Above the table, a shimmering crystal is floating in mid-air. Touching one of its facets will transport you to another location. Where do you want to go?

General - Beginner's guides for playing IF - Recommendations for playing - Tools - Archives - Writer's guidelines - Regular publications - Newsgroups

General

Beginner's guides for playing IF

Recommendations for playing

What games are good to start with? What other good IF can you recommend?

Tools

Playing

In most cases, you will need an interpreter to play IF. Don't panic, it's easy. You'll find everything ready for download here:
  • Inform interpreters
    These are for games written in Inform (extension .z*).
    As the Z-machine was originally designed as an interpreter for Infocom games ('Z' stands for 'Zork'), Infocom's .dat files can still be played on these as well. Find the right version for your platform on the left hand side.
  • Inform 7
    is Graham Nelson's (the designer of Inform) youngest baby, and different from all Inform that came before. It is interpreter, compiler and documentation all in one, which is great in itself, but the real novelty is that it allows you to write stories without any programming knowledge or experience. With all the potential, it seems, that previous versions of Inform have. By all means, give it a try!
  • TADS interpreters, Mirror
    These are for TADS-games (extension .gam).
  • Glulxe interpreters, Mirror
    For Glulx games (extension .ulx).
  • Hugo interpreters, Mirror
    For Hugo games (extension .hex).
  • Others, Mirror

Writing

  • Inform 6 compiler, library, and manuals, Mirror
  • Inform 7
    Inform 7, the latest Inform version, is probably different from anything in this line you've seen before, see above under 'Playing'. Think twice before you start twiddling with it, it's very hard to stop.
  • Glulx, Mirror
    A development of the Z-machine by A. Plotkin, with additional features (like graphics) and without many of the Z-machine's restrictions (like file size). Inform files can be compiled into Glulx games, so no need to learn a new language. Deserves much more attention.
  • TADS programming tools, Mirror

Documentation

Archives

  • The IF-Archive, Mirror
    A database homing about everything related to IF: games, tools, solutions and programming examples. As it may appear rather confusing in the beginning, I recommend
  • Baf's Guide to the IF-Archive
    A searchable database featuring short reviews and links to everything needed for playing each game (by Carl Muckenhoupt).

Writer's guidelines

Regular publications

  • SPAG
    Society for the Promotion of Adventure Games, featuring reviews and interviews
  • XYZZY news
    Eileen Mullin's Magazine for interactive fiction enthusiasts
  • brasslantern.org
    Stephen Granade's adventure game website
  • IF Comp
    The competition for short text adventures

Newsgroups

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