Engine List
From IFWiki
| Engine Name | Website | Last Updated | User Interface | Scripting Language | IDE | Game File Format | Complexity | Can Self-Publish Titles | Open Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADL | http://adl.sourceforge.net | ? | Parser | ADL | No | ADL | Medium | Yes | Yes |
| ADRIFT | http://www.adrift.co/ |
6/6/2016 | Parser | None, visual | Download | ADRIFT | Low | Yes | Yes |
| Adventure | https://github.com/adrian-prantl/adventure | 11/28/2015 | Parser | Prolog | No | HTML/JavaScript | Medium to High | Yes, under AGPL terms | Yes |
| Adventure Book | http://web.archive.org/web/20071120072512/http://www.ingold.fsnet.co.uk/adbook.htm | ? | Choice-Based | None, visual | Download | ADV, Z-machine, Standalone | Low | Yes | |
| adventure.lua | https://github.com/shawndumas/adventure.lua | 9/26/2013 | Parser | Lua | No | Lua | Low to Medium | Yes | Yes |
| Adventuron | https://eeyo.io/adv781 | ? | Parser | ? | Web | HTML/JavaScript | ? | Yes | No |
| AdvSys | http://mirrors.ibiblio.org/interactive-fiction/articles/byte87_betz.html | ? | Parser | Unnamed Lisp-like language | No | AdvSys | Medium | Yes | |
| Aetheria | https://github.com/komoku/aetheria | 3/11/2017 | Parser | Beanshell | Download | Aetheria | Medium to High | Yes | Yes |
| Aiee! | http://markdamonhughes.com/Aiee/ | 10/19/2004 | Parser | XML-esque | No | Java | Low | Yes | |
| Alan | http://www.alanif.se/ | 10/2/2016 | Parser | Alan | Download | Alan | Low | Yes | |
| AXMA Story Maker | http://sm.axmasoft.com/ | ? | Hyperlink-Based | Visual, JavaScript | Download or Web | HTML/JavaScript | Low | Yes, if you buy AXMA | |
| Blink! | http://bloomengine.com/blink/ | ? | Hyperlink-Based | Unnamed Language | No | HTML/JavaScript | Low | Yes | |
| ChoiceScript | https://www.choiceofgames.com/make-your-own-games/choicescript-intro/ | 11/7/2017 | Choice-Based | ChoiceScript | Third-party Download | HTML/JavaScript | Low | Yes, if your game is released for free or you work out a revenue-sharing model | Yes, but the license is restrictive |
| Choose Your Story | http://chooseyourstory.com | 2017 | Choice-Based | Visual, Unnamed Language | Web | N/A | Low to Medium | No | |
| CLI Adventure Games | http://thejackalofjavascript.com/text-based-adventure-games/ | 12/13/2017 | Parser | JavaScript | No | Node.js | Medium | Yes | |
| Curveship | http://curveship.com/ |
3/31/2011 | Parser | Python | No | Python | Medium to High | Yes | Yes |
| Dendry | https://github.com/dendry/dendry | 7/12/2015 (never finished) | Hyperlink-Based | Dendry | No, but plugins are available for various code editors | HTML/JavaScript | Low to Medium | Yes | Yes |
| Dialog | https://linusakesson.net/dialog/index.php | 1/23/2019 | Parser | Dialog | No | Z-machine, Aa-machine | Medium | Yes | Yes |
| egamebook | https://github.com/filiph/egamebook | 1/21/2019 | Choice-Based | Dart, various definition languages | No | HTML/JavaScript | Medium to High | Yes | Yes |
| Enter the Story | http://enterthestory.com/ Save any story webpage to download the engine. |
2013 | Choice-Based | JavaScript | No | HTML/JavaScript | Medium | Yes | |
| Erasmatron | Web Archive Link | 5/23/2000 | Graphical, Choice-Based | None, visual | Download (only a demo was ever released publicly) | Erasmatron | High | Yes, if you can obtain a version that can compile storyworlds | No |
| Ficdown | https://ficdown.com |
5/22/2018 | Choice-Based | Markdown | No | EPUB or HTML/JavaScript | Low | Yes | Yes |
| Flux | Defunct | 2015 | Parser | None, visual | Web | N/A | Low | No | |
| Fungus | http://fungusgames.com | 1/14/2018 | Graphical, Menu-Driven | Visual, optional scripting via Unity | Visual editor embedded in Unity | Anything Unity supports | Low to High | Yes | |
| Gamefic | https://github.com/castwide/gamefic | 7/31/2017 | Parser | Ruby | No | Ruby | Medium | Yes | Yes |
| gist-txt | https://github.com/potomak/gist-txt | 12/15/2015 | Hyperlink-Based | Markdown | No | Markdown | Low | Yes, if you host your own copy of the interpreter | Yes |
