Hi guys. I was directed this way from the games.int-fiction group (may it RIP =( ). I’ve been into IF for a long time, off and on. I’m on again now, since getting it running on my Kindle3. I thought I’d see if anyone else was doing the same thing (or was interested in doing so).
Not that I want to take anything away from textfyre - who I’ve bought some stuff from with the hope that money = quicker Kindle releases =). I’m stoked that it may be a possibility for some of our writers to make money (if not a living) doing this.
See inside the spoiler tags for details on how I got it up and running.
[spoiler]!Disclaimer! Either of these programs require jailbreaking the Kindle. It’s not illegal, but it will break your Terms of Service agreement and thus void your warranty… So far it hasn’t come to that, but be warned. Some hacks have been known to ‘brick’ the device (the USB hack most famously). I haven’t heard of anyone having trouble with these hacks, but fair warning, etc. I recommend having a look at the mobileread forums if you’re thinking about it to get the most up to date info: mobileread.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=150
All of that stuff worried me a bit when I came across KIF (Kindle IF) but I really wanted to play IF on my Kindle. Andrew is the developer and the instructions for installing KIF are on his site: adq.livejournal.com/108011.html
His instructions are pretty easy to follow, but the first step (the jailbreak) is out-of-date. Use these jailbreak instructions instead: mobileread.com/forums/showth … p?t=122519
Then install the keys, and KIF as per Andrew’s instructions.
Final step: Play IF games on your Kindle (a pretty sweet experience) - the keyboard isn’t as fast as a full-sized keyboard, but it’s superior to any of my tablet / smartphone IF experiences.
I did mention a second IF client (this one is a dumbfrotz port): mobileread.com/forums/showth … p?t=126768
But it’s definitely for advanced users only. You need to be Linux and Hack savy. The USBhack (required to get it running) is open to abuse, and new users have been known to ‘brick’ their kindles.[/spoiler]
I love my Kindle but I’m not excited about the idea of jailbreaking it. I am more enthusiastic about its potential for standalone, self-published IF games.
That game does look like fun. Doesn’t look like it’s stand-alone though. Looks like he’s porting his glulxe/inform interpreter (Filfre) to the Kindle - but with Amazon support… very exciting. I just played Alabaster, and it would look gorgeous on the Kindle.
If you’re looking for stand-alone games check out these guys. Nothing released for Kindle as yet, but they seem to be getting there, and they too have the official Kindle KDKs.
Thanks for the link though - I’m going to sign up to be a tester, if he’ll have me.
My sense is quite the opposite - that it’s primarily a port of KSP, with the goal of getting an “Active Content” game to sell on Amazon, and the Filfre port is a means to that end. I guess time will tell.
Not sure what’s up with Textfyre these days. They’ve gone dark except for the occasional post about future IF interfaces. I suspect that Empath’s Gift is stalled, awaiting approval from Amazon/Apple so that they can do a simultaneous release on all desktop and mobile platforms, but I don’t really know.
Ooh, title sounds interesting. Hopefully it’ll be out soon, though I just checked the blog and it’s quite delayed - hopefully for the reason you suggest. That’d be awesome. I’ve only partly played ‘The Shadow of the Cathedral’ but I really like the attention to detail (down to the curses and insults generally being based on failed clockwork).
Kindle is a pretty good IF platform, so I’m looking forward to the new stuff too. But I do like being able to play stuff from the archives on the bus already. =)
Would be great to see some IF games on Kindle – but please, no jailbreaking! The average person Kindle user is not going to want to be a Linux kernel hacker to get games on their Kindle. I don’t know of Dan has published his stats for his Choose Your Own Adventure games, but they are very good sellers on the Kindle. I think a nice simple iFrotz like interface for Glulx or Z-code game files would be popular. Heck, I’d gladly kick in towards a kickstarter project to do that. Would be a great way to expand the market for IF.
I’m another interested in playing IF on my Kindle, but I have no wish to jailbreak, and won’t. I can play IF easily enough on other things like my laptop, without going to that extreme.
I recommend holding off on playing “The King of Shred’s and Patches” then. From what I’ve seen it’s coming to the Kindle soon: filfre.net/2011/03/the-madness-spreads/
I’m having tons of fun with the Kindle at the mo, but not doing parser IF; just simple click’n’read stuff. Like a complicated table of contents. I’ve blogged a little about it here, and my first experiment is on Amazon UK / US.
It’s not exactly Undum in terms of slickness or extensibility, but it’s still a pretty nice way to do a IF story.
