Writing Interactive Fiction with Twine by Melissa Ford
Writing Interactive Fiction with Twine: Play Inside a Story
If you've ever dreamed about walking through the pages of a book, fighting dragons, or exploring planets then Twine is for you. This interactive fiction program enables you to create computer games where worlds are constructed out of words and simple scripts can allow the player to pick up or drop objects, use items collected in the game to solve puzzles, or track injury in battle by reducing hit points. If you've clicked your way through 80 Days, trekked through the underground Zork kingdom, or attempted to save an astronaut with Lifeline, you're already familiar with interactive fiction. If not, get ready to have your imagination stretched as you learn how to direct a story path.
The best part about interactive fiction stories is that they are simple to make and can serve as a gateway into the world of coding for the nonprogrammer or new programmer.
You'll find expert advice on everything from creating vivid characters to building settings that come alive. Ford's easy writing prompts help you get started, so you'll never face a blank screen. Her Try It Out exercises go way beyond the basics, helping you bring personal creativity and passion to every story you create!
Get familiar with the popular Twine scripting program
Learn how to design puzzles
Build your own role-playing game with stat systems
Maintain an inventory of objects
Learn game design and writing basics
Change the look of your story using CSS and HTML
Discover where you can upload your finished games and find players
About Melissa Ford
Melissa Ford is the author of numerous works of fiction and nonfiction. She has been a huge interactive fiction fan since 1982, when her dad gave her a copy of Zork to help her become a better speller. She is the blogging and social media editor at BlogHer, a contributor at GeekDad, and the Twine mentor at her local computer club. She is also the author of the award-winning blog Stirrup Queens. She earned her MFA from University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
Table of Contents
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
