Homework Two
Assigned 4/3/03, due noon 4/10/03
As discussed in class on Thursday, you will write a work of interactive fiction.
This assignment is the first of two steps in that process. What you will turn in
on Thursday is:
- Your story bible. It must include a description of the setting and any
associated lore, the plot structure, a map, and a list of objects and NPC’s
that you expect to need. This should take the form of a Word document or a
self-contained zip archive with HTML and all necessary supporting files
- Inform source code implementing some of your story. This must include
partial implementations for all of the locations in your story and some of the
objects. (Descriptions can be what is called “placeholder art” in the trade,
for example.) Your code must compile in Inform and execute in Frotz.
- The .Z5 file produced by the Inform compiler based on your source code.
We expect of course that your story bible and code will evolve as you finish
the game, so this is a snapshot, not the final version. But, as with any complex
project, setting up and hitting intermediate milestones is one of the secrets of
success. This is one of the kinds of milestones used in game development.
Some hints regarding your story:
- Aim for an experience that lasts about 15 minutes. Think of it as a short
story, not a novel.
- Your audience will be your classmates, who will be playing your game.
- Be imaginative. You can set your story on Europa or in the 1930s just as
easily as Norris.
- Mine the inform documentation and example source code for ideas on how to
do things. There are libraries for NPC mechanics, aspects of simulation, etc.
Reuse and recycling, with appropriate credit given, is a virtue.
- As always, you can discuss general approaches and tactics on the
newsgroup. Sharing information about good libraries and examples and learning
from each other is valuable.
Last edited 4/7/03 by KDF.
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