SI Prep -- Philhour -- Interactive Fiction

"I think you're wrong. I'm a computer, so I have a really terrific memory, and I'm almost positive you already rang the doorbell. Couldn't you be mistaken?" -- from The Hichhiker's Guide to the Galaxy computer game manual

Introduction to Object Oriented Programming through Interactive Fiction

A Self-Paced Computer Science & Gaming Tutorial

Purpose

To have fun in a novel and creative way; to introduce the fundamental concepts and methods of object-oriented programming, source code compiling, and creating executable files; to promote the art and science of interactive fiction.

Outcomes

Beginners: Participants will learn to play and appreciate classic and modern works of interactive fiction. Advanced: Participants will write a partial-length work of interactive fiction over the course of one semester, and a full-length work of interactive fiction suitable for entry to international competition over the course of a full year. Participants will understand the applicability of the skills and knowledge gained through these projects to programming and problem solving in general.

Methodology

We will use the Frotz interpreter to play classic (1980s) and modern works of interactive fiction.

We will use the Inform language, written for use by interactive fiction (IF) authors, to produce interactive text-based puzzles and adventure games. The crucial programming concepts of object, message, class, inheritance, and interfaces will be introduced through fun, real-world examples and projects.

Students will work independently or in groups at their own pace, according to the set of lessons below. No formal meetings or classes will be held. Occasional informal meetings will allow students to share their work, solve problems together, and get help. Mr. Philhour and Mr. Boyle will serve as mentors and advisors when students are particularly stuck with a programming or software issue.

Schedule

First task: Introduction (~2 weeks)

Purpose: to figure out what this is all about, and if it really interests you; to learn a little about the methods and history of interactive fiction
Read "Playing, Studying, and Writing Interactive Fiction" at http://jerz.setonhill.edu/if/index.html
Play a few classic Infocom adventures: you can find them online at http://www.xs4all.nl/~pot/infocom/ ... we recommend Wishbringer for the novice, the Zork and Enchanter/Sorcerer/Spellbreaker trilogies for the intermediate player, and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for experts. Depending on your taste, you might prefer crime and suspense (Deadline, The Witness, Seastalker), fantasy (Zork, Enchanter, etc.), or science fiction (Starcross, Planetfall, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy).
Play a few of the modern winners of the Xyzzy Award for interactive fiction.

Second Task: Software installation (~1 day -- warning, like all software installation, this can be frustrating, so don't give up!)

Installation of the Inform compiler and associated libraries
- download the Inform 6.30 compiler and library and save the .zip file to your desktop
- right-click on the .zip file and select 'extract all'
- move the interior directory 'Inform' to your My Documents folder, then delete the .zip file and the (now-empty) extracted outer directory; this basic directory, 'Inform,' will contain everything we do from now on
- refer to the Inform Installation FAQ if you have any problems; in particular, check out the directory structure shown there
- download the Curses game, by Graham Nelson (1993), and save the .z5 file to the 'Games/Download' folder within your Inform folder
- navigate to the 'bin' folder within your 'inform' folder, then to the 'frotz' folder. Double-click on 'Frotz.exe' and select the 'curses.z5' game to open
- In the future, you will be able to just double-click on any .z5 file to play it
Example gameplay
- important commands: north (n), south (s), northwest (nw), etc., inventory (i), examine, wait
- how to communicate with other people in the game: 'harold, tell me about maude' and "say 'hello" to harold'
Installation of the TextPad developer environment for editing and compiling source code THIS STEP REQUIRES A COMPUTER ADMINISTRATOR if you are doing it on campus, but I thought I'd include it if you wanted to install this all at home
- visit these instructions to get a handle on what we are going to be doing
- download the TextPad self-extracting executable and the inform (2) .zip file as instructed
- create a TextPad document class styled to Inform, as instructed
- follow the instructions under 'running the compiler within textpad' (note that Frotz.exe is located with the bin directory) and 'running the interpreter within textpad' (note that Inform.exe is located within the Lib/Base directory)
- (You should add to the Inform tool '..\..\lib\base' and '..\..\lib\contrib' as include paths to make sure you can reach it from your game directories)
- we will discuss registration of this program later; for now, we are evaluating its use as our primary developer environment for this project

Third task: Beginning to Program (~4 weeks)

Introduction to writing and compiling simple games
- Make a "hello world" program from the Inform Designer's Manual
- Begin the Ruins tutorial from the Inform Designer's Manual
"Homework"
- Use this new software to do the following
- play around with Wishbringer, by Brian Moriarty, Infocom (1985) ... this is a beginners game.
- play around with Curses, by Graham Nelson (1993)
- play around with Enchanter, by Marc Blanc and Dave Lebling, Infocom (1983) / description; useful hint: you can use 'memorize' to memorize a spell, then 'cast' to cast it
- browse Graham Nelson's The Craft of Adventure
- continue with the Ruins tutorial Inform Designer's Manual
- if you are so inclined, create a well-described region with five navigable rooms; save your '.inf' file in 'Inform\Games\MyGame1' (or make your own directory instead of 'MyGame1' if you prefer).

Fourth task: Intermediate Programming and using public code as a resource (~4 weeks)

Go to the Inform --> Resources --> Examples site and download Balances.inf, Toyshop.inf, Museum.inf, and Ruins.inf; then, take each of these and open them in TextPad, compile them, and play around within them. From these files you should be able to learn a ton of stuff about objects.
"Homework"
- create a 'bag' which holds other objects and can become full
- create a 'flashlight' which can be turned on and off
- create a 'vending machine'
- create an impending event
- play around with Deadline, by Marc Blanc, Infocom (1982) / description
- play around with Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams and Steve Meretzky, Infocom (1984) / description

Fifth task: Intermediate Programming: Verbs

verbs; language; actions
- create a verb set that expands your game's language capability
- play around with Suspended, by Michael Berlyn, Infocom (1984) / description & map
- play around with A Mind Forever Voyaging by Steve Meretzky (1985) / description; decoder wheel & hints ; change '.DAT' file extension to '.z5'