| Glasm | https://www.npmjs.com/package/glasm | ? | Any | Assembly language | No | Glulx | High | Yes | Yes |
| HERITAGE | https://notabug.org/SylvieLorxu/HERITAGE | 7/4/2015 | Parser | HERITAGE | No | HTML/JavaScript | Low to Medium | Yes | |
| Hoot | http://ratfactor.com/misc/hoot/hoot.html | 2013 | Hyperlink-Based | Hootscript | Web | HTML/JavaScript | Low | Yes | |
| Hugo | http://www.generalcoffee.com/hugo/gethugo.html | 1/10/2006 | Parser | Hugo | No | Hugo | Medium | Yes | Yes |
| Icicle Engine | http://icicle-engine.org/ | In development | FPS-Style | Unknown | Visual editors | Icicle | Low to Medium | Yes | |
| Infinite Story | http://infinite-story.com/ | 6/19/2012 | Choice-Based | None, visual | Web | N/A | Low | No | |
| Inform | http://inform7.com/ http://inform-fiction.org/ (Inform 6) |
12/24/2015 | Parser | Inform | Download | Z-machine, Glulx | Low to Medium | Yes | Yes (Inform 6) |
| Ink | https://www.inklestudios.com/ink/ |
10/4/2018 | Hyperlink-Based | Ink | Yes | JSON (runtimes exist for JavaScript and Unity) | Low | Yes | Yes |
| InkleWriter | http://www.inklestudios.com/inklewriter/ | ? | Choice-Based | None, visual | Web | HTML, JSON, PDF, or Word | Low | Yes, once you've paid to have your story converted | |
| InquisitorIF | https://github.com/Orihaus/InquisitorIF | 1/4/2017 | Hyperlink-Based | Inquisitor | No | HTML/JavaScript | Medium | Yes | Yes |
| INSTEAD | http://instead.syscall.ru/index.html | 2/10/2018 | Graphical, Hyperlink-Based, Menu-Driven, and/or Parser | Lua | No | INSTEAD | Medium | Yes | |
| Interactive Fiction Markup Language (IFML) | http://sourceforge.net/projects/ifml | 2002 (unlikely to work on modern versions of Java) | Parser | IFML (XML-esque) | No | Java | Low | Yes | Yes |
| Interactive Story | https://www.interactive-story.com/is/ | 12/24/2015 | Menu-Based | None, visual | Web | N/A | Low | No | |
| JACL | http://code.google.com/p/jacl/ | 11/17/2014 | Parser | JACL | No | HTML/JavaScript | Medium | Yes | Yes |
| Materialistic Interactive Fiction Engine | Defunct | 3/11/2015 | Parser | Common Lisp | No | MIFE Game | Low to Medium | Yes | |
| ngPAWS | http://www.ngpaws.com/ |
1/20/2018 | Parser | Visual, JavaScript | Download | HTML/Javascript | Low | Yes | Yes |
| nScripter and ONScripter | http://www.nscripter.com/ |
2/23/2018 (nScripter) 10/22/2019 (ONScripter) |
Graphical, Choice-Based | nScripter | No | nScripter | Medium | Yes | Yes (ONScripter) |
| Project PD | http://projectpd.blogspot.com/?m=0 | 3/19/2012 | Graphical, Menu-Driven | None, visual | Download | PD | Low | Yes | |
| PyF | https://code.google.com/p/pyf/ | 12/3/2009 | Parser | Python, XML | No | Python | Medium | Yes | Yes |
| Python Adventure Writing System | http://members.nuvox.net/~zt.wolf/PAWS.htm | ? | Parser | Python | No | Python | Medium | Yes | |
| Python Universe Builder | http://py-universe.sourceforge.net/ | 3/22/2013 | Parser | Python | No | Python | Medium | Yes | Yes |
| QUEST 3/4/QuestNet | http://textadventures.co.uk/quest/desktop (under previous versions) https://web.archive.org/web/20100724051540/http://www.axeuk.com/quest/ |
2009 | Parser | ASL | Download | Quest | Low to Medium | Yes | |
| QUEST 5 | http://textadventures.co.uk/quest |
2/22/2018 | Parser | Visual or QUEST | Download | Quest, can be converted to HTML/JavaScript | Low | Yes | Yes |
| QuestML | http://questml.com/ | 9/2007 | Choice-Based | QuestML | Optional download | HTML/JavaScript | Low | Yes | |
| Ramus | http://ramus.notimetoplay.org/ | 4/24/2013 | Hyperlink-Based | JavaScript | No | HTML/JavaScript | Medium | Yes | |
| Rapid Adventure Game Creation System (RAGS) | http://ragsgame.com | 1/21/2015 | Graphical, Menu-Driven | None, visual | Download | RAGS | Low | Yes | |
| Ren'Py | http://renpy.org |
10/17/2019 | Graphical, Choice-Based | Python | No | Python | Medium to High | Yes | Yes |
| Salet | https://salet.su/ | 02/11/2017 | Choice-Based | Javascript | No | HTML/JavaScript | Low to High | Yes | Yes |
| ScottKit | https://github.com/MikeTaylor/scottkit | 11/16/2017 | Parser | Unnamed Language | No | Scott Adams | Low to Medium | Yes | Yes |
