I’m a Linux user with a text disability. I have a homebrew TTS tool centered on a script that will read aloud any new lines written to a text file. I used to use this to play IF, but some time ago Gargoyle stopped writing transcripts in real time, instead waiting until you end the game to dump everything. Zoom and fizmo do the same. I tried to switch to Frotz, but it introduces line breaks into the transcript that create distracting pauses in the reading. My desire to play IF comes and goes, so I have spent quite a while trying repeatedly to solve this problem and giving up for long periods in between. Does anyone know of another interpreter that will run on Linux and writes the transcript in real time? Or do you have other TTS ideas? I don’t have low vision, so I don’t have or want a full screen reader.
(I’ve been experimenting with Diction, the new app introduced in a recent post. It’s pretty cool, but I think I would prefer to use a keyboard.)
I have several solutions for web pages. I can select text and use another script I wrote to read it in response to a keyboard command. I can use a browser extension I have that reads the whole page. I can open the page on my phone or tablet and use the TTS tools available there. The first of those methods works with Parchment, but I find it hard to enjoy a game while doing it. I could do the same while using a stand-alone interpreter. The extension doesn’t read new text when it appears, but instead starts over at the beginning, so it’s not workable. And my mobile devices have no keyboards.
I might see if I can make my laptop keyboard talk to those via Bluetooth. Then I could use Diction, which does the reading task quite well. (ETA: I think this would be a whole possibly insoluble puzzle unto itself.)
Frankendrift also exports the text to a text file in real time but it works only with Adrift 5 games. I haven’t got Linux but the Linux version is mentioned as being somewhat experimental: Releases · awlck/frankendrift · GitHub