#add to ifdb
Text
Event Horizon by 30x30
Event Horizon is a science-fiction-horror story, set far into a future in which humans are not alone in a hostile galaxy.
The Failsafe has been activated. War lingers on the horizon. Five years ago, you were one of the last people to be selected for the Failsafe and Final Stand Programs. You were frozen in time, placed into orbit at the edge of the solar system. And now, you're hurtling through space towards a ship you've never seen before. The Nomad. A secret mission, beyond the edge of the solar system, to stop the Enemy before they can begin their second invasion. A suicide mission.
A point of no return.
#interactive fiction#twine gardening#event horizon#30x30#request#add to ifdb#thanks for the request!#i am playing this game right now
46 notes
·
View notes
Text
The Interactive Fiction DataBase - IFDB
What is the IFDB?
The IFDB, or Interactive Fiction DataBase, is a game catalogue, recommendation engine, and a platform to play games requiring an interpreter (to run the code).
As a catalogue, the IFDB is meant as a place to create a bibliography of IF games created throughout the years (over 12 thousands!), to leave a trace that these existed. It is maintained by its members. Anyone can join and add a listing or fix a mistake.
You can also find listing for past IF competitions!
As a recommendation engine, the IFDB provides not only lists of the best-rated entries, but will show you games that you may enjoy based on the ones you've played/rated or what other members have played/rated. Entries are also categorised by tags, which are all searchable.
Members are also able to create lists to recommende games they've enjoyed! Or leave reviews of those games too!
Finally, some games may require an interpreting engine to run. Those interpreters can be sometimes difficult to track down or to set up, especially for new players. The IFDB has a system that will allow you to play those games directly in your browser by clicking the button : Play Online (only available if the game has been uploaded through the IF Archive).
Why is the IFDB important?
The internet is a rapidly changing place. Preserving information is not only important for future generations, but can help current generations find information about what is happening now. Archiving creates a historical record of what the IF landscape looked like.
Along with the IF Archive (which archives IF games), the IFDB makes viewing the history of IF much easier to browse.
However, the IFDB lacks in many aspects. Not every IF community is aware of the database, which means many projects do not appear in this catalogue. While the IFDB has currently over 12k listings, the VNDB (the Visual Novel DataBase) has over 40k!
The IFDB is also lacking in entries in languages other than English...
The IFDB accepts any listing for games, made in any program, as long as said game is an Interactive Fiction game and has had a playable version available somewhere at some point (so it accepts WIPs with demo).
/!\ Do not create a page for announced project without a release ! /!\
Why create an IFDB page for your game?
Aside from being part of preserving the history of IF (which is the big thing), and be able to share your work to a different part of the community, the IFDB is a great place to get and leave long-form reviews for entries.
If your project was coded in a program that requires an interpreter, it is a great place to host your game without worrying about newer players having to find and set up an interpreter.
If you have been part of an IF competition, or received accolades for your project, this is also a good way to showcase those achievements.
Finally, the IFDB is also a point of reference for IF Awards like the XYZZY and the IFDB Awards.
How do you create an IFDB page?
/!\ Please check that the game listing you want to add has not been added first! /!\
To create an IFDB page, you need to set up an account and be logged in.
Then click on Add a Game Listing, on the right menu in the main page. You will get the following page:
(You should read through the Guidelines the first time you add a listing, they are located at the top of the page)
Though it looks long, there are only very few information required to create a page:
The title
The name(s) of the author(s)
It is recommended to fill in the date of first publication, development system (program used to code), language, IFID (if available) description of the game, and genre.
As for being able to play the game, you have two (non-exclusive) options:
list the URL of the website where the game is hosted
list the download URL of the game (can be done through the IF Archive, only if you are the author of the game!)
Note sure what something is? A description (or a link towards explanations) of what is expected is included for almost all items. You can also include information that is not listed in the drop-down case (like the System or language).
When you are happy with it, click Save changes.
You can also fix, edit, or delete information at any moment. You just need to click on the link Edit This Page at the bottom of the game page.
How do you add Ratings, Reviews and Game Suggestions ?
