Tech: Inform 7

Inform is a highly specialized language designed for writing Infocom-style interactive fiction (IF) games. The latest release, Inform 7, uses syntax which is largely a subset of English, e.g.:

The Living Room is a room. "This is your living room, as featured in a number of games written by first-time interactive fiction authors." East is the Kitchen. North is the Bedroom.

Yes, that's source code. So is this:

Instead of taking the fire, say "It would burn you."

Verbose, to say the least. Usually, the bulk of code in IF is text anyway so perhaps the extra syntax length doesn't matter. Inform 7 also includes a fancy IDE.

Tags: gaming, interactive fiction, z-code, inform, inform 7