[Announce] Exposition in IF -- draft in progress
Dennis G. Jerz
and would welcome feedback from any interested parties. The opening is a
little choppy... so far what I've worked on the most is the three parallel
versions of the exposition to an imaginary game called "Crack of Noon."
My commentary has grown from my experiences as a judge for the PrologueComp,
as well as the fruitful discussion that ensued. I hope OnyxRing will
welcome the finished product.
http://www.uwec.edu/jerzdg/orr/articles/IF/online/exposition.html
Note: I have so far written the article for IF newbies (authors writing
their first games, or people who are new to the concept of interactive
storytelling), but am interested in addressing the subject on higher, or
more specific, levels as well.
--
Dennis G. Jerz, Ph.D.; (715)836-2431
Dept. of English; U Wisc.-Eau Claire
419 Hibbard, Eau Claire, WI 54702
------------------------------------
Literacy Weblog: www.uwec.edu/jerzdg
John E
writing instead of just good writing IN interactive fiction.
It really looks at the unique mechanics of the medium.
Of course the yellow on yellow text that you can see only highlighted was a
simple but effective use of HTML!
(except in lynx) :-)
Knight37
>I'm working on a draft of a commentary on exposition in interactive
>fiction, and would welcome feedback from any interested parties. The
>opening is a little choppy... so far what I've worked on the most is the
>three parallel versions of the exposition to an imaginary game called
>"Crack of Noon."
I liked the fact that you could play the example games right there in between
the text of your article. That was very effective.
>http://www.uwec.edu/jerzdg/orr/articles/IF/online/exposition.html
>
>Note: I have so far written the article for IF newbies (authors writing
>their first games, or people who are new to the concept of interactive
>storytelling), but am interested in addressing the subject on higher, or
>more specific, levels as well.
I liked your points, and agree for the most part. It's much more "immersive" to
learn what you're supposed to do by interacting rather than reading a long
winded intro screen. However, you have little control over when or even if
something gets read, so unless you want players sitting around with their
proverbial thumbs up their proverbial privates, it would be best to clue them
in on what they need to look at. I thought your example game did a pretty good
job of that.
I really liked the way a lot of the Infocom games did their exposition, though,
with feelies in the package before you even started the game. It was
interactive, and it really added to the flavor of the game, plus you got the
idea of who you were supposed to be before you even started the game up. In
contrast, with your version 3 example, I have no idea who I am when I start the
game, and I have to discover who I am by examining my surroundings. Maybe an
okay device, but if used too often this makes every game feel like I'm an
amnesiac.
As an aside, it bothered me that the bedroom description in the example game
was something about it being a Monday ever time I looked at it as opposed to
describing what the room looked like. That's another no-no IMHO (using room
descriptions for non-descriptive text) and may not be the best thing to put in
an example game for newbies. :)
--
Knight37
"All the world's indeed a stage!
We are merely players,
performers and portrayers.
Each another's audience
outside the guilded cage." -- Rush "Limelight"
Andrew Plotkin
> I'm working on a draft of a commentary on exposition in interactive fiction,
> and would welcome feedback from any interested parties. The opening is a
> little choppy... so far what I've worked on the most is the three parallel
> versions of the exposition to an imaginary game called "Crack of Noon."
Hrm. Having scanned for my name (:-)...
> In "Crack of Noon v.3.0," the contents of the jacket pocket provide
> most of the exposition. It's a bit of an IF clich to provide notes for
> the PC to read, but the device is so useful that it is readily
> accepted when not overused.
Thought 1: But then so are "extra-narrative devices". A cliche,
because they're useful and accepted.
(Foonote 1: Would it be better to call them "extra-interactive
devices"? Since "Something tells you..." clearly *is* a narrative
effect. In fact, in one paragraph you say "Exposition that relies this
heavily on narration -- on 'telling' -- is awkward in IF." In the next
you refer to this stuff as "extra-narrative". I think you jumped
terms.)
Anyway, my original point is, I have exactly the same exasperated
reaction to an inept IF background gimmick (diary in pocket, to-do
list on desk :) as I do to an inept interjection from the omniscient
narrator. I don't see one as better, or even more IF-suited, than the
other -- it's the "inept" part that one needs to fix.
