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Ink: the scripting language behind 80 Days and Sorcery

inklestudios.com

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Re: Ink: the scripting language behind 80 Days and Sorcery

#11

Post by sago »

failrate wrote: post #7

So, who has the time and wherewithal to write up a comparison between Ink and Inform7? I anxiously await your blog post :)

Not very comparable, except that they both produce some form of text interface.

Ink is most similar to ChoiceScript [0], which powers Choice of Games's Games. Twine [1] has the same structure but is a visual editor, not a scripting language. Undum [2] produces the same kind of system, but is Javascript rather than its own syntax. Dendry [3] powered Varytale's games, but the open source version seems abandoned. For completeness, though a webapp not a language, StoryNexus [4] is a hosted platform with a database-like interface (fill in a bunch of forms), it powers Failbetter's Games.

Inform7 is very impressive as a natural language syntax. But the kinds of 'parser' based games it is best suited for have always been rather niche, because they require a certain familiarity with the form.

[0]: https://www.choiceofgames.com/make-your-own-games/choicescri... [1]: https://twinery.org/2/#welcome [2]: http://undum.com/ [3]: http://dendry.org/ [4]: http://storynexus.com/s

Re: Ink: the scripting language behind 80 Days and Sorcery

#12

Post by joethephish »

failrate wrote: post #7

So, who has the time and wherewithal to write up a comparison between Ink and Inform7? I anxiously await your blog post :)

Hey, Joe here from inkle! Sago's reply is really good, but broadly for those two specific languages: Ink is designed to be one component in a larger game engine - the runtime has a simple core loop of choice -> text generation -> choice. How you implement the UI is up to you (right now we have a C# runtime designed for usage in Unity). By comparison, Inform7 is designed for building standalone parser-based text adventures in the vein of Zork and its more modern successors.

Re: Ink: the scripting language behind 80 Days and Sorcery

#13

Post by StavrosK »

pavel_lishin wrote: post #6

If you haven't played 80 Days, it's probably one of the most fun games I've played on my phone. I think I've seen maybe 20% of the total possible content after dozens of playthroughs.

Wow, $5 and no demo? For someone who doesn't really play games, I can't justify that for buying a game blind.

Re: Ink: the scripting language behind 80 Days and Sorcery

#14

Post by teh_klev »

gyardley wrote: post #3

As an aside, the Sorcery games referred to here are very faithful adaptions of Steve Jackson's Sorcery! adventure gamebooks, the pinnacle of the Fighting Fantasy series and total catnip for the eight-year-old version of me. Buying and playing them has been a huge nostalgia trip.

You both might enjoy this:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b071h083

Re: Ink: the scripting language behind 80 Days and Sorcery

#15

Post by nulldata »

StavrosK wrote: post #13
pavel_lishin wrote: post #6

If you haven't played 80 Days, it's probably one of the most fun games I've played on my phone. I think I've seen maybe 20% of the total possible content after dozens of playthroughs.

Wow, $5 and no demo? For someone who doesn't really play games, I can't justify that for buying a game blind.

Five dollars? I mean that's a Bacon Burger Clubhouse from Mc Donalds. I don't see that as a very risky purpose

Re: Ink: the scripting language behind 80 Days and Sorcery

#16

Post by g8gggu89 »

nulldata wrote: post #15
StavrosK wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, $5 and no demo? For someone who doesn't really play games, I can't justify that for buying a game blind.

Five dollars? I mean that's a Bacon Burger Clubhouse from Mc Donalds. I don't see that as a very risky purpose

Ooooh, tell us what it's like to be so rich!

Re: Ink: the scripting language behind 80 Days and Sorcery

#17

Post by tluyben2 »

nulldata wrote: post #15
StavrosK wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, $5 and no demo? For someone who doesn't really play games, I can't justify that for buying a game blind.

Five dollars? I mean that's a Bacon Burger Clubhouse from Mc Donalds. I don't see that as a very risky purpose

Why always compare to Mc Donalds? I wouldn't even eat that if it were free.

Re: Ink: the scripting language behind 80 Days and Sorcery

#18

Post by pavel_lishin »

StavrosK wrote: post #13
pavel_lishin wrote: post #6

If you haven't played 80 Days, it's probably one of the most fun games I've played on my phone. I think I've seen maybe 20% of the total possible content after dozens of playthroughs.

Wow, $5 and no demo? For someone who doesn't really play games, I can't justify that for buying a game blind.

I don't know what your financial situation is like, but $5 is a pretty low entry point, given all of the positive reviews (not even including mine). It's also low enough that it may not make sense to release a demo - it might be more work than it would bring in.

I've stopped worrying about spending $5 here and there, given that last year I wouldn't think twice about casually ordering a beer at a bar - especially when it comes to paying for software.

Re: Ink: the scripting language behind 80 Days and Sorcery

#19

Post by StavrosK »

pavel_lishin wrote: post #18
StavrosK wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, $5 and no demo? For someone who doesn't really play games, I can't justify that for buying a game blind.

I don't know what your financial situation is like, but $5 is a pretty low entry point, given all of the positive reviews (not even including mine). It's also low enough that it may not make sense to release a demo - it might be more work than it would bring in. I've stopped worrying about spending $5 here and there, given that last year I wouldn't think twice about casually ordering a beer at a bar - especially when…

The average salary in my country is $30/day, but it's not so much about that as about the fact that it's very unlikely that I'll like a game, so at $5 per game the expected ROI is negative. I'd like something that can raise the certainty before I purchase (e.g. a demo, or at least an extended trial period).

Too bad Google only allows you to try an app for 15 minutes or so now.

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