History of "My Apartment" IF - writing them and talking about them
jdouglass
accident]
I'm trying to figure out the history of the "my apartment" phenomenon
and concept, and I was hoping for some historical context from r*if-
ers, especially the old hands. Thank you for any recollections or
suggestions, they are greatly appreciated.
"My apartment" is defined over on ifWiki as "a common early coding
exercise is to simulate an environment one is closely familiar with."
http://ifwiki.org/index.php/My_Apartment
Right now I'm focusing on this topic as defined here - not (for
example) the related topic of veteran coding exercises in fanciful
spaces that *happen to look like* apartments (e.g. Shade). There are
two things that interest me about "my apartment" IF:
1. The decision to simulate a familiar environment seems to be a
common impulse when confronted with an IF development language. I
relate to this. I wonder how far back the phenomenon of making these
pieces goes.
- Were "my apartment" games written in the late 70s or early 80s,
e.g.
when Quill came out?
- Does anyone remember seeing "my apartment"-type code reprinted in
magazines at the time?
- What is the earliest example anyone can think of?
- What is the best example or ultimate example anyone can think of?
2. While coding exercises that are simulations of familiar
environments can sometimes grow into respectable games, enough bad
examples have floated around IF communities that the name has also
become shorthand for bad design decisions - particularly simulating
environments without consideration for the puzzles or plots that add
basic interest. I wonder how far back community discussion of "my
apartment" goes.
Looking for people discussing the idea of apartment pieces, here is
what I've dug up on r*if:
1999-01-16 -- Ben Parrish announces: "Please forgive me for this.
Many
moons ago, I tried to learn Inform. Resulting from this learning
process was a little number called Apartment F209. It has about five
rooms, one find-the-lightswitch puzzle, one find-the-can-opener-
puzzle, some very annoying implementation weaknesses, and I'm sure a
bug or two just for good measure." [Note: I'm not evaluating the
quality of F209 or any other work referenced hereafter by its
origins,
just noting that it was an indeed an early coding exercise to
simulate
a familiar environment.]
2002-01-04 David Thornley says that automated world design tools
"still leaves the hard parts of story and character. [...] The
wizard/
visual stuff is going to make it easier to implement the author's
house and cat, but I don't know (a) how much more it's going to do,
and (b) how many more plotless houses I can take being entered into a
comp." Dennis Jerz responds "There may be more such plotless houses,
but more people who have it within them to be good IF authors will be
encouraged to move beyond the 'simulation of my apartment' mode."
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.int-fiction/msg/e0c629384590...
2002-02-11 ally says "'twas a mistake to tackle non-human senses,
light levels, materials and a conversation system without writing My
Apartment games first." http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.int-fiction/msg/a58ae27c5ae0de42
2002-02-21 Jacqueline A. Lott says "I downloaded the DM4 and dove in,
and while it was a wee bit overwhelming at first, I've learned how to
cope. I ask for help every once in a while, but my story seems to be
coming along just fine - and it's not even set in my apartment! ; ) "
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.int-fiction/msg/957e8f1ff5552267
2002-07-19 Emily Short says "One game that I think did do a
convincing
job of showing the PC things selectively while not feeling like it
was
cheating (in your unmentioned-amulet-of-werdna way) is Gilles
Duchesne's "Nothing More, Nothing Less." But I think that succeeds
for two reasons: first, it's always fairly clear in the descriptions
that there is other Stuff present which is not at the moment being
described because it has no relevance; and second, the environment (a
typical apartment) is so essentially familiar that one generally
knows
where to go look for a given type of thing."
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.int-fiction/msg/fd2d220b71029d92
2003-08-19 Adam Thornton says "I will also [...] be irritated by
games
that:
- Are "I'm Trying To Learn This Here Language" programming
exercises.
- Are set in the author's house, or his dorm room, or his family
members' houses, without *damn clever* extenuating circumstances (cf.
_Shade_, which I didn't actually like all that much).
