorship and programming, while <tt>rec.games.int-fiction</tt> encompasses topics related to playing interactive fiction games, such as hint requests and game reviews. One of the most important early developments was the reverse-engineering of Infocom's [[Z-Code]] format and [[Z-Machine]] [[virtual machine]] in 1987 by a group of enthusiasts called the [[InfoTaskForce]] and the subsequent development of an [[interpreter (computing)|interpreter]] for Z-Code story files. As a result, it became possible to play Infocom's work on modern computers. For years amateurs formed a small community producing interactive fiction works of relatively limited scope using the [[Adventure Game Toolkit]] and similar tools. The breakthrough that allowed the interactive fiction community to truly prosper, however, was the creation and distribution of two sophisticated development systems. In 1987, Michael J. Roberts released [[TADS]], a programming language designed to produce works of interactive fiction. In 1993, [[Graham Nelson]] released [[Inform]], a [[programming language]] and set of libraries which [[compiler|compiled]] to a Z-Code story file. Each of these systems allowed anyone with sufficient time and dedication to create a game, and caused a growth boom in the online interactive fiction community. Despite the lack of commercial support, the availability of high quality tools allowed enthusiasts of the genre to develop new high quality games. Competitions such as the annual [[Interactive Fiction Competition]] for short works, the newer [[Spring Thing]] for longer works, and the [[XYZZY Awards]], further helped to improve the quality and complexity of the games. Modern games go much further than the original "Adventure" style, improving upon Infocom games, which relied extensively on puzzle solving, and to a lesser extent on communication with non player characters, to include experimentation with writing and story-telling techniques. While the majority of modern interactive fiction developed is distributed for free, there are some commercial endeavors, including [[Peter Nepstad]]'s ''[[1893: A World's Fair Mystery]]'', several games by [[Howard Sherman]] published as [[Malinche Entertainment]], [[The General Coffee Company]]'s ''[[Future Boy!]],'' and various titles by [[Textfyre]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.textfyre.com/ |title=Home of the Best Interactive Fiction |publisher=Textfyre.com |date= |accessdate=2011-02-01}}</ref> [[Emily Short]] was commissioned to develop the game ''City of Secrets'' but the project fell through and she ended up releasing it herself.<ref name="COS-upcoming">{{cite web| author = Emily Short | date= 2003-10-05 | url = http://www.mindspring.com/~emshort/CSUpcoming2.htm | title = City of Secrets | accessdate = 2006-11-01 }}</ref> Some authors offer optional commercial [[feelie]]s (physical props associated with a game) through [http://feelies.org/ feelies.org] or similar services; the tradition of 'Feelies' (and the term itself) is believed to have originated with ''[[Deadline (video game)|Deadline]]'' (1982), the third Infocom title after ''Zork I'' and ''II''.<ref>{{cite web| author = Allen Varney | date= 2006-12-09 | url = http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_62/365-Feelies | work = The Escapist, Issue #64 | title = Feelies | accessdate = 2009-07-10 }}</ref><ref>{{cite newsgroup | title = FAQ 2/3: (2.3) How did Infocom make those neat packages? | author = Stephen van Egmond | date = 17 April 2004 | newsgroup = rec.games.int-fiction | url = http://www.faqs.org/faqs/games/interactive-fiction/part2/ | accessdate = 7 October 2009}}</ref> Seeing the dual potential benefits of both aiding game-play immersion and providing a measure of creative copy-protection, Infocom and later other companies began creating feelies for numerous titles. In 1987, Infocom released a special version of the first three ''Zork'' titles together with plot-specific coins and other trinkets.