February 5th 1995 Inform Compiler --------------- Contents of Disk ---------------- inform - Infocom Compiler (Inform) zip - Infocom Interpreter *_inf - Example Inform code *_h - Inform libraries *_txt - Inform documentation INFORM ------ Graham Nelson's 'Inform' is a compiler for creating your own Infocom-style text-adventures. It produces gamefiles that can be 'run' with any Infocom interpreter. Interpreters exist for a large number of computers (e.g. Amiga, Atari, PC, PSION, QDOS, UNIX) and your gamefile is playable on any of these without alteration. There are very few restrictions if you want to sell your game - all you have to do is place a message on the start screen, acknowledging that it was produced using Inform (refer to the documentation for full details). Full documentation is on the disk, including an Inform tutorial in the file design_txt. The text was converted from Latex, so may be a little messy in places. If you are itching to start, set up the program and data directories to the device you are using and type ex inform;"-xs toyshop" This will compile the demo game, toyshop_inf, and create a gamefile called toyshop_z5. (_z5 means the gamefile is Version 5. Inform can create Version 3 games too - useful if memory is tight). To run the game, you'll need an Infocom interpreter. A PD interpreter for the QL, called ZIP, is included on the disk (more info about ZIP, and some useful infocom tools are on the maya.dei.unipd.it ftp site). Type ex zip;"toyshop_z5" Or, to use the full screen: ex zip,con_512x256a0x0;"toyshop_z5" (If you confuse 'zip' with the file archiving utility then rename it to 'infozip', say) The 'toyshop' and 'balances' games demonstrate many of Inform's features. Examine the source files (toyshop_inf and balances_inf) if you are curious as to how they work. Any Inform files that you create must have the _inf extension (if they are game source) or _h (library source). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE ---- Graham Nelson updates Inform from time to time; the latest code can be found in the interactive fiction archives at ftp.gmd.de. The recent trend is for the compiler itself to remain unaltered whilst the library files (Parser_h, etc) are improved upon and added to. Details of library changes have not yet been included in design_txt; consult changes_txt for details of these. More infocom goodies (a disassembler, vocabulary dumper, some PD games) are in the file infocom.zoo at maya.dei.unipd.it /pub/sinclair_QL/games/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you have any queries/questions/problems concerning the QDOS port of Inform then please contact me. Luke Roberts lukey@cov.ac.uk 34 Park Road Coventry CV1 2LD