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 Macros 288 Learning the Macro 289 Learning the Macro 290 Using the , , , , and Macros 291 Learning the Macro 291 Learning the and Macros 292 Learning the and Macros 294 Working with Narrative Voice 296 Setting the Narrator 296 Being Consistent 297 Changing the Point of View 298 Playing for Research 299 Communicating with Non-Player Characters 299 Handling Dialogue 299 Using Twine Tricks for Conversation 301 Conveying Nonverbal Communication 302 Employing Juxtaposition and Contrast 303 Defining Goals and Assigning Purpose 303 Creating Blank or Defined Player Characters 303 Considering Gender 304 Slipping Into Character 304 Chapter 19 Balancing Pacing and Action 307 Using the either() and random() Functions 308 Learning the either() Function 309 Learning the random() Function 310 Using the turns() and visited() Functions 311 Learning the turns() Function 311 Learning the visited() Function 313 Using the and Macros 315 Learning the Macro 315 Learning the Macro 316 Using the , , and Macros 317 Learning the and Macros 317 Learning the Macro 319 Saving Your Game 320 Using the Save Feature 321 Retrieving a Saved Game 321 Playing with the Pacing 322 Speeding Up the Story 322 Slowing Down the Story 323 Striking a Pacing Balance 323 Managing Expectations 324 Highlighting Change 324 Using the Rule of Three 325 Distracting the Player with MacGuffins 325 Chapter 20 Keeping Players Engaged 327 Returning to Arrays 328 Building a New Array 328 Adding Items to an Array 329 Dropping Items from an Array 330 Checking Strings in an Array 332 Limiting the Array Size 333 Troubleshooting Arrays 334 Checking Your Inventory 335 Setting Up an Inventory Passage 335 Understanding Special Passages 337 Using the StoryMenu Passage 337 Using the StoryCaption Passage 338 Knowing Your Audience 339 Aiming for a Niche 339 Speaking Broadly 340 Writing for One Person 340 Deciding on Length 341 Piquing Interest with a Teaser 341 Recognizing the Three Types of Players 342 Making Games for Win Seekers 342 Making Games for Story Seekers 343 Making Games for Realism Seekers 343 Keeping Players Engaged 344 Having a Plan 344 Being Creative 344 Giving a Purpose 345 Rewarding Choices 345 Leaving Them Dreaming 345 Chapter 21 Show, Don't Tell 347 Learning About Other Formats 349 Adding New Formats in Twine 349 Utilizing the time() Function and and Macros 350 Counting Seconds 350 Building a Timer 352 Delayed Text 353 Practicing Showing, Not Telling 354 Problems with Telling 355 Describing Actions 356 Drawing Conclusions 357 Demonstrating Behavior 358 Transporting the Reader 359 Trusting the Reader 360 Telling, Not Showing 361 Chapter 22 Story Style: Changing the Game Appearance in SugarCube 363 Navigating the Stylesheet 363 Reviewing Selectors and Declarations 364 Changing the Background 367 Changing the Sidebar 368 Changing the Font 372 Changing Links 374 Creating a Class on the Stylesheet 376 Using HTML in a Passage 378 Bolding Words 378 Italicizing Words 379 Underlining Words 379 Resizing Words 379 Changing the Color of Words 379 Putting It All Together 380 Chapter 23 Finishing Up and Clicking Publish 381 Editing Techniques 381 Tackling Different Types of Edits 382 Editing for Structure 382 Editing for Details 384 Editing for Sound 384 Editing for Coding Errors 384 Editing for Mechanical and Grammatical Errors 385 Navigating to the Proofing Copy 385 Testing Your Game 386 Questioning Beta Testers 386 Using Testing Notes 387 Clicking Publish 388 Hosting Your Project on Philome.la 389 Hosting Your Project on the Internet Fiction Database 389 Hosting Your Project on Your Own Site 391 Comparing the Options 392 Reaching Your Audience 392 Posting on IFDB.tads.org 392 Posting on Forums 392 Joining the Gaming Community 393 Participating in Jams 393 Participating in Competitions 394 Earning Interactive Fiction Awards 394 Breaking the Rules 394 9780789756640 TOC 4/11/2016