Thought 2: You referred to "A Change in the Weather" as an example
of setting the goal non-interactively. I said "Huh? No I didn't"...
and then went to check. Paragraph 1 of game ends: "Some exploration --
on your own -- is an appealing thought." Perfect example of what
you're talking about.
Okay, why did I misremember this? Because that line is a very shallow
slice into the game; all of the *real* action flows from interactive
explication. That's how I (as the author, six years later) remember
the game design.
Not that my opinion creates any sense of obligation in the player. :-)
But it's worth noting that the big early criticisms of "Weather", when
I released it, were "I don't have any motivation! There's no goal!"
--Z
"And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these were the borogoves..."
*
* Doesn't matter who you vote for, if the Supreme Court votes for me.
Sean T Barrett
>I really liked the way a lot of the Infocom games did their exposition,
>though, with feelies in the package before you even started the game. It was
>interactive, and it really added to the flavor of the game, plus you got the
>idea of who you were supposed to be before you even started the game up.
In my just-released "The Weapon", I took the opposite tack
(as did many Infocom games, I think, e.g. Trinity's comic
book), using the feelie to reveal the backstory in detail,
and leaving the in-game prologue to roughly describe the
character and the task. This has the advantage that if
done carefully, the feelie can be skipped without endangering
playability. (There was a puzzle game in comp 1999 which
put the entire prologue text in a readme... I think it was
SNOSAE? It made the game really goofy without it.)
>As an aside, it bothered me that the bedroom description in the example game
>was something about it being a Monday ever time I looked at it as opposed to
>describing what the room looked like. That's another no-no IMHO (using room
>descriptions for non-descriptive text) and may not be the best thing to put in
>an example game for newbies. :)
Something I did a lot in "The Weapon" (and somewhat in "Fit for a Queen")
was include non-description text in room and object descriptions, but
only the first time they printed--I have a compiler modification that
allows me to very easily write text that only prints once. You can
see "through" this if you simply examine each thing two times in a row,
but if you play it normally, I think it's a nice improvement.
(Try LOOKing again on the first turn, or examining DOORWAY, WINDOW,
SLAB, CHERYL twice in a row.)
The same tech is used in places simply to shorten some descriptions that
might otherwise get tedious, and is used in reverse in a few places to
provide a hint the second or third time you do some action. Unfortunately,
if knowledge of that was widespread, people would just go around examining
everything twice and only reading the second one, which would rather
defeat the effort that went into making it that way. So it's probably
best used sparingly, instead of frequently.
SeanB
Dennis G. Jerz
to get something, so I can't reply in any detail. But thanks for the
feedback so far. Andrew's comment about the diary-in-the-pocket as being as
annoying as the narrator's omniscient interjection is well taken... as is
his comment about the exploration in "Change of Weather" as being a very,
very tiny piece of the game. I tried to cover that by hiding some
unexpected things in the third example of "Crack of Noon". I hope to
incorporate -- or at least rebut (:P) -- everyone's suggestions. Keep
'em coming.
--
Dennis G. Jerz, Ph.D.; (715)836-2431
Dept. of English; U Wisc.-Eau Claire
419 Hibbard, Eau Claire, WI 54702
------------------------------------
Literacy Weblog: www.uwec.edu/jerzdg
"Dennis G. Jerz" <Jer...@uwec.edu> wrote in message
news:9im7el$664$1...@wiscnews.wiscnet.net...
John Colagioia
>I'm working on a draft of a commentary on exposition in interactive
fiction,
>and would welcome feedback from any interested parties. The opening is a
>little choppy... so far what I've worked on the most is the three parallel
>versions of the exposition to an imaginary game called "Crack of Noon."
I like it--article and game.
About the only constructive thing I can say that hasn't already been
mentioned more eloquently than I could put it is that the article, when
describing "Crack of Noon" v2, it discusses the announcement of "you
realize" and so forth--oddly, I can't get that to happen. It may make sense
to show the partial transcript, thereby showing the action needed to produce
the message (since I, apparently, couldn't dig deeply enough to find it).
