engst@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu (Adam C. Engst) (05/11/87)
References:
I am posting this notice to COMP.TEXT because I think that
there is room for interactive fiction, or at least its
environment, to fit into text processing on graphic-based
computers. The basic principle is that the author puts a fairly
small amount text in a cell, and then connects it using logical or
questioning branches to another cell or cells. The overall
structure is usually kept track of by a graphic tree, which allows
the author and the reader to see the overall structure of the
text.
I first posted a notice on interactive fiction to the ST,
Mac, and Amiga newsgroups because those computers have the
necessary graphic environment to carry off interactive fiction
well. I received quite a number of responses from different
people expressing an interest in being put on a mailing list or in
starting a new Usenet discussion group. I asked around to find
out the proper method of starting a new group and was told that I
needed to talk about interactive fiction on an existing newsgroup
for a while, then get names on a petition, and then apply to the
net powers that be for a new newsgroup provided that I had shown
that there was enough interest to warrant the new group. This
procedure seems reasonable, so I am writing to these newsgroups to
inform all those who are interested in interactive fiction and
those who previously replied that I will be discussing it in
MISC.MISC.
I decided on MISC.MISC because it is for those topics which
don't really fit into any existing newsgroup. I don't think that
interactive fiction does. It is not a game, yet it is
entertainment while also being serious literature. It can also be
used for computer-aided instruction and has a certain relationship
to artificial intelligence. It needs the technology of the
computer and the creativity of the writer. What it needs more
than anything else at the moment is interest. People must realize
that it is not a game and it is not trivial, it is real. This
discussion will be devoted to any and all of the aspects of
interactive fiction with the goal of developing it as a new medium
for reading and writing with the aid of the computer.
To start the new discussion off on the right foot (or left
foot, it's non-discriminatory), I will start posting the messages
from the CSNEWS@MAINE discussion group that I started at the
beginning of 1987. I will also accept any email, but please
specify if you don't want your ideas posted because I believe in
free distribution of pertinant information. In short, please give
the subject a chance. I think it is very interesting and has a
great future.
Thank you,
Adam Engst
engst@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu.UUCP
pv9y@cornella.bitnetengst@batcomputer.UUCP (05/16/87)
Could everyone who is posting a note on interactive fiction please only post
to misc.misc for now? That way those who aren't interested won't have to
read about it and suffer terribly. Thanks to all those who have either
written to misc.misc or written to me personally! And to all those who have
asked me about a definition of interactive fiction, try reading misc.misc,
since that is where we are working out a definition. About a mailing list:
I am not going to set one up, mostly because I have about a 60% chance of
getting mail to someone who writes to me, and it isn't fair to keep some
people from talking about interactive fiction just because I can't figure
out how to get mail to them. So the moral of the story is - if you want to
read about/write about interactive fiction, do it on misc.misc.
Thanks,
Adam Engst
engst@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu
pv9y@cornella