INTERACTIVE FICTION

A choice-based interactive fiction game implemented in Python.

In this type of game, the player is presented with a situation, a "scene", and the only way to progress is by choosing the next move from a list of possible actions related to that particular scene.
Each action results in a different outcome, leading to a new situation.

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Usage

Clone this repository and run the main script:

python3 src/main.py

How to play

Every scene is presented with a title, a description and a numbered list of all the possible actions.
To choose from the list, simply type in the number corresponding to the action you want to perform.

Passwords

When you choose an action you might be asked to input a string to actually perform it.
Only if the string given in input matches a certain value the action will be considered successful.
An example of this might be choosing actions similar to "Answer the question" or "Type the password".

Menu

Type 0 at any time during the game to access the menu and perform actions like saving/loading the progress or quitting the game.

Save & Load

You can save & load the progress to/from a text file via the game's menu.

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Write a new story

The source code is completely oblivious of the game's story.
It is really easy to tweak the example presented or write a completely different story.
To do so, edit the given JSON file.

The entirety of the game data can be represented with 3 simple abstractions:

Scene

The JSON object representing a Scene has the following elements:

• title
  A short string
• description
  A string, or an array of strings.
  If a string, use \n to indicate new lines; if an array, each entry is a new line.
• tag
  A non-negative, unique integer to identify the scene with.
  The tag of the initial scene of the game must be 0.
• gameOver
  Boolean value; if true the game ends when the player reaches the scene.
• actions
  An array of Action objects.

Action

The JSON object representing an Action has the following elements:

• prompt
  A string that describes the action.
• result
  A non-negative integer; it represents the tag of the Scene that will follow the performing of this action.

Optionally, an Action may contain a Password object.

Password

The JSON object representing a Password has the following elements:

• value
  String that will be compared to the user input.
• fail
  A non-negative integer; it represents the tag of the Scene that will follow the performing of this action if the user input does not match the password's value.

Example:

[
  {
    "title": "Scene 0",
    # --- Example of description with single string.
    "description": "Describe this scene.\nNew line with escape character.",
    # --- The first scene must have tag = 0
    "tag": 0,
    "gameOver": false,
    "actions": [
      { "prompt": "Go to scene 1", "result": 1 },
      { "prompt": "Go to scene 2", "result": 2 }
    ]
  },

  {
    "title": "Scene 1",
    # --- Example of description with array of strings.
    "description": ["A new scene of the game.", "New line in description."],
    "tag": 1,
    "gameOver": false,
    "actions": [
      { "prompt": "Go back", "result": 0 },
      # --- Go to scene 2 if user answers "hello", scene 0 otherwise.
      { "prompt": "What is the meaning of ciao?", "result": 2,
            "password": { "value": "hello", "fail": 0 }
      }
    ]
  },

  {
    "title": "Scene 2",
    "description": ["End of the Game."],
    "tag": 2,
    # --- The game ends in this scene. The array of actions is empty.
    "gameOver": true,
    "actions": []
  }
]

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Author

Marco Plaitano

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License

Distributed under the MIT license.