As to the note, I think that the concept is sound in this case, but the
"delivery" is slightly off-balance. That is, being "Slacker Man," it would
actually be sensible for our protagonist to only realize that he's
cat-sitting upon reading the note he's been carrying. However, this might
be a better place to tell, rather than show, scanning over the contents of
the letter in a slightly emotional, "omigod-I-forgot" kind of way.
Oh. And the bed is takeable. But that's hardly relevant. I just found it
amusing that the bed was easy to grab, but the nightstand was heavy.
I won't mention that I tried "gonear hector" in v2, just to see what
happens. That'd be too embarassing for me...
Anyway, thanks for an excellent article. Another credit to what is
obviously a bountiful collection at your site!
john...@nospamearthlink.net
>Oh. And the bed is takeable. But that's hardly relevant. I just found it
>amusing that the bed was easy to grab, but the nightstand was heavy.
>
Your Bedroom (on the bed)
The late morning light has a wonderfully sleepy Sunday morning feel --
which is pretty cruel, considering that today is Monday.
You can see a nightstand here.
>get out of bed
You can't see any such thing.
>get up
You get off the bed.
>take bed
Taken.
>x nightstand
It's actually.... <snip>
A storage cabinet is built into the nightstand.
>open storage
You open the storage cabinet, revealing a jacket.
>put bed in storage
[** Programming error: tried to "move" nightstand to storage cabinet,
which would make a loop: nightstand in storage cabinet in nightstand
**]
You put the nightstand into the storage cabinet
>i
You are carrying:
your bed
john...@nospamearthlink.net
(wow if I could do this I'd always have a place to sleep!)
>x jaket
<snip>
There's something in the pocket.
>x pocket
In the pocket are your bed, a note, a key and three dollar bills.
john...@nospamearthlink.net
Unless you try "put all in pocket" which will freeze the game.
This is fun,
John
John Colagioia
<3b50c275...@news.earthlink.net>...
>Crack of noon v.3
>(wow if I could do this I'd always have a place to sleep!)
>>x jaket
><snip>
>There's something in the pocket.
Mind you, these are all really trivial details, and have nothing to do with
the article.
Don't worry, though. If I ever get through any particular game far enough
for release, I'm considering releasing all of the "interim" versions. So
one day, you, too, can thrill to transcripts like:
Whatever Room
> s
Darkness
> n
Darkness
> s
You'll have to get out of the Whatever Room, first.
> out
(LibraryMessages)
[Programming Error:...
...and so it goes...
(yes, I fixed it after only about five or six attempts--and it served me
right for playing with the internal library functions...)
Dennis G. Jerz
news:3b50c461...@news.earthlink.net...
LOL. You are cruel. Thanks!
Dennis G. Jerz
duplicating the effect of the Infocom hint books). Should I just put that
stuff on a separate page? I wanted to make the game easy to solve, but I
also wanted to make they player work just a bit, so that any discoveries
would carry with them the "ah-hah!" feeling that makes IF so enjoyable.
--
Dennis G. Jerz, Ph.D.; (715)836-2431
Dept. of English; U Wisc.-Eau Claire
419 Hibbard, Eau Claire, WI 54702
------------------------------------
Literacy Weblog: www.uwec.edu/jerzdg
"John E" <john...@NOSPAMearthlink.net> wrote in message
news:99G37.958$23.1...@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net...
Dennis G. Jerz
news:Xns90DD9721Aknig...@209.155.56.82...
Thanks.
>
> I really liked the way a lot of the Infocom games did their exposition,
though,
> with feelies in the package before you even started the game.
True. Since the primary means for distributing IF is now over the Internet,
the feelies do seem to take a subordinate position. Quite a few attempts at
literary IF in the mid-80s started out with a 20- or 30-page booklet, and
the IF portion was a continuation of that story. In a way, the whole
"Exposition in Interactive Fiction" article is the "feelie" that
contextualizes the game samples. (OK, that was lame.)
It was
> interactive, and it really added to the flavor of the game, plus you got
the
> idea of who you were supposed to be before you even started the game up.
In
> contrast, with your version 3 example, I have no idea who I am when I
start the
> game, and I have to discover who I am by examining my surroundings. Maybe
an
> okay device, but if used too often this makes every game feel like I'm an
> amnesiac.
