Jonathan Green wrote a history of the Fighting Fantasy series founded by [[Steve Jackson]] and [[Ian Livingstone]]. His book is called 'YOU Are The Hero'.
<audio src="Audio/Jon Green on start of FF.mp3" autoplay>
This is a long interview with Steve Jackson about the publication and marketing of the first Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks.
Steve and Ian had loved [[Dungeons & Dragons|Steve on D+D]]. There were also some conceptual links with 1960's [[counterculture|the 1960s radicalism behind FF]] - at least in the interest in alternative worlds that was sparked by Tolkein's Lord of the Rings books.
After the success of Fighting Fantasy, Steve was approached to make a telephone line [[telephone line|Steve's telephone game F.I.S.T. old]] version of the gamebooks.
<audio src="Audio/Steve J Main IV on FF publication and writing.mp3" autoplay>
<img src="Images/N and Ian looking at notes.jpg" width="320" height="180" alt="Ian shows naomi his archives">
Ian Livingstone describes the big idea, which was intended as a way of sharing the fun of D+D.
While we were there, we asked him a lot about [[how to write the plot]] of an FF adventure, and also about [[the mapping of FF gamebooks]].
<audio src="Audio/Ian on start of FF.mp3" autoplay>
Behind Steve Jackson's head when we recorded this interview was a poster of Led Zeppelin's famous appearance at Knebworth in 1979. He said he used to organise the Knebworth festival. Led Zeppelin's interest in the alternate world of Lord of the Rings is legendary - they couldn't stop Rambling On about it.
Not far away from Knebworth, a young [[Richard Bartle|Bartle on virtual worlds]] and Roy Trubshaw, both computer science students at the University of Essex, were also trying to create alternate worlds.
Another kind of countercultural movement in France, the [[Oulipo|OULIPO]], had also been experimenting with allowing readers to interact with stories.
<audio src="Audio/Steve J on counterculture.mp3" autoplay>
Steve Jackson was asked to write a telephone-based interactive story, an early example of using technology to make an interactive narrative.
"Fighting Interactive Scenarios by Telephone", or "F.I.S.T." was a premium rate service. [[Here's a demo|Steve's telephone game F.I.S.T.]] of what it might have been like to play one of them, made from Steve's original recordings.
OR
Would you like to hear more about:
[[how to get online in the 1980s via modems]]
OR
[[MUD]]
<audio src="Audio/Steve J on FIST with 5080.mp3" autoplay>
Here's a documentary from Radio 4 about Immersive Theatre, from 2012
This was the billing:
You may find yourself conducting a bank robbery, being dragged into a dark corner by an opera singer, feel the tickle of cobwebs run over your face in the dark, or stand two feet away from a woman who has just been raped. Immersive, site specific, site-responsive, installation - but definitely not for the faint-hearted - the interactive trend in the 21st century theatrical scene has been gathering pace and popularity.
Companies such as Punchdrunk, YouMeBumBumTrain, dreamthinkspeak, Sound and Fury and Artichoke have wowed audiences, selling out tickets, or filling city centres with spectators, wherever they have popped up, and in some cases that means in warehouses, streets or abandoned basements.
Sarah Hemming, theatre critic for the Financial Times screws her courage to the sticking point and embarks on a series of theatrical experiences, to help you decide whether you too might enjoy this type of theatre trip: the sort that doesn't involve a stage, a programme, an ice cream at the interval - oh, or a seat. Experiences can range from Lucien Bourjeily's re- enactment of imprisonment in a Syrian detention centre - "we promise you will be released at the end" ,to a magical storytelling moment by a cosy library fireplace - but is it theatre?
Talking to Felix Barrett, creator of Punchdrunk; Tristan Sharps of dreamthinkspeak; Nicky Webb from Artichoke; Sound and Fury's Dan Jones, and experiencing the full force of the improvisation medley that is YouMeBumBumTrain, Sarah boldly goes beyond the fourth wall.
Appearing for the defence, Guardian critic, Lyn Gardner, and for the prosecution Whatsonstage critic Michael Coveney.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01j5fwn
But we should probably get back to talking about [[Interactive Books|Interactive Books Intro]] for now.
<audio src="Audio/ITS FUN BUT IS IT THEATRE R4-ROT_Radio_4_from_04.01.2013_at_21_00_00.mp3" autoplay>
Doing anything else with your phone beyond talking or listening, was not that easy in the early 1980s. Here's Ian McNaught Davis and John Coll talking about the modem market in 1984. (For youngsters,"75 baud" is about as far from 4G as you can imagine).
But the important thing is that some of those bulletin boards mentioned would still be discussing the sorts of text adventure games that were inspired by [[The Colossal Cave Adventure]].
Or [[MUD]].
<audio src="Audio/MicroLive on Modems.mp3" autoplay>
The Colossal Cave Adventure was written by a computer scientist in the US who liked caving, and missed his kids. He created a text-based version of a cave system he knew.
There's an interactive video documentary which featured Colossal Cave Adventure made by Jason Scott; he presented it as a Google Tech Talk. It's called GET LAMP.
It's on youtube, check it out.
The interactive fiction movement grew from Colossal Cave Adventure, which inspired Zork, and thence the company [[INFOCOM]].
<audio src="Audio/Emily on Col Caves.mp3" autoplay>
People used to send Ian maps they had drawn of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks.
<img src="Images/Forest-of-Doom-map.JPG" width="480" height="730" alt="Ian shows naomi his archives">
This one is of the Forest of Doom (spoiler alert).
Here are Naomi's [[own maps|Naomi map 1]] of Deathtrap Dungeon.
Or find out how a real cave map led to all [[computer adventure games|The Colossal Cave Adventure]].
