I was browsing @8bitAG’s Adventure Probe archive, when I noticed from the index that such obscure authoring systems as AdvSys or Hatrack II were reviewed, but TADS and Inform weren’t. SynTax (which also published the same Hatrack II review as AP) published articles on TADS programming from issue 21 onwards, but no review of TADS as such (not counting a serialisation of the “Which Authoring System is Better” FAQ published around issue ~60).
Inform obviously came around later than TADS did, but once again a lack of reviews is marked.
I suppose one answer is to say that both systems were sufficiently available as to ensure no review was necessary, but this seems somewhat dubious. Alternatively, given that my knowledge of vintage publications is nonexistent, it’s possible that such reviews appeared in publications other than the aforementioned.
What I’m really wondering about, with the question of reviews as something of a spark and a proxy, is how were those early releases of TADS (and later Inform) received in that community and similar ones?
Re: your question, my guess as to why you don’t see much response, without more research (‘assumption’ would be a bit strong) is it’s just a continuation of the context built in the UK in the 80s. That context was: The UK had its own 8-bit machine base and culture, on average cheaper and less powerful than your Apple IIs and such. It produced its own culture of games, which were mostly not the Infocom type which required more horsepower and disk access.
Then the Amiga and Atari ST come and they’re big in the UK and Europe. And in Syntax you’re seeing reviews of the graphical adventures for those platforms, and people asking about developing for them, but otherwise there’s still a ton if interest in their 8-bit adventure scene. So they’ve kind of jumped from less interest than average in the Infocom type game, to graphics games on custom platform. TADS/Infocom are a bit in no-mans-land in that context.
(Guess!)
Also I realise I’ve said nothing about their reception because I know nothing.
That could work for Adventure Probe, but not for SynTax, given that started as a zine for ST owners.
In any case, both Hatrack II and AdvSys targeted the ST and the Amiga and got reviewed in Adventure Probe, which would seem to militate against a text-adventure-interest-as-8-bit-exclusive interpretation.
A review of AGT was also published in Adventure Probe (vol 6) in 1992 (issue 4; covered AGT for the Amiga — a review of AGT on the ST was published in SynTax here), as well as reviews of Deep Space Drifter (issue 5; published in SynTax here), Ditch Day Drifter (issue 3; a longer version published in SynTax here), and Unnkulian Underworld (issue 7; a longer version published in SynTax here) and a “postal interview” with MJR (issues 7-8; also published in SynTax here).
I specifically meant reception by communities similar to the particular British scene mentioned here—RAIF wouldn’t really count, I suppose the AGT community would be closer.
One reason might be that in those days it wasn’t as easy to get US software. I had to order TADS from Mike in the US, pay dollars, and wait for the manual and floppy disks to be shipped in the mail.
Similarly, Inform could not be distributed for profit, so you couldn’t just go into a store and buy Inform on a disc, nor could magazines distribute it as pack-in software. The only way to get it was to download it off the internet.
I don’t think the absence of reviews necessarily says anything. I think TADS will have got reviewed in Probe, it’s just likely the issue isn’t archived [the majority of Probe sadly isn’t archived]. I’m not sure about Inform. I know you’ve looked at the thread where I posted a view on “interactive fiction” and IF Comp from someone in the Probe community; IFDB Spelunking - Report - #47 by 8bitAG
Adventure Probe, Red Herring, Syntax etc. were produced and read by a very specific British text adventuring community, that had roots firmly in the 8-bit scene. I think a lot of us were struggling to find systems that replicated the simplicity of the Quill, GAC and the PAW. So much so that there was even an effort to create a community replacement. (ACE). Even many years after the “death” of machines like the ZX Spectrum, the community were still writing games for 8-bits, even if they were then played in emulators on the Amigas and PCs that people had moved on to.
TADS was used in our community, though. Simon Avery, Geoff “The Grue” Rens, Neil Shipman and Jim MacBrayne were some of the writers who produced games with it.
AGT was probably just as popular. Sue “Syntax” Medley, Bob Adams, Gil Williamson, Bev Truter, and others used that.
Inform was distributed on Acorn User cover discs (for the Archimedes); of course Graham Nelson had a regular column in Acorn User. I haven’t checked whether he gave them special permission or something. (See e.g. his IFWiki page.)