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August Meeting Post Mortem
Posted on September 2, 2010
The People's Republic of Interactive Fiction met on Monday, August 30, drawing our largest audience yet. Over a dozen members crammed themselves into our host's office space.
Once again, we had the honor of being (virtually) joined by Jason Scott, the director behind the exceedingly ambitious IF documentary GET LAMP. The DVD is now available, and one of our members passed his copy around for those eager to inspect the cover art and gaze at the lustrous, freshly-minted Zorkmid (no. 1842) that arrived with the DVD. Sales of the DVD are going well, and purchases are even arriving from overseas. Jason also announced his tour, JET LAMP, during which he'll travel the country to hold exclusive screenings and discussions about his film.
We also had the chance to play an experimental point-and-click adventure game, Symon, which was produced by one of our members, Clara Fernández-Vara, of the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab. Symon recreates the random, yet eerily orderly, atmosphere of dream logic. With procedurally generated puzzles and game-spaces, you never play the same game twice. Feel free to step into the dreams of the paralyzed protagonist while you play Symon online.
Jason McIntosh and Andrew Plotkin reported on their talk at the Boston Gameloop unConference during which they demonstrated the power and ease-of-use of Inform 7 by creating a small text adventure in front of their audience.
We rounded up the evening with a brief discussion of Interactive Fiction Month, scheduled to be held at Tufts University during October. We have heard little in terms of plans, but we do know that our own Nick Montfort will be giving a talk (title and content to be determined) on Thursday, October 14. Two days later, Nick will also be speaking at the Boston Book Festival in a panel entitled "The Future of Fiction".
As for our next meeting, the gathering has been tentatively scheduled for Monday, September 27, same IF-time, same IF-place. And don't forget to help Grunk find his lost pig on Sunday, September 12. Details below.
Help GRUNK find LOST PIG!
Posted on August 25, 2010
The People's Republic of Interactive Fiction Presents: LOST PIG!
WHEN: Sunday September 12th, 2 - 5 pm
WHERE: MIT Campus, Building 1, Room 135
The as-yet-unnamed Interactive Fiction Playing group meets again to play LOST PIG, an interactive fiction piece in which we guide the orc, Grunk, to find his wayward pig. We'll go underground, solve puzzles, meet a grumpy gnome, and help Grunk wrap his tiny brain around basic alchemy.
LOST PIG took 1st place at the 13th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition in 2007, and won Best Game, Best Writing, Best Individual NPC, Best Individual Player Character at the XYZZY awards in the same year.
If you have not played interactive fiction (a.k.a. text adventures) before, this is your chance to learn the basics. If you already know how to play, come and experience how fun it is to play interactive fiction with a room full of people. So join the hunt and help Grunk spread the word! If you can't make it, you can still join us virtually since we will be broadcasting live on UStream.
Next Meeting
Posted on August 16, 2010
Our next general meeting is on Monday, August 30, 6:30 pm, in Nick Montfort's office at MIT (14N-233). Everyone and anyone is welcome to attend. Our tentative agenda is:
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Be the first to play a new adventure game from the labs of GAMBIT.
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Hopefully view a few segments of the ambitious IF documentary GET LAMP.
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Assuming the book has been published by the time the group convenes, scour the pages of Aaron Reed's Creating Interactive Fiction with Inform 7.
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Discuss the winning entries of IntroComp and play the last few games we did not play last time.
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Perhaps discuss the upcoming Interactive Fiction Month planned by our neighbors at Tufts University.
Once our group discussion has closed, several of us will be heading over to the CBC for food and drinks and general revelry.
ZORK Post-Mortem Now Available
Posted on July 28, 2010
An overview of our descent into the Great Underground Empire is now available. An audience of two dozen anonymous adventurers collaborated in mapping such memorable locations as the white house, Flood Control Dam #3, the Bank of Zork, and that insufferable maze. Visit our event page for photographs, stories, and a complete transcript of the game.
Summary of June and July Meetings
Posted on July 28, 2010
In this summary, we'll briefly cover two months of meetings, the first of which was held on Monday, June 28. We had the privilege of being joined (virtually) by Jason Scott, the mastermind behind the documentary GET LAMP. He gave us an update on his progress (still in production) and gave us access to an exclusive clip.