<audio src="Audio/Ian on Mapping.mp3" autoplay>
Here Lauren Elkin tells Naomi all about the early Oulipo movement, and in particular, Raymond Queneau, who wrote what some consider the [[first interactive fiction|RQ1]].
Oulipo made some fascinating experiments in new ways to write and think about fiction. Check it out.
<audio src="Audio/Lauren Ellis.mp3" autoplay>
Typically, when you read a novel, your options are the rather pedestrian:
1) keep reading to the end or
2) stop reading.
Not the most compelling of choices.
But since the 1950s, there have been books that give readers many more options.
<img src="Images/NA-Map-1l.jpg" width="450" height="700" alt="Naomi's map, age 10">
Interactive fantasy books (such as [[Fighting Fantasy gamebooks]]) gave you choices about where to go, and what to do next.
But before those there were Interactive Educational books (such as [[TutorText]]).
And then there was the French experimental literary movement the [[OULIPO]], who were also interested in the possibilities of programmed writing.
<audio src="Audio/Dice.mp3" autoplay>
<img src="Images/TutorText.jpg" width="312" height="991" alt="TutorText Ad, 1961">
Norman A. Crowder invented TutorText books in 1958. It was a "branched tutorial" technique, where You, The Learner, answered questions on what you were reading as you went along by turning to the appropriate page to see if you were right, or to be told why you were wrong.
The first in the series was about how these new [[computing brains|Arithmetic of Computers]] counted.
Later in the series there were interactive courses for such things as Nutritional Cooking, and even for [[teaching Shakespeare]].
He also built an electronic device called an AutoTutor, which worked on similar "programmed learning" principles.
All very Jetsons.
<img src="Images/FIST_logo.jpg" width="500" height="300" alt="Fist Ad">
There is a telephone.
You pick up the receiver.
You dial the [[number]].
or
You [[hang up]].
<audio src="Audio/telephoneliftreceiver.mp3" autoplay>
In 1988, it cost 25p a minute.
Do you want to [[play|510 play]]?
Or [[hang up]]?
<audio src="Audio/FIST_Welcome_Logo.mp3" autoplay>
Eventually, it [[rings]].
<audio src="Audio/telephonedialshort.mp3" autoplay>
Eventually, somebody [[answers]].
<audio src="Audio/telephoneringing.mp3" autoplay>
<img src="Images/FIST_logo.jpg" width="500" height="300" alt="Fist Ad">
[[Redial|answers]]?
or [[move on|Steve's telephone game F.I.S.T. old]]?
<audio src="Audio/telephonehangup.mp3" autoplay>
Listen to the end to hear all that you might do...
[[continue]].
<audio src="Audio/Game Intro.mp3" autoplay>
You're supposed to fight now.
That means you're supposed not to dial any further until you roll a six.
Let's assume you roll a [[six|540 six]].
Keep a tally of your Stamina points and your number of gold pieces as you go along.
Help the [[Young Maiden|620 Young Maiden]]?
Follow the [[Old Man|700 Old Man]]?
or Follow the [[Old Woman|800 Old Woman]]?
<audio src="Audio/540.mp3" autoplay>
When you've "rolled your 6"... [[on we go|630 on we go]]
<audio src="Audio/620.mp3" autoplay>
[[Follow the passageway onwards|660]]
OR
[[Turn Right at the junction|660]]
<audio src="Audio/640.mp3" autoplay>
Do you [[talk to the old man|760 talk to the old man]]?
Thank him for his help and [[set off down the passageway|690 set off down the passageway]]?
Or you could [[fight him|750 fight him]]? (Don't forget to roll that six first...)
<audio src="Audio/700.mp3" autoplay>
Turn [[left|660]] at the Junction,
Turn [[right|660]],
OR
[[Carry on straight ahead|1210 portcullis]]?
<audio src="Audio/800.mp3" autoplay>
Ask him [[more about the Escape Route he mentioned|770 more about the Escape Route he mentioned]]?
Ask him [[what lies down the passageway ahead|780 what lies down the passageway ahead]]?
Ask him [[where there is treasure to be had|790 where there is treasure to be had]]?
Turn to the [[East|660]] or to the [[West|660]]?
<audio src="Audio/690.mp3" autoplay>
...you [[set off cautiously along the passageway|690 set off down the passageway]].
<audio src="Audio/750.mp3" autoplay>
You [[continue|690 set off down the passageway]]
<audio src="Audio/770.mp3" autoplay>
You [[continue...|690 set off down the passageway]]
<audio src="Audio/780.mp3" autoplay>
You [[continue...|690 set off down the passageway]]
<audio src="Audio/790.mp3" autoplay>
<img src="Images/Shakespeare-Frontispiece.jpg" width="980" height="1176" alt="Understanding Shakespeare Frontispiece, 1964">
Ready for lesson [[1|Shakespeare lesson 1]]?
Dennis Guerrier was a civil servant who developed programmatic instruction techniques for his own ministry. But - kept awake by insomnia - he struck upon the idea of using the branched writing technique for entertainment. In the late 1960's, he "programmed" two entertainments for adults.
With John Garforth, he wrote [[Sleep, and the City Trembles|Sleep Front]], a thriller, in which you kept a score of achievements as you went through, presumably so you could try to beat it later, or compare your performance with other readers.
And with Jean Richards, whose biography was somewhat enigmatically "shrouded in the official secrets act", he created a book called [[State of Emergency|state front]] - a thriller set in a fictional African state which tried to explain to its readers the kind of support the UK could usefully give to post-colonial countries in Africa.
<img src="Images/RADIO4_black.jpg" width="172" height="94" alt="BBC R4 logo">
Welcome to an Interactive History of Interactive Fiction by Naomi Alderman, produced by Alex Mansfield.
This is an interactive alternative to the Archive on 4 programme we made for Radio 4 called SKILL, STAMINA and LUCK.
