Editing Interactive fiction (section)

{{Short description|Software genre}}
{{see also|Interactive narrative|Interactive narration|Interactive storytelling}}
{{redirect|Text-based video game|the video game graphics|Text-based game}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}

'''Interactive fiction''' ('''IF''') is [[software]] simulating environments in which players use text [[Command (computing)|commands]] to control [[Player character|characters]] and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as [[literary]] [[narratives]], either in the form of [[Interactive narrative]]s or [[Interactive narration]]s. These works can also be understood as a form of [[video game]],<ref>Montfort, Nick & Urbano, Paulo (Tr.). ''[http://nickm.com/if/fourth_era.html A quarta Era da Ficção Interactiva] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517083457/http://www.nickm.com/if/fourth_era.html |date=17 May 2008 }}''. Nada, Volume 8. October 2006.</ref> either in the form of an [[adventure game]] or [[role-playing video game|role-playing game]]. In common usage, the term refers to '''text adventures''', a type of [[adventure game]] where the entire interface can be "[[Text mode|text-only]]",<ref name="fundamentals">{{Cite book |last= Rollings |first= Andrew |author2= Ernest Adams |title= Fundamentals of Game Design |publisher= Prentice Hall |year= 2006 |location=  |url= http://wps.prenhall.com/bp_gamedev_1/54/14053/3597646.cw/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090217232801/http://wps.prenhall.com/bp_gamedev_1/54/14053/3597646.cw/index.html |archive-date= 17 February 2009 |df= dmy-all }}</ref> however, graphical text adventure games, where the text is accompanied by graphics (still images, animations or video) still fall under the text adventure category if the main way to interact with the game is by typing text. Some users of the term distinguish between interactive fiction, known as "Puzzle-free", that focuses on narrative, and "text adventures" that focus on [[puzzle]]s.

Due to their text-only nature, they sidestepped the problem of writing for widely divergent graphics architectures. This feature meant that interactive fiction games were easily ported across all the popular platforms at the time, including [[CP/M]] (not known for gaming or strong graphics capabilities). The number of interactive fiction works is increasing steadily as new ones are produced by an online community, using freely available development systems.

The term can also be used to refer to literary works that are not read in a linear fashion, known as [[gamebooks]], where the reader is instead given choices at different points in the text; these decisions determine the flow and outcome of the story. The most famous example of this form of printed fiction is the ''[[Choose Your Own Adventure]]'' book series, and the collaborative <!-- correct spelling has 2 d's -->"{{Not a typo|[[addventure]]}}"<!-- correct spelling has 2 d's --> format has also been described as a form of interactive fiction.<ref>Soultanis, Greg. Mullin, Eileen, ed. ''[http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/docs/interactive-fiction/magazines/XYZZYnews/XYZZY4.PDF XYZZY News - The Magazine for Interactive Fiction Enthusiasts]''. Issue #4. July/August 1995. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040928125218/http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/docs/interactive-fiction/magazines/XYZZYnews/XYZZY4.PDF |date=28 September 2004 }}</ref> The term "interactive fiction" is sometimes used also to refer to [[visual novel]]s, a type of [[interactive narrative]] software popular in Japan.