Newsgroups: rec.arts.int-fiction
Path: gmd.de!rrz.uni-koeln.de!news.dfn.de!xlink.net!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!news.kei.com!ub!acsu.buffalo.edu!goetz
From: goetz@cs.buffalo.edu (Phil Goetz)
Subject: Q:History of Interactive Fiction
Message-ID: <CD9q7F.Cx4@acsu.buffalo.edu>
Sender: nntp@acsu.buffalo.edu
Nntp-Posting-Host: pegasus.cs.buffalo.edu
Organization: State University of New York at Buffalo/Comp Sci
Date: Mon, 13 Sep 1993 01:16:25 GMT
Lines: 25

Does anyone know the history of interactive fiction prior to
the Colossal Cave adventure?  E.g. books published with multiple paths,
or at least different endings; movies like the one at Universal?
(_Murder She Wrote_) where the audience can influence the outcome;
interactive drama.

My advisor wants an overview of IF.
The major events in computer IF that I can think of are:
(I'll check spelling & dates on these at home; hopefully I've got the info.)

1970?  Colossal Cave	Woods & Crowther?
1976?  Zork		Marc Blanc & ...?
1981?  Mystery House	Sierra On-Line:  Ken and Roberta Williams
		(first graphic adventure)
????	???		First animated adventure
(I have "Dark Castle" or "Castle of Doom" or something from The Logical Choice
			around 1984)
1992?	Dactyl Nightmare	First immersive VR game (any earlier?)
1993	Hell Cab	First CD-ROM adventure  (any earlier? is Hell Cab really
			an adventure, or more like a video game/Dragon's Lair?)

I honestly can't think of anything else that's been significant.  Help?
(Yes, I've got refs to Talespin.)

Phil goetz@cs.buffalo.edu
