IF - interactive fiction

Well, the last you heard from me was the news of the death of our beloved dog, Little. It has now been three months since I last blogged, but I thought I'd blog about this thing.

Over the summer, I've acquired a desire to learn about computer programming. Unfortunately for me, a free computer programming course is virtually non-existent. Thus, I've fallen back on the next best thing - interactive fiction (IF, for short). IF is a different sort of video game that has nearly nothing to do with video. It is pretty much what it sounds like - a story in which you control the outcome.

Thus, I have discovered a way to program it, for free. I discovered a free digital copy of The Inform Beginner's Guide, which is better than the alternative, which is buying the actual book, which may or may not be in pristine condition. The one problem is that the digital copy makes it difficult to type in the programming code while reading what to type in.

I now have followed instructions to design two IF games, which are now on my computer, as well as unlocking another IF game to play, which is relatively annoying, seeing as, during the few minutes I've checked it out, I was unable to beat it easily (which I shouldn't have expected to be able to in the first place).

The book comes with hyperlinks to allow you to download a program with the necessary files to get you started, as well as the proper instructions that will walk you through the process of designing three IF games, of differing difficulty and complexity.

It is interesting for me, although, after six or seven hours doing it yesterday, I am pretty much sick of it for now. I hope you have fun with it!

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