Keep your headphones on or speakers turned up. It'll be a bit rubbish otherwise.
You can always click on [[red things|Telephone options]] at any time.
<audio id="intro-theme" >
<source src="Audio/ZX spec Archers game theme tune.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
Your browser does not support the audio element.
</audio>
Once you've rolled another six... [[one we go|640 on we go]]
<audio src="Audio/630.mp3" autoplay>
[[Open the Door|860 Open the door]]
OR
[[Return to the Junction and take another passageway|680 Return to the junction and take another passageway]]
<audio src="Audio/660.mp3" autoplay>
[[Release him?|910]]
OR
If you suspect this is a trap, ignore him and [[leave through the door to the east|890]]
<audio src="Audio/860.mp3" autoplay>
[[Open the door?|1150 Open the Door]]
OR
[[Return to the junction and take another passage|660]]
<audio src="Audio/680.mp3" autoplay>
Once you've rolled your six, we shall [[continue|1160]]...
<audio src="Audio/1150.mp3" autoplay>
Ask him to [[come with you|940]]?
Ask him [[questions about the dungeons|1130]]?
OR
get going, and [[leave by the door in the East wall|890]]?
<audio src="Audio/910.mp3" autoplay>
[[Investigate the sound|1610]]?
OR
Ignore it and follow the passage that leads [[northwards|1210 portcullis]]?
<audio src="Audio/890.mp3" autoplay>
[[North|1710]]?
[[East|1710]]?
OR
[[West|1710]]?
(South is cut off by the portcullis).
<audio src="Audio/1210.mp3" autoplay>
[[East|3120]]?
OR
[[West|5110]]?
<audio src="Audio/1710.mp3" autoplay>
...or shall we? Another [[six|1170]] please.
<audio src="Audio/1160.mp3" autoplay>
Go [[East|1610]] and investigate...?
Otherwise [[North|1210 portcullis]], [[South|1210 portcullis]] or [[West|1210 portcullis]]?
<audio src="Audio/1170.mp3" autoplay>
Will you [[help him out|1650]]?
Or [[not|1670]]
<audio src="Audio/1610.mp3" autoplay>
Investigate the sounds [[along the eastern passageway|980]]?
OR
Head [[Northwards|1010]]?
<audio src="Audio/940.mp3" autoplay>
Offer Ronyon to [[come with you|940]]?
OR
Go [[alone|890]]?
<audio src="Audio/1130.mp3" autoplay>
Help these workmen by [[looking after their tools for them|1050]]?
OR
[[Refuse|1070]]?
<audio src="Audio/980.mp3" autoplay>
[[North|1710]]?
[[South|1710]]?
[[East|1710]]?
OR
[[West|1710]]?
<audio src="Audio/1010.mp3" autoplay>
[[Hang Up|hang up]].
<audio src="Audio/1050.mp3" autoplay>
Beat the first one (with a sturdy [[six|1110]]...)
<audio src="Audio/1070.mp3" autoplay>
Got another [[six|1120]] in you?
<audio src="Audio/1110.mp3" autoplay>
...you take the [[passage leading northwards|1210]].
<audio src="Audio/1120.mp3" autoplay>
[[North|1710]]?
[[South|1710]]?
[[East|1710]]?
OR
[[West|1710]]?
<audio src="Audio/1210.mp3" autoplay>
[[Hang Up|hang up]]?
<audio src="Audio/1650.mp3" autoplay>
Roll yourself a [[six|1690]]...
<audio src="Audio/1670.mp3" autoplay>
And another [[six|1700]]...
<audio src="Audio/1690.mp3" autoplay>
Passage [[leading northwards|1210]]...
<audio src="Audio/1700.mp3" autoplay>
Do you want to investigate:
The [[Guard|3160]],
[[Marruck|3190]],
[[Blackeye|3250]],
the [[Elf Warrior|3280]], or
the [[Zombie Dwarf|3300]]?
Or just [[Continue|3330]] on your way?
<audio src="Audio/3120.mp3" autoplay>
[The leg of mutton can be used against the Flesh Eaters (spoiler alert). All items are equivalent to 1 unit of Provisions and will add 4 Stamina points when eaten.]
[[Return to the passageway|3120]]
<audio src="Audio/5110.mp3" autoplay>
Not another [[six|3170]]? Man, your luck...
<audio src="Audio/3160.mp3" autoplay>
Do you recognize this name?
[[Yes|3200]] or [[no|3170]]?
<audio src="Audio/3190.mp3" autoplay>
[[More|3255]]...
<audio src="Audio/3250.mp3" autoplay>
Roll a [[six|3290]].
OR
(click [[here|3320]] if this feels awkwardly familiar...)
<audio src="Audio/3280.mp3" autoplay>
Fight! (yeah yeah, roll a [[six|3310]]...)
Or is this [[a bit too familiar|3320]]?
<audio src="Audio/3300.mp3" autoplay>
[[North|3331]],
[[East|3120]] or
[[West|3530]]?
<audio src="Audio/3330.mp3" autoplay>
Check out any of the [[other statues|3120]]?
Or [[continue on your way|3330]]?
[[continue|3170]].
<audio src="Audio/3200.mp3" autoplay>
[[Check it out|3260]]?
Or [[look at another statue or leave|3170]]?
<audio src="Audio/3255.mp3" autoplay>
[[Steal it|3270]] from him?
Or [[leave it alone|3170]]?
<audio src="Audio/3260.mp3" autoplay>
Yes, what DO you want to do [[now|3170]]?
<audio src="Audio/3270.mp3" autoplay>
You [[dust yourself down|3170]]...
<audio src="Audio/3290.mp3" autoplay>
Duh.
[[Return|3170]].