Logged in with your account, you have the possibility of leaving ratings and reviews on a game page. You can also help the IFDB algorithm by suggesting similar games to an entry.
The process is fairly straight-forward (clicking on the stars for the rating, clicking Review it for the review, and clicking Suggest similar games, for the suggestions). Thought you can find further explanations here, if you follow what the website is asking, you should not have any difficulty to complete the task !
If you review enough games, your name can end up on the main page!
How do I create a Competition Page?
Have you participated or organised an IF competition? Or are you cataloguing previous editions?
You can create a separate page for a Competition by clicking on Add a Competition Page on the right menu of the main page. You will then get the following page:
Then it is a matter of filling the different relevant items.
The Competition Page allows for divisions within competitions (e.g. : the EctoComp had 2 categories, made under 4h and over 4h) and, if needs be, ranking.
Important Note: the competition entries need to already be listed in the IFDB to be added to a competition page.
What are Lists and Polls?
Lists and Polls are two other tools that interact with game entries.
Lists, also called Recommendation Lists, are lists a member will curate with games they are recommending to other members or viewers of the IFDB. Some are general (like best game ever) while others are more specific (like games with an AI that is nice). They are akin to public collections on Itch.io.
Polls are... polls.
Note: If a game is included in a poll and/or a list, these will appear on the game's page.
~~~~
TLDR: create an account, help preserve the IF landscape by recording its history, review games too :P
If I missed something, or something is unclear, let me know so I can edit it!
373 notes
·
View notes
Note
Hello. Since you hold a certain amount of influence, I wonder if you would (semi-regularly?) start encouraging readers to review published stories? I think we all need the reminders a lot of the time. Idk maybe you can make it an event, or dedicate a day of the month ever month to it or something.
Hi Anon,
You may have missed it, but we started doing just that last month! Granted, while that post covered all ways to send appreciations to an other, it still encouraged readers to rate those stories and review them (when those options are available to them). This post will be rebloged monthly, at the end of every month.
Still, we encourage each an every one of you to support authors you follow by reviewing their work! Reviews may have multiple forms or be published on multiple platform. We recommend you check out the links the author provides first and leave a review there. (Note: you may need to create an account first)
ITCH.IO
To help a game on itch reach a higher placement on their main page/in the search pages, rating a game is the best thing you could do. You can rate a game on the game's page (see picture below) or in the Things to Rate in your Library ( it should appear if you've visited the game's page at some point).
Rating/Reviewing a game is very straight-forward. You only need to follow the instructions on the page! (see below)
You need to leave a rating to review a game! Added to your rating, you can leave a few words for the author. The review will also appear on your feed.
We recommend you also leave a comment on the game's page.
IFDB - Interactive Fiction DataBase
The IFDB on the other hand separates the rating and review. You don't need to write a review to leave a rating and vice-versa. One the right side of the game page, you should see this box:
You can indicate your rating for the game, leave a review, suggest similar games, show that you've played it or add to your wishlist.
The review link will send you to another page, where you will be asked to enter your comments about the game, add a title and optionally tag it. When you are done, click on the preview button at the bottom of the page. You get to review how your comment will look before publishing it (see preview)
Dashingdon/Hosted-Games
As far as we know, it is not possible to leave a review for CScript games published on Dashingdon/Hosted-Games.
Free games may have a CoG forum page, in which we encourage you to leave a comment.
Games requiring payment will have icons at the bottom of the page showing the different platform you are able to purchase the game. We recommend you leave a review there instead.
---
If there are any other platform you'd like us to add/explain, please let us know!
#interact if asks#interactive fiction#review#rating#author appreciation#itch#cog#choice of games#dashingdon#ifdb#rate#comment
255 notes
·
View notes
Text
Three Things by Jinx/Lapin Lunaire
An Anti-Romance Jam entry.
Entry - IFDB - More by Jinx - @lapinlunaire-games
Translating a broken heart
Sending you back to class, this entry tasks you with translating a Russian poem by Anna Akhmatova as your final assignment for a course you are taking. A poem (or the task of embodied translation), the teacher hopes will serve you in the future.
