Interactive fiction (aka text adventures) is increasingly being used in schools to encourage reading, writing and teach problem-solving skills and logical thinking; it is also approached on digital and new media studies, and used in courses on computer programming and game design.
Through the use of freely available and easy to use software, students can think about narrative in a novel way, because each story can have multiple narratives depending on what the player decides to do, getting students to think in detail about characters and settings.
During this hands on workshop we will explore ways in which good narrative writing and logical mathematical thinking can be combined into a rich, purposeful project. Participants will be able to create their own interactive fiction game and reflect about all the exciting possibilities these environments can offer. No programming experience is needed.
Materials:
Inform 7:
Twine:
Sample Games
Stanley’s Request (Twine)
The Red English Binder (Inform 7)
Resources
Sample Source Code (Inform 7)
Interactive Fiction Competition
Source Code (The Red English Binder)
Publishing:
Palyfic (Inform 7)
Philome.la (Twine)