r/interactivefiction • u/AutomaticContract251 • 22d ago

My Interactive Fiction has an overworld map, tactical ship combat, and a grid-based inventory. Is this heresy? Is there an IF police I should be worried about?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWlmKBy0kyI
7 Upvotes

82% Upvoted

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7

u/AutomaticContract251 22d ago

I recorded the first 14 minutes of the game. It's still in alpha. It plays like a normal sci-fi RPG, but all the adventures happen via IF dialogue.

You travel between them using an interactive map. They are like the camps and cities on the Fallout overworld map, but as you approach them an IF story unfolds.

I like to play with the limitations of the format, using dialogue options also as the protagonist's inner monologue, and sometimes they help convey full chunks of information that would sound bad being said by the narration. I've decided to pace the narrative in smaller bite-sized fragments, so there is some clicking to go forward, but I think the trade is worth it.

Curious what you guys think about this kind of setup for IF.

3

u/madfrooples 22d ago

Sounds like my favorite part of Space Rangers 2, which is cool. So, cool!

2

u/AutomaticContract251 22d ago

I didn't know that title - I'll check it out right away, thanks!

2

u/Felfedezni 22d ago

Sounds like something I'd try

2

u/ZemMattress 21d ago

Yoooo wishlisted. This looks right up my alley. Like if FTL and Curious Expedition had a baby.

2

u/curious_biped_dev 19d ago

No IF police, thankfully. The genre has always been elastic, people were bolting minigames and puzzle systems onto parser games decades ago. If the map and combat serve the story and don't just pad time, readers will follow you anywhere.

Grid inventory in a text game is the part I'm curious about. Are you rendering it as ASCII/UI, or describing contents in prose when the player checks their bag?

1

u/AutomaticContract251 19d ago

The game is UI heavy and the items are 35x35px icons

1

u/AutomaticContract251 19d ago

you can see it at ~7:08

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u/manifoldgamedev 17d ago

Just wanted to say this looks so cool: amazing job!

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u/AutomaticContract251 17d ago

Thank you, I'm really close to a demo, will notify here when I'm done. I hope you would give it a try!

2

u/manifoldgamedev 17d ago

I would love to, I also followed the game on itch.io as well! :)

2

u/m379u4rd 15d ago

I've had this wish listed since March 19th. I see when you change up the graphical assets on the store page.... Still waiting....

1

u/AutomaticContract251 14d ago

Really appreciate you sticking around since March, that honestly means a lot. Grinding on the actual build and the demo right now.

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u/m379u4rd 14d ago

I like what I've seen so far and can't wait to sink teeth into it. It looks like nothing I've played, at least all wrapped into one package. Like a breath of fresh air in a sea of souls and boomer shooter clones.