<audio src="Audio/3320.mp3" autoplay>
[[Step away|3170]], just in case.
<audio src="Audio/3310.mp3" autoplay>
Did you speak to the Old Woman on your way in here?
[[Yes|4430]] or [[No|3660]]?
[[Open|3560]] the door
OR
[[Continue|3550]]?
<audio src="Audio/3530.mp3" autoplay>
[[Investigate sounds|4460]]
OR
[[[Return to Junction|3330]]?
<audio src="Audio/4430.mp3" autoplay>
[[Enter|3670]]
OR
[[Go back|3330]] to junction?
<audio src="Audio/3660.mp3" autoplay>
[[Check out|3730]] the alcoves?
[[Get out|3690]] of here?
<audio src="Audio/3670.mp3" autoplay>
Do you have a [[Serpent Pendulum|3740]] on you by any chance?
Otherwise, do you want to [[open the box|3760]] or [[leave|3690]]?
Be honest now.
<audio src="Audio/3730.mp3" autoplay>
Are you wearing the [[Ring of Torka|5030]]? (No fibbing).
Otherwise
[[East|5080]]
or
[[West|5080]]
<audio src="Audio/3690.mp3" autoplay>
[[Open|5060]] the door
OR
[[Leave|5050]]
<audio src="Audio/5030.mp3" autoplay>
Open door [[in East wall|6830]],
Open door [[in West wall|6830]],
OR
[[Continue|6350]].
<audio src="Audio/5080.mp3" autoplay>
Now, [[open the box|3760]] or [[leave|3690]]?
<audio src="Audio/3740.mp3" autoplay>
[[Close the lid|3810]] quickly,
[[Take the gold|3820]],
or if you've got it, (really, really got it), [[Hold up the Serpent Pendulum|3890]]?
<audio src="Audio/3760.mp3" autoplay>
Stepping [[away|3690]]...
<audio src="Audio/3810cut.mp3" autoplay>
(Sigh), another [[six|3900]] perhaps?
<audio src="Audio/3820.mp3" autoplay>
...which way WILL you [[leave the chamber|3690]]??
<audio src="Audio/3890cut.mp3" autoplay>
....[[leave the chamber|3690]]
[You do now carry the Curse of Kahmoon... This means you have to eat soemthing in five minutes time or die. But this is only a BBC TASTER...!]
<audio src="Audio/3900.mp3" autoplay>
[[Stop him|4490]] leaving?
[[Let him go|4590]] and enter the cave?
<audio src="Audio/4460.mp3" autoplay>
Ask him [[about himself|4500]]?
Ask him whether he can [[help you find any gold|4520]]?
Draw your sword and [[attack him|4530]]?
Snake Eyes is no good to you now. You need a [[SIX|4595]]!
<audio src="Audio/4590.mp3" autoplay>
[[Head into the cave|4590]],
[[Attack him|4530]],
OR
[[Return to the junction|3330]]?
<audio src="Audio/4500.mp3" autoplay>
[[Head into|4590]] the cave,
[[Attack him|4530]],
OR
[[Return|3330]] to the junction?
<audio src="Audio/4520.mp3" autoplay>
You gotta roll a [[six|4545]]!
May the luck of the, erm, Irish be with, er,.. mumble mumble...
<audio src="Audio/4530.mp3" autoplay>
Did an old woman tell you to do this? [[Yes|4550]]? Be honest now.
If [[not|4580]]...
Moving [[on|4580]]...
<audio src="Audio/4550.mp3" autoplay>
[[Enter|4590]] the cave
OR
Return to [[the junction|3330]]
?
<audio src="Audio/4580.mp3" autoplay>
And [[another|4600]]!
<audio src="Audio/4595.mp3" autoplay>
Are you wearing the [[Ring of Torka|5030]]? (No fibbing).
Otherwise you must go
[[East|5080]]
or
[[West|5080]]
<audio src="Audio/4600.mp3" autoplay>
[[Attack|3580]]!
[[Rummage|3591]] in your bag!
[[Run|3600]] away!
<audio src="Audio/3560.mp3" autoplay>
Are you wearing the [[Ring of Torka|5030]]? (Seriously, no fibbing).
Otherwise you must go
[[North|5080]]
or
[[South|5080]]
<audio src="Audio/3550.mp3" autoplay>
Are there any [[Sixes|3620]] left in the world?
<audio src="Audio/3580.mp3" autoplay>
Can you see a [[leg of mutton|3590]] in there?
If not, [[this|3610]]...
You could now go
[[North|5080]]
or
[[South|5080]]
Unless you genuinely are wearing the [[Ring of Torka|5030]]...?
<audio src="Audio/3600.mp3" autoplay>
...you [[leave|3550]] the room.
<audio src="Audio/3620.mp3" autoplay>
You parry with a sharpened [[dice|3580]].
<audio src="Audio/3610.mp3" autoplay>
You must now go
[[North|5080]]
or
[[South|5080]]
Unless you genuinely are wearing the [[Ring of Torka|5030]]...?
<audio src="Audio/3590.mp3" autoplay>
..you [[leave|5050]].
<audio src="Audio/5060.mp3" autoplay>
[[North|5080]]
or
[[South|5080]]?
<audio src="Audio/5050.mp3" autoplay>
Go up the [[stairs in the north wall|6910]]?
[[Investigate passageway to the south|6890]]?
Or [[Investigate the passageway to the west|6900]].
<audio src="Audio/6830.mp3" autoplay>
Go through [[archway|6390]]
OR
[[Return|5080]] to junction.
<audio src="Audio/6350.mp3" autoplay>
Test your [[luck|6410]],
Or
[[Leave|5080]].
<audio src="Audio/6390.mp3" autoplay>
Leave [[sword|6460]]
OR
Leave [[altogether|5080]]?