I should add there that I don't understand Russian, nor had I come across this poem before. Went in there blind.
While most of the text will be translated by simply hovering your mouse over the text, the game will, in parts, give you choices (always in 3) to translate specific groups of words. With repetition in words, some choices are simpler than others. Even if not chosen, all choices should be clicked (~delicious flavour text~). Finally, you must choose a title!
I boringly compared the words of the title to the first line of the poem and wrote just that... I also played the game by not touching the translation bit, just continuing to the next passage, and the translated poem was so very funny in a stressed student doing in an exam way.
Then comes the painful process of waiting to hear back from your professor... or your boyfriend...
The poem itself is quite sad, and, as hinted by the game, might be mirroring your relationship...
The translation gameplay reminded me partly of Kit's Piele
6 notes
·
View notes
Note
Why not add your game to IFDB for more exposure?
https://ifdb.org/
Anon I’m gonna be entirely honest with you. I had no idea that was even a thing 🫠
5 notes
·
View notes
Text
Here’s some resources to help you make text-based interactive fiction games!
Totally unprompted! There’s certainly nothing going on in a certain forum right now (or rather an on-going issue). Nope, I just thought it would be nice to share some resources. ;)
-----
Twine
Twine is such an easy tool to use. It uses its own scripting language Sugarcube (there’s also Harlowe and Snowman, but they don’t have the same functionality and creator support as Sugarcube does to my knowledge), Javascript, and CSS.
Twine is FREE!!!
Sugarcube literally gives you a save function (which does browser and save to desktop)!!! Be the save-hoarding goblin you were born to be!
It’s criminally easy to make games with Twine. They make it easy to make stats, relationships, and other info pages. When setting up the paths you can literally see arrows pointing where they lead, you can move passages around visually so you can group them up by chapter/scene/etc......to be fair once your game gets BIG it can get messy and confusing.
I have coding experience prior to finding Twine, but I’m absolutely certain anyone can make great games with Twine. If all your doing is making text-based ‘more story than game’ games, then you’ll be doing minimal coding (setting variables, if/else statements, using text boxes, etc) so you shouldn’t have any issues.
If you do have issues I’m 99% certain someone has had your issue before, and the answer is one google search away.
You can use Twine in your browser, just be careful to not mess with the data/cookies or you can lose your games (totally not speaking from experience)....archive your games often if you use Twine in browser. You can also download Twine, so you can use it offline!
Links:
Twine
SugarCube v2 Documentation - Your new best friend.
With the Settings API you can add a mature filter, different style themes (great for light/dark themes and color blind themes...or just different themes to look cool), difficulty settings, volume control, etc.
HiEv’s SugarCube 2 Sample Code - An ever-expanding collection of code, tips, macros, widgets. A good mix of fun and useful stuff.
^ Includes a great pronoun widget!!! To be fair it’s not the most user-friendly widget at first, especially if you aren’t a coder, but in the long run a widget like this is a great tool for customizing pronouns. It allows you to write a character in the code with one set of pronouns throughout the game ($They $are a great $person), the widget selects the correct word through an switch (aka a fancy if/else) statement when the character is assigned a pronoun......so when playing a female it would display as “She is a great girl”, a male would be “He is a great guy”, and nonbinary would be “They are a great person”. You can add neopronouns this way too!
Chapel’s custom macros - Chapel has a lot of cool macros, but a lot of them are more advanced. Very few have been useful for the kinds of games I want to make, but they may be useful for you.
r/twinegames - Twine has some older forums, which are still up (though not active) and have helpful answers on them, but the current forum is found on reddit.
w3schools - When it’s time to style your game, this will be your lifeline. Even today, like...seven years after first learning CSS I still come back to w3schools all the time. !!!Twine has funky class/id selectors for it’s built in stuff so refer back to the SugarCube Documentation!!!
-----
Itch.io
Itch doesn’t take ownership of your content!
It doesn’t have DRM!
You can host your games for free, paid, or free with donation.