<ref>{{cite web| author = Peter Scheyen | year= 1987 | url = http://www.csd.uwo.ca/Infocom/Articles/NZT/Tslspr87.html#ztrilogy | title = Genuine Zorkmid coin minted for the Zork Trilogy | accessdate = 2009-07-10 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| author = Robin Lionheart | year= 2009 | url = http://quendor.robinlionheart.com/zorkmid/ | title = The Zorkmid Project | accessdate = 2009-07-10}}</ref> This concept would see expansion as time went on, such that later game feelies would contain passwords, coded instructions, page numbers, or other information that would be required to successfully complete the game. ==Other uses== The term "interactive fiction" is sometimes used to describe other forms of storytelling and games, including [[visual novel]]s, [[interactive novel]]s, and [[interactive storytelling]]. ===Visual novel=== {{Main|Visual novel}} Visual novels are interactive fiction featuring mostly static graphics, usually with [[anime]]-style art. As the name might suggest, they resemble mixed-media novels or [[tableau vivant]] stage plays. Visual novels are especially prevalent in [[Japan]], where they make up nearly 70% of PC games released.<ref name=ANN>{{cite web|date=2006-02-08| url = http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/press-release/2006-02-08/amn-and-anime-advanced-announce-anime-game-demo-downloads| title = AMN and Anime Advanced Announce Anime Game Demo Downloads| publisher = Hirameki International Group Inc.| accessdate = 2006-12-01}}</ref> They are rarely produced for video game consoles, but the more popular games are sometimes [[Porting|ported]] to video game systems such as the [[PlayStation 2]]. The market for visual novels outside of [[East Asia]], however, is limited. Visual novels have been a staple of PC software sales in [[Japan]] and other [[East Asia]]n countries for over a decade, so much so that popular titles are open ported to consoles, and some even have famous [[manga]] and [[anime]] series based upon them; such titles include ''[[Kanon]]'' (1999), ''[[Air (visual novel)|Air]]'' (2000) and ''[[Clannad (visual novel)|Clannad]]'' (2004) by [[Key (company)|Key]]; ''[[Kimi ga Nozomu Eien|Rumbling Hearts]]'' (2001) by [[âge|Age]]; ''[[School Days (visual novel)|School Days]]'' (2005) by [[0verflow]]; ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro ni]]'' (2002) by [[07th Expansion]]; and ''[[Fate/stay night]]'' (2004) by [[Type-Moon]]. ===Interactive novel=== {{Merge from|Interactive novel|date=June 2010}} {{Main|Interactive novel}} The interactive novel is a form of [[web fiction]] and interactive fiction. While authors of traditional paper-and-ink [[novel]]s have sometimes tried to give readers the random directionality offered by true [[hypertext]]ing, this approach was not completely feasible until the development of [[HTML]]. Paper novels (indeed, some digital novels) are linear, that is, read from page to page in a straight line. Interactive novels, however, offer readers a unique way to read fiction by choosing a page, a character, or a direction. By following hyperlinked phrases within the novel, readers can find new ways to understand characters. There is no wrong way to read a hypertext interactive novel. Links embedded within the pages are meant to be taken at a reader's discretion – to allow the reader a choice in the novel's world. ===Interactive storytelling=== {{Main|Interactive storytelling}} Interactive storytelling is a developing kind of computer entertainment. The term was coined by [[Chris Crawford (game designer)|Chris Crawford]], a main proponent and developer. He defines interactive storytelling as, "a form of interactive entertainment in which the player plays the role of the protagonist in a dramatically rich environment."<ref>Crawford, Chris (2004) Chris Crawford on Interactive Storytelling. New Riders.</ref> Interactive storytelling and interactive fiction are distinct in that interactive storytelling focuses on drama and dynamic circumstances, where interactive fiction games, traditionally (but not necessarily) focus on puzzle-solving and navigating through pre-conceived circumstances. They are similar, however, in that well-written forms of both are nonlinear. ==Notable works== <!