<audio src="Audio/6410.mp3" autoplay>
[[Mouse|6520]] - set stake in Gold Points (I am sure you've been counting)
[[Man|6500]] - set stake in Stamina points (definitely wrote that down...)
or
[[Warrior|6510]]?
<audio src="Audio/6460.mp3" autoplay>
[[Continue|6530]]...
<audio src="Audio/6520.mp3" autoplay>
...there we [[are|6520]].
<audio src="Audio/6500.mp3" autoplay>
[[Gulp|6520]]...
<audio src="Audio/6510.mp3" autoplay>
[[1st|6570]] question?
[[2nd|6610]] question?
[[3rd|6590]] question?
<audio src="Audio/6530.mp3" autoplay>
0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5,...?
[[5|6670]], [[6|6670]], [[7|6670]], [[8|6630]], [[9|6670]] or [[10|6670]]?
<audio src="Audio/6570.mp3" autoplay>
[[2|6670]], [[3|6670]], or [[4|6630]]?
<audio src="Audio/6610.mp3" autoplay>
15, 11,8,6,5,...?
[[5|6695]], [[4|6670]], [[3|6670]], [[2|6670]], or [[1|6670]]?
<audio src="Audio/6590.mp3" autoplay>
Oh dear. What game were you playing?
[[Mouse Game?|6675]]
[[Man's Game?|6680]]
[[Warrior's Game?|6690]]
Yes - [[Mouse game|6530]]
Yes - [[Man's game|6530]]
Yes - [[Warrior's game|6530]]
OR
[[No|5080]]
<audio src="Audio/6630.mp3" autoplay>
Off [[you go|5080]].
<audio src="Audio/6695.mp3" autoplay>
Yes - [[Mouse game|6530]]
Yes - [[Man's game|6530]]
Yes - [[Warrior's game|6530]]
OR
[[No|5080]]
<audio src="Audio/6675.mp3" autoplay>
Yes - [[Mouse game|6530]]
Yes - [[Man's game|6530]]
Yes - [[Warrior's game|6530]]
OR
[[No|5080]]
<audio src="Audio/6680.mp3" autoplay>
Oh dear.
You might as well [[hang up]].
<audio src="Audio/6910.mp3" autoplay>
Well done. You found your way out.
You should probably [[hang up]] and save up for when the phone bill arrives.
Go up the [[stairs in the north wall|6910]]?
Or [[investigate the passageway to the west|6900]].
<audio src="Audio/6890.mp3" autoplay>
Go up the [[stairs in the north wall|6910]]?
Or [[investigate the passageway to the south|6890]].
<audio src="Audio/6900.mp3" autoplay>
To interact is to be alive.
To navigate life we not only have to make decisions, we also have to communicate them, execute them, and perhaps sometimes learn from the results.
When stories start to be interactive, they start to model real life in some important ways.
<img src="Images/White_Board.jpg" width="500" height="400" alt="Initial Thoughts">
This is a documentary about people who have made text into an interactive experience, and just as importantly have introduced some fun into the whole thing.
[[1|RPGs]], [[2|RPGs]], [[3|RPGs]],
[[4|Telephone options]], 5, 6,
7, 8, 9,
[[*|Steve's telephone game F.I.S.T. old]], 0, [[#|RPGs]]
<audio src="Audio/first menu.mp3" autoplay>
We might think of 'interactive fiction' as something that happens on computers. But some of the earliest interactive stories were made using paper and ink; not least, role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons.
In May 1980, this episode of the BBC's Heart of the Matter tried to look at why people make decisions. And it spent a lot of time looking at Role Playing Games or RPGs.
Picture them, sitting around a table, rolling dice.
In front of them a dungeon master, [[restricting your options|Interactive Books Intro]], even if you don't notice.
Dungeons and Dragons was already very popular in the US, owned by a company called TSR. The game was [[brought to the UK|Steve on D+D]] by a small startup called Games Workshop, owned by a young Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone.
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By 1983 Dungeons and Dragons and therefore Games Workshop was [[making the news|Southeast Today]], and by 1984 they even made it onto [[BBC Breakfast|breakfast steve]].
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Well, alright, local news.
This was South East today.
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By 1985, people were acting out their D&D-style adventures, running around woods and warehouses. The phenomenon of [[Treasure Trap|treasure trap des]] was born, a type of Live Action Role Playing (LARP).
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Here's Des Lynham reporting on a Treasure Trap meeting from a series called Mad Dogs and Englishmen in Jan 1985
Today, Treasure Trap still goes strong, particularly at Durham University.
But live-action roleplaying is also a [[Theatrical|interactive theatre]] meme.
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How about interacting with other real, living, human people during an adventure?
The mainframe computers in university labs around the world allowed people to create virtual worlds in which interactive text exploration adventures could be played by many people at once.
[[Richard Bartle|Bartle on virtual worlds]] was a student at the University of Essex when he set up the first MUD - Multi User Dungeon.
Here is a discussion of the MUD on the BBC's Micro Live programme by presenters Leslie Judd and Chris Palmer in December 1984.
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Here's Richard Bartle describing his and co-developer Roy Trubshaw's reasons for developing the first MUD around 1980.
It was a multi-user tribute to a [[very important|The Colossal Cave Adventure]] US game which had set the scene for the interactive text adventure.
As Bartle says, he and his friends were interested in creating an alternative to the world they were living in. There was something in the air, something [[countercultural|the 1960s radicalism behind FF]] going on.
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<img src="Images/Arithmetic-cover.jpg" width="980" height="1176" alt="">
Look [[inside|Arith preface]]?
Here is part of the map Naomi made of Deathtrap Dungeon, a favourite Fighting Fantasy gamebook.
