NAME

SYNOPSIS

DESCRIPTION

Interactive fiction is a literary form which involves programming a computer so that it presents a reader with a text which can be explored. Inform aims to make the burden of learning to program such texts as light as possible. It is a tool for writers intrigued by computing, and computer programmers intrigued by writing. Perhaps these are not so very different pursuits, in their rewards and pleasures:

The sheer joy of making things... the fascination of fashioning
complex puzzle-like objects of interlocking moving parts and
watching them work in subtle cycles... the delight of working in
such a tractable medium. The programmer, like the poet, works only
slightly removed from pure thought-stuff. He builds his castles in
the air, from air, creating by exertion of the imagination.
(Frederick P. Brooks, "The Mythical Man-Month", 1972)

More resources:
http://www.inform7.com
http://www.brasslantern.org
http://www.ifarchive.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interactive_fiction

Inform7 for FreeBSD (CLI edition) implements the same basic features of the GUI edition. You can write, compile, debug, and replay your own interactive fiction stories.

OPTIONS

-

create Z-code v8 release.

-g

create Glulx release.

-h

show usage.

-r

replay game from a transcript file.

-w

replay game from a walkthrough file.

EXAMPLES

The most basic use of Inform7 for FreeBSD is:

$ i7 story.ni

which compiles your source story file into a Z-code v8 release.

If you have a transcript file from game, you can use the -r option to
replay it in story.z8

$ i7 -r story.scr story.z8

You will receive three files.
story.$$.scr - new transcript file
story.$$.key - walkthrough file
story.$$.sav - save game from a transcript file

You can also construct a simple walkthrough file and then automatically
replay its sequence of commands in your stories.

Example of a story.key
VERBOSE
L
N
W
GET LAMP
SCORE

A walkthrough file can be very short, meant just to test some sequence
of commands within your story, or it can be a full solution walkthrough.

$ i7 -w story.key story.z8

Once again you will receive three files.
story.$$.scr - new transcript file
story.$$.key - walkthrough file
story.$$.sav - save game from a walkthrough file

FILES

/usr/local/share/inform7

Directory where Inform extensions are stored.

SEE ALSO

AUTHORS

CONTRIBUTORS

THANKS TO

rec.arts.int-fiction and rec.games.int-fiction community of IF authors and enthusiasts.