Ice Cream Jonsey wrote:

Gutsby wrote:

Nothing too complex, please!

I'd suggest getting a hold of the Inform 6 designer's manual. There are links to a free PDF download as well as hardcopies here. I just sat down and started working through the examples they offered.

The book is really well-written. There are lots of examples from Infocom games, and it really does a great job getting you to the point where you are making things with the language quickly. In terms of a computer book being an instructive aid to learning the language, versus a pure reference, it is the former.

What also helped me was having the source code to a game I already knew handy, through a port. Adventure has been ported to Inform 6, and it helps to be able to say, "OK, I want to have something like a wandering dwarf in the game... how did they do it in Adventure?"

The Usenet newsgroups also have a ton of info at rec.arts.int-fiction and rec.games.int-fiction. Most questions you might have initially have probably been asked and answered there.

If you get something you like up and running, think about entering it into the 2008 Interactive Fiction Competition! You'll get lots of feedback, and could very well win a prize. The first time I entered, Sierra took pity on the last seven finishers and gave them Gabriel Knight coffee mugs. I finished 31 out of 38 and am drinking out of that very mug as I write this post!


ICJ