Naomi says: "One of the most important things I learned from Deathtrap Dungeon is that you can make an interactive story that is both linear and branching - by the use of pinch-points. If you take a look at the Deathtrap Dungeon map, you can see that there are some choices about which direction to take, but also some points you'll have to pass through. That means the story can have a stable beginning, middle and end - while still being interactive."
<img src="Images/NA-map18-53.jpg" width="980" height="1176" alt="Naomi's map">
The recording here is of Naomi's recollections of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks in conversation with her brother Eliot Alderman.
There's more maps down [[this passage|NAomi map 2]].
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Do you want to read it in [[English|RQE1]], or the original [[French|RQF1]]?
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"Yours for the Telling"
by Raymond Quenuea, (trans. John Crombie)
1. Would you like to read the tale of three slightly sprightly peas?
If so, go to [[4|RQE4]];
if not, go to [[2|RQE2]].
"UN CONTE A VOTRE FACON"
Raymond Queneau
1. Désirez-vous connaître l’histoire des trois alertes petits pois?
Si oui, passez à [[4|RQF4]].
Si non, passez à [[2|RQF2]].
<img src="Images/Arithmetic-Preface.jpg" width="980" height="1176" alt="">
Lesson [[1|Arithmetic lesson]]?
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<img src="Images/Arithmetic-LEsson-1.jpg" width="980" height="1176" alt="">
Page [[4|Arithmetic p4]]?
OR
Page [[8|Arithmetic P8]]?
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<img src="Images/Arithmetic-PAge-4.jpg" width="980" height="1176" alt="">
Try some [[Shakespeare|teaching Shakespeare]]?
<audio src="Audio/JAson TT A p4.mp3" autoplay>
<img src="Images/Arithmetic-Page-8.jpg" width="980" height="1176" alt="">
Try some [[Shakespeare|teaching Shakespeare]]?
<audio src="Audio/JAson TT A p8.mp3" autoplay>
4. Once upon a time there were three wee peas dressed in green dozing cosily in their pod. They had chubby, moon-shaped faces and breathed through their funny little nozzles, snoring softly and euphoniously.
If you'd prefer another description, got to [[9|RQE9]];
if this one will do you, proceed to [[5|RQE5]].
2. Would you prefer the tale of the three tall, lanky beanpoles?
If so, go to [[16|RQE16]];
if not, go to [[3|RQE3]].
16. Three tall, lanky beanpoles were watching them.
If you don’t much care for the three tall lanky beanpoles, go to [[21|RQE21]];
if you like the look of them, proceed to [[18|RQE18]].
3. Would you rather read the one about the three rather common or garden shrubs?
If so, go to [[17|RQE17]];
if not, go to [[21|RQE21]].
9 Once upon a time there were three wee peas who travelled the open road. In the evening, foot-sore and weary, they would drop off to sleep in no time at all.
If you wish to know what happened next, go back to [[5|RQE5]];
if not, proceed to [[21|RQE21]].
5. Their sleep was dreamless. The fact is that these creatures never dream.
If you'd rather they did dream, go to [[6|RQE6]];
if not, go to [[7|RQE7]].
17. Three rather common or garden shrubs were watching them.
If you don’t care for the three common or garden shrubs, go to [[21|RQE21]];
if, contrariwise, they rather take your fancy, proceed to [[18|RQE18]].
21. In this case too, the tale is finished. Ended!
RQ
---
Back to [[Interactive Books|Interactive Books Intro]]?
OR
How about we talk about [[computers|The Colossal Cave Adventure]]?
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6. They were dreaming. The fact is these little creatures are always dreaming, and thier nights are quite deliciously oneiric.
If you wish to know what they were dreaming, go to [[11|RQE11]];
if it's neither here nor there to you, proceed to [[7|RQE7]].
7. Their cute little tootsies were muffled in cozy socks, and they wore black velvet mittens in bed.
If you'd prefer mittens of a different colour, proceed to [[8|RQE8]];
if you're happy with black, go to [[10|RQE10]].
11. They were dreaming they had gone to fetch their soup from the soup kitchen and, upon opening their billy-cans, discovered it to be vetch soup. Sickened with horror, they awoke.
If you wish to know why they awoke sickened with horror, consult your Oxford English Dictionary under “vetch” and draw your own conclusions;
if it’s all the same to you, proceed to [[12|RQE12]].
8. They wore midnight blue velvet mittens in bed.
If you’d prefer mittens of another colour, go back to [[7|RQE7]];
if you have no objection to blue, proceed to [[10|RQE10]].
10. All three were dreaming the same dream; for they loved each other tenderly and, old inseparables that they were, always dreamed alike.
If you wish to know their dream, proceed to [[11|RQE11]];
if not, go to [[12|RQE12]].
12. “Eeky-peeky!” they cried as they popped open their optics. “Eeky-peeky! What a ghastly dream we’ve just dreamed!” “A bad omen,” the first pea said. “Amen,” said the second pea, “I feel quite glum.” “Don’t let it upset you so,” said the third pea, who was the smartest of the three; “the point is not to mope and fret but to understand, right? Just you listen while I analyse it all . . .”
If you can’t wait to know his interpretation of the dream, go to [[15|RQE15]];
if you’d rather learn how the other two responded, proceed to [[13|RQE13]].
15. “OK, let’s see!” said his brothers. “I don’t care much for your irony,” the other replied; “you shan’t see a thing. Besides, hasn’t your feeling of horror dimmed and even faded quite away since this rather heated exchange began? So why bother to stir up the sink of your leguminous unconscious? Let’s go and bathe in the fountain, rather, and greet this bright morning in that state of holy euphoria that is hygiene’s own reward!” No sooner said than done. Slipping out of their pod, they rolled downhill and scampered merrily off to the theatre of their ablutions.
If you wish to know what happens at the theatre of their ablutions, proceed to [[16|RQE16]];
if not, go to [[21|RQE21]].
