Writing IF is where storytelling meets stagecraft, puzzle design, systems thinking, and the peculiar joy of teaching a computer to understand PUT THE FROG IN THE TEACUP.
You can start without being a professional programmer. The important first move is choosing the kind of interactive work you want to make.
Three broad paths
- Parser-based IF: Best when you want exploration, objects, rooms, simulated space, and typed commands. Inform and TADS are major tools here.
- Choice-based IF: Best when you want branching narrative, clear choices, and web-friendly publishing. Twine, ink, and ChoiceScript live here.
- Hybrid or experimental IF: Best when you want to combine text, images, audio, procedural systems, or custom web interfaces.
Start smaller than your ambition
Your first project should be tiny:
- Three rooms.
- Three objects.
- One locked thing.
- One character or environmental clue.
- One ending.
Small finished games teach more than large unfinished kingdoms.