Thanks very much, everyone! Here are my notes from today's meeting. Paul, feel free to correct or clarify anything I've summarized incorrectly.
Location: Zoom meeting
Attendees: David D., David G., David L., Gene, Greg, Lance, Mike, Paul, S. Paxton
2:00 Introductions and opening discussion.
-Brief discussion of NarraScope 2020 schedule.
-David G. discussed updates for the new release of Frotz.
2:15 Paul gave a demonstration of his tool for generating Inform 7 code.
-The tool was created using Kotlin, with types corresponding to Inform 7 objects, attributes, actions, etc.
-Each Kotlin command and its corresponding output rules were created manually, one by one.
-The tool allows the use of IDE functions like predictive text, refactoring, and inline debugging.
-The Inform 7 code generated is relatively verbose but unambiguous.
-The tool and the game were created in about a month total, starting in September 2019.
3:00 Played Agnieszka Trzaska's Spring Thing 2020 entry
4x4 Galaxy.
-Discussed procedural generation of locations and random encounters.
3:30 Played Vivienne Dunstan's Spring Thing 2020 entry
Napier's Cache.
-There was general appreciation for a story based on actual events.
-The author's 2018 IFComp game
Border Reivers was also set in pre-1600 Scotland.
-Mike tested this game and provided feedback about puzzles in Part 1.
-Discussed types of puzzles and other non-puzzle interaction that add to gameplay or atmosphere.
-Discussed the game's polish and the value of thorough testing to the experience.
-Discussed accessibility considerations for players who use screen readers or other tools.
4:00 Final discussion and wrap-up.
-There was interest from several participants in going to a monthly format for online meetings.
-The next meeting was tentatively scheduled for June.
-Lance suggested continuing with Spring Thing entries and playing the game Jelly by Tom Lento and Chandler Groover.
4:15 Adjourn