There is actually no experience or coding necessary to create a text adventure game maker of your own similar to Zork. Your imagination can sort of run wild. Text based RPG (role playing games) are probably here to stay. Here are the major players in DIY creation of IF or Interactive Fiction.
I’ve listed some text based game engines below that start from no code required to a few more complicated. Click on the links to learn how to make a text based RPG.
How To Make A Story In Twine
First off you need to visualize how the game works. If you are already familiar with how text adventure maker works, then skip down to the next bold line. You can visualize this game simply with two sheets of paper.
Cut approximately a one inch square out of the center of one of the sheets. Make it easy on yourself and fold the paper in half and then cut out the square.
On the other sheet draw a series of the same size squares equally spaced by the size of the squares. Three across and three down will do, and connect each box with lines. Graph paper might help, but I just used a ruler.
In each box write a description like a room or a place. Suggestions, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, barn, etc. Think! The world is your, your, whatever.
Now connect each box with a line and label the line with descriptions like hallway, tunnel, path, bridge, things that connect places. Use you imagination, or if you have none, get help. Next, place the sheet with the hole cut out of the middle over the other sheet and move it around.
You’ve just created a manually operated adventure game and now that you see how they work manually lets try a digital version. This is where you begin to build your very own text based adventure game. Go to twinery.org and we’re going to build this online. No downloading is necessary.
Quest, Free And Open Source For Writing Adventure Games
Quest’s interactive fiction engine can be downloaded or played in most any browser for Windows type users. You are allowed to download and modify the source code if you are so talented.
You can sell the games you make with Quest. You can use the Quest source code inside closed source commercial applications.
http://textadventures.co.uk/quest
You don’t need to ask for permission – you already have it.
Using Quest is a great way to play around with different ideas before launching into much larger projects or radical entertainment. It’s designed to be easy to learn and develop your game ideas but Quest is backed by lots of power to create some awesome interactive fiction.
Adrift May Be One Of The Easiest Interactive Fiction Tools
Adrift doesn’t rely on coding, but instead uses a graphical interface. “The graphical user interface (GUI/ˈɡuːi/GOO-ee” is a way of interacting with electronic or computing devices by way of images or icons. Kind of a drag and drop system of creation.
Download Adrift here to begin an unusual form of creative interactive fiction.
Creating Interactive Fiction With Inform 7
Graham Nelson was of British descent, a mathematician, poet, and in 1993 he developed Inform, eventually arriving at Inform 7. Create IF by using your natural English language.
Any description of Inform 7 beyond this would be too technical for this post-er.
You can locate downloads of Inform 7 for Mac, Windows, Linux and some others here.
How To Write Interactive Fiction Using Tads 3
The Tads 3 download page is here. If your operating system is Windows, Mac OS x or Linux/Unix you are in business if you know Javascript or C++. A powerful bunch of tools which include debugging and editing.
Not for beginners who want to just develop a new fictional game with natural English or images that you drag and drop.
Hugo Interactive Fiction Development System Otherwise Known As Just Hugo
Hugo is also a nickname of the developer Kent Tessman. Hugo has to do with manipulating objects much like others we have discussed. You’ll find links to Hugo interpreter downloads here.