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.int-fiction/msg/8eb79873e3514d68
2004-02-14 Scott Forbes says "I've done what everyone does when
playing with IF for the first time, which is to build a map of my
apartment and implement my living room furniture, but I've never
proceeded from there to produce an actual IF work with storyline and
plot and all those other details. Instead I've digressed into
writing
a tool which will make authoring easier for me, and then digressed
further into writing essential building blocks (e.g., a full Undo/
Redo
system) which will help me build that IF-writing tool."
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.int-fiction/msg/ef43b0b4c2f6f159
2005-04-07 Justin Morgan asks "How about interactive fact? That is,
games that are set in the real world - real locations on Earth" and
Paul Drallos responds "Actually, your proposal is probably the first
thing just about everybody does when they are learning how to write
IF. Typically, one starts modeling a real place, like one's house or
apartment. These games usually don't see the light of day."
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.int-fiction/browse_thread/thr...
2006-03-26 therealjdc says "As an exercise, I'm coding a simple map
of
my apartment. There are two walk-in closets, with the light switches
on the outside. For now, if the doors are open, there is light in
the
walk-ins (eventually, that will only be true if the relevant bedroom
light is on -- although the 'darkened' bedroom won't actually be
thedark)." http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.int-fiction/msg/a42f0a41acc3d272
2006-05-01 Sean Givan posts an Inform 7 test project:
The story genre is "'My Apartment' Games". The release number is 11.
The story headline is "The author's apartment".
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.int-fiction/msg/25d849558627361d
2006-05-15 Brian Campbell says "So far, all I'm working on is a basic
"my apartment" type thing for testing I7 features, but once I've
learned I7 I'd definitely like to write some real games."
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.int-fiction/msg/c33f7c6d0bd5ba92
Etc.
What I'm really looking for is anything earlier stuff, if there is
any
-- or if there used to be a different term bandied about in this
conversation than 'apartment.' Also, general thoughts on why the
phenomenon exists would be welcome (class? demography? gender?
tradition?). Thanks.
Cumberland Games & Diversions
What strikes me as interesting is that while I'm busy with plenty of
"I'm trying to learn this here language" type games, it never occurred
to me to simulate my apartment. I feel disappointed in myself now,
because now I've learned enough that simulating my apartment wouldn't
actually serve any self-tutoring purposes (I'm busy implementing magic
hell-regions and things, now). I feel as if I've missed out on a
crucial tradition!
Back when I was doing lots of DOOM levels, I never did my apartment
then, either, although I downloaded a number of DOOM levels set in the
apartments of others.
I did map my apartment on a hexgrid once for pen-and-paper RPGing :)
denni...@gmail.com
Is there something about the economic/educational status of
"apartment" that's central to your study? There's a 1996 thread that
briefly mentions a "my dorm" setting, but it looks like it's just a
hypothetical situation, not a real game. Baf's guide has a collection
of collegiate games, but they have a wider scope than a dorm room. On
the other hand, "my apartment" seems to be a variation of the "one-
room game," which is of course not limited to apartments.
The apartment setting was mentioned in a 2001 thread titled "[Newbie]
New, Done, and Done to Death," but it's still a natural setting for
beginning IF programmers. And 9:05 is a one-joke swipe at the "my
apartment" setting, though the PC is in a house.
Don't forget Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (again, not an apartment,
but an influential game that begins with the player in bed).
denni...@gmail.com
the "my immediate surroundings" is a natural embellishment. On most
programming languages, the programmer is using the code to speak to
the world; in IF, the coder is saying "hello" to an artificial world,
so the line of communication is reversed.
Andrew Plotkin
>
> Is there something about the economic/educational status of
> "apartment" that's central to your study? There's a 1996 thread that
> briefly mentions a "my dorm" setting, but it looks like it's just a
> hypothetical situation, not a real game. Baf's guide has a collection
> of collegiate games, but they have a wider scope than a dorm room.
This does sound familiar. (Great, 1996 is *also* ancient history. Bad
enough when 1982 was.)
There was certainly an early thread of "games set at my college".
(_Ditch Day Drifter_, 1990!) Dull, uninspired code-exercise games
would have been just as liable to be set at a college (or dorm) as at
home.
