(no subject)

[prog]

Right now, shipping three people from Boston to Columbus n back 'round Origins-time is $1,200, total. We're gonna wait and see if that gets better over the next few days, but the Andys have made it clear that driving just won't work, so we might just have to take the hit.

On the upside, it does indeed look like all three of us are set on attending Origins. So yay. (Now to deal with the hotel and everything else and bllrghhl.)

---

I have been putting off making an Inform 7 post. There's miles to go before I'm done reading the docs, but let me just say that the damn thing is amazing. It makes me want to make a game. Right now.

Even though the language is only part of what makes the system great (much of the rest of it is the fantastic IDE), I want you to look at a lengthy source code example that Mike Gentry posted elsewhere. (It starts with the line '"Anchorhead" by Michael Gentry.')

Please look at the code even if you don't consider yourself a programmer. Just look at it. And start to understand why this language is blowing peoples' minds the way it is.

(It defines the first few rooms and objects of Anchorhead, Gentry's Loftcraftian IF masterpiece from several years ago that he's been porting from I6 to I7.)

Comments

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

/That/ is source code?! Oh my god. That is so cool.

[chocorisu.livejournal.com]

I took a look at Inform 7 when you posted a link in my LJ and was sufficiently impressed to download it. Very impressive use of natural language parsing, although I think it'll be the next major release that really takes it beyond regular programming: the constructions for looping are still very much like an imperitive language, for example.

Lovely stuff though. Can't wait to see more of this kind of stuff get into the hands of normal people. If I were a writer I'd be making an adventure right now... :o)

[prog.livejournal.com]

If by "the next major release" you mean Inform 8, don't hold your breath waiting for it. Inform 6 came out in... 1995, I think?

You should feel free to file a bug or feature request to Graham. I7 has only been publically available to the public for a couple of weeks and Graham is rapidly addressing the bugs and shortcomings that people are reporting.

[chocorisu.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm not holding my breath. It's already impressive; I just mean that given the vast leap forward this release made, the *next* big release will take it way beyond programming.

Definitely tempted to get involved but heaven knows how many projects I'm already not doing thanks to my limited spare time... :oS

[cortezopossum.livejournal.com]

It took me a while -- I'm looking over the page and asking, "Where's the source code?" -- then I realized I was looking at it all along.

[prog.livejournal.com]

That's why I added the line about where the code starts. If you don't know what you're looking for it looks something like somewhat stilted prose with occasional pieces of indented code thrown in.

[misuba.livejournal.com]

I'm excited about the possibility of IFs intended to function as poetry, the source code for which is also intended to function as poetry.

Not writing it my damn self, of course. But still.