Right. If I were really writing "Crack of Noon" as a complete game, I don't
think I would have it start quite that abruptly. My goal in the third game
was to hurry the reader along to the odd bit of character development that
demostrates the "don't give away all your best stuff in the opening screen
of text" lesson.
>
> As an aside, it bothered me that the bedroom description in the example
game
> was something about it being a Monday ever time I looked at it as opposed
to
> describing what the room looked like. That's another no-no IMHO (using
room
> descriptions for non-descriptive text) and may not be the best thing to
put in
> an example game for newbies. :)
Hmm. I thought of the description of the light as a way to set the mood.
Of course, if the PC were to come back to this room later in the day, then
perhaps the description would change. I've certainly seen students
struggling with how to describe rooms and objects (for instance, the
"description" text mentions the state of the object -- where it is, how it
glimmers in the sunlight, etc.).
That might be the subject for a future tutorial.
Anybody want to write up a series of sample games that do for objects and
rooms what I tried to do for exposition?
Dennis G. Jerz
news:9inqmu$lo6$1...@news.panix.com...
> [Many useful comments here...]
> Thought 2: You referred to "A Change in the Weather" as an example
> of setting the goal non-interactively. I said "Huh? No I didn't"...
> and then went to check. Paragraph 1 of game ends: "Some exploration --
> on your own -- is an appealing thought." Perfect example of what
> you're talking about.
>
> Okay, why did I misremember this? Because that line is a very shallow
> slice into the game; all of the *real* action flows from interactive
> explication. That's how I (as the author, six years later) remember
> the game design.
Right. This game came to mind because that very shallow (as you term it)
statment of goal is just enough to get the player moving along. It's not
overdone, and you didn't waste several paragraphs on it. That exposition is
not inept, its adept. (I hope someday to be simply ept.)
Dennis G. Jerz
news:GGFoL...@world.std.com...
> Knight37 <knig...@gamespotmail.com> wrote:
> >I really liked the way a lot of the Infocom games did their exposition,
> >though, with feelies in the package before you even started the game. It
was
> >interactive, and it really added to the flavor of the game, plus you got
the
> >idea of who you were supposed to be before you even started the game up.
>
> In my just-released "The Weapon", I took the opposite tack
> (as did many Infocom games, I think, e.g. Trinity's comic
> book), using the feelie to reveal the backstory in detail,
> and leaving the in-game prologue to roughly describe the
> character and the task. This has the advantage that if
> done carefully, the feelie can be skipped without endangering
> playability. (There was a puzzle game in comp 1999 which
> put the entire prologue text in a readme... I think it was
> SNOSAE? It made the game really goofy without it.)
While many people raved about the genie game in the last IFComp, I got very
frustrated at one point, and decided (perhaps unfairly) that any game that
couldn't use the IF medium to teach me how to understand the game world was
too much trouble to bother with. Maybe because I only have time to get IF
in bits and snatches, I didn't want to invest much time in learning that
whole complex system. Maybe it wasn't complex, and I was simply too
impatient to give it the chance... but for whatever reason, I wasn't able to
get "into" that game.
--
Dennis G. Jerz, Ph.D.; (715)836-2431
Dept. of English; U Wisc.-Eau Claire
419 Hibbard, Eau Claire, WI 54702
------------------------------------
Literacy Weblog: www.uwec.edu/jerzdg
>
Dennis G. Jerz
news:3b50c...@excalibur.gbmtech.net...
> Dennis G. Jerz wrote in message <9im7el$664$1...@wiscnews.wiscnet.net>...
> >I'm working on a draft of a commentary on exposition in interactive
> fiction,
> >and would welcome feedback from any interested parties. The opening is a
> >little choppy... so far what I've worked on the most is the three
parallel
> >versions of the exposition to an imaginary game called "Crack of Noon."
>
>
> I like it--article and game.
>
> About the only constructive thing I can say that hasn't already been
> mentioned more eloquently than I could put it is that the article, when
> describing "Crack of Noon" v2, it discusses the announcement of "you
> realize" and so forth--oddly, I can't get that to happen. It may make
sense
> to show the partial transcript, thereby showing the action needed to
produce
> the message (since I, apparently, couldn't dig deeply enough to find it).