For that matter, we had one this past IFComp, didn't we? (A dull
school game, not simply a school game.) _Ballymun Adventure_.
--Z
--
"And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these were the borogoves..."
*
You don't become a tyranny by committing torture. If you plan for torture,
argue in favor of torture, set up legal justifications for torturing
someday, then the moral rot has *already* set in.
James Cunningham
> Here, denni...@gmail.com wrote:
>>
>> Is there something about the economic/educational status of
>> "apartment" that's central to your study? There's a 1996 thread that
>> briefly mentions a "my dorm" setting, but it looks like it's just a
>> hypothetical situation, not a real game. Baf's guide has a collection
>> of collegiate games, but they have a wider scope than a dorm room.
>
> This does sound familiar. (Great, 1996 is *also* ancient history. Bad
> enough when 1982 was.)
>
> There was certainly an early thread of "games set at my college".
> (_Ditch Day Drifter_, 1990!) Dull, uninspired code-exercise games
> would have been just as liable to be set at a college (or dorm) as at
> home.
>
> For that matter, we had one this past IFComp, didn't we? (A dull
> school game, not simply a school game.) _Ballymun Adventure_.
>
> --Z
But 2005 brought Chancellor, which gave a delightfully creepy (to my
mind) empty college dormitory. Granted, probably not Kevin Venzke's
own, but this sort of familiar environment can be done very well.
Best,
James
Andrew Plotkin
> On 2007-08-27 21:39:04 -0400, Andrew Plotkin <erky...@eblong.com> said:
>
> > Here, denni...@gmail.com wrote:
> >>
> >> Is there something about the economic/educational status of
> >> "apartment" that's central to your study? There's a 1996 thread that
> >> briefly mentions a "my dorm" setting, but it looks like it's just a
> >> hypothetical situation, not a real game. Baf's guide has a collection
> >> of collegiate games, but they have a wider scope than a dorm room.
> >
> > This does sound familiar. (Great, 1996 is *also* ancient history. Bad
> > enough when 1982 was.)
> >
> > There was certainly an early thread of "games set at my college".
> > (_Ditch Day Drifter_, 1990!) Dull, uninspired code-exercise games
> > would have been just as liable to be set at a college (or dorm) as at
> > home.
> >
> > For that matter, we had one this past IFComp, didn't we? (A dull
> > school game, not simply a school game.) _Ballymun Adventure_.
>
> mind) empty college dormitory. Granted, probably not Kevin Venzke's
> own, but this sort of familiar environment can be done very well.
That's why I made the distinction.
--Z
--
"And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these were the borogoves..."
*
Just because you vote for the Republicans, doesn't mean they let you be one.
The Taleslinger
> Here, James Cunningham <ja...@notbadafterall.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
> > > Here, dennis.j...@gmail.com wrote:
>
> > >> Is there something about the economic/educational status of
> > >> "apartment" that's central to your study? There's a 1996 thread that
> > >> briefly mentions a "my dorm" setting, but it looks like it's just a
> > >> hypothetical situation, not a real game. Baf's guide has a collection
> > >> of collegiate games, but they have a wider scope than a dorm room.
>
> > > This does sound familiar. (Great, 1996 is *also* ancient history. Bad
> > > enough when 1982 was.)
>
> > > There was certainly an early thread of "games set at my college".
> > > (_Ditch Day Drifter_, 1990!) Dull, uninspired code-exercise games
> > > would have been just as liable to be set at a college (or dorm) as at
> > > home.
>
> > > For that matter, we had one this past IFComp, didn't we? (A dull
> > > school game, not simply a school game.) _Ballymun Adventure_.
>
> > But 2005 brought Chancellor, which gave a delightfully creepy (to my
> > mind) empty college dormitory. Granted, probably not Kevin Venzke's
> > own, but this sort of familiar environment can be done very well.
>
> That's why I made the distinction.
>
> --Z
>
> --
> "And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these were the borogoves..."
> *
> Just because you vote for the Republicans, doesn't mean they let you be one.
My IntroComp game could easily be mistaken for a 'my apartment' thing.
