Copyright and copying permissions ================================= The copyright on Inform, the program and its source code, its example games and documentation (except this one) is retained by Graham Nelson , who asserts the moral right to be identified as its Author. Having said this, the Author is happy for it to be freely distributed to anybody who wants a copy, provided that: (a) distributed copies are not substantially different from those archived by the Author (b) this and other copyright messages are always retained in full (c) no profit is involved However, a story file produced with the Inform compiler (and libraries) then belongs to its author, and may be sold for profit if desired, provided that its game banner contains the information that it was compiled by Inform, and the Inform version number. Introducing Inform ================== Inform is a compiler for text-only adventure games, writtem by Graham Nelson . It produces `story files' in "Z-code" format, which was designed by Infocom and used for all their adventure games from "Zork I" to "Shogun". This format is computer independent and represents the most portable form in which games can ever be written, as no alteration whatever is required to move a game from one model of computer to another -- these games can be played using Infocom's interpreters or one of the freely available interpreters. Inform is not just a compiler but an `operating system' too: its library allows designers to begin coding at once. An Inform source file is very similar to a C source file, but need not contain any of the parser code, or the running of the `game universe' -- only descriptions and exceptions to the usual rules. The library understands rooms, objects, duplicates, containers, doors, things on top of other things, light, scoring, switching things on and off, opening, closing and locking things, entering things, travelling about in them and so forth. The parser it uses (which can be entirely invisible to the designer, but is programmable and very flexible) is sophisticated enough to handle ambiguities, clarify its input by asking questions and to cope properly with plurals, vagueness, conversation, pronouns and the player becoming someone else in mid-game. Installing Inform ================= Installing Inform on your Amiga couldn't be simpler: just unpack the archive into your hard disk and you're ready! ;) Compiling the examples ====================== Let's assume you've installed Inform in the directory Work:Inform; to compile, say, "shell.inf" you could type: cd Work:Inform/examples /Inform +Work:Inform/library -ixdv5s shell (Please, refer to designers_manual.txt and the other doc files for further details about compiling Inform games). If this compiles, Inform is probably set up and working properly. It takes a short while to compile, because it `includes' three large standard files, containing a large amount of code -- however, you should end up with a file named "shell.z5". File extensions like .z3, .z5 and .z8, mean that a file is a "Z-code" adventure game in version 3, version 5 or version 8. To play these games you will need a "Z-code interpreter program", sometimes known as a "ZIP" -- do not confuse a "ZIP" with any of the archiving and compression programs that have "zip" in their name, for example "zip", "gzip" and "pkzip", though! ;) Playing the game(s) =================== There are ports of Mark Howell's "ZIP" interpreter and the InfoTaskForce's "ITF" interpreter. Both are free of charge and are available for anonymous FTP from ftp.gmd.de -- a place you'll love if you're into Interactive Fiction! ;) /if-archive/infocom/interpreters/itf: itf401-170-amiga.lha ITF for the Amiga (OS 2.04 or better required) version 1.70 ported by David Kinder supports colour, function keys, arrow keys and mouse in "Beyond Zork", and time-outs in "Border Zone" (all Infocom's calssics!) /if-archive/infocom/interpreters/zip: AmigaZIP_V8.lha ZIP for the Amiga (OS 1.2 or better required) Amiga interface by Olaf `Olsen' Barthel Support for Inform V8 games and a better random number generator by Werther 'Mircko' Pirani (yours truly!) Please note: ITF has a more snazzier interface, but AmigaZIP seems to be the most stable -- the choice is yours! ;) Games already available ======================= All the Infocom games, plus the "independent" ones -- in other words, quite a lot! ;) "Lost Treasures of Infocom, VOL I"- Features 20 games (from Zork to HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy) and, being available for the Amiga, you can play them right out of the box -- that is, you don't need a "ZIP" interpreter. "Lost Treasures of Infocom, VOL II" - Only available on PCs and Macs (floppy or CD-ROM). Copy the data files to your Amiga with CrossDos and play the games using "ITF" or "AmigaZIP". Finally, let's take a look at the FTP site ftp.gmd.de. The directory /if-archive/infocom/compilers/inform/games holds a few gems authored using the Inform compiler: busted.zip A game of high cunning and low humor, by Jon Drukman (you must unzip it to extract "busted.z5") christminster.z5 An Interactive Conspiracy by Gareth Rees curses.z5 An Interactive Diversion by Graham Nelson (Inform's author!) theatre.z5 An Interactive Night of Horror by Brendon Wyber More info about Interactive Fiction =================================== Anonymous FTP: ftp.gmd.de /if-archive/ nic.funet.fi /pub/misc/if-archive/ (mirror) ftp.wustle.edu /doc/misc/if-archive/ (mirror) e-mail magazines: SPAG (Society for the Preservation of Adventure Games): archived at ftp.gmd.de (and its mirrors) and available in /if-archive/magazines/SPAG/ However, you're invited to subscribe. Send e-mail to: Majordomo@df.lth.se and put something like: subscribe spag user@your.email.address in the body message XYZZYnews: archived at ftp.gmd.de (and its mirrors) and available in /if-archive/magazines/XYZZYnews/ To be added to the mailing list, please write to: eileen@interport.net and specify text-only or .PDF version. Usenet newsgroups: rec.arts.int-fiction (about writing IF) rec.games.int-fiction (about playing IF) WWW: "The Inform Programming Page" by Gareth Rees has a great tutorial about Inform programming as well as links to other interesting places: http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/gdr11/inform/ "Infocom Homepage" by Peter Scheyen has lots of data about Infocom titles, an Infocom timeline, liks to two different Encyclopedia Frobozzicas, and much more: http://www.csd.uwo.ca/~pete/Infocom/ Wrapping it up ============== Finally, just a quick note about yours truly. I've just wrote this very file, packed the archive and uploaded it to Aminet. Well, actually I've also compiled the Inform sources on the Amiga and modified/compiled AmigaZIP with a couple of enhancements (see above) but nothing more. Simply put, if you need help programming Inform your best bet is to contact its author (nelson@vax.oxford.ac.uk) or take a look in rec.arts.int-fiction. On the other hand, if you need "technical" help about running Inform on the Amiga, ZIP interpreters and the likes, feel free to contact me at the e-mail address below. Happy Informing! Werther 'Mircko' Pirani -- e-mail: werther@karunko.nervous.com