It does take a cut of your sales “The Company shall be entitled to a share of the revenue Publishers receive from Transactions which shall be calculated on the gross revenue from the Transactions“ (I’ve seen 30% but I’ve also seen “Lets you choose what to give them” so I’m not exactly sure how much their cut is).
THERE IS NO RESTRICTION ON CONTENT ASSUMING IT’S LEGAL (though if collecting payment you may be under different restrictions per the payment provider’s policy), so please make all the twisted, dark, disturbing, and/or sexual games you want!!!
Links:
Itch.io
-----
r/interactivefictions
r/interactivefictions is a good place for game recs, coding/writing resources, etc.
Links:
r/interactivefictions
-----
Tumblr
Tumblr is...well we’re all on here so we know how tumblr is like.
Great tags to look at: #interactive fiction, #interactive novel, #interactive game, #twine game, #dev log, #IF, #if game, #upcoming game, #promo post
Tumblr is a great platform, but as every creator knows...Reblog!!! Reblog!!! Reblog!!! The lifeblood of tumblr is reblogging.
I’ve found SOOOO many games I would never have known existed through if-creator’s blogs just because they reblogged a post from another if-creator.
@interact-if and @iorifd are doing great work! They collect games, share helpful coding/writing tips, etc. Go show them some love! Interact-if runs the subreddit mentioned above, and iorifd is working on a database for visual novels and text-based games.
-----
IFDB (Interactive Fiction Database)
IFDB is a database for interactive fiction games. You can add new game listings, write reviews, make game polls, make game recommendation lists, etc.
IFDB seems to like their parser games (parsers being where you type in commands like “go west”, “open door”, etc).
It actually has a pretty good filter and ignore system.
Links:
IFDB
-----
Obviously this isn’t the end all be all of dev tools or hosting platforms for interactive fiction. Ink is a scripting tool similar to Twine I’ve only heard of recently that might be interesting to you. Ren’Py, although primarily a visual novel engine, can be used to make text-based games. The only other hosting alternative I know is DashingDon, I THINK they only host ChoiceScript games and I don’t think you can sell through them, but it’s a good place regardless.
Cheers! :D
#Game development#Interactive Fiction#IF#IF game#Twine#I want to start making games...I know the coding part...it's just the story and writing part :////#lmaoooo maybe some day#for now I will continue to enjoy IFs from the sidelines
456 notes
·
View notes
Text
So I was browsing around for information on jailbreaking kindles, since Ive had mine for years and I'd like it to stop constantly asking to sign into Amazon. Anyway I found this trashpile of an article:
[ID: a screenshot of an article header titled "Do not Jailbreak your Amazon Kindle" published on Jan 27, 2021 by Michael Koslowski, with 174 comments]
Anyway the actual article is a load of trash, with some dogwash argument that "it doesn't add enough to make it worth it and Amazon will just update the firmware anyway, you're a fool if you jailbreak it"
but the comment section
the comment section is hilarious
Everyone is obviously shitting on the author for being an idiot, and sharing ways to jailbreak the kindle more effectively, as well as sharing useful tools like calibre. Here are some of my favourites:
[ID: User siemon posted a month ago: "i was expecting for him to reveal that amazon disables online for roots or something but NO this dude just bashes jailbreaking for no reason. probably bootlicks for apple as well. ]
[ID: User PiDiameter posted 2 months ago: "Imagine saying that "the entire process is totally pointless" while in the previous paragraph you just mentioned a few benefits of it"]
[ID: User Johnny posted 3 months ago: "I happily pirated every single book I own and I’ll never stop. I own all devices I buy because I refuse to be a slave to some corporation."]
[ID: User cheese6665522 posted 4 months ago: " As poor as this article's argument is, it does have an incredible comment section. I've learned about Calibre, Overdrive, DRM, formatting, IFDB, and of course, the benefits and a little history of jailbreaking all through no help from you, Kozlowski, but the commentators. You did an astounding job at the author's job, everyone."]
[ID: User Sash posted 4 months ago: "Oooh, look it! Free hot garbage! Mmm, what a treat, this article!"]