Sorry -- that was my fault. Those lines actually refer to V.1, but there is
a "you realize" in the opening screen of V. 2. (I've added a "press any
key" to the opening screen of V2, and am revising the article in another
window as I write this note.)
>
> As to the note, I think that the concept is sound in this case, but the
> "delivery" is slightly off-balance. That is, being "Slacker Man," it
would
> actually be sensible for our protagonist to only realize that he's
> cat-sitting upon reading the note he's been carrying.
True... but in V3 the protagonist has already spent $47 from the $50 that
Auntie left. I imagine that Auntie would have put the money and the note
together. If this were a real game, and the characters and situation
continued to evolve, perhaps I would have addressed that.
However, this might
> be a better place to tell, rather than show, scanning over the contents of
> the letter in a slightly emotional, "omigod-I-forgot" kind of way.
>
> Oh. And the bed is takeable. But that's hardly relevant. I just found
it
> amusing that the bed was easy to grab, but the nightstand was heavy.
Uh... it's an air mattress. Yeah.
>
> I won't mention that I tried "gonear hector" in v2, just to see what
> happens. That'd be too embarassing for me...
Eh. I thought I'd leave debug on, just for fun.
>
> Anyway, thanks for an excellent article. Another credit to what is
> obviously a bountiful collection at your site!
Thanks. I'm delighted to have your feedback.
Dennis G. Jerz
news:3b50bf5a...@news.earthlink.net...
>
> >Oh. And the bed is takeable. But that's hardly relevant. I just found
it
> >amusing that the bed was easy to grab, but the nightstand was heavy.
> >
>
> Your Bedroom (on the bed)
> The late morning light has a wonderfully sleepy Sunday morning feel --
> which is pretty cruel, considering that today is Monday.
>
> You can see a nightstand here.
>
> >get out of bed
> You can't see any such thing.
Yes, I usually extend the verb "get" in order to account for "get out of"
and "get off of". I forgot this time. (But I think I've fixed it now.)
And now the bed is no longer takeable.
Dennis G. Jerz
> john...@NOSPAMearthlink.net wrote in message
> <3b50c275...@news.earthlink.net>...
> >Crack of noon v.3
> >(wow if I could do this I'd always have a place to sleep!)
> >>x jaket
> ><snip>
> >There's something in the pocket.
> [...]
>
> Mind you, these are all really trivial details, and have nothing to do
with
> the article.
>
It's great to have *any* kind of feedback.
My wife simply cannot stand IF. She offers her services as a betatester for
one hour at a time, about three months apart. The last time she played one
of my works-in-progress, she said, "I didn't hate it as much as the last
time."
I took that as a great compliment.
Brian C. Lane
Its a pretty good article, except that I can't play v2 or v3 running the
Opera browser. If the games are in a playable form (Inform?) a link to their
.z files would be a nice addition for the one or two of us that don't use MS
Explorer.
>My family is waiting out in the car -- I just stopped in the office quickly
>to get something, so I can't reply in any detail. But thanks for the
>feedback so far. Andrew's comment about the diary-in-the-pocket as being as
>annoying as the narrator's omniscient interjection is well taken... as is
It may be annoying, but it isn't as jarring as the narrator telling you.
With a note, diary, email on your laptop, etc. it is an expected part of the
game's universe. It isn't outside the realm of possibility that you wake up
with a sticky note from your mother on your forehead reminding you to feed
your Aunt's cat. But it is somewhat of a 'deus ex machinea' (ok, that's
probably spelled wrong, but you know what I mean) for the narrator to knock
you upside the head and tell you to go check the cat.
--
Brian C. Lane - GUE Tech Administrator www.guetech.org
br...@guetech.org
============================================================================
64,999,987 firearms owners killed no one yesterday.
john...@nospamearthlink.net
>> You can also put the jacket in the pocket and make then dissappear.
>> Unless you try "put all in pocket" which will freeze the game.
>>
>> This is fun,
>> John
>
>LOL. You are cruel. Thanks!
>
>--
>Dennis G. Jerz, Ph.D.; (715)836-2431
All kidding aside, I really like that you've put these on-line as is.
The mistakes I've spotted are mistakes that I still make.
I wonder what would happen if many people tried to build a single
game. How did Infocom do it? One programer per game?