But really, neither the layout nor the state of things (for the most
part...) has anything to do with it... :-)
Conrad
>
> 2006-05-15 Brian Campbell says "So far, all I'm working on is a basic
> "my apartment" type thing for testing I7 features, but once I've
> learned I7 I'd definitely like to write some real games."http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.int-fiction/msg/c33f7c6d0bd5ba92
>
> Etc.
>
> What I'm really looking for is anything earlier stuff, if there is
> any
> -- or if there used to be a different term bandied about in this
> conversation than 'apartment.' Also, general thoughts on why the
> phenomenon exists would be welcome (class? demography? gender?
> tradition?). Thanks.
In, I believe, _Tricks of the Game Programming Gurus_, that author
writes a demo program which uses an ascii map strategy, e.g.:
WWWWWWWWWWWWW
WLLLLLLLLLLLWKKKKKKW
WLLLLLLLLLLLWKKKKKKW
WLLLLLLLLLLLWKKKKKKW
WLLLLLLLLLLLWKKKKKKW
WLLLLLLLLLLLKKKKKKKW
WLLLLLLLLLLLKKKKKKKW
WLLLLLLLLLLLKKKKKKKW
WLLLLLLLLLLLWWWWWW
WLLLLLLLLLLLHHHHHHHE
WLLLLLLLLLLLHHHHHHHE
WWWWWWWWWWWWW
Where the game engine will interpret:
W as Wall
L as Living Room
K as Kitchen
H as Hallway, and
E as Exit
-- and describe, textually, different phrases on that basis.
It's more primative than your i7 example, and strictly a teaching
exercize, but it's clear from the descriptions that the author was
describing the apartment he personally lived in, and that book
was written around or before '97.
Conrad.
Brian Campbell
> "my apartment" type thing for testing I7 features, but once I've
> learned I7 I'd definitely like to write some real games."http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.int-fiction/msg/c33f7c6d0bd5ba92
Actually, I wasn't referring to a real "my apartment" game when I
wrote that, but instead just using that to refer to the category of
games where someone just implements the environment around them
instead of trying to design an actual game. In this case, it happened
to be my coed fraternity that I was implementing, during our signature
event, Milque and Cookies. This was just a way for me to play around
with Inform 7 without having to actually come up with a setting or
game, since I was more interested in the language features at the
time, and since "my apartment" games are a well-known phenomenon, I
used that term to refer to the whole class of games.
ChicagoDave
> but instead just using that to refer to the category of
> games where someone just implements the environment around them
> instead of trying to design an actual game.
It's my opinion there are several reasons people would implement a
setting that's tangible and nearby. They might be learning the
platform or they may have a writing "bent" that leans towards facts as
opposed to fiction. In either case, implementing a setting like an
apartment could be useful. I have often wondered what it would be like
to implement the setting of my town, Geneva/IL/USA, specifically the
stores on 3rd Street. This street has a 150 year history of boutique
stores that people traveled to from Chicago and it would neat to share
that with people before or after they visited, or never visited. I
could see an IF "game" that was strictly setting and factual
information connected to online sales.
David C.
Brian Campbell
> It's my opinion there are several reasons people would implement a
> setting that's tangible and nearby. They might be learning the
> platform or they may have a writing "bent" that leans towards facts as
> opposed to fiction. In either case, implementing a setting like an
> apartment could be useful. I have often wondered what it would be like
> to implement the setting of my town, Geneva/IL/USA, specifically the
> stores on 3rd Street. This street has a 150 year history of boutique
> stores that people traveled to from Chicago and it would neat to share
> that with people before or after they visited, or never visited. I
> could see an IF "game" that was strictly setting and factual
> information connected to online sales.
Heck, if we broaden the definition of "apartment" games that far, then
1893 - A World's Fair Mystery could be included, as it's based on a
very detailed model of an actual setting.
But yeah, there are lots of reasons to model something that actually
exists. The reason "apartment" games are considered to be their own
category is that they're usually the result of laziness, and people
trying to pass off their "learn the system" games as real games, but
there are lots of valid reasons to do simulations of familiar
environments.