| Smash | http://www.rinkworks.com/smash/ | 9/27/2007 | Parser | Smash | Yes | Smash | Low | Yes | |
| Squiffy | http://textadventures.co.uk/squiffy |
11/22/2017 | Hyperlink-Based | Markdown, JavaScript | Download or web | HTML/JavaScript | Low | Yes | Yes |
| Story Explorer | https://robsprojects.co.uk/apps/storyexplorer/ | 8/2/2014 | Hyperlink-Based | None, visual | Web | N/A | Low | No | |
| StoryNexus | http://www.storynexus.com/s | 12/8/2013 | Choice-Based | None, visual | Web | N/A | Low to Medium | No | |
| StoryStylus | https://storystylus.com | ? | Graphical, Menu-Driven | None, visual | Silverlight, web | Flash | Low to Medium | No, costs $20/month to use authoring system | No |
| Storyteller | http://storytellerjs.blogspot.com.au | 4/28/2014 | Hyperlink-Based | JavaScript | No | HTML/JavaScript | Low to Medium | Yes | |
| Storytron | http://www.storytron.com/ |
12/1/2018 | Graphical, Choice-Based | None, visual | Download | Storytron | High | Yes | Yes |
| SUDS | https://web.archive.org/web/20150103040350/http://sudslore.org:80/ | 10/20/2007 | Parser, Optional Menu | None, visual | Download | SUDS | Low | Yes | |
| TADS | http://www.tads.org/ http://www.tads.org/tads2.htm (TADS 2) |
5/16/2013 | Parser | TADS | Download | TADS, HTML/JavaScript (TADS 3) | Medium to High | Yes | |
| Tale | https://github.com/irmen/Tale | 1/20/2018 | Parser | Python | No | Python | Medium to High | Yes | Yes |
| TAVERN | http://zzo38computer.org/fossil/tavern.ui/ | 8/7/2017 | Parser | Forth-like | No | TAVERN (Hamster archive-based) |
High | Yes | |
| Text Adventure Engine | https://github.com/ManzDev/text-adventure-engine | 3/19/2014 | Parser | JSON | No | PHP | Low | Yes | Yes |
| TextAdventure.js | https://github.com/TheBroox/TextAdventure.js | 11/17/2017 | Parser | JavaScript | No | Node.js | Low | Yes | Yes |
| Texture | https://texturewriter.com/ |
5/5/2017 | Hyperlink-Based | None, visual | Web | HTML/JavaScript | Low | Yes | Yes (Reader only) |
| Tinsel | https://github.com/lazerwalker/tinsel | 12/18/2015 | Choice-Based | Ruby | No | Ruby | Medium | Yes | Yes |
| Toothrot | https://github.com/toothrot-if/toothrot | 8/24/2018 | Choice-Based or Hyperlink-Based | Markdown-like language, JavaScript | Download | HTML/JavaScript | Low to Medium | Yes | Yes |
| Twine | http://twinery.org/ | 1/30/2018 | Hyperlink-Based | Visual, JavaScript | Download or web (2.0) | HTML/JavaScript | Low to Medium | Yes | Yes |
| Tworld (Seltani's engine) | https://github.com/erkyrath/tworld | 12/6/2015 | Hyperlink-Based | Visual, Python | Built-in | Python | Medium to High | Yes, if you run your own server | Yes |
| Undum | https://github.com/idmillington/undum | 10/11/2018 | Hyperlink-Based | JavaScript | No | HTML/JavaScript | Medium to High | Yes | Yes |
| Varytale | Defunct | 2012 | Hyperlink-Based | Visual, JavaScript-esque | Web | N/A | Low | No | No |
| Visionary | https://web.archive.org/web/20160428141653/http://www.therealeasterbunny.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/visionary.htm | 12/17/2011 | Parser | None, visual | Download | Scott Adams | Low | Yes | |
| Wander | Renga In Blue Blog Post | 4/25/2015 | Parser | Unnamed Language | No | Wander | Low | Yes | |
| Wibble Quest | http://orta.io/WibbleQuest/ | 1/17/2012 | Parser | Objective-C | No, XCode project included | iOS | Medium to High | Yes | |
| Windrift | https://github.com/lizadaly/windrift | 12/20/2018 | Hyperlink-Based | JavaScript | No | HTML/JavaScript | Medium | Yes | Yes |
| WinPAW | http://www.winpaw.com/ | 8/12/2006 | Parser | Unnamed Language | Yes | PAW | Low to Medium | Yes | No |
| XVAN | https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1edjyk98d5ijo8w/AABy8LWAFLaAuackejlbpsaia?dl=0 | 3/28/2018 | Parser | XVAN | No | XVAN | Medium | Yes | Yes |
| Yarnspin | https://mattiasgustavsson.itch.io/yarnspin | 3/3/2018 | Choice-Based | Unnamed Language | Download | Yarnspin (text file) | Low | Yes | |
| ZILF | http://zilf.io/ | 8/11/2019 | Parser | ZIL and MDL (vaguely Lisp-like) | VS Code extension | Z-machine | Medium to High | Yes | Yes |