12 notes
·
View notes
Text
The 2021 Colossal Fundraiser has begun
It's that time of year again! That time when you're eagerly awaiting IFComp games, which can be frustrating, or *writing* your IFComp game, which is *work*. But it's also the time when we begin seeking donations for the Colossal Fund. Now in its fifth year, the Colossal Fund raises money for the cash prizes that are awarded to the top two-thirds of IFComp entries (more on how that’s calculated below). Last year, our community donated $8500, $6800 of which was given to the authors of 68 IFComp entries. The remaining funds, last year and in the year to come, provide support for the programs and projects of the Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation, including the Interactive Fiction Competition, the IF Archive, the IFDB, the forums at intfiction.org, and other projects. We're now accepting donations for 2021!The donation button is live at IFComp.org. See your name listed on our donor page (or listed as "anonymous" if you prefer)! Our fundraising deadline is November 15th. As usual, 80% of the proceeds ($6800 if we hit our goal) will be distributed among the top two-thirds of IFComp finishers. What does this mean for authors?Because we're dividing the money among the top finishers, the exact numbers depend on how many IFComp entries there are. If we figure on 100 entries, then we will divide the money among the top 66 of them. If we reach our target of $8500, the prize chart will look like this:
1: $284.8818: $160.7135: $73.5752: $23.47 2: $276.5519: $154.5636: $69.6053: $21.68 3: $268.3520: $148.5437: $65.7654: $20.01 4: $260.2821: $142.6438: $62.0455: $18.47 5: $252.3322: $136.8839: $58.4556: $17.06 6: $244.5123: $131.2440: $54.9957: $15.78 7: $236.8324: $125.7341: $51.6658: $14.63 8: $229.2725: $120.3542: $48.4659: $13.60 9: $221.8326: $115.0943: $45.3860: $12.71 10: $214.5327: $109.9744: $42.4461: $11.94 11: $207.3528: $104.9745: $39.6262: $11.30 12: $200.3129: $100.1046: $36.9363: $10.78 13: $193.3930: $95.3647: $34.3664: $10.40 14: $186.5931: $90.7448: $31.9365: $10.14 15: $179.9332: $86.2649: $29.6266: $10.02 16: $173.4033: $81.9050: $27.44 17: $166.9934: $77.6751: $25.39
The numbers add up to $6800, which is 80% of $8500.As you see, this is not a winner-take-all plan. Our goal is to distribute prizes across a broad range of IF styles and ideas. Any game which does even moderately well should receive a decent prize. Let's see... what other questions might you have? How do I donate?Please go to our site and push the big blue Donate button.
Is my donation tax-deductible?
Yes, to the extent allowed by law. (Consult a tax professional, that's all we can say.)
Does the Colossal Fund replace the usual IFComp prize list?
Nope! These cash prizes will be in addition to the usual IFComp prize list. Please visit our prize page to see what objects and services others have donated, get ideas from donations given in previous years, and see how you can contribute.
How will the cash prizes be distributed?
Via PayPal. (The IFComp entry form has a field for your Paypal address.) If you can't accept PayPal, we can mail a US check to a US address. If that doesn't work for you, or if you wish to decline the cash prize, we will roll the money into next year's prize fund.
Was any money rolled into this year's fund from last year?
Yes! Some of last year's winners declined their prizes. So we are starting the 2021 CF fund with $556 already in the pot.
5 notes
·
View notes
Text
What line would you draw between adventure games, interactive fiction and rpgs? Maybe no line and it's all a wittgenstein family relationship?
At first I think of stats and XP, but there is 'IF' with elaborate stat systems (e.g. Fallen London, Long Live the Queen, various other visual novels) and where you can move your character around a map with varying degrees of precision, and RPGs which present a heavy emphasis on text (Planescape Torment being the most famous, but also recent games like Tyranny and Disco Elysium).