I think there would be uproars about programing like not wanting to
include a puzzle that demands all but two object to have the attribute
"notSilk", but this would encouraage discusion of aproaches.
I'm not even sure it would get done, but people could learn a lot
watching something go from idea to polish with all versions of the
code released. House is a great example, but I'd like to see it go
even further.
Is anyone up for a publicly built game for the sake of learning?
Could a game be built with submited objects and code? I think it
would be a great case study of object oriented programing and
polymorphism. Stuff like handling "of class liquid" rather than just
"water".
(is it just me or are liquids particulary slippery to code? **rim
shot**)
-John
John Colagioia
> "John Colagioia" <JCola...@csi.com> wrote in message
> news:3b50c...@excalibur.gbmtech.net...
> > Dennis G. Jerz wrote in message <9im7el$664$1...@wiscnews.wiscnet.net>...
> > >I'm working on a draft of a commentary on exposition in interactive
> fiction,
> > >and would welcome feedback from any interested parties. The opening is a
> > >little choppy... so far what I've worked on the most is the three parallel
> > >versions of the exposition to an imaginary game called "Crack of Noon."
> > I like it--article and game.
> > About the only constructive thing I can say that hasn't already been
> > mentioned more eloquently than I could put it is that the article, when
> > describing "Crack of Noon" v2, it discusses the announcement of "you
> > realize" and so forth--oddly, I can't get that to happen. It may make sense
>
> > to show the partial transcript, thereby showing the action needed to produce
>
> > the message (since I, apparently, couldn't dig deeply enough to find it).
> Sorry -- that was my fault. Those lines actually refer to V.1, but there is
> a "you realize" in the opening screen of V. 2. (I've added a "press any
> key" to the opening screen of V2, and am revising the article in another
> window as I write this note.)
Ah...OK. Heh. That's much less frightening. I was starting to get something
of a complex. "Come on, there are only like five objects here, and I've done
pretty much everything. When am I going to realize stuff!?"
> > As to the note, I think that the concept is sound in this case, but the
> > "delivery" is slightly off-balance. That is, being "Slacker Man," it would
> > actually be sensible for our protagonist to only realize that he's
> > cat-sitting upon reading the note he's been carrying.
> True... but in V3 the protagonist has already spent $47 from the $50 that
> Auntie left. I imagine that Auntie would have put the money and the note
> together.
True. I don't know that the character would keep the change and note together,
though. I'd like to consider myself more organized than the protagonist, but I
don't keep my grocery list with my money after said groceries have been
purchased.
> If this were a real game, and the characters and situation
> continued to evolve, perhaps I would have addressed that.
Oh, I don't doubt it. I'm just sort of brainstorming at random. Don't mind me.
> However, this might
> > be a better place to tell, rather than show, scanning over the contents of
> > the letter in a slightly emotional, "omigod-I-forgot" kind of way.
> >
> > Oh. And the bed is takeable. But that's hardly relevant. I just found it
> > amusing that the bed was easy to grab, but the nightstand was heavy.
> Uh... it's an air mattress. Yeah.
Given the characterization, that or a sleeping bag actually wouldn't surprise
me. I was actually somewhat surprised in v3 to find out that the home was the
protagonist's, rather than his parents'.
> > I won't mention that I tried "gonear hector" in v2, just to see what
> > happens. That'd be too embarassing for me...
> Eh. I thought I'd leave debug on, just for fun.
I tried to make some use of it when I was floundering for the "you realize"
message, fixed above. And it was actually kind of amusing to magically end up
in the third version of the game...
[...]
Dennis G. Jerz
I've changed the "This section requires a Java browser" message so that it
displays a link to the z file. Does that work for you?
--
Dennis G. Jerz, Ph.D.; (715)836-2431
Dept. of English; U Wisc.-Eau Claire
419 Hibbard, Eau Claire, WI 54702
------------------------------------
Literacy Weblog: www.uwec.edu/jerzdg
"Brian C. Lane" <br...@kermit.nexuscomputing.com> wrote in message
news:72CC4B5956371364.8F26003E...@lp.airnews.net...
