Theory

Theory articles listed here attempt to define terms, eg: "What is X?"; sort things into categories, and make comparisons between things, eg: "How does X compare to Y?"

For articles that are more hands-on and attempt to answer "How do I do X?", see Craft.

General Theory - Comparisons - Design - History - Taxonomy - Terminology - See also

General Theory

• "Interactive Fiction as Literature" by Mary Ann Buckles is an early literary analysis of interactive fiction originally published in the May 1987 issue of BYTE magazine.
• Renga in Blue is Jason Dyer's IF blog. Contains several entries on IF theory topics.
• Toward a Theory of Interactive Fiction by Nick Montfort
• The Meta-Puzzle of Interactive Fiction: Why We Like What We Like. Interactivity Is The Message by Marnie Parker
• A Writer's Guide to Interactive Fiction by Andrew Plotkin, July 2010.
• Why Write IF? by Emily Short.
• Discussions about IF theory on the rec.arts.int-fiction newsgroup.
• The Rosebush is an online magazine featuring articles on interactive fiction theory and criticism.

Comparisons

• TADS vs. Inform - a (vaguely) in-depth comparison by Dan Shiovitz.
• A very useful (but long) TADS vs Inform7 comparison by Eric Eve.
• Character Gender in Interactive Fiction, Part I (archive) and Part II (archive) by Doug Atkinson for XYZZYnews issues #3 and #6. Compares how a variety of games handled PC gender.
• Choosing a Language for Interactive Fiction (2004), by Liza Daly for O'Reilly ONLamp.com.
• Discussions about different authoring systems on the rec.arts.int-fiction newsgroup.

Design

• Multilinear Interactive Fiction by Emily Short. Afterthoughts on concept and reactions to Galatea.
• On Chris Crawford and Interactive Storytelling by Emily Short.
• Discussions about game design on the rec.arts.int-fiction newsgroup.

History

See also: Category:History of Interactive Fiction.

• About Interactive Fiction (1996, 2001), by Liza Daly. Very short.
• A Brief History of Interactive Fiction by Misty and Stephen Granade. Timeline created in 2002, with events from 1945-2000.
• Interactive fiction, from birth through precocious adolescence: a conversation with Jimmy Maher by Harry Kaplan and Jimmy Maher for Adventure Classic Gaming, 16 July 2009.
• Let's Tell a Story Together. A History of Interactive Fiction, © 2006 by Jimmy Maher. Long.
• The Digital Antiquarian - Jimmy Maher's blog with many very detailed articles about the history of interactive fiction (and some other game genres).
• Articles about the history of IF on the rec.arts.int-fiction newsgroup.
• Get Lamp: The Text Adventure Documentary - 2010 documentary by Jason Scott.
• Brief Bibliography about IF History - by Emily Short. April 2, 2016.
• Mathbrush's page on IFWiki links to many essays, including a 2017 series of essays about the history of IFComp.
• 50 Years of Text Games by Aaron Reed. Series of articles (and later book) published in 2021, examining one text game per year from 1971-2020.

Taxonomy

(In other words, lists and categories.)

• Standard Patterns in Choice-Based Games by Sam Kabo Ashwell.
• Categories of Interactive Fiction by Jason Dyer.
• NPC Conversations: Ask/Tell Theory by Jim Fisher (2004). Discusses four NPC models: Librarian, Rambling Idiot, Lecturing Professor, and Conversationalist.
• An Alternative Taxonomy for Interactive Stories by Emily Short.
• The Player Character's Role in Game Design by Duncan Stevens for Brass Lantern. Discusses certain key techniques in creating a meaningful PC and certain gimmicks that have been used to bring PCs to life.
• List of things that may get a player stuck by Jan Thorsby - Contribute!
• List of things that causes automatic playing by Jan Thorsby - Contribute!
• Player Character Identity in Interactive Fiction (archive) by John Wood for XYZZYnews #9. Asssociates types of PCs with types of IFs and genres.
• Articles about game genres on the rec.arts.int-fiction newsgroup.

Terminology

(See also: FAQ, Glossary.)

• What is IF? by Jim Fisher (2004).
• What's IF? by Emily Short.
• Eric on Interactive Fiction by Eric.xyzzy.

See also

• IF Theory Book
• Theory Club