Writing Your Own Games
If you are interested in writing your own adventure games, the archive has a number of interactive fiction languages that can make your life easier. In this main programming directory is a bewildering array of choices. The most popular languages are:
- TADS (if-archive/programming/tads2)
- Hugo (if-archive/programming/hugo)
- Inform (if-archive/infocom/compilers/inform6)
(Note that the Inform directory isn't under the if-archive/programming directory, but the if-archive/infocom/compilers one.)
In each of these directories you'll find executables in an /executable directory, manuals in the /manuals directory, and example source code in the /examples directory. You can also find source code for games in the if-archive/games/source directory. There's a directory for each of the above languages.
Information About Interactive Fiction
if-archive/info
if-archive/magazines
if-archive/infocom
There is a lot of information about interactive fiction to be had at the archive. First stop: the /info directory. In this directory are guides to writing text adventures, interactive fiction bibliographies, and more.
Next up, the /magazines directory. Unsurprisingly enough, magazines dedicated to interactive fiction are kept here. The two magazines which publish the most regularly are SPAG (if-archive/magazines/SPAG) and XYZZYnews (if-archive/magazines/XYZZYnews).
Finally, the /infocom directory. Here is where you will find any and all information about Infocom. There are copies of their old newsletter The New Zork Times (later called The Status Line), files that are missing from Activision's repackaging of the Infocom games, tools for decoding the Infocom game files, modern interpreters for Infocom games, and more. If you're looking for anything having to do with Infocom, check this directory.