The People’s Republic of Interactive Fiction convened on Wednesday, August 28, 2025 over Zoom. JP Tuttle, Stephen Eric Jablonski, Mike Stage, zarf, anjchang, Josh, and Hugh, welcomed newcomer but long time IF player David J Hall. Warning: What follows is probably not proper English, but just a log of notes from the meeting to jog people’s memories.
We started off talking about exploring Inform. Also reminiscing about other scripting languages like hypercard, lingo, Applescript, and natural language programming syntax. BTW, did you know you can use rot13.com to do rot13 encoding/decoding, or, you can make an Applescript shortcut on iOS.
Inform 7 Train by Josh
The highlight was Josh’s walkthrough of through his Inform 7 “Train“ code, showcasing the quirky and powerful nature of the language. The demo was a train that went through different stations, where the reader could hop on and off if they were at a stop. Play and tweak the walkthrough example here https://snippets.borogove.app/inform7/9ttc7m For followup and sharing remixes, we can email the google group or share with Josh directly. Thank you Josh for a illuminating time!
Doors and Naming
We discussed whether Inform 7 could create all the rooms with one sentence? You can sometimes create two things at once with the predicate syntax. e.g. The spoon is in the closet. But can you say “The kitchen and the dining room are rooms”? You can say “the kitchen is a room, the x is a room” in a long list. J.P. shared an amusing Inform 7 error message about room declarations like Problem. ‘”Here” and “There” and “Elsewhere” are rooms’ : And I am the King of Siam. ‘”Here”‘ is some text. Zarf riffed with a suggestion: “The Bathroom, the Closet, the Elsewhere are rooms.” JP shared a fun anecdote about computer camp servers named “Here,” “There,” and “Elsewhere,” tying into the room-naming discussion.
We discussed replacing the room entirely for a reader’s subsequent visits. Some examples exist of changing the room completely when player exits. Zarf notes you have to be careful to transfer all the items over. We talked about other mods that could happen, e.g. trains passing each other, or breaking down at different times.
IF Resources:
- Borogove is a versatile platform for sharing IF development in different languages https://snippets.borogove.app/inform7/9ttc7m
- Using the Interactive Fiction Database (IFDB) to track projects, noting its tagging and list system.
- Perhaps an infinite room puzzle, e.g. Library of Babel (Borges) or labyrinth.
- Documentation on one-way connections Inform 7 Docs – Section 3
- An Inform7 window example Window Example
Narrative Inspirations and Mentions
- Suveh Nux https://www.mobygames.com/game/98874/suveh-nux/
- Swap Wand User https://passerine.itch.io/swap-wand-user
- Advent Door, a puzzle where you can take a door as a physical object and put it on a wall to get to different rooms.
- Here’s the link to Josh’s Train: https://snippets.borogove.app/inform7/9ttc