13. “Come off it!” piped the first pea. “Since when were you able to analyse dreams?”
“Yes, since when?” piped the second pea.
If you too wish to know since when, proceed to [[14|RQE14]].
if not, proceed to [[14|RQE14]] anyway, as you’ll not be any the wiser.
14. “Since when?” cried the third pea. “How should I know? The fact is, I analyse them, OK? You’ll soon see!”
If you too wish to see, proceed to [[15|RQE15]];
if not, proceed likewise to [[15|RQE15]], as you won’t see a thing.
18. Observing that they were being ogled, the three sprightly peas, who were very bashful, took to their heels.
If you wish to know what they did next, proceed to [[19|RQE19]];
if it’s immaterial to you, go to [[21|RQE21]].
19. They skedaddled back to their pod, pulled down the lid over themselves and fell fast asleep again.
If you wish to know the sequel, proceed to [[20|RQE20]];
if not, go to [[21|RQE21]].
20. There is no sequel. The tale is finished. Finished!
---
Back to [[Interactive Books|Interactive Books Intro]]?
OR
How about we talk about [[computers|The Colossal Cave Adventure]]?
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4. Il y avait une fois trois petits pois vêtus de vert qui dormaient gentiment dans leur cosse. Leur visage bien rond respirait par les trous de leurs narines et l’on entendait leur ronflement doux et harmonieux.
Si vous préférez une autre description, passez à [[9|RQF9]].
Si celle-ci vous convient, passez à [[5|RQF5]].
2. Préférez-vous celle des trois minces grands échalas?
Si oui, passez à [[16|RQF16]].
Si non, passez à [[3|RQF3]].
16. Trois grands échalas les regardaient faire.
Si les trois grands échalas vous déplaisent, passez à [[21|RQF21]].
S’ils vous conviennent, passez à [[18|RQF18]].
3. Préférez-vous celle des trois moyens médiocres arbustes?
Si oui, passez à [[17|RQF17]].
Si non, passez à [[21|RQF17]].
17. Trois moyens médiocres arbustes les regardaient faire.
Si les trois moyens médiocres arbustes vous déplaisent, passez à [[21|RQF21]].
S’ils vous conviennent, passez à [[18|RQF18]].
9. Il y avait une fois trois petits pois qui roulaient leur bosse sur les grands chemins. Le soir venu, fatigués et las, ils s’endormirent très rapidement.
Si vous désirez connaître la suite, passez à [[5|RQF5]].
Si non, passez à [[21|RQF21]].
5. Ils ne rêvaient pas. Ces petits êtres en effet ne rêvent jamais.
Si vous préférez qu’ils rêvent passez à [[6|RQF6]].
Si non, passez à [[7|RQF7]].
6. Ils rêvaient. Ces petits être en effet rêvent toujours et leurs nuits sécrètent des songes charmants.
Si vous désirez connaître ces songes, passez à [[11|RQF11]].
Si vous n’y tenez pas, vous passez à [[7|RQF7]].
7. Leurs pieds mignons trempaient dans de chaudes chaussettes et ils portaient au lit des gants de velours noir.
Si vous préférez des gants d’une autre couleur, passez à [[8|RQF8]].
Si cette couleur vous convient, passez à [[10|RQF10]].
11. Ils rêvaient qu’ils allaient chercher leur soupe à la cantine populaire et qu’en ouvrant leur gamelle, ils découvraient que c’était de la soupe d’ers. D’horreur, ils s’éveillent.
Si vous voulez savoir pourquoi ils s’éveillent d’horreur, consulter le Larousse au mot « ers » et n’en parlons plus.
Si vous jugez inutile d’approfondir la question, passez à [[12|RQF12]].
8. Ils portaient au lit des gants de velours bleu.
Si vous préférez des gants d’une autre couleur, passez à [[7|RQF7]].
Si cette couleur vous convient, passez à [[10|RQF10]].
10. Tous les trois faisaient le même rêve, ils s’aimaient en effet tendrement et, en bons fiers trumeaux, songeaient toujours semblablement.
Si vous désirez connaître leur rêve, passez à [[11|RQF11]].
Si non, passez à [[12|RQF12]].
21. Dans ce cas, le conte est également terminé.
RQ
---
Back to [[Interactive Books|Interactive Books Intro]]?
OR
How about we talk about [[computers|The Colossal Cave Adventure]]?
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12. Opopoï! S’écrient-ils en ouvrant les yeux. Opopoï ! Quel songe avons-nous enfanté là ? Mauvais présage dit le premier. Oui-da dit le second, c’est bien vrai, me voilà triste. Ne vous troublez pas ainsi, dit le troisième qui était le plus futé, il ne s’agit pas de s’émouvoir, mais de comprendre, bref, je m’en vais vous analyser ça.
Si vous désirez connaître tout de suite l’interprétation de ce songe, Passez à [[15|RQF15]].
Si vous souhaitez au contraire connaître les réactions des deux autres, passez à [[13|RQF13]].
15. Eh bien ! voyons, dirent ses frères. Votre ironie ne me plaît pas, répliqua l’autre, et vous ne saurez rien. D’ailleurs au cours de cette conversation d’un ton assez vif, votre sentiment d’horreur ne s’est-il pas estompé ? effacé même ? Alors à quoi bon remuer le bourbier de votre inconscient de papilionacées ? Allons plutôt nous laver à la fontaine et saluer ce gai matin dans l’hygiène et la sainte euphorie ! Aussitôt dit, aussitôt fait : les voilà qui se glissent hors de leur cosse, se laissent doucement rouler sur le sol et puis au petit trot gagnent joyeusement le théâtre de leurs ablutions.
Si vous désirez savoir ce qui se passe sur le théâtre de leurs ablutions, passez à [[16|RQF16]].