-- Note that this is notable works for "text adventure"-style interactive fiction. Works better covered by [[Interactive novel]], [[Interactive storytelling]], or [[Visual novel]] would be better noted in those articles --> * ''[[Colossal Cave Adventure]]'', by [[Will Crowther]] and [[Don Woods]], was the first text adventure ever made.<ref name="jerz"/> * ''[[Adventureland (video game)|Adventureland]]'', by [[Scott Adams (game designer)|Scott Adams]], is considered one of the defining works of interactive fiction. * The ''[[Zork]]'' series by [[Infocom]] (1979 onwards) was the first text adventure to see widespread commercial release.<ref>[http://www.thedoteaters.com/p4_stage1.php Article at The Dot Eaters]. 2006.</ref> * ''[[Softporn Adventure]]'', by Chuck Benton, a popular adult game that inspired the [[Leisure Suit Larry (series)|Leisure Suit Larry]] series. * ''[[The Hobbit (video game)|The Hobbit]]'', by Philip Mitchell and Veronika Megler of [[Beam Software]] (1982) was an early reinterpretation of an existing novel into interactive fiction, with several independent non-player characters. * ''[[Planetfall]]'', by [[Steve Meretzky]] of Infocom (1983), featured Floyd the robot, which [[Allen Varney]] claimed to be the first game character who evoked a strong emotional commitment from players.<ref name="escapist-7-12">{{cite web| author = Allen Varney | date= 2005-08-23 | url = http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_7/46-READ-GAME | title = Read Game | work = The Escapist, Issue #7: Classical Studies | accessdate = 2006-11-01 }}</ref> * ''[[Suspended]]'' by [[Michael Berlyn]] was an [[Infocom]] game notable for a large vocabulary and unique character personalities. * ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (computer game)|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'', by [[Douglas Adams]] and Steve Meretzky of Infocom (1984), was notable in that the author of the original work was involved in the reinterpretation. * ''[[A Mind Forever Voyaging]]'', by Steve Meretzky of Infocom (1985), a story-heavy, puzzle-light game often touted as Infocom's first serious work of science fiction.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sparkynet.com/spag/backissues/spag5.html |title=ISSUE #5 - April 19, 1995 - SPAG |publisher=Sparkynet.com |date=1995-04-19 |accessdate=2011-02-01}}</ref> * ''[[Leather Goddesses of Phobos]]'' by [[Steve Meretzky]], a risqué sci-fi parody from [[Infocom]]. * ''[[Amnesia (Computer Game)|Amnesia]]'' (1987), by [[Hugo Award]] and [[Nebula Award]] winning science fiction and fantasy author [[Thomas M. Disch]], a purely text-only adventure published by [[Electronic Arts]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sparkynet.com/spag/backissues/spag9.html |title=ISSUE #9 - June 11, 1996 - SPAG |publisher=Sparkynet.com |date= |accessdate=2011-02-01}}</ref> * ''[[Curses (computer game)|Curses]]'', by [[Graham Nelson]] (1993), the first game ever written in the [[Inform]] programming language. Considered one of the first "modern" games to meet the high standards set by Infocom's best titles.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.xyzzynews.com/xyzzy.1c.html |title=XYZZYnews Issue #1 Interview: Graham Nelson |publisher=Xyzzynews.com |date= |accessdate=2011-02-01}}</ref> * ''[[So Far (interactive fiction)|So Far]]'', by [[Andrew Plotkin]] (1996), the first [[XYZZY Award for Best Game]] winner in 1996.<ref>http://www.ifarchive.org/if-archive/magazines/XYZZYnews/award96-winners.txt</ref> * ''[[Anchorhead (game)|Anchorhead]]'', by [[Michael S. Gentry]] (1998) is a highly rated horror story inspired by [[H. P. Lovecraft]]'s [[Cthulhu Mythos]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wurb.com/if/game/17 |title=Anchorhead |publisher=Wurb.com |date=2000-06-30 |accessdate=2011-02-01}}</ref> * ''[[Photopia]]'', by [[Adam Cadre]] (1998), one of the first almost entirely puzzle-free games.