Nntp-Posting-Host: gyda.ifi.uio.no
Newsgroups: rec.arts.int-fiction
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From: kjetilho@ifi.uio.no (Kjetil Torgrim Homme)
Subject: Re: Non-English adventures (was Re: Adventure design)
In-Reply-To: greg@Quotron.COM's message of Mon, 22 Feb 1993 22:40:10 GMT
Message-ID: <1993Feb25.010232.6305@ifi.uio.no>
Sender: kjetilho@ifi.uio.no (Kjetil Torgrim Homme)
Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
References: <930112.095148.ahaavie@pcifm02> <1993Feb12.112523.7231@pollux.lu.se>
	<neilg.729555282@sfu.ca>) <1lp2faINNeb@life.ai.mit.edu>
	<greg.730420810@duke>
Date: Thu, 25 Feb 1993 01:02:32 GMT
Lines: 24
Originator: kjetilho@gyda.ifi.uio.no

In article <greg.730420810@duke> greg@Quotron.COM (Greg "Maddog" Knauss) writes:
> Not if the actor is a a player-controlled golumn instead of the
> player himself.  It's a minor point, but you can finagle out of a
> lot of limitations just by being a little creative with your
> explanations.  (Bugs become features.  Heh.)

Delta Software's "Bored of the Rings" had some of this, and it was
very refreshing (and confusing). The prose was strictly in the third
person and in the past tense. I.e. something like:

  > n
  Fordo walked north.
  When he arrived in Rivendull, he saw ...

It gives a quite different feel, don't you think? I'm not sure if the
prompt was changed from the usual "What now?" to "What then?", but
such a simple shift would make me, as a player, feel that *I* am the
story-teller. It is interesting to note that in "normal" prose, the
past tense is the norm, and present tense is mostly used for some
effect, while it's the other way around in interactive fiction.


Kjetil T.