Several of our group described their experience at the @party. Our own Andrew Plotkin wrote a first-place entry for the event, an interstellar voyage called Hoist Sail for Heliopause and Home (which, incidentally, is also a product of our Grue Street initiative). Zarf also mentioned he was closing in on distributing his JavaScript interpreter of his Glulx spec.
We also received a report on the 4th International Conference & Festival of the Electronic Literature Organization. Aaron A. Reed read from his epic, Blue Lacuna, and we learned that our own Nick Montfort is now the president of the ELO!
Jumping ahead a month, we reconvened on Monday, July 26. We reviewed Jason McIntosh's The Gameshelf #8: Modern Interactive Fiction, a short and sweet exploration of the field we have come to love.
An hour or so was spent diving into several entries of the IntroComp, including a game written by one of our own.
And after coming off the success of our first Collaborative IF event, we started planning our next couple of events, soon to be announced. We were also excited to hear that one of our fellows is organizing Interactive Fiction Month at Tufts University. At least four events will span the month of October. Details certain to come.
ZORK Post-Mortem Coming Soon
Posted on July 25, 2010
Our public trek through the Great Underground Empire came to an end this afternoon. Over two dozen anonymous adventurers joined us in our exploration of those infamous twisty passages. A full summary, complete with transcript and photographs, will be available soon.
And don't forget that our monthly meeting is on Monday, July 26, 6:30 pm, in Nick Montfort's office at MIT (14N-233).
The People's Republic of Interactive Fiction Presents: ZORK
Posted on July 19, 2010; updated on July 21, 2010
Come and play Zork, where it all started. We will be venturing together into the dungeons of the Great Underground Empire on July 25 from 2:00-5:00 pm, in Building 1, room 135. (Note room change.) Can't make it? Then join us virtually since we will be broadcasting live on UStream.
Inspired by Adventure / Colossal Cave, Zork was one of the first text adventure games, developed by a team of students at MIT back in 1977 on a PDP-10. If you've never played a text adventure game, this is your chance to experience the joys of playing through the command prompt by joining others in the adventure. If you're an old Zork hand, help us track down in-jokes and historic references.
Want to spread the word? Grab a flyer and post it on your favorite bulletin board (or perhaps stuff it in the mailbox of your local white house).
Next Meeting - Monday, July 26
Posted on July 11, 2010; updated on July 21, 2010
Our next general meeting is on Monday, July 26, 6:30 pm, in Nick Montfort's office at MIT (14N-233). Everyone and anyone is welcome to attend. Our tentative agenda is:
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Discuss our own Andrew Plotkin's Readercon talk.
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Try out a few of the IntroComp games.
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It's been confirmed: PAX East is returning to Boston for the next 3 years. We'll start contemplating how we might want to participate.
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And we'll watch the latest Gameshelf episode: Gameshelf #8: Modern Interactive Fiction.
We will also hold an IF Collaborative Play event on the previous day (Sunday, July 25th, 2:00-5:00 pm) at MIT 66-480 1-135. We will be playing and discussing MIT Dungeon (the original mainframe Zork) -- or rather Ethan Dicks's port of that game to the Z-machine. Experienced Zorkers and newcomers welcome.
Next Meeting - Monday, June 28
Posted on May 23, 2010
Our next meeting is on Monday, June 28, 6:30 pm, in Nick Montfort's office at MIT (14N-233). Everyone and anyone is welcome to attend. Our agenda is TBD. Check back here for more details.
Grue Street Met and Will Meet Again
Posted on May 23, 2010
Grue Street, our IF Writers' Group, met on Sunday, May 16. The verdict is in: The group was a resounding success, and it's been decided that we will hold another meeting, the second in what we hope will continue to be monthly meet ups. The next Grue Street is planned for Sunday, June 13, at 2pm at MIT room 8-119. More details will follow when the web site will has its own page dedicated to Grue Street (hopefully by the next meeting).
Summary of May Meeting
Posted on May 9, 2010
We met on May 3, 2010 at 6:30 pm, in Nick Montfort's office at MIT (14N-233).
Our initial discussion focused on the formation and coordination of two additional groups that would meet up outside of our monthly meetings. Nick generously volunteered to organize Grue Street, an Interactive Fiction Writers' Group, which will have its first meeting on Sunday, May 16. Details are available on our forum. Suffice to say, if you are in the Boston area and are authoring a work-in-progress, you should stop by.
