intfiction.org

I'm not really sure how much demand there will be for this, but I am working out an XML file format specification for CYOA-style interactive novels, and plan on developing a number of tools for authoring and reading them (probably focusing on mobile apps and Kindle support for reading, initially).

I've been an IF-lurker for quite some time, and have great respect for the community that has been built around the hobby. As such, I am interested in any feedback or suggestions anyone here might have. I've roughed up a brief page describing the file format and its goals/limitations here: http://inml.rudism.com/.

I know that there's been some controversy around whether or not CYOA even counts as IF in the past. My primary reason for considering this as a free-time project is that, while I do enjoy classic parser-based IF, I yearn for IF that's a little less cerebral that can be comfortably read on an eReader or mobile phone without having to deal with typing on tiny thumb or on-screen keyboards. I feel that CYOA-style stories with simple hyperlinking would lend themselves very nicely to that purpose, and have been unable to find any existing system or tools geared specifically towards publishing those in a way that would provide maximum portability between platforms.

I did stumble across http://ifml.sourceforge.net/ during my googlings, which seems similar to what I would like to achieve, only on a grander scale (defining parser-based IF in XML). It also appears to be abandoned, which I feel is a shame.

Anyway, like I said, this idea is still just forming in my mind and I'm looking for feedback from the IF community (even if it's that I'm crazy and this is a waste of time).

The one thing I would consider carefully with a system like this is who you would like your target author audience to be. Because INML deliberately avoids scripting in its design (unlike other systems, for example Twee or Choicescript, which are javascript based), extending the system beyond choice-based narrative is going to get pretty difficult. From my experience the more interesting games include some amount of scripting. Of course you can write great works with CBN alone, but I think the perception may be that the INML system is simpler and so some people will not consider it seriously when choosing a development environment.

I'm not sure how portable javascript-based systems are compared to INML, but since many mobile platforms do include a web browser, the possibly greater portability of INML may be moot in the end.

While I have a gut aversion to writing/editing XML, lately I've come around to the idea of structured content -- so with a good front-end writing tool (or even just an XML editor of course) I could see how writing works for INML would be cool.

Anyway, just my 2 c., take it for what it's worth.

_________________
"An idea is like a virus. Resilient. Highly contagious. And the smallest seed of an idea can grow. It can grow to define... or destroy you."
INCEPTION Soundtrack - Dream is Collapsing

You don't want to go down that road. Computer languages always copy ideas, and even syntax, from each other. It's a good thing. That's why Inform 6 looks a lot like C, and Hugo looks a lot like Inform 6, and so on.

Furthermore, if two people are trying to solve the same problem, they're likely to invent similar solutions even if they never see each other's work.

Legally, copyright applies to a manual or reference document that you write -- but not to the structure of what you're documenting. You could patent your language's structure, but I wouldn't recommend that either.

(Note: I am not a lawyer. I am, however, a programmer.)

I'm having trouble imagining any COYA script language that would not be structurally similar to the two above examples. You are not the inventor of the concept of hyper-linking, and the syntax isn't even remotely similar. There is no copyright violation.

Similarity between programming/scripting languages cannot be avoided. I have to agree with that.

_________________
"An idea is like a virus. Resilient. Highly contagious. And the smallest seed of an idea can grow. It can grow to define... or destroy you."
INCEPTION Soundtrack - Dream is Collapsing

_________________
"An idea is like a virus. Resilient. Highly contagious. And the smallest seed of an idea can grow. It can grow to define... or destroy you."
INCEPTION Soundtrack - Dream is Collapsing

_________________
"An idea is like a virus. Resilient. Highly contagious. And the smallest seed of an idea can grow. It can grow to define... or destroy you."
INCEPTION Soundtrack - Dream is Collapsing

You know, I really wish you had stumbled upon someone like yourself when you started your work on NodeScript. You'd be starting your own project, and someone else would come along and say "Hey, besides the fact that your language looks suspiciously like mine, mine can do all the things your thingy can do, and much more besides, and it's innovative, and in fact it's the best thing next to sliced bread". I really wish that had happened.

While I can appreciate the similarities between NodeScript--which honestly was off my radar prior to reading about it here--and INML (as has been mentioned, different solutions to the same problem are bound to have similarities), I believe that one of the core differences with the approach I want to take is maximum portability. This includes the ability to publish to any number of existing e-book formats to be read on devices that may or may not support javascript, and may or may not have any kind of session/state management capabilities. I foresee even the ability to generate a printed manuscript suitable for dead-tree publication. To that end, its simplicity and lack of support for more advanced concepts such as custom interfaces and inventory management is by design.

I wouldn't perceive INML as a competitor to NodeScript, but rather a storage medium and (ideally) a suite of user-friendly authoring tools for simple CYOA-style stories which could easily be transformed into NodeScript format (or Inform, or TADS, or <insert your favorite system here>) if desired.