Writing an RPG as IF... which language?

[Mark]

I know the topic of using IF as a platform for an RPG has been
frequently visited on this group and I have enjoyed going back and
reading those interesting discussions. I have a specific question on
that topic as it relates to choosing an IF language.

I'm new to IF and I am trying to choose a language. Since I want to
write an RPG-style story, I have a few basic functions that I'd like
my IF language to fulfill. Could you tell me whether there is a
language that can meet these requirements? I've done quite a bit of
reading about various languages, mainly Inform and TADS, but I've
spent so much time researching languages that I'm suffering from
"analysis paralysis" and fear I'll never actually make it to the
writing stage. If someone could point me in the right direction I
would be very grateful. What I would like to is pretty
straightforward, as follows:

(1) A staple of RPGs is that you not only have an inventory, but you
also have skills (usually just a list, sometimes paired with an
accompanying set of numbers) and stats (for instance, "hit points").
I would be happy if I could just have (A) a few basic stats, and when
one of those stats (like "hit points") reaches zero then the game
ends, plus (B) a separate "inventory" that is called "skills" (which
are essentially items that you "obtain" but cannot "drop").

(2) Some sort of random number generator and basic mathematics (for
purposes of comparing numbers, calculating percentages, etc).

(3) Another staple of RPGs is keeping a character that you've built
and using it across several linked stories. Is there an IF language
that allows you to "import" a set of characteristics (inventory,
stats, skills, etc) as they stand at the end of one story and use
those as initial values at the beginning of another story?

Thank you for any help!

Mark

[vaporware]

I can't speak for TADS, but I know Inform 7 is capable of all this. In
particular, the examples in section 21.12 of the manual show how to
use files to transfer information from one game to another.

vw

[Mark]

Thank you vaporware for your feedback. Do you know of an IF piece out
there that utilizes any of the mentioned features?

Can anyone comment on TADS as well?

Thanks!
Mark

[Jerome West]

Mark wrote:
> Do you know of an IF piece out there that utilizes any of the mentioned
> features?

Take a look at The Reliques of Tolti-Aph, a fully-fledged RPG written in
Inform 7, with source code available. It does most of the things you
mentioned, with the exception of transferring a character between games
(as far as I recall).

http://www.inform-fiction.org/I7Downloads/Examples/rota/source.html

> Can anyone comment on TADS as well?

I'm no TADS expert, but both I7 and TADS3 are fully featured languages
that can easily cope with the things you're after.

The primary difference is that TADS is a much more traditional
object-oriented language, so if you're already a skilled programmer then
it might present a less steep learning curve. I7's natural language
approach could be considered less suited to complex programming tasks,
but this doesn't seem to be a problem for Reliques - and having such a
comprehensive example to work from could be a big help to you.

[Mark]

Jerome,

Thanks for the helpful response. I'm a programmer from way back and
so I was drawn to TADS for that reason. But like you said, it's hard
to pass up using Inform 7 when you have such a nice complete example
to learn from. Thanks for the excellent tip!

Mark

[Emily Boegheim]

On Dec 31, 6:07 am, Mark <markcbaum...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Can anyone comment on TADS as well?

TADS 3 supports all your requested features as well. Your first and
second features should be simple enough. For the third, you'll have to
write the information to a file and read it in again; see
http://www.tads.org/t3doc/doc/sysman/file.htm

As Jerome West said, both TADS 3 and Inform 7 are powerful languages.
I suggest you just use whichever language appeals to you personally.

Emily

[Conrad]

On Dec 30, 7:09 pm, Emily Boegheim <emily.boegh...@gmail.com> wrote:

> As Jerome West said, both TADS 3 and Inform 7 are powerful languages.
> I suggest you just use whichever language appeals to you personally.

I agree. They're, as far as I can tell from the games that have come
out, equally powerful, but very different in the way the programmer
interacts with the languages. I suggest you try making a tiny one-
room, one-puzzle game in both and see which you enjoy more, or if
either one gives you the screaming heebie-jeebies.

I suspect that you'll have a clear preference. But either language
will be powerful enough to do what you want.

Conrad.

[Mark]

Thank you everyone for the helpful suggestions and insights!

[Queen of the Capes]

On Jan 1, 12:33 pm, Mark <markcbaum...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Thank you everyone for the helpful suggestions and insights!

Hi there, Mark; I'm currently working on an rpg in Tads3, and someone
in the discussion group suggested I look you up. Although I have no
formal training in programming, I find Tads3 easy to use in terms of
managing inventories and npcs, and have even managed to work out
hitpoints and basic combat. If you decide on Tads for your platform,
would you be interested in comparing notes? I can show you what rpg
mechanisms I have solved so far, and would be grateful for any
insights you and your programming experience may provide.