Schedule
:: Lesson 2 :: Track
A Summaries :: Track
B Summaries :: Both Tracks Summaries
Deshrill, Interview with Nick Montfort
Reading summary/quotes:
In this online interview, Nick Montfort shares his experiences with
playing and creating IF games. He started out playing (and being
confused by) Zork I and now has created his own text adventure games,
including Ad Verbum, which won an award in 2000. He has also translated
an IF game and has written a book on IF called Twisty Little Passages.
In part of his interview he talks about the relationship between IF and
poetry.
“Also, the interface in text-based IF is, at least at a basic level,
symmetrical – you get text from the computer and you give text in reply
– which I think is neat…(p. 2).”
“IF offers terrifyingly complex and challenging worlds, games that are
as detailed and fun as ... GTA, but are way more subversive.”
“Better yet, it might be because you didn't understand the whole system
or working of the strange world that you're in, and you need to think
more deeply about those.”
Discussion points/questions:
- How is poetry linked to IF and text adventure? How could these
kinds of puzzles be part of a poetry unit?
- What are some advantages of text-based IF versus graphical
adventure games?
Contributors: Tom Caswell, Marion Jensen, Jennifer Jorgensen,
Jon Scoresby, and Tim Stowell