Want to mix coding and writing to create wondrous works of fiction?
In this video I look at the past of interactive fiction including: Choose your own adventure, fighting fantasy, and lone wolf. I look at text-based computer games and infocom.
I then look at the new wave of platforms and works such as: Twine, Inky, Articy, Bandersnatch, Depression Quest, and many more!
Enjoy! And share your works with me.
All included media copyright their respective owners. And thank you to archive.org for the digitised books.
Test version - / the-past-present-and-f...
One thing I would like to see from these tools is the ability to make UI elements, it would be nice to have a character sheet that is easy to access and modify
Right now, your best bet for that is probably Inky into Unity, but I appreciate that isn't ideal. I have a long list of new tools to try, so maybe I will end up finding what you're also looking for.
@@ChrisChinchillaWatch what would you think of a simple Java Swing app (because I assume there shouldn't be any complex or advanced graphics)? I am making text game right now from scratch, with plain Java. It's going to be a CLI program that runs just on the terminal or command prompt. But if I had to use UI elements the simplest thing for me to implement would be Swing.
@@sen7826 You can build interactive fiction anyway you want really, and some of the early ones would hae been coded from scratch. You just might like to try one of the tools mentioned to plan the script and story etc.
I teach Creative Writing for New Media and found this roundup of games and tools really useful.
Great to hear, thank you! There should be some follow up videos soon.
The paper format actually originated with the Tunnels & Trolls solos, starting with _Buffalo Castle_ in 1976. The limitations of that medium relative to digital programs were less significant when personal computers were more expensive, less powerful and less portable. “Not strictly interactive fiction but kind of” seems a bizarre way to speak of the medium to which the IF term was first applied, and in reference to which it finds most common usage. Colossal Cave Adventure debuted on minicomputer systems, and (broken up into three parts) as Zork for micros was the foundation for Infocom’s IF enterprise. The abbreviated title Adventure (used for the Scott Adams products with a less sophisticated parser) gave rise to the basically synonymous genre name for computer IF - “adventure games” - which outlived the commercial viability of the text-oriented form. That form is the focus of the annual Interactive Fiction Competition, which has featured among other significant works some to which peculiarities of the medium itself (and sometimes subverting conventions) are important artistic elements.
Yes, that is true. I actually even own a copy of a reprint of the Tunnels and Trolls book with one of the solo adventures. I guess I meant more than to outsiders (which I get the impression you're not); they think of interactive fiction in the digital form. Also, to be honest, filming and showing books on video is hard! But as someone who is currently rereading the Lone Wolf books and as this video has been popular, a roundup of originally physical examples could be interesting… So would how people actually made and made them, though I guess the tools would be less consistent. Personally, I am also more likely to make a more traditional print-based one as it requires less technical ability.
Awesome introduction to IF, subscribed!
Great overview. Very enjoyable.
Thank you very much, this tour was highly informative ❤
Very interesting information! Thanks for introducing those tools.
Awesome video! I'm working on a narrative VR game and researching IF because I'm not sure what approach to take. This overview was great and brought back a lot of memories too.
Glad I could help!
Fantastic video!
Thank you! More to follow
Brilliant overview and video Chris. I'll be in touch!
Thanks! Hopefully more similar content soon!
Very well made, valuably educational video
Thank you!
Nice. Very nice. Thank you.
Most welcome 😊
thank you from Brasil
id like to mention markiplier's "a heist with markiplier" and "in space with markiplier" here on youtube!
Are they games or videos, or?
@@ChrisChinchillaWatch videos kinda like the movies with options
@@jan_Wilo Ahh, OK, thanks, will take a look :)
Neat video - Where is the Future part 17:18 start with publish 18:20 is why. If you can give me a time stamp please. I did like the idea of making a talking Interactive fiction - that does sound very cool. thx
CYPHER: Cyberpunk Text Adventure Game needs some love here.
I'm going to try and get back into game reviews in 2024, so noted!
Why did you ignore Adventuron? It's imho the best one out there.
Not ignored, never heard of until you mentioned it now. Will add it to the list.
there's 2 steve jacksons, and it's not the other one
It's confusing isn't it 😆
Have you looked into Dungeons AI's platform for creating generative AI text based games?
Do you mean AI dungeon as that's in the video, but maybe it's something else with a similar name. Yo might have noticed that i started a new video series, and AI-generated games will be on the list for that too.
@@ChrisChinchillaWatch Yes, I misspoke. They have a beta platform called Voyage that looks interesting.
@@GabrielCsanalosi786 Cool, will take a look
man edging me by saving twine til the end but keeps referring to it
Haha, well, you know, it's the small grey elephant in the room.
Kinda curious why my comment was deleted. Not angry, just curious. Oh, well. 🙂
I don't normally delete comments, so I don't think it was me, and I'm not sure the Google mother ship will ever tell you... Sorry!
@@ChrisChinchillaWatch It was just a message chastising you a bit for not including Ren'Py in your tools list for creating interactive fiction. It's the fifth most prevalent format for games released on Steam, for example. It's a scripting environment simple enough to get started right away, but can get as detailed as you want since you can drop directly into Python when needed. Perhaps it was deleted because I included the URL for the Ren'Py site? Anyway, that's it.
@@rww1026 Maybe your chastising was too harsh ;) I have never seen the comment or heard of the tool, but have some follow up videos on the list, so I'll add it!
Did you say "ec-cetra ec-cetra"??? It's ET-cetera. From the Latin et meaning "and". (Ex: Et tu Brute?) The Queen is rolling in Her grave. Such bad English.
No, I said "eggcetra" :)
Shouldn't it be Cicero rolling in his grave?