Writing Interactive Fiction with Twine
Que Corporation,U.S. (Verlag)
978-0-7897-5664-0 (ISBN)
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If you’ve ever dreamed about walking through the pages of a book, fighting dragons, or exploring planets then Twine is for you. This interactive fiction program enables you to create computer games where worlds are constructed out of words and simple scripts can allow the player to pick up or drop objects, use items collected in the game to solve puzzles, or track injury in battle by reducing hit points. If you’ve clicked your way through 80 Days, trekked through the underground Zork kingdom, or attempted to save an astronaut with Lifeline, you’re already familiar with interactive fiction. If not, get ready to have your imagination stretched as you learn how to direct a story path.
The best part about interactive fiction stories is that they are simple to make and can serve as a gateway into the world of coding for the nonprogrammer or new programmer.
You’ll find expert advice on everything from creating vivid characters to building settings that come alive. Ford’s easy writing prompts help you get started, so you’ll never face a blank screen. Her “Try It Out” exercises go way beyond the basics, helping you bring personal creativity and passion to every story you create!
Get familiar with the popular Twine scripting program
Learn how to design puzzles
Build your own role-playing game with stat systems
Maintain an inventory of objects
Learn game design and writing basics
Change the look of your story using CSS and HTML
Discover where you can upload your finished games and find players
Melissa Ford is the author of numerous works of fiction and nonfiction. She has been a huge interactive fiction fan since 1982, when her dad gave her a copy of Zork to help her become a better speller. She is the blogging and social media editor at BlogHer, a contributor at GeekDad, and the Twine mentor at her local computer club. She is also the author of the award-winning blog Stirrup Queens. She earned her MFA from University of Massachusetts–Amherst.
Foreword xvi
Introduction to Interactive Fiction 1
Chapter 1 The Nuts and Bolts: Getting Started with Twine 5
Installing Twine 5
Starting Your First Story 6
Saving in Twine 9
Navigating Twine Menus 9
Getting to Know the Stories Screen 9
Getting to Know the Blue Grid Screen 9
Getting to Know the Hover Menu 10
Chapter 2 Using Choice to Create Agency 13
Designing Agency 14
Providing Clues 17
Crafting Meaning 18
World-Building with Optional Details 19
Using Choice to Affect Pacing 21
Imagining Different Choices 22
Giving Preference Choices 22
Giving Value Choices 22
Giving Adventure Choices 22
Giving Ethical Choices 22
Giving Cause/Effect Choices 22
Giving Exploratory Choices 23
Giving Obtainable Choices 23
Giving Directional Choices 23
Plotting Your Story’s Choices 23
Handling Endings 25
Using the Fan Story Shape 25
Using the Hourglass Story Shape 25
Delaying Branching 27
Creating Another Type of External Link 27
Chapter 3 Creating a Vivid Setting 29
Understanding the Importance of Setting 29
Creating Setting from Prompts 30
Adding Descriptions with (link:) 31
Repeating Text with (display:) 32
Setting Tips and Exercises 35
Writing What You Know 35
Being the Player’s Eyes 36
Considering What a Character Would Notice 36
Combining Motion with Surroundings 37
Using Your Other Senses 38
Considering the Mood of a Place 38
Drawing the Player’s Attention 40
Using Descriptive Words 40
Distinguishing Static and Dynamic Settings 42
Building a Map-Based Game 43
Creating a Maze 46
Chapter 4 Designing Puzzles 49
Finding Puzzle Ideas 50
Finding Puzzles in Everyday Life 50
Making Your Puzzles Matter 51
Building Puzzles in Twine 52
Finding the Starting Point and End Goal 52
Adding Layers to Your Puzzle 54
Finishing the Puzzle 58
Building Other Types of Puzzles 58
Using Macros and Hooks 59
Using Named Hooks 62
Chapter 5 Building Objects with Variables 67
Using Objects in Interactive Fiction 67
Building Interactive Objects with Variables 68
Creating a Variable 68
Changing a Value 69
Using Strings 70
Using Boolean Values 70
Using Variables in Passages 71
Building Conditional Statements 77
Adding a Conditional Statement 78
Adding More Than One Condition 81
Keeping Track of the Player 83
Setting Up Types of Quests 86
Writing Search Quests 86
Writing Fetch Quests 87
Writing Drop-off Quests 87
Writing End Quests 87
Writing Rescue Quests 88
Writing Escape Quests 88
Writing Transformative Quests 89
Writing Creation Quests 89
Chapter 6 Stasis, Catalyst, and Climax: Understanding Story Arc 91
Drawing a Story Arc 91
Understanding Time and Pacing 93
Making a Game with Story Arc 94
Opening a Game in Stasis 94
Continuing to the Catalyst 96
Building to the Climax 97
Returning Back to Stasis 99
Diagramming the Story 100
Extending Story Arc 102
Counting Turns with the (history:) Macro 103
Controlling Time with (history:) 104
Controlling Links with (history:) 105
Chapter 7 Exploring Interactive Fiction Genres 107
