Ludology 217 - What IF?

Legendary Interactive Fiction writer Andrew Plotkin joins Gil and Emma to talk about text-based stories that players can participate in. We explore the form's history and unique strengths, and discuss what good writing can bring to a game's experience.

Interactive Fiction platforms mentioned in this episode:

• Inform
• Twine
• ChoiceScript
• Ink

Check out some of Andrew's IF work:

• Shade
• Spider & Web
• Hadean Lands

Other video games mentioned in this episode:

• Colossal Cave Adventure
• Zork
• Donut County
• 80 Days
• Heaven's Vault
• Galatea
• AI Dungeon
• No Man's Sky

Board games and analog IF mentioned in this episode:

• Werewolf
• 7th Continent
• 1,001 Odysseys
• Choose Your Own Adventure™ books
• Meanwhile
• Fighting Fantasy books
• Leanna Fled the Cranberry Bog

If you would like to explore the world of IF, a good place to start is the Interactive Fiction Database - it's like the BGG of IF!

Some good games to start with (this is hardly an authoritative list):

• 9:05 - You can easily play this in one sitting, and in most cases, you will want to immediately play again when you finish it the first time.
• Photopia - This is a spectacularly well-written game, but it can bring up some intense emotions.
• The Uncle Who Works for Nintendo - A fun horror game.
• Howling Dogs - This is a work by Porpentine, whom Gil has raved about several times on the show and this episode. Be sure to find both endings.
• Counterfeit Monkey - A fairly long game by Emily Short built around some remarkably brilliant word-manipulation mechanisms. You will likely need to use an emulator if you want to save your game and use the game's graphical map.

Enjoy exploring the IF rabbit hole!