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jerz.setonhill.edu/if/bibliography/manifestos.htm |title=Interactive Fiction Bibliography - Manifestos and Taxonomies |publisher=Jerz.setonhill.edu |date= |accessdate=2011-02-01}}</ref> It won the annual [[Interactive Fiction Competition]] in 1998.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ifcomp.org/comp08/history.html |title=History of the 14th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition |publisher=Ifcomp.org |date= |accessdate=2011-02-01}}</ref> * ''[[Spider and Web]]'', by [[Andrew Plotkin]] (1998), an award-winning<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.xyzzynews.com/98winners.html |title=XYZZY Awards: 1998 Winners |publisher=Xyzzynews.com |date=1999-02-06 |accessdate=2011-02-01}}</ref> espionage story with many twists and turns.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wurb.com/if/game/207 |title=Spider and Web |publisher=Wurb.com |date=2000-06-30 |accessdate=2011-02-01}}</ref> * ''[[Varicella (computer game)|Varicella]]'' by Adam Cadre (1999). It won four [[XYZZY Awards]] in 1999 including the XYZZY Award for Best Game, and had a scholarly essay written about it.<ref name="montfort">{{cite web | url = http://nickm.com/if/Varicella.pdf | title = Face It, Tiger, You Just Hit the Jackpot: Reading and Playing Cadre's Varicella | accessdate = 2006-12-17 | year = 2003 | month = 07 | last = Montfort | first = Nick | coauthors = Stuart Moulthrop | authorlink = Nick Montfort | work = fineArt Forum Vol. 17 No. 8 }}</ref> * ''[[Galatea (computer game)|Galatea]]'', by [[Emily Short]] (2000). Galatea is focused entirely on interaction with the animated statue of the same name. Galatea has one of the most complex interaction systems for a [[non-player character]] in an interactive fiction game. [[Adam Cadre]] called Galatea "the best NPC ever".<ref name="avventuretestuali">{{cite web | url = http://www.avventuretestuali.com/interviste/cadre-eng | title = Photopia is a short story, Varicella is a world | accessdate = 2006-12-17 | year = 2002 | month = 01 }}</ref> * ''[[Slouching Towards Bedlam]]'', by Star C. Foster and Daniel Ravipinto (2003). Set in a [[steampunk]] setting, the game integrates meta-game functionality (saving, restoring, restarting) into the game world itself. The game won four [[XYZZY Awards]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.ifcomp.org/comp03/results.html | title = Results of the 9th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition }}</ref> ==Development systems== A number of systems are available today to write interactive fiction. Among them are [[ADRIFT]], [[Hugo programming language|Hugo]], [[Inform]], and [[TADS]]. The majority of current IF development is implemented in Inform, TADS, or ADRIFT. In the 2006 [[IFComp]], the majority of the games were written for Inform, with a strong minority of games for TADS and ADRIFT, followed by a smattering of games for other systems.<ref name="ifcomp">{{cite web | url = http://www.ifcomp.org/comp06/games.php | title = Games of the 12th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition | accessdate = 2006-12-17 | year = 2006 }}</ref> While familiarity with a programming language leads many new authors to attempt to produce their own complete IF application, most established IF authors recommend use of a specialised IF language, arguing that such systems allow authors to avoid the technicalities of producing a full featured parser, while allowing broad community support. The choice of authoring system usually depends on the author's desired balance of ease of use versus power, and the portability of the final product.<ref name=brasslantern>{{cite web | url = http://brasslantern.org/writers/howto/chooselang.html | title = Choosing a Text Adventure Language | accessdate = 2006-12-17 | last = Granade | first = Stephen }}</ref> Other development systems: *[http://www.alanif.se/ ALAN] *[[JACL]] *[http://www.textadventures.co.uk/quest/ Quest] *[http://www.sudslore.org/ SUDS] Older development Systems: *[[Gilsoft]]'s [[The Quill]] and the [[Professional Adventure Writer]] *[[Incentive Software]]'s [[Graphic Adventure Creator]] (GAC) *David Malmberg's [[Adventure Game Toolkit]] (AGT) ==See also== *[[ifMUD|Interactive Fiction (IF) MUD]] ===Related concepts=== *[[Hypertext fiction]] *[[Roleplaying Game]]s, which are occasionally described as another form of interactive fiction. *[[Visual novel]], interactive fiction with graphics. *[[Multi-User Dungeon]] (MUD), which may be considered as a kind of multiplayer or collaborative interactive fiction *[[Addventure]]<!