I found Inform 7 very frustrating - it felt like I was trying to read someone else’s mind. My original idea for this sketch was to create a ‘mansplaining’ game in which the player is asked to walk through a location that has been described to them already and the game continues to “interrupt” or rather “correct” how the player walks through it. I feel like the act of being ‘mansplained’ to and sometimes playing in I7 are similar.
I am still working on this idea as I struggled with completing the narrative.
Another thing I noticed about Inform 7 is it sort of relies on assuming how players “naturally” will explore a space or follow direction in a way. Following this idea of what is “natural” to someone, I thought it would be a good medium to showcase what it is to have social anxiety. The little things that may come naturally in a social setting to some, are extremely difficult to others.
I ran into some issues so as of now it is a very basic NSWE interaction.
Another option I wanted to explore was walking through a narrative in this medium. Not trying to decipher a space necessarily but rather how to move forward in the narrative and, in a way, unlock it.
I chose to do Goodbye to All That by Joan Didion because it feels rather personal at the moment. it is also an essay that moves through time very clearly. I don’t think I have quite figured out how to implement my idea - at the moment it is all basically ‘examine’ verbs and a new paragraph is displayed. I know(I think?!) that this could be cool, I just have to figure out how to disarm the essay in a way that feels more “interactive”, whatever that means.
This is where it is so far:
