NPC Conversations: Ask/Tell Theory

Jim Fisher — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 03:51:04 GMT

In the wake of such ground breaking games as "Galatia," "Photopia," and "Best of Three," NPC conversations have become all the rage. Although there are numerous ways to implement conversations (Emily Short identifies at least seven on her NPC Characterization page) the two dominant forms seem to boil down to conversation menus, and the age-old classic ASK/TELL.

As a developer I have always preferred the ASK/Tell system and mos

What Is IF?

Jim Fisher — Fri, 19 Apr 2002 05:00:00 GMT

IF is an acronym for "Interactive Fiction." In the broadest sense of the term, "Interactive Fiction" is any work of fiction with which the reader/player interacts. To be reasonable, this could include visually oriented games like Diablo or Ultima. Even shoot 'em up games like Half-Life have a storyline to convey. But long before there were PCs to be taken for granted, back when "computers" meant "mainframes" that occupied entire rooms, and "cool graphics" meant correctly aligning the asterisk

IF Theory

NPC Conversations: Ask/Tell Theory

What Is IF?