IF Theory Reader

IF Theory Reader by Kevin Jackson-Mead and J. Robinson Wheeler was published in late February 2011. It is intended to be a book about both the craft and theory of interactive fiction. It reviews past IF achievements, summarizes current IF discussions, and suggests possible ideas to pursue in future works of IF. The IF Theory Reader is available as a paperback book, an eBook, or a PDF.

This work was called the "IF Theory Book" during its long development. Eventually after a long hiatus and a change of editors, the book was finally published.

Note: The Glossary category on this wiki was originally created on another wiki to be included in the IF Theory Book.

Table of Contents

• Foreword — David Cornelson (Kindle version only)
• Preface — Kevin Jackson-Mead
• Crimes Against Mimesis — Roger S. G. Sorolla

Theory

• Toward a Theory of Interactive Fiction — Nick Montfort
• Characterizing, If Not Defining, Interactive Fiction — Andrew Plotkin
• not that you may remember time: Interactive Fiction, Stream-of-Consciousness Writing, and Free Will — Mark Silcox
• 2 Brief Dada Angels — Ryan Stevens, writing as Rybread Celsius
• Object Relations — Graham Nelson
• IF as Argument — Duncan Stevens
• The Success of Genre in Interactive Fiction — Neil Yorke-Smith
• Parser at the Threshold: Lovecraftian Horror in Interactive Fiction — Michael Gentry
• Distinguishing Between Game Design and Analysis: One View — Gareth Rees
• Natural Language, Semantic Analysis, and Interactive Fiction — Graham Nelson
• Afterword: Five Years Later — Graham Nelson

Craft

• Challenges of a Broad Geography — Emily Short
• Thinking Into the Box: On the Use and Deployment of Puzzles — Jon Ingold
• PC Personality and Motivations — Duncan Stevens
• Landscape and Character in IF — Paul O'Brian
• Hint Development for IF — Lucian Smith
• Descriptions Constructed — Stephen Granade
• Mapping the Tale: Scene Description in IF — J. Robinson Wheeler
• Repetition of Text in Interactive Fiction — Jason Dyer
• NPC Dialogue Writing — Robb Sherwin
• NPC Conversation Systems — Emily Short

History

• 10 Years of IF: 1994–2004 — Duncan Stevens
• The Evolution of Short Works: From Sprawling Cave Crawls to Tiny Experiments — Stephen Granade
• History of Italian IF — Francesco Cordella
• Racontons une histoire ensemble: History and Characteristics of French IF — Hugo Labrande

Appendix

• The Craft of Adventure — Graham Nelson (reprint; Kindle version only)

Staff for "IF Theory Reader"

• Project leader: Kevin Jackson-Mead
• Editors: Kevin Jackson-Mead and J. Robinson Wheeler
• Editor Emeritus (uncredited): Emily Short
• Typesetting and proofing: Kevin Jackson-Mead
• Cover art: J. Robinson Wheeler

Staff for "IF Theory Book"

NOTE: This section is no longer accurate and is included only for historical reasons.

• Publisher: David Cornelson.
• Chief Editor: Emily Short.
• Theory Section Editor: Dennis G. Jerz.
• Additional Editors: Jon Ingold, Brendan Barnwell, Brent VanFossen, and Adam Thornton.

Links

• IF Theory Reader (paperback version) at lulu.com
• IF Theory Reader (free PDF version) at lulu.com
• IF Theory Reader (PDF version) at the IF Archive.
• IF Theory Reader (revised Kindle ebook edition) at the IF Archive.

Older "IF Theory Book" discussion

• IF Theory book / narrative vs puzzle - rec.arts.int-fiction thread from November 2001.
• IF Theory book / academia vs others - rec.arts.int-fiction thread from December 2001.
• IF Theory Book, update. Emily Short steps down as chief editor in favor of Kevin Jackson-Mead in September 2010.

Archive links

• IF Glossary (archive)
• IF Theory Book (archive)