Adam Biltcliffe
john...@NOSPAMearthlink.net. But rec.arts.int-fiction had
john...@NOSPAMearthlink.net thrust upon it:
> (is it just me or are liquids particulary slippery to code? **rim
> shot**)
Try coding a rope if you really want to get yourself tied up in knots.
jw
john...@nospamearthlink.net
I tried to code a cookie, but it crumbled!
Bryan
> watching something go from idea to polish with all versions of the
> code released. House is a great example, but I'd like to see it go
> even further.
>
> Is anyone up for a publicly built game for the sake of learning?
> Could a game be built with submited objects and code?
Since I'm a newbie I like this idea. I've gone through the House*
files and learned what I could from them but I'd like to see other
stuff that's not included there. I've also tried to go through the
Ruins game but for me right now that's too complex to learn from.
From a newbies view I'd like to see something like this:
A game that only has 10-15 rooms and one room has ALL of the different
things that can happen in it, ie the n_to, d_to, cant_go and anything
else. it took me awhile to figure out that it's d_to and not down_to.
Score. I still can't see how the score works because I'm guessing
it's too much other code around it. just something simple like 1
point for getting a key and two for unlocking the door etc.
Two NPC, one that just kind of sits in the room and respondes to some
actions or words. and one that moves around. I think I understand
the one from DM but havent played with it yet.
Objects, just loads of objects laying around, ok at least a few, and
maybe a mailbox to show how things can be inside one another. I'm
guessing a few doors too. On doors show that there can be a couple of
different types. imagine trying to lock a door that's not there, I
tried that in my first quick game.
Then maybe a couple of EASY puzzels like pushing stuff around etc,
sorry I can't come up with any right now.
The House one was very easy to follow but didn't do much for me. It's
a good starting area but that's it. I got through making my first
"game" with only rooms and a key in an hour or so.
The Ruins game and Alice, I think that's what it's called with the two
cats and chess pieces, are too difficult to follow for someone like
me.
Maybe have it go something like this for versions:
V1 just the rooms and maybe doors, rooms and doors were pretty easy
for me.
V2 add a couple of keys and maybe score here, if score isnt too hard
that is.
V3 add some items to be pushed and maybe the NPC who doesn't move.
V4 add the NPC who does move. maybe some containers too.
V5 add one or two puzzles.
V6+ after this you can make it more complex with harder puzzles, more
rooms etc.
I'd do some of it but all I know are doors and rooms and a couple of
keys! oh and maybe a snake or two.
Dennis G. Jerz
news:3b59aae8...@news.earthlink.net...
> That is KNOT funny!
>
> I tried to code a cookie, but it crumbled!
>
Is that a chocolate chip on your shoulder?
Dennis G. Jerz
news:424b45ef.01072...@posting.google.com...
> From a newbies view I'd like to see something like this:
>
> A game that only has 10-15 rooms and one room has ALL of the different
> things that can happen in it, ie the n_to, d_to, cant_go and anything
> else. it took me awhile to figure out that it's d_to and not down_to.
>
Have you checked out the Museum of Inform?
http://wuarchive.wustl.edu/doc/misc/if-archive/programming/inform6/examples/
Museum.inf
> Score. I still can't see how the score works because I'm guessing
> it's too much other code around it. just something simple like 1
> point for getting a key and two for unlocking the door etc.
Not hard really. Checkout the attribute "scored", or directly manipulate
the global variable "score" (score++; score = score -10). (It's much harder
to use the "tasks" feature, which associates a text string with each
scorable item).
>
> Two NPC, one that just kind of sits in the room and respondes to some
> actions or words. and one that moves around. I think I understand
> the one from DM but havent played with it yet.
Roger Firth's InfAct tutorial is excellent.
>
> Objects, just loads of objects laying around, ok at least a few, and
> maybe a mailbox to show how things can be inside one another. I'm
> guessing a few doors too. On doors show that there can be a couple of
> different types. imagine trying to lock a door that's not there, I
> tried that in my first quick game.
>
> Then maybe a couple of EASY puzzels like pushing stuff around etc,
> sorry I can't come up with any right now.
Again, "Inform Museum" handles some of this. That's not to discourage you
from creating and sharing your own tutorial, of course. There's no better
way to learn.
--
Dennis G. Jerz, Ph.D.; (715)836-2431