I’ve been working over the past couple of weeks on a native macOS application called Deep Thought, a modern launcher and player for interactive fiction, and I’d love some early feedback from the community.
The goal is to provide a cohesive “home base” for IF rather than just a file-based interpreter; something that manages a library of games, saves, and metadata while still presenting a faithful play experience.
Current features include:
• Z-machine support via Frotz
• Library view with cover art and metadata (automatic when available)
• Import via drag-and-drop or file dialog
• Per-game save management (autosave + manual saves)
• One-click Continue
• Search, sorting, favorites, and filters
• Gallery and list views
• Classic status line display (score/moves)
• Native macOS interface
This is still early and there are many things left to do — most notably broader format support (Glulx, Blorb, etc.), polishing, and testing across a wider range of games. The current builds are signed development versions intended for testing.
If anyone is interested in trying it out, I’d be especially grateful for feedback on:
• Compatibility with different Z-machine games
• Library usability
• Save behavior
• Things that feel “wrong” compared to traditional interpreters
• Features you wish modern IF tools had
I’m not releasing binaries publicly just yet, but I’m happy to share preview builds with volunteers.
Thanks to everyone here for building such a welcoming and creative community; IF has meant a lot to me recently, and I hope this can be a useful contribution.
- Ian