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Wow, what a great thread! So many interesting responses, I love hearing about the thought processes behind peopleās writing.
Iām primarily a writer of static fiction, and for me IF is a creative outlet that requires a totally different mode of thinking and is a really satisfying way to stretch my brain muscles, as it were - thereās a reason I often make IF works in the summer (I spend the academic year writing, and writing about, static fiction).
For me, my ideas for static fiction are just that - static. The plot, themes and characters are set in my mind in a very specific way, and my job as a writer is to set communicate those specific ideas in the most effective way possible.
With IF, I usually start with mechanics. Iāll think, how can I simulate the frustration of my last job? Or how can I share my love of the experience of cooking for people? Often Iāll model and test most of the code before I even start writing the text, because the interactivity is the driver of the narrative and often the story itself emerges from those mechanics.
For me, it kind of feels like the difference between painting a picture of a landscape and drawing someone a map of it. Both are worthy endeavours; one a portrayal of single perspective, the other an invitation to explore.
Thereās also the gratification aspect that other people have mentioned - the wheels of traditional publishing turn very slowly, so thereās a real thrill in being able to make something and put it in the hands of readers/players straight away.
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Why ought anything assume anything? Be careful of these words should, better, separate, you wouldnāt wish for the focus of your devotions to pronounce them. Twine vectors the expressive line of your compulsions, voila, you are animated by the very same inner determination as Virgil hexametering the centuries to legion. The form forms the content inevitably, so it isnāt worth the effort to evit.
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It was not I who chose. Life, the universe and everything else bore down to such a degree that the only bit of writing I have been able to complete these last few years had to be born as a short story.
Itās properly published in perfect binding, with a nice cover. It has an ISBN number. I give away copies to friends and to people I think might like it, whenever it is I meet them.
Interactive Fiction is harder to get right. Itās more work to achieve. There are fewer good examples to draw from. And while you can dangle a book at people you meet in bars or at bus stops, if your project is IF you have a very much smaller audience, because people lose their casual interest very quickly when they realise a computer is involved.
Nevertheless, IF is where I am determined to operate, precisely because itās harder to do well. And you could say that with the Web technology available today there are few other art forms with such potential for authors to innovate.
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I am relatively new here, so no idea if replying to old threads is bad form, but:
I come from a linear fanfic writing background, everything Iāve ever published is currently on ao3. But now Iāve found Iām obsessed with the process of making IF, even though Iāve lost the immediate feedback of kudos from being fairly popular in my little fandom.
My delineation between IF and linear stories is primarily due to my choice of genre: Romance. If there is one love interest, my story is probably linear, if I want to explore multiple options, itās definitely IF. That said, I havenāt felt much need or desire to go back to my linear stories, fanfic or not, since discovering IF. Itās just such a perfect collision of writing, programming, and tabletop roleplaying game running skills that I just canāt get enough. The bigger question for me, usually, is: ādo i want to run this as a ttrpg campaign or create an IF game out of it?ā
I answer that question by determining if I have a story or just a setting. When I run ttrpgs, I avoid the published storylines such as Dungeons and Dragonsās Curse of Stradh module like the plague, because to me, the fun of ttrpgs is in the collaborative nature of the storytelling. If you have a certain story to tell, a player going in the opposite direction or successfully seducing the big bad dragon is a detriment, but if you just have a setting to explore, itās easier to react to wacky player choices.
Meanwhile, you need a story you want to tell when developing the choice based romance games I love to create. In my first (unpublished) game, a woman is stuck in a small town that harbors lots of supernatural people. Most of whom are hot. Both this game and my current project are loosely based on some of my many failed attempts to create a ttrpg of my own.
I guess in summary:
Genre influences linear vs IF
Running games like dungeons and dragons is a great way to skill build for IF (and vice versa)
If anyone else writes IF romance or dating sims or the like, please reach out! Iād love to chat with you via the messages here or discord!
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(In fact, itās the opposite! We encourage people to consult old threads and even necro them if appropriate.)
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