-- Spelling as 'Addventure' is correct --> *[[Gamebook]] *[[Graphical adventure games|Graphic adventures]], adventure games with roots in interactive fiction. *[[Amateur adventure game]] *[[Interactive storytelling]] ===Specific related fiction=== *[[Choose Your Own Adventure]] *[[Date with Destiny Adventure]] *[[Fighting Fantasy]] *[[Lone Wolf (gamebooks)]] ==Notes== {{Reflist|2}} ==Further reading== *{{Cite book|first=Nick|last=Montfort | title=Twisty Little Passages: An Approach to Interactive Fiction | year=2005 | publisher=[[The MIT Press]] | isbn=978-0-262-63318-5}} * Keller, Daniel. "Reading and playing: what makes interactive fiction unique" p.&nbsp;276-298. in Williams, J. P., & Smith, J. H. (2007). ''The players' realm: studies on the culture of video games and gaming.'' Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. ISBN 9780786428328 * Seegert, Alf. (2009), "'Doing there' vs. 'being there': performing presence in interactive fiction", ''[http://www.atypon-link.com/INT/toc/jgvw/1/1?cookieSet=1/ Journal of Gaming and Virtual Worlds]'' 1: 1, pp.&nbsp;23–37, doi: 10.1386/jgvw.1.1.23/1 ==External links== *[http://www.wurb.com/if/ Baf's Guide to the Interactive Fiction Archive], a more user-friendly interface for the IF archive. *[http://brasslantern.org/community/history/timeline-c.html A Brief History of Interactive Fiction], a timeline of events in interactive fiction history at the Brass Lantern website. *[http://www.chooseyourstory.com/ ChooseYourStory], a site involved the creation of interactive fiction. *[http://www.ifreviews.org/ IFReviews Organization], huge repository for text adventure game reviews written and rated by Interactive Fiction community players and members. *[http://www.infinite-story.com/ Infinite Story], a large writing community specializing in creating interactive fiction. *[http://ifarchive.ifreviews.org/indexes/if-archive.html The Interactive Fiction Archive], a large archive of free-to-download and play interactive fiction (random mirror). *[http://ifdb.tads.org/ Interactive Fiction Database], a community site where you can find personalized recommendations for IF games to play. *[http://www.andybrain.com/archive/interactive_fiction.htm Interactive Fiction: More Than Retro Fun], a beginners introduction and setup guide to Interactive Fiction games and interpreters *[http://www.ifwiki.org/ The Interactive Fiction Wiki], a MediaWiki wiki specific to Interactive Fiction. *[http://parchment.toolness.com/ Parchment], a z-machine interpreter written in javascript and playable in any browser. Links to many playable games. *[http://www.protagonize.com/ Protagonize], a collaborative writing platform for creating interactive fiction and [[addventure]] stories *[http://www.mobygames.com/featured_article/feature,27/ Something about Interactive Fiction] - MobyGames examines the history (and future) of this gaming genre. *[http://www.sparkynet.com/spag/ SPAG], a quarterly e-zine discussing all things IF *{{dmoz|Games/Video_Games/Adventure/Text_Adventures/|Text Adventures}} *[http://www.web-adventures.org/ Web-adventures], an online z-machine interpreter {{VideoGameGenre}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2010}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Interactive Fiction}} [[Category:Interactive fiction| ]] [[Category:Role-playing game terminology]] [[de:Interactive Fiction]] [[es:Aventura conversacional]] [[eo:Interreagema fikcio]] [[fr:Fiction interactive]] [[ko:인터랙티브 픽션]] [[it:Avventura testuale]] [[nl:Interactieve fictie]] [[pl:Fikcja interaktywna]] [[pt:Ficção interativa]] [[ru:Interactive fiction]] [[simple:Interactive Fiction]] [[sr:Текстуална авантура]] [[zh:文字冒险游戏]]'