I’ve been prototyping a framework, codenamed pyphiverses, with python. Very crude right now, because an IF system is complex by nature.
The thing is so complex that some parts are full projects on its own. Parser, world model, time model, action model, multiplatform/web player front-ends, authoring tools, etc…
I think that good foundations are needed before ironing out some syntax. Sugar it’s just the tip of the iceberg. An important tip, sure, because it’s what authors will face with, but you need much, much more before and under it.
My utopian view it’s a modular system that can be adapted to several philosophies, not just because different languages need different parsers (even parser-less), or because singleplayer turn based is a different beast to turn or realtime multiplayer. Room modeling is not the only option, and so on…
This modular framework and some libraries (stress-testing the framework) implementing the known-to-work models, inspired by the actual systems, will be a perfect first milestone.
Then (even before), it may be used to drive and promote innovation in IF, which is the main goal. Using a general purpose language “batteries included” helps in this regard, I think.
This project it’s so ambitious that I even lost focus sometimes, but I’m determined to work on this multipurpuse system. Lately I’m thinking on using the Raspberry Pi as the main platform.
Any help or advice are welcomed. I’m working under the premise of libre software.
What foundations do you think are essential for a system like this?