Si vous ne le désirez pas, vous passez à [[21|RQF21]].
13. Tu nous la bailles belle, dit le premier. Depuis quand sais-tu analyser les songes ? Oui, depuis quand, ajouta le second?
Si vous désirez aussi savoir depuis quand, passez à [[14|RQF14]].
Si non, passez à [[14|RQF14]] tout de même car vous ne le saurez pas plus.
14. Depuis quand? s’écria le troisième. Est-ce que je sais moi! Le fait est que je pratique la chose. Vous allez voir!
Si vous voulez aussi voir, passez à [[15|RQF15]].
Si non, passez également à [[15|RQF15]], car vous ne verrez rien.
18. Se voyant ainsi zyeutés, les trois alertes petits pois qui étaient fort pudiques s’ensauvèrent.
Si vous désirez savoir ce qu’ils firent ensuite, passez à [[19|RQF19]].
Si vous ne le désirez pas, vous passez à [[21|RQF21]].
19. Ils coururent bien fort pour regagner leur cosse et, refermant celle-ci derrière eux, s’y endormirent de nouveau.
Si vous désirez connaître la suite, passez à [[20|RQF20]].
Si vous ne le désirez pas, vous passez à [[21|RQF21]].
20. Il n’y a pas de suite, le conte est terminé.
---
Back to [[Interactive Books|Interactive Books Intro]]?
OR
How about we talk about [[computers|The Colossal Cave Adventure]]?
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<img src="Images/State-of-Emergency-Front.jpg" width="980" height="1176" alt="State of Emergency">
[[Back Cover|State Back]]?
<img src="Images/Sleep-and-the-City-front.jpg" width="980" height="1176" alt="Sleep and the City Trembles">
[[Back Cover|Sleep Back]]?
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<img src="Images/Sleep-and-the-City-Back.jpg" width="980" height="1176" alt="Sleep and the City Trembles">
INFOCOM to some people is synonymous with interactive fiction. The language in which their games were written, z-code, continues to influence the genre.
They created some of the great classics of interactive fiction in the 1980s, including ambitious games with [[social consciousness|Dennis Guerrier]] like the anti-Reagan polemic A Mind Ever Voyaging and the nuclear war game Trinity. But [[one of their greatest|Douglas Adams]] games had a more British sensibility.
At the height of their powers, they granted the BBC this glimpse behind the scenes in 1985.
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Infocom published Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy text-based game.
You can play it at the BBC - here's URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03v379k
This is him talking to Saturday Review, just before the deadline for finishing it made that whooshing sound.
Douglas himself is sadly no longer with us, but text-based interactive fiction [[still is|Emily Short]].
(Also, a brief [[aside]] here...)
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Emily Short not only writes interactive games today, she also had a hand in writing one of the languages that empowers non-coders to have a go: Inform 7. Check it out - it comes with tutorials for writing your own parser-based fiction.
However, when exploring this interactive documentary, you've been playing with something written in Twine - also a great place for someone new to interactive fiction to start exploring.
Andrea Phillips "is a transmedia writer and game designer who posts about culture, feminism, stories, and more". [[What does she think|Andrea Phillips]] this has all been about?
Where does this get us [[now|end]]?
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That's it, thanks for having a look around. Your adventure ends here.
Or... would you like to [[start again|Hello World]]? It's easy to miss things.
<img src="Images/Twine-Map-of-SSL.jpg" width="980" height="450" alt="Map of SSL">
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Andrea Phillips is a writer and games-creator. She's the author of "A Creator's Guide to Transmedia".
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May contain spoilers.
Hurry on to the [[map|the mapping of FF gamebooks]] section if you're worried.
<audio src="Audio/Ian on Writing.mp3" autoplay>
<img src="Images/NA-map47-68.jpg" width="980" height="1176" alt="Naomi's map">
Even [[more|Naomi map 3]]...?
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<img src="Images/NA-instructions-1.jpg" width="980" height="1176" alt="Naomi's map">
SPOILER ALERT [[KLAXON|Naomi map 4]]
<img src="Images/NA-instructions-2.jpg" width="980" height="1176" alt="Naomi's map">
Back to the [[professionals|the mapping of FF gamebooks]].
<img src="Images/Macbeth-1A.jpg" width="980" height="1176" alt="Understanding Shakespeare lesson 1, TutorText 1964">
This type of instruction book, which Crowder termed "Branched Learning", may have been the inspiration for a young civil servant in the UK. His name was [[Dennis Guerrier]].
<audio src="Audio/Shakespeare lesson.mp3" autoplay>
<img src="Images/State-of-Emergency-Back.jpg" width="980" height="1176" alt="State of Emergency">
Ready for the first [[challenge|state q1]]?
<img src="Images/State-of-Emergency-first-ch.jpg" width="980" height="1176" alt="State of Emergency">
What would you do?
Jean Richards seemed to be keen on [[detail|State Map]].
<audio src="Audio/State Q1.mp3" autoplay>
In the appendices, there are many maps, briefings and reports for you to [[take in|State warning]].
<img src="Images/State-of-Emergency-MAP.jpg" width="980" height="1176" alt="State of Emergency">
Towards the end of it, a wrong turn, and something of the [[authors'|Dennis Guerrier]] motivation is clear:
<img src="Images/State-suggestion.jpg" width="980" height="1176" alt="State of Emergency">
<audio src="Audio/State p239.mp3" autoplay>
At the beginning of this, you will have heard the theme tune from The Archers, as played by an emulation of a Sinclair ZX interactive text game released in 1985, where YOU were the scriptwriter.
It really did exist.
It is possible to find versions of it online, but you will also likely have to find a spectrum emulator and possibly install it.
If you understand all that, you probably already have.
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