Managing Reader Expectations 108
Creating Chance with the (either:) and (random:) Macros 109
Using the (either:) Macro 109
Using the (random:) Macro 113
Delving into Genres 115
Exploring Horror 115
Exploring Fantasy 116
Exploring Science Fiction 117
Exploring Mystery 118
Exploring Espionage 118
Exploring Adventure 119
Exploring Magical Realism 120
Exploring Historical 120
Exploring Western 121
Exploring Nautical 123
Exploring Fairytale and Folklore 123
Exploring Mythology 124
Exploring Realistic Fiction 125
Exploring Other Genres 125
Understanding Motivations 126
Chapter 8 Constructing Believable Characters 127
Recognizing the Traits of Successful Characters 127
Using the (click:), (mouseover:), and (prompt:) Macros 129
Using the (click:) Macro 129
Using the (mouseover:) Macro 132
Using the (prompt:) Macro 137
Distinquishing Types of Characters 138
Limiting Characters 139
Creating a Clear Set of Traits 139
Setting a Goal 142
Being Vulnerable 143
Deepening Character Building 144
Assigning Purpose 144
Providing Exposition 145
Exploring Relationships 145
Chapter 9 Maintaining an Inventory 147
Managing Inventory with Arrays 148
Using Variables to Work Around Arrays 151
Using the (array:) Macro 154
Building a Basic Array 154
Adding Items to an Array 156
Dropping Items from an Array 158
Checking Strings in an Array 159
Checking the Array Size 161
Limiting the Array Size 161
Troubleshooting Arrays 162
Using the (count:) Macro 164
Utilizing Literary Techniques 165
Using Symbolism 166
Using Allegory 166
Using Simile 167
Using Metaphor 167
Using Analogy 168
Using Allusion 169
Using Irony 169
Using Hyperbole 170
Chapter 10 Achieving Proper Pacing 171
Understanding Plot 172
Setting the Pace with Language 177
Determining Description Amount 177
Employing Internal Thoughts 177
Leaving Information Unknown 177
Setting the Danger Level 177
Varying Sentence Length 178
Regulating Passage Length 178
Limiting Word Count 178
Using Sentence Fragments 178
Moving with Vivid Verbs 179
Utilizing Setter Links 179
Chapter 11 Foreshadowing Important Clues 183
Using the (append:) Macro 184
Using the (prepend:) Macro 187
Foreshadowing Clues 189
Dropping Direct Clues 189
Dropping Subtle Clues 190
Dropping Dream Clues 190
Dropping Feeling Clues 190
Dropping Red Herrings 190
Creating a Hint System 191
Including Inside Jokes and Easter Eggs 194
Chapter 12 Making a Role-Playing Game 195
Using the (datamap:) Macro 196
Adding Values to the Datamap 197
Removing Values from a Datamap 198
Using a Datamap for a Stat System 198
Establishing Class 199
Becoming a Wizard 199
Becoming a Knight 199
Becoming a Thief 199
Becoming a Healer 199
Becoming an Elf 200
Becoming a Dwarf 200
Coding Class Selection 200
Establishing Names 202
Establishing Personal Characteristics 203
Choosing Gender, Height, and Weight 204
Troubleshooting User Play Decisions 204
Establishing Traits 206
Deciding on Traits 207
Determining Hit Points 207
Making the Next Character 208
Wrapping Up the Opening 210
Limiting an Array 211
Chapter 13 Combat and Consequences in Role-Playing Games 213
Exploring the World 215
Using Personal Characteristics 215
Making Consequences 217
Using Traits 219
Using Items 220
Battling Monsters 223
Starting the Fight 224
Continuing the Fight 227
Solving Puzzles 229
Writing a Conclusion 231
Taking Your Role-Playing Game to the Next Level 231
Breaking Down Game Writing into Manageable Chunks 231
Chapter 14 Wiggling Words: Changing the Text Appearance 233
Changing Fonts 234
Adding a New Font 234
Designing Fonts 235
Picking a Font 236
Changing Text Style 237
Adding Style 237
Changing Understanding 238
Changing Size 239
Changing Text Color 240
Changing Text Transitions 241
Chapter 15 Story Style: Changing the Game Appearance in Harlowe 243
Navigating the Stylesheet 244
Setting Up Selectors and Declarations 245
Changing the Background 247
Changing the Sidebar 248
Changing the Font 249
Changing the Links 251
Getting Rid of Whitespace 252
Chapter 16 Adding Images in a New Format 253
Changing Over to SugarCube 254
Learning a New Macro Format 255
Deciding to Use Images 256
Knowing Which Image Files You Can Use 256
Enhancing Understanding with Images 257
Enhancing Player Mood with Images 257
Enhancing Game Play with Images 257
Adding Images to a Game 258
Sizing Images Before Uploading 258
Writing Image Code in a Passage 258
Using Images Creatively 260
Making Simple Links 260
Making Setter Links 262
Making Mouseover Clues 264
Chapter 17 Setting Up the Pre-Story, Central Story, and Post-Story 267
Learning New Macros 268
Using the <>, <>, and <> Macros 268
Using the <>, <>, and <> Macros 270
Using the <> and <> Macros 273
Designing the Pre-Story 275
Telling or Not Telling 276
Working the Backstory into the Game 277
Including Game Tutorials 278
Designing the Post-Story 279
Defining the Ending 279
Moving Beyond Happily Ever After 281
Making Sequels 282
Chapter 18 Developing a Strong Player Character 283
Using the <>, <>, and <> Macros 284
Learning the <> Macro 284
Learning the <> Macro 285
Learning the <> Macro 286
Using the <> and <
Learning the <