In addition to Grue Street, an as-yet-unnamed group will gather on Sunday, June 27, to play IF together. A collection of games that might be played is being compiled. Feel free to contribute. Like Grue Street, details are available on our forum.
As if those new groups weren't enough, you will find several of us at both Readercon and @party.
We ended the meeting by spending an hour playing games from the TWIFcomp, specifically some of the winning entries and games that had been authored by our own members (at least one game fell into both categories).
Next Meeting - Monday, May 3
Posted on April 28, 2010
Our next meeting is on Monday, May 3, 6:30 pm, in Nick Montfort's office at MIT (14N-233). Everyone and anyone is welcome to attend. So far our agenda includes:
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Discussing the upcoming release of Inform 7 (assuming it is available).
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Playing some, if not all, of the TWIFcomp games.
Around 8pm, we'll be heading over to the Cambridge Brewing Company for drinks, food, and additional discussion.
Summary of April Meeting
Posted on April 21, 2010
We met on April 12, 2010 at 6:30 pm. in Nick Montfort's office at MIT (14N-233). Here's the scoop on our meeting.
- One of our members solicited feedback for a delightful work-in-progress. Many ideas were presented and we look forward to seeing the latest version of the work in the upcoming months.
- We discussed our various experiences at PAX East, and pondered over the contents of four mysterious USB drives that were left behind in our hospitality suite. The contents of these drives, along with the original drive first mentioned on ifMud, form a puzzle that continues to vex the IF community. Feel free to download the contents of these drives and see if you can help the IF community solve the final pieces of the puzzle.
- We came up with several ideas on how to expand the group outside of our monthly meetings, including creating a writing workshop for IF authors. We also hope to participate in some upcoming cons. Stay tuned for details.
Our next meeting will be in May. Date and time TBD.
PAX East Is Over
Posted on April 21, 2010
PAX East may be over, but the memories will live on. The hospitality suite hosted by the People's Republic of Interactive Fiction was a great success. Long-times fans and newcomers to IF streamed in and out of the suite throughout the weekend, and we were even fortunate to have a few of the original Implementors stop by. We attended and hosted several panels, braved the labyrinth of lines, and hastily wrote several IF games. The festivities are encapsulated in a mash-up of blog entries, picture galleries, videos, and more, all of which can be found on the PAX East 2010 IFWiki page. A few, self-promotional highlights include:
- PAX East 2010: Zarf's story by Andrew Plotkin
- PAX Blurb by Nick Montfort
- Videos of the IF Outreach and IF Hints panels hosted in the suite.
Next Meeting
Posted on March 20, 2010
April 12, 6:30 pm. in Nick Montfort's office at MIT (14N-233). We have yet to develop an agenda, but after our activities, we'll be heading over to a local eatery for drinks, food, additional discussion, and more food (and drinks).
PAX East 2010 Hospitality Suite
Posted on March 20, 2010; updated on March 26, 2010
The People's Republic of Interactive Fiction is hosting a hospitality suite at the Boston Back Bay Hilton, noon to midnight, from Friday, March 26, through Sunday, March 28. (Okay, on Sunday it'll only be until 4 pm.) You can find us in room 2305.
Events in the hospitality suite include:
- PAX Speed-IF. Saturday, March 27, 1:30pm - 2:30pm. Write a short IF game in two hours!
- Dispelling the Invisibility -- IF Outreach. Saturday, March 27, 7:00pm - 8:00pm. What's working? What's not working? And why? A panel discussion.
- PAX Speed-IF wrap-up. Saturday, March 27, 10:00pm - 11:00pm. Everybody shows off the games they wrote.
- No Hints Please -- Adaptive Difficulty Strategies. Sunday, March 28, 1:30pm - 2:30pm. A panel discussion.
- Candy, Chips, and Soda -- A Developer's Diet. All weekend. We'll try to supply a steady stream of tasty comestibles for those who visit, but help will surely be needed. Please feel free to contribute.
PRIF members will also be taking part in two events on the PAX schedule:
- Storytelling in the World of Interactive Fiction. Friday, March 26, 5:30pm - 6:30pm. Five authors from the amateur interactive fiction community discuss their design ideas, and how they apply to other kinds of games.
- GET LAMP Screening and Panel. Friday, March 26, 9:30pm - late. GET LAMP, Jason Scott's documentary about text adventures, premieres at PAX East.
More details for these events can be found at ifwiki.org.
