Firsts in IF

Inspired by [1], this page lists some important firsts in the history of Interactive Fiction, be it parser-based or choice-based, along with sources when available.

Note that some of these firsts may not be "real" firsts because we don't know about even earlier games. For instance, Adventure was long believed to be the first (parser-based) adventure game, until Wander was rediscovered in 2015.

Releases

• First game with cover art by a famous illustrator: ??

Release methods

• First game with feelies: Deadline (1982) [2]
• First game released with a map: Treasure Hunt (1978) [3]
• First purchasable hint book: Scott Adams Adventureland (1978) [4]
• First game with a hotline for tips: ??

Platforms

• First game written in Inform: Curses by Graham Nelson (1993).
• First game written in Inform 7: Mystery House Possessed by Emily Short (15-Mar-2005).
• First games written in TADS: Deep Space Drifter and Ditch Day Drifter (September 1990) [5].
• First game written in Hugo: ??
• First game written in ADRIFT: The Haunted House by Campbell Wild (13th Jun 1999).
• First game written in Quest: ??
• First game written in The Quill: Diamond Trail by Tim Gilberts (1982).
• First game written in Twine: ??
• First game written in Ink: Frankenstein by Dave Morris and Inkle Studios (2012) [6]
• First game written using ZILF: ??
• First game written in Glulx assembly language: ??
• First distributed IF-writing tool: The Adventure System (Allan Moluf and Bruce Hanson) (early 1982) [7].

Distribution channels

• First IF sold at RadioShack: ??
• First parser game on Steam: ??
• First choice-based game on Steam: ??
• First IF with crowdfunding: ??
• First bundle or compilation of games: first dozen of Scott Adams games, circa 1980 [8]

Multimedia

• First use of graphics, but only occasional ASCII art: Zork (1977~9) or Stuga (1978). [9]
• First use of graphics to depict each location: likely Atlantean Odyssey (1979?). [10]
• First use of graphics that are not merely illustrations, but are actually needed to play the game: Mystery House (designer: Roberta Williams, implementor: Ken Williams, publisher: On-Line Systems; 1980). [11]
• First game with video cutscene: ??
• First game with pictures with clickable elements: ??
• First game with music composed by a famous artist: Bad Max (1985), with music by Alan Parsons project

Mechanics

Navigation

• First game with relative directions : Mystery Mansion [12]
• First game where navigation is done without a compass: Empire of the Over-Mind [13]
• First dynamic compass interface : Spelunker [14]
• First game implementing 'go to X': The Pawn [15]
• First game with teleportation: Adventure (1975) [16]
• First game with mouse-based navigation: ??

PC

• First defined player-character: Aldebaran III [17]
• First PC suffering from amnesia: ??
• First unreliable narrator: ??
• First game with a twist on the PC's identity: ??
• First non-human PC: ??
• First PC who cannot get killed: ??
• First game with selectable PC gender: ??
• First character selection screen: ?? (Note: the 1930 CYOA "Consider the Consequences!" has three different sections corresponding to three different stories, which has been referred to as the first character selection screen).
• First queer PC: maybe Jeweled Arena (1993) [18]

NPCs

• First choice-based, choose-your-line conversation: ??
• First NPC who can kill the player: ??
• First game with romanceable NPCs: possibly Farmer's Daughter, but there were lots of pornographic games that might fit this category [19]
• First queer NPC : Paco in the French Apple II Le crime du parking (1985). Also possibly the first queer character in any video game ever. Anglophone sources often report Vivien Pentreath in Moonmist (1986) [20].

Input method

• First CYOA book: Consider the Consequences! (Doris Webster and Mary Alden Hopkins; 1930). [21] [22]
• First use of adverbs in a parser game: ??
• First free-text conversation in an adventure context: Local Call for Death [23]
• First parser game with real-time mechanics: perhaps Madness & The Minotaur (1982)
• First use of choice-based interaction in a parser game: Stuga [24]
• First IF with clickable elements: possibly Borrowed Time [25]
• First use of 'cyclable hyperlinks': ??
• First unclickable hyperlink or unselectable choice: ??

Puzzles

• First dynamic puzzle generation: Mines [26]
• First game with 'push the key in then recover it' puzzle: ??
• First game with 'fill the jars with a precise amount' puzzle: ??
• First game with a pun-based puzzle: ??
• First puzzle that can only be solved by looking at an in-game picture: ??
• First game with an impossible puzzle: ??
• First game with a puzzle where solving it renders the game unwinnable: ??

Endings

• First adventure game with several endings (other than death): ??
• First game trapping the player in an endless loop: ??

Genre, themes, setting

Genre

• First adventure game comedy: Mystery Fun House [27]
• First adventure game in the horror genre: Haunted House (1978) [28]
• First Lovecraftian adventure game: ??
• First sci-fi adventure game: possibly Dog Star Adventure (1979), although Scott Adam's Secret/Impossible Mission may count (also from 1979) [29]
• First western adventure game: The Lost Dutchman's Gold (Terry Kepner; 1979). [30]

Themes

• First game set during a historical event: possibly Earthquake San Francisco 1906 (1981) [31]
• First game (or at least the first widely distributed text adventure) about sexuality: Softporn Adventure (Chuck Benton, publisher: On-Line Systems; 1981; Apple II). [32]
• First game depicting queer sexuality: Le Mur de Berlin va sauter (Froggy Software, 1985); has gay bath houses.

Setting

• First game explicitly set in a real-world location: ??
• First game set on a university campus: Library (1978) by Nat Howard [33]
• First game set in a hospital: ??
• First one-room game: Mop and Murder [34]
• First zero-room game: ??

Languages

• First adventure game in English: Wander (1974) by Peter Langston [35]
• First game in Spanish: Yength (publisher: Dinamic; 1984) (see SPAG #40, interview with Urbatain).
• First game in French (translation): Bilingual Adventure (Jim Manning and Ancelme Roichel, publisher: Creative Computing; 1979; CP/M). [36]
  • First game in French (original): probably La caverne des lutins (1982?, reviewed in the magazine Tilt #1, September-October 1982) [37].
• First game in Italian: Avventura nel castello (Enrico Colombini; 1982) (see SPAG #40, interview with Roberto Grassi).
• First game in German: ??
• First game in Japanese: Omotesando [38]
• First game in Dutch: Dracula by Ronald van Woensel (1980) [39]
• First game in Swedish: Stuga (1978).
• First game in Klingon: ??
• First translation from English: Bilingual Adventure (Jim Manning and Ancelme Roichel, publisher: Creative Computing; 1979; CP/M). [40]
• First translation to English: ??