Recently, the Interactive Fiction Writer's Group held its first forum to discuss the future of IF, and to chat with Adam, winner of the 1997 Xyzzy Award for his game Interstate Zero.
Read the transcript of the conference and see whether you agree with Adam's view of who IF is written for: "Our most promising untapped audience is not those who would otherwise be playing Quake but those who would otherwise be reading a novel."
Another controversy to ponder: are graphical adventures a form of IF? Or are they more analogous to a movie than a novel?
A new addition to online gaming is The Glowing Arch, a graphical screenplay. If you're tired of MU*ing, check it out. There doesn't seem to be any roleplaying involved, but the story and the photography are well-done and entertaining.
In addition to the interactive fiction archive, there is now a site that "organizes the chaos of authors, games, tools, and reviews of the IF world," in the words of David Cornelson, site admin. The Interactive Fiction Library lives up to its press. Reviews and author profiles, game links are stored here, along with game development tools.
Now for the follow-up:
As promised many columns ago, here's the first look at roleplaying with Internet Relay Chat (IRC). The revamped IRC Roleplaying Homepage covers the bare basics of IRC for players and GMs, includes game and player databases, runs tournaments, provides RP tools and welcomes submissions and so much more. If you're at all interested in learning about IRC RP, this is the place to go.
The timeworn advice of "know code" is lavished upon MU*ers who want to play god and create their own MU*, as mentioned before. The problem is, it's hard to figure out where, exactly, you can learn code, especially if you want a more interactive approach than plodding through help files or groveling for newsgroup input.
Programming in C as a Hobby is the site for you. Understanding C as a psychocoder saves you loads of 'puter frustration.
As always, feedback is as welcome as rain in the desert. I'd like to start a collection of RP experiences, with the aim of using them in a future column. To do that, I need to hear your stories - so send 'em in!
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