I guess western RPGs tend to put a greater focus on accommodating a variety of characterisations for the protagonist than most IF; arguably that tends to lead to a weaker story since the PC's motivations have to be left very vague. (Though many visual novels take this approach). RPGs also put a large emphasis on place: they usually present a 'world' that you are exploring, even if the routes you should take through that world are heavily suggested, and you're ultimately trying to dig up the scripted content the devs wrote. RPG stories frequently give certain kinds of power fantasy: you start out a minor player but become powerful and influential. And RPGs tend to divide their stories into self-contained 'quests' which are semi-independent and can be read in a variety of different orders, usually several simultaneously.
Fallen London actually fits all these tendencies very well, with storylets playing the role of quests, organised by different areas of London and the Neath, an elaborate stat and inventory system, and a story where you rise to prominence until you're meddling in the schemes of stars and cosmic beings. But it still tends to get classified as IF, and sometimes even its sequels Sunless Sea/Skies where you even have a character on a map and a combat system.
IF is of course very broad concept, ranging from twines with barely any branching points using the interactions to add to the 'conventional' literary techniques, to complex systemic parser games where the aim is to solve puzzles and prose is perfunctory. Perhaps RPGs and even most computer games can be called IF, though they're unlikely to get ifdb entries!
I guess IF in its earlier incarnations, like game books, was closely connected to tabletop RP, so it's not all that surprising that CRPGs which also grew out of tabletop RPGs would follow a similar path to computer IF.
Anyway genres are fake, or at least arbitrary, but I think it's interesting to think of the different traditions and techniques being used. And this post barely touches on Japanese and Korean games, which have their own approaches to these concepts and terms...
12 notes
·
View notes
Text
For Whose Majesty by brushmen
For Whose Majesty (formerly Long Live the Emperor) is an interactive-fiction set in a fictional world inspired by ancient China during the Warring States period and some folklore in other eras. You move through the narrative as an agent of the (fictitious) Heng Emperor, who is losing influence over the kingdom as three vassal lords gain power over the years. Would you serve the Emperor loyally and help him re-establish imperial control? Or would you help someone else take the throne, perhaps even for yourself?
19 notes
·
View notes
Text
You can now vote for your favourite games of 2022 that is included in the IFDB.
If an eligible game is not on the poll, you can add it with the search bar at the bottom of the page:
Rules - List of Polls - IFDB
Note: There is no hard limit on how many votes a person can cast in each poll for different games. A player voting for so many games that it makes voting difficult for others (such as voting for every game from the whole year) may have their votes removed, but only after warning.
#ifdb#idfb award#come vote!#it's fun#there are a lot of really good games from last year#you don't even have to pick just one!
57 notes
·
View notes
Text
POV: You’re a Teenage Girl in a Conservative Christian Family by alyshkalia
IFDB - Game - @tabitha-writes
Summary: A little piece of my religious trauma.
I'm going to need a hug after this, and so will you.
The piece is fairly short, with a couple of hundred words at most, and it will make you hate yourself (maybe) when you reach the end. Entrenched in the very harsh environment that is religious conservative norms, the game explores what it feels to be denied the little joys of life and exploring your identity.
It is not just a tour-de-force to be able to hit those emotions with so little words, but the way the choices are formatted hits like a ton of brick. As you click and come back to the main page, choices appear and disappear from the list... until there is nothing left. Until you are denied everything.
Strangely, the harsh Harlowe interface and palette adds another layer of bleakness to the situation.
#POV: You’re a Teenage Girl in a Conservative Christian Family#alyshkalia#interactive fiction#complete#2023#twine game#review#barebonesjam
6 notes
·
View notes
Text
Let Me Tell You Who You Are by slugzuki
this is a very short game i made in the form of a quiz.
13 notes
·
View notes
Text
Welcome, Mindy by Everflow
Snoop through an old abandoned computer that acts too sophisticated for its time. Reply to all the unread emails. Check the folders and the recycling bins. Will you discover the secret behind its oddities?
Inspired by Aether Interactive creations!
4 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
ehmn
E.H.M.N
lazyprincesspink-blog
Princesa pendeja
mollidays
Mollidays
hanhunter-blog
The Dirt Road.
anuninterestingperson
sleepy beardwizard