Merging interactive fiction and 3D

[Rubes]

Hey folks.

I'm knee-deep in the development of a game, Vespers3D, which is based on the text adventure (interactive fiction) game Vespers.

I've been a fan of text IF for a long time, but I've often felt the desire to create a visual game with the same level of depth and interactivity. I've always enjoyed the freedom of movement and exploration that first-person games (FPS) provide, particularly those with really compelling worlds. Since text IF is all about exploring and developing story and characters and interactivity, I thought combining the two might be a way of producing something that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Of course, it may turn out to be the opposite, but I'll never know until it's done.

I chose the text game Vespers since it's a short game, but one with a pretty strong story and memorable characters. The author agreed to work together to make this happen, so it will hopefully retain much of the vision he had when he wrote it. If you'd like to try the text game, you can play it for free online here (http://www.digital-eel.com/if/adv63.htm).

I don't have an official web site yet, but I do have a page on the Great Games Experiment (http://www.greatgamesexperiment.com/game/vespers3d), which has a bunch of information about the game including the storyline, some screenshots, a couple of short animation videos, and links to my developer blog in case that sort of thing interests you.

I'd be interested to hear a bit of feedback on what little is currently available. I'll provide more info and animation videos as things progress.

Thanks...

[maximile]

There's some very nice-looking screenshots there. It sounds like a great idea to me.

[MattDiamond]

Good luck to you; looks interesting.

I noticed Digital Eel is hosting the original- what's the relationship? Did one of them write the game, or are they just hosting it for the heck of it?

Couldn't get the original to work in Safari, or maybe the problem is with Tiger's Java. I'm guessing it's an Inform game so I won't have trouble finding it in another form.

[Rubes]

Thanks, I appreciate the comments.

I'm not sure what the arrangement is with Digital Eel. I think they're hosting a number of IF games, but I'm not sure how that came about. I'm pretty sure the author has no connection with them.

It seems to be working fine in Safari for me (v2.0.4, OS 10.4.9), not sure what the problem might be. But yes, it's an Inform game so you can always download the z8 file.

[mac_girl]

I turn off java. Can you make it in flash instead? or will it be in java too?

Wow, the screenshots look really good! Did you draw all of them yourself? If so, you are very talented!

[Rubes]

I turn off java. Can you make it in flash instead? or will it be in java too?

I wasn't involved in making the web site with the text game, unfortunately. So as far as I know Java is the only version available to play online. You can always download the game and an interpreter and play it offline, which is how I prefer it anyway. You can find the game file and an interpreter either here (http://ifarchive.org/if-archive/games/competition2005/) or here (http://www.ifcomp.org/comp05/download.html).

Wow, the screenshots look really good! Did you draw all of them yourself? If so, you are very talented!

Ah, that would be nice if I could. We have one artist who does the concept sketches and modeling, and another who does the animations. Thanks for checking it out!