Let's Tell a Story Together

You are standing at the end of a road before a small brick building.
Around you is a forest. A small stream flows out of the building and down a gully.
– opening text in Adventure (Crowther and Woods, 1976)

Thus the hapless player would often find herself having figured out the correct action to take, but still stymied due to not having expressed that action in a particular way. This is known as the “guess the verb” syndrome, and is universally frowned upon in modern IF.

The best way to truly understand IF is to experience a game in action. With that in mind, I would like to invite you, my reader, to do just that with me. The game we will use for this purpose is Earth and Sky by Paul O’Brian, a modest and charming little tribute to classic superhero comics first released in 2001.

“Will you read me a story?
”Read you a story? What fun would that be? I’ve got a better idea: let’s tell a story